Our Honeymoon...Part Two

Laguna Beach:

After walking probably close to a marathon in 2 days, we were ready for some relaxation.  We headed to our hotel that we booked in Laguna Beach which had the same owners as Shorebreak, so we were looking forward to it.  Once we got to our room, I think we both took a big sigh and had the biggest smiles on our faces.  It was right on the beach and when we opened our sliding door we could see the ocean for miles.  We made a promise to watch the sunset from our patio each night we were there...you couldn't have a better view.  The front desk let us know that beach chairs and umbrellas are complementary, so we called them to let them know we were headed down and put our swimsuits on.  It was so relaxing to lay by the ocean and get some sun!

We made plans to have dinner at House of BIG fish and Ice Cold Beer....sounds perfect huh?!  It was on the second story of a building across the street from the beach, so we had a perfect view.  The food and the drinks were exactly what we wanted!  We finished dinner just in time to catch the sunset at our hotel, so we headed back, opened a bottle of Cupcake Red Velvet wine and relaxed.  It was such a perfect day!

My sweet tooth started to kick in, so I suggested that we grab dessert somewhere.  We made our roady-sodies and walked over to BJ's.  The smell of the pizza was so good, that now I wanted something salty too, so as we ate our triple pazookie, we ordered a pizza to-go.

We walked back to our room, I to eat one slice before I was full and sleepy.  The next morning, while filming our "High/Low" for the day, I found out what happened to the rest of the pizza.....

Since our feet had some time to recover by the second day in Laguna, we went to El Moro Canyon to go hiking.  Just like everywhere else in California, the parking was expensive- $15!  The ranger let us know what the best hike was, so we headed out on the trail.  It didn't take long for us to realize that this was the most beautiful hike we've ever been on!  There were tons of wild flowers and we had a view of the ocean during most of the hike.  We even got to see a rattlesnake on the trail- once he saw us coming he slithered off the trail, but it wasn't until we looked at our pictures we saw that he had turned back around and was facing us!  The only bad part was that all the mustard flowers really got Anthony's allergies going :(  It took him days to recover from that hike, but it was definitely my favorite part of our whole trip!

It seemed our trip had come to an end all too soon.  We planned to have a nice dinner on our last night in Laguna, so we chose the sushi place across the street from the hotel.  We were surprised at how busy it was for a Thursday night, but we found out that it was $6 sushi night, so that might have contributed to the crowd.  It had a good atmosphere, good music, and great food.  Our favorite roll we tried was a roll that had thinly sliced lime on top- it was delicious and a perfect way to end the trip.

 

Before heading back to Phoenix, we decided to stop in Huntington and have dinner with Daniel and thank him again for all he did.  We met him at 25 Degrees for some burgers and a beer (they had one of our favorites, Great White, on tap).  The burgers were HUGE and delicious.  We didn't know it, but Daniel had a surprise for us...he had blown up one of the pictures he took at our wedding and had it framed.  It is beautiful and we found the perfect spot for it above our stairs. 

Ending our vacation was bittersweet.  We were ready to be in our own home and we missed the dogs, but we didn't want to leave California.  One thing is for sure, we will never forget our Honeymoon!

Our Honeymoon...Part One

Disneyland:

The Sunday after our wedding, we checked into our hotel in Anaheim.  I knew it would be close to Disneyland because the hotel offered a shuttle, but I had no idea that it was walking distance!  Anthony probably hated that I discovered this because he knows how I like to walk everywhere :).  I was slightly bummed about the hotel...the pictures online must have been taken 10 years ago because the place looked a little run down....this also could have been because we just checked out of our waterfront suite at the Shorebreak!  The room was clean and had everything we needed EXCEPT it was the closest distance to the freeway!  Normally, I probably would have gone down to the front desk and let them know that we are honeymooners and we would appreciate a better location, but I knew that we wouldn't spend much time in the room.  Later that night, we discovered (I guess I should say Anthony discovered because I slept through this) that we were right by the Disneyland firework show.  Anth said it was the loudest fireworks he had ever heard!

Nightly beauty regimen

Since we knew we would have 2 days at Disneyland, we didn't get up early, but slept in (that means until 7:30 am).  We knew that there was a Mimi's Cafe on the way to Disneyland, so we took our time getting ready for the day and had a nice big breakfast at Mimi's before heading over to Disneyland.  Anthony can't remember the last time he went to Disneyland and I had just been a few years ago with my girlfriend Abbey, so over breakfast, we mapped out our plan of attack on the rides.  I knew we wouldn't get through all of them the first day, but I at least wanted him to ride some of the better rides. 

