It's Californication, Part 1

Did I mention that we went to California over Memorial Day weekend? Oh yeah. We did. It's the edge of the world and all of western civilization, of course, and also the location of Bug's second out-of-state jaunt. Basically the party rocked so hard that I'll be detailing the trip in separate posts. 

Day 1, Part A: The sun may rise in the east, at least it settles in a final location.

We woke up at the crack of dawn to load up and get to the airport via a pay-to-park lot and the shuttle. The Bugster wasn't thrilled to be awake 4 hours earlier than usual, but she took it all in stride, particularly because she was going to get to see AIRPLANES!

I've mentioned before that our little daughty adores any hint of talk about airplanes. She spots the tiniest airborne fleck in the sky, and immediately shows us the sign for 'airplane' while squealing "whee-ya!" with a look of pure bliss on her face. While I'm not sure she really comprehended that we were actually inside one of her beloved whee-yas, she definitely enjoyed peeking out the windows of the airport while we waited.

Thanks to our super supportive family, she was fabulous on the plane ride. She definitely bounced from lap to lap, but we avoided any hollering, and thankfully did not experience any air sickness.

I've mentioned before how much I love the Long Beach airport. It's small, casual, and has a mid-century sort of vibe. Bug nearly popped with excitement when we got out of the plane right on the tarmac.

We drove directly from the airport to Norms, our favorite delicious greasy-spoon diner. After stuffing ourselves with brunch, we quickly checked into the hotel and ran straight for the beach.

Day 1, Part B: Tidal waves couldn't save the world from Californication.

I'll let the pictures do the talking. In case you were wondering, this is what happiness looks like:

Our little Bug-a-loo could not get enough of the sand and the water. She could have spent the rest of her life happily searching for shells and eating sand coated fruit snacks. We are so lucky to have this little peanut. As you can see by her complexion, we are also very lucky to have packed SPF 50 spray baby sunscreen. It worked like a charm.

After the beach, we headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes, and ran back to another stretch of sand for a weenie roast with the rest of the extended fam before the big wedding day (more on that later.) We did not take pictures because it was fuh-reezing and Bug was long past her last bit of patience for our blatant disregard for her schedule. Needless to say, we didn't stay long.