LA SUBURBS: EL SEGUNDO & MANHATTAN BEACH


 Dave had some work in Anaheim so as that wrapped up, I caught a flight out to California to spend a long weekend away with him (and our friends).  Knowing I had that weekend to look forward to made dropping him off at the airport a week earlier a little bit easier... just a little bit!
 

Although there was A LOT of work involved for Dave during his time there, he was also able to mix in some fun before I arrived.  For more than half the time he was there, be was without co-workers and knowing that he'd have the opportunity to spend some time with our friends during that time made this wife pretty happy.  Traveling by yourself can get a little lonely.

He had nights out at the Anaheim Packing House...


... and at Angel Stadium.


Dave really enjoyed this kick start visit with our sweet friends Justin and Ashley.


Meanwhile, I was fitting in some girl time with sweet friends and dealing with a water main break back at home (not our home specifically, but in our town).

I was counting down the days to see him... and being able to brush my teeth with water that didn't come from a bottle.  This photo was from a girl's dinner at a local restaurant...  HA!  It was serious!


Although Dave was missing home like crazy (minus the water situation), he was making the most of being in California.  He was getting to enjoy great food...


 ... views... 


... and drinks. 

I had a long day with work plus travel and Dave's commitments for business were going to keep him out late the night I arrived so I decided to grab some quick dinner and head straight for the hotel bed because you can eat in bed when you're on vacation, right?


I also did some snacking thanks to my layover in Chicago.  When we travel it's an excuse to have special treats and take advantage of having certain snacks because you have access to them... exhibit A:


This trip had been the longest amount of time Dave and I have spent apart since getting married, heck probably even a year or two before we got married.  Some people love long work getaways (and there's nothing wrong with that), but we just really love doing life together and two or three days apart is about our max.  Anything past that and it's like we forget how to do things and start falling apart... although individually, we are both pretty independent people.  Better together is our jam!  This is us together on the beach over the weekend and we were happy, happy, happy to be back together... can you tell?
 

When I walked into Dave's HUGE room (thank you, Hilton!) with floor to ceiling windows, it didn't take me long to see two bottles of wine and the most thoughtful little note.  He sure knows the way to my heart!  Even more than the wine (although wine after a day of travel is never a bad idea), it was really the note and the thought that he had planned this for me that was the most special part.


Seriously, he is the best... every single day I am thankful that I married such a sweet man.


Before leaving Anaheim to spend time with sweet friends of ours in the LA area, we spent Friday at Disney... we love Disney!  If you missed our recap on Disneyland, you can go back HERE to read it.


We ended up getting park hopper tickets which meant that in addition to Disneyland, we also got to visit Disney's California Adventure which you can read about HERE.


Saturday we woke up bright at early to get our stuff packed up and wait on our friends.  Hilton Anaheim had been Dave's home base for more than a week and although the accommodations were great, he was definitely ready for a little change of scenery.
 

As soon as they picked us up, they made sure to get us more caffeine... they know the way to our hearts!  Ashley does marketing for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf so you'll notice our switch in brand loyalty during our time with them.  How cool is that, though?  

We headed straight for El Segundo to drop off our bags at their house and head to lunch.  The recently moved to this area to be closer to the beach and have a shorter commute to work in Los Angeles.


Downtown El Segundo and the surrounding areas are so cute.  We grabbed lunch at Rock & Brews where Dave enjoyed a tasty burger...


... and I had yummy fish tacos.


The food was great and the weather was perfect, but we must say the company was even better!  We were so looking forward to a few days with these sweet friends of ours.


Up next, we walked across the street to El Segundo Brewing Company.


We always enjoy getting flights at new breweries so we can try more!


The beer was good...


... but the company was better!  You'll see this theme a lot throughout our time here.


One of the greatest things about visiting California (besides catching up with friends) is that we are always introduced to something neat that hasn't quite made its way to Kentucky yet.  Friends, without further ado let me introduce you to BIRD...  the coolest thing ever!


We only had one thing on the agenda for the afternoon... the beach.  El Segundo Beach was pretty packed (including the parking lot), so we made our way to Manhattan Beach which was maybe a five minute drive.  How nice would it be to have the second beach option only five minutes away?


Once we settled in at the beach, there was a lot of corn hole played among the boys...



... and lots of talking (and laughing) for the girls!


We are so thankful for the friendship we have with Justin and Ashley.  Not only with each of them individually, but as a couple as well.  Although several miles separate us, we try to stay in touch and keep up with one another as much as possible.  We even love a good Facetime conversation!


When Dave and I visit a beach the chances of it being in Florida is probably 9 times out of 10.  And although we don't make it there near as often, California sure has beautiful beaches.  We were pumped to have an entire afternoon dedicated to enjoying the California beach life!


After wrapping up a full afternoon at the beach we headed back to their place to get ready for dinner.  We also had time for more visiting...


... and wine drinking (we were in California, after all).


We had a late reservation for dinner, but wanted to head back towards the beach to catch sunset.  The scene was beautiful and we loved having this special time with such sweet friends of ours.



It turned into a mini photo shoot (for the record - traveling with friends who care about photos is AWESOME because you end up with so many great ones) where we laughed so hard!


Next we headed to Baja Sharkeez which was just down the street from Fishbar to kill more time.


We were all getting hungry after a big day at the beach and were thrilled when it was time to head to Fishbar.  Dave's drink was practically an appetizer prior to our food arriving.  HA!


Crab cakes, more fish tacos, scallops and a fish special... let's just say we enjoyed taking advantage of having such fresh seafood options on a menu.  Everything, absolutely everything was delicious.


We skipped out on dessert at Fishbar to head to another local spot.  If you didn't already know this about us, we try to take in as many local places as we can when we travel.


We ended our night at the Manhattan Beach Creamery and we weren't mad about it.  Ash and I LOVE ourselves some good ice cream.

 
What's better than ice cream, you ask?  That's right... ice cream with sweet friends! 


We headed back to their place after dessert to get to bed.  The World Cup finals (produced by Fox Sports 1) happened to be while we were there, which is also where Justin works... and he actually happened to be working on that specific project.  All this to say, he had a SUPER early morning after this day together and we felt like we had the complete inside scoop on things which was fun.


Justin gave us a tour of Fox Sports and the studios when we visited a few years ago for he and Ashley's wedding.  It was such a neat opportunity to see it all first hand.  Plus, we always enjoy getting a peak into our friend's everyday lives that live further away.  If you missed it, you can read about it HERE.

That wraps up our first day with Justin and Ashley.  We loved getting to see where they are now calling home right outside of Los Angeles.  El Segundo and the smaller (a term I use loosely when it comes to California) communities around like Manhattan Beach were all so cute.  Next up, we'll wrap up our time with them which included visits to a couple more spots near LA. 

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