Once we got into the park, I was immediately surprised at how busy it was for a Monday.  We were hoping to beat the crowd and although the crowd wasn't terrible, I was still surprised.  We got to ride the Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones before we decided that it was time for a cold one!  it was the perfect time to head over to California Adventure and check out a few rides over there...plus they only serve beer on the California Adventure side!

As we entered California Adventure, we kept seeing signs for "World of Color".  I have never heard of this before, so we stopped and asked one of the staff members what it was. He was very excited to tell us about it and said that it was basically like the Bellagio water show in Vegas, but on steroids!  They only do this show at 9:00 and 10:15 and since we wanted to see the firework show in Disneyland at 9, we decided to get the passes for the 10:15 show.

After a cold brew, we went to the Bugs Life show and then decided to ride the Tower of Terror.  I hate this ride!  It makes you feel like you are in an elevator shaft and they keep dropping you several floors, but when they drop you, they open the wall that you are staring at and when we got the ride, the sun was starting to set, so it was an awesome view.  As if that wasn't enough terror for the day, Anthony wanted to ride the California Screamin' roller coaster.  It had been a few years since I had been on a roller coaster like that, so my stomach was in knots!  It didn't help that I could hear all the people screaming on the ride the whole way there.  BUT, once we road it, I was a fan!  Yes, I screamed the whole way and Anthony laughed at me screaming the whole way.  It was so fun, we had to do it again!

After the roller coaster fun, we wanted to ride Mickey's Fun wheel.  This was probably the longest line we stood in the whole time.  We waited about 45 minutes, but again, the view of the sunset was worth it.

It was starting to get a little chilly, so we had some clam chowder bread bowls before heading back to Disneyland to get our hoodies and a spot for the fireworks.  By the time we made it back to the Disneyland side, everyone had already staked out there spot for the fireworks.  There was no room in front of Cinderella's Castle, but that worked out to our advantage because we found a spot to the side and behind and could see all the fireworks perfectly!

After the firework show, we quickly went back to California Adventure to catch the World of Color show.  Again, all the best spots were gone, but when we asked one of the staff members where we would have a good view, she whisked us up front and gave us perfect seats!  This show was awesome!  It is like Bellagio, but WAY better!!!  They use colors, lasers, and using water spray, they project videos onto the water screen.

Wall-E and Eva!

It was a great first day, but our feet were about to fall off from all the walking and we were going to have one more day!  P.S. don't mind the morning face in this video...Ha!!

Day 2 we slept in again, got breakfast and then went to Disneyland first.  We rode Matterhorn, Space Mountain, the Tea Cups, Small World, went to Toon Town, rode the Disneyland Train and then went to California Adventure and did the Soarin' over California ride and the Grizzly River Run.  We were still tired and sore from the first day, so we decided to call it an early day.  Before leaving, we looked around in the gift shops to get something that we would give to our first born.  We found a Jack Skelington stuffed toy and a red beanie with Mickey ears...we can't wait until we have a little one to give it to!

Our Wedding Day

The Bride:

I woke up to a BEAUTIFUL sunrise.  We don’t typically get to see the sunrise in Huntington because of the morning ocean fog, so it was a great way to start the day.  I had breakfast with my Dad, Kiley, Laci, Brandon, and Zach at the Sugar Shack.  It was a good thing we went early because Anthony and I just barely missed each other…I ran into his family in the lobby of the hotel when we returned and they were on their way there to have breakfast with Anthony and Daniel….close call!

After my delicious omelet and hash browns, it was time to decorate our room where our dinner would be held that evening.  Over the last couple of months, my grandma had been helping me come up with ideas on how to personalize our room.  We had picked out some material we like and she sewed a table runner with it…it turned out sooo cute and we’ll even be able to use in at our house- it was perfect!  My sister helped me set up the other decorations and I was so anxious to see how it would look that night!

After getting the room all set up, I decided to take a quick nap before I had to start getting ready because I knew it would be a long day….but my mind couldn’t stop thinking about my to-do list for the day and before I knew it my alarm went off and it was time to get ready.   This was my moment of stress for the day…our new room for the night was not ready, so I had to pack up, but couldn’t pack everything because I still had to get ready, so my room was a mess.  Then, I had to bring the decorations for the ceremony to my grandma and when I did, I got locked out of my room. Ugh! 

Luckily, Gina came to my rescue with some Mimosas!  She also called the front desk and got them to move on the room…soon after (with the help of my brothers) we were in our new room and curling and pinning hair as quickly as we could.  Laci and my grandma came by to hang out and take a few pics as I was getting ready.  The next hour or so seemed to fly by and we were trying to put together the finishing touches as the flowers were being delivered.  Gina barely had enough time to finish her own hair, so I am sure she was a little stressed too, but she didn’t show it!

