Five Year Celebration!

October 1st marked Jared and my fifth anniversary. And, what a journey it has been! 

I decided years ago that for our fifth anniversary we were going to do something special, so we did. We took a four day trip to Southern California.

We left on Thursday and drove to Long Beach then hopped on a ferry to Catalina. We arrived just as the sun was setting. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect. After having colds for a week, it was just so nice to be able to breathe the oxygen saturated air. We didn't have much time to do anything that night. We just ate dinner, took a walk on the beach and checked into the hotel. 

On Friday (our anniversary) morning, we rented kayaks and went for a paddle down the shore. The water was unbelievably clear and we were able to see many bright orange fish. Jared and I have both lost a lot of upper body strength since training for running events. So, we weren't able to handle kayaking for too long before our arms gave out.

Intrigued by all the fish we had seen, we then rented snorkeling equipment and walked down to the nature preserve. We should have rented wetsuits! The water was a crisp 66 degrees. We thought that once we got in and accustomed to the temperature, it wouldn't be so bad. Needless to say, we lasted about a 1/2 hour before we were both shivering and ready to go. 

After showering and warming up, we wandered around the quaint town of Avalon. We checked out all the little shops and played some mini golf. We had some particularly good food and beer, too. We got on the ferry back to Long Beach in the late afternoon, then traveled to our hotel in Costa Mesa.

That night we ate at Marrakesh, just blocks from our hotel. We had 7 course Moroccan feast and it was beyond delicious! Just thinking about it is making my mouth water again.

On Saturday, we went down to San Clemente for a surf lesson in the morning. We were hoping to learn on some baby waves, but the swell was huge. The average waves were 4 to 5 feet. We got extremely beat up in the surf, but had a ton of fun. Jared and I both were able to stand up and ride in after the second try. My problem was dismounting the board at the shore. I was afraid of planting the nose of the board in the sand, so I'd try to jump off before I got too far on the beach. So, I'd jump and crash and burn in the shallow water. I have some spectacular bruises on my butt, elbows, knees and I think I pulled a groin muscle. At one point the leash got wrapped around my foot while I was being tossed around under water and it felt like my foot was going to be sliced in half. Another time, I came up right under my board and hit my head on the skag. Fun stuff! 

It really was a blast. We both enjoyed it thoroughly. We were just exhausted and really sore afterward.

That night we ate at the Yard House, a restaurant we stumbled upon near our hotel. It had like 100 different kinds of beer on tap. Jared was in heaven and was really bummed he was only able to try two. 

Sunday we hopped in the car for the long drive home. After all the fun we had, we are so tired, sore and ready to relax at home. My mom was kind enough to watch MJ the whole time we were gone. Each time we saw little kids on our trip, I experienced painful MJ withdrawals. By Sunday I was so anxious to get home to her that I didn't even complain when Jared drove like a maniac.
After all that we have been through in our five years as husband and wife, we hope the next five will be a filled with many more good memories, love and happiness. Happy anniversary to us!