Kiley and my dad came to my room just as the O.C. Cruiser bus was picking up everyone else.  Anthony and I did not want to see each other before our ceremony, so we had to drive separate from the group.  My dad was looking CRISP in his new suit and purple shirt.  I could tell my dad was excited, but fighting back the tears at the same time.  It was nice to have this few moments with him before we headed out the door.

About 30 minutes later we arrived and quickly began the ceremony.  I say quickly because my dad and I thought we were just going to hang out for a minute, but all of a sudden I noticed that little Cam-bug was already dropping to the rose petals and it was time to go!   My dad gave me away and Daniel began the ceremony.   It was a beautiful ceremony overlooking the ocean with our closest family there.  My grandma shared a poem that told the story of how we met- it brought both Anthony and I to tears! 

We then exchanged our vows and this was the happiest moment of my life!  We both wrote our own vows and I was just as excited to hear his as I was to read mine to him.  Anthony had a hard time getting them out (who wouldn’t have a hard time after that poem!), but his words and promises to me were perfect!  And for those of you that don’t know this about me, public speaking is my #1 fear, so the thought of me being in front of everyone and especially reading something that I wrote even now gives me butterflies…my family often teases me about my red cheeks I get when I am nervous.  To my surprise, I had no butterflies all day and felt very confident speaking in front of everyone- this has NEVER happened to me!  Maybe that’s because there was nothing to be nervous about!

After our ceremony, we snapped some pictures and then headed back to the hotel for dinner.  On the ride back we toasted champagne with everyone and talked about how perfect everything was!  While everyone was getting settled at the restaurant, Daniel took a few photos for us at the hotel.  Since I couldn’t wait for Anth to see our hotel room, the three of us went to the room for a quick drink and to freshen up before dinner.

 We then joined everyone for dinner.  I was pleasantly surprised at how awesome our room and patio looked when we got there.  We had been working with Jan at the hotel for a few months on the set up, but it turned out so much nicer than we planned.  The hotel decorated the room with matching blue votives, the bar set-up on the patio was awesome, and they even put these modern looking heaters out there.  I wish it wasn’t as chilly as it was because we would have liked to spend more time on the patio!

We were also pleasantly surprised with the food and service.  Anth and I never tasted anything, so we were hoping it would turn out nicely and it did.  We both agreed that the beef was the best and I also LOVED the berry cobbler!  After all the food, Mykol and Gina decided that we HAD to have a first dance, so they played our song "Admiration" by Incubus.

As the night was winding down and a few of the guests started  leaving for the night, we tried to take advantage of the great patio set up, but that didn't last long.  It was too cold and windy, so Gina, Chris, Brandon, Zach, Laci, and Daniel all came back to our room with us.  We hung out, listened to music, and had a few drinks before calling it a night.  After they all left, we laid in bed and opened all of our card/gifts.  It was a relaxing and special moment...we were so grateful for our family!

The Groom:

Upon waking up from a much needed night of sleep in Daniel’s California King Daniel and I decided to go get some breakfast. After a quick shower I sent Jessica a text to say good morning and see what she was up doing. She let me know that she was at Sugar Shack with her Dad, Kiley, brothers and sister eating breakfast. So I called Mare Bear to see what she had planned for breakfast and she told me that she was meeting up with Mykol, Candis, Gina, Chris and the kids at Sugar Shack too. I told them that Daniel and I were going to have to do our own thing to avoid running into Jessica. A few minutes later Jessica let me know that they were done and on their way to CVS (Mine and Jessica’s favorite store in Huntington). So Daniel and I headed over to Sugar Shack running into Carroll, Georgia, Brandon and Zach on our way over. The wait at Sugar Shack was a bit too long for our liking so we decided to eat next door at some Hawaiian place.  The food was good, but I have to admit I felt my nerves/anxiety starting to kick in during this time. I had received a few texts from Brian stating that he wasn’t going to be able to make the wedding and a phone call from Jessica letting me know that she had changed our room for the night as well as made a change to the seating arrangements at the reception. I started to worry that I was going to end up being a stress ball all day. After I hung up with Jessica we finished our breakfast and all went our separate ways.

As Daniel and I got back to his place we both had last minute things we had to tie up before the ceremony. Daniel went over to his neighbors unit because he needed to print something out. Still feeling a little on edge I took this time to try and get my mind and body relaxed. I put on my iPod and listened to one of my favorite albums Mer De Noms (has always calmed my nerves) as I sat on the porch I wrote Jessica our one year anniversary letter and took one last look at my vows.  During this time of reflection and thinking about our future I felt a calmness come over me. I knew that this was right and we were going to share our special moment with 20 of the closest, most important people in our lives. I just remember thinking “There is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to be nervous about.” I finished up my letter and sat in Daniel’s reclining chair sunbathing until he was done. Once Daniel wrapped up what he was working on we watched The Ultimate Fighter as well some girl fights on a show Daniel had DVR’d called Bad Girls Club on Oxygen (YIKES)!! Before I knew it, it was 2:00pm and time to start getting ready.

I had text Mykol earlier letting him know that I had forgotten my tie in the SUVI back at the hotel. Like he has done our whole lives, Mykol came through and brought the tie and some 5 hours over to Daniel’s. As I was taking my time getting ready I happened to glance at my phone and realized it was already 3:40pm and Daniel wasn’t even in the shower yet. I let him know that we had to be to the hotel soon and we needed to hurry up. We were out the door by 4:00pm and his roommate Billy drove us a mile down the road to Shorebreak where we meeting up with the rest of the family to take the cruiser down to Laguna.

As I was trying to explain to the valet (who spoke no English) that I needed our vehicle brought up and waiting for the bride the family started coming out of the hotel and the cruiser pulled up. Gina pinned on my corsage, I gave Mykol general directions on how to get to Crescent Bay and we were off.

As we drove down PCH I looked over at Daniel and could tell that we were both feeling the weight of the moment and what was to come. As the driver played our wedding mix I started feeling a lot of emotions coming over me. It just made me think of Jessica and I going through the list of songs, picking and choosing what we wanted to play and now it was playing on OUR day and she wasn’t with me!

The mood was pretty relaxed as we pulled up to Crescent Bay. Carroll and Georgia were setting everything up as Jessica had gone over with them, Daniel let people in the park know that there was a wedding about to take place and they kindly moved. Now we were all waiting on the bride.

After about ten minutes or so I was told that Jessica was pulling up with her Dad and Kiley. It felt like two seconds later she was standing before me with her Dad. I can’t imagine that she could have looked more beautiful. Her dress radiated in the sunlight and looked beyond white, it was almost a glow. Then her eyes were greener than I had ever seen them, they were absolutely gorgeous. And the icing on the cake was her glitter sparkling in the sunlight. I really feel it was God’s way of letting me know that this was the woman for me and I am now the man in her life. The beginning question of who gives this woman to this man had a bit of an awkward feel to it, but Jessica lightened the mood with a “hey!” Georgia read an amazing poem that she had written for us which got me pretty choked up. Immediately following her poem Daniel looked at me and I knew it was my turn to read my vows. All I wanted was a little break,there was already a lump in my throat and I knew that there was no way I was going to make it through. Sure enough I couldn’t even get a few words out. I took a few deep breaths and after many pauses and tears I got through my vows. Now it was Jessica’s turn, and immediately I noticed that we had touched on similar points. I don’t think our vows or ceremony could have been more perfect. Now it was time to get some pictures taken.

Our photographer, Alex took some pictures that included our family and then Jessica and I headed down to the beach to take some more. As we walked down the stairs and down on to the beach I thought back to months before walking down the same path as Jessica and I discussed what it would be like in a wedding dress. Like always, Jessica was fine and didn’t complain at all while hiking up hill and going up stairs while wearing her dress and bustier. Actually, it was funny Alex was more out of breath than Jessica. Once we finished our pictures on the beach we hopped back on the cruiser and started our journey back to Shorebreak.

The mood was much lighter as we celebrated driving down PCH. We had our post wedding mix playing and Daniel popped a couple bottles of champagne. As we sipped our champagne from our red roady-sody cups Jessica and I mingled with family and we were already discussing how happy we were with how everything turned out. 

We pulled up to Shorebreak and took a few pictures before heading into Zimzala for our reception. Outside our reception room there was a congratulations sign, which I thought was pretty cool. The whole setup of the reception exceeded my expectations. The florist had arranged center pieces for the table which turned out beautifully. The matted picture for signatures was placed on a table along with other decorations that Jessica had made. The outdoor patio was really nice and had flowers from the ceremony placed on tables. The food, service and ambiance were all perfect! Above all that though was the fact that we were all family. We were sharing such a special moment with all the people that meant the most to us. It was so special to see how two families could come together as one and share such a wonderful evening together. And most of all from this moment forward I could now call Jessica my wife!