For our honeymoon we traveled West to California. We stayed in a few different cities as we traveled south from L.A., finishing up in San Diego. But first, we spent a fun day in Minneapolis together.
Our adventure had a bumpy start when we realized while standing in the check in line at the airport that my boarding pass said Lindy Paurus, but all my other forms of identification said Lindy Beamesderfer. As we explained over and over again to the supervisor that pulled us to the side that we haven't had the chance to change any documents because we got married less than 48 hours ago, I discovered that I had one of the "Save the Date" cards in my purse. He let us through on the basis of that card and we made sure to have a copy of the marriage license for the rest of our travels.
Our first stop was Anaheim and the very cute Lemon Tree hotel. We spent some time visiting the coast, hanging out at a cool coffee shop, and exploring the area.
Next we ventured to Long Beach where we stayed in the Queen Mary. The Queen Mary was an elegant cruise ship that transported the likes of Winston Churchill, Fred Astaire, and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and was considered to the elite of high society "the only civilized way to travel." Now it is permanently docked and converted into a hotel. Trust me, we were a little out of place there in our T-shirts and sneakers but we loved every minute of it!
Long Beach was a really cool city and we spent most of our time there exploring the funky and artistic neighborhoods with plenty of vintage stores, tasty food, and quaint coffee shops.
After Long Beach we journeyed to the desert. Palm Desert to be exact. You might be wondering why we would leave the beautiful Pacific coast to visit the desert for two days, but trust me, we had our reasons.
Reason #1 - we found a coupon for a great deal on a hotel.
Reason #2 - going to the desert meant that we were about an hour away from visiting a place that Jake had longed to see for many years.
Welcome to Salvation Mountain. Leonard Knight's car broke down in the middle of the desert some time in the 70s when he felt compelled to make a monument that declared God's love to all who saw it. He built the mountain with adobe clay and covered it with layers and layers of paint. He's lived in a small shack on the back of a flat bed truck next to the mountain for years until recent heart problems sent him to live in town. The mountain has become quite the attraction and people from all around the world have traveled to the desert to chat with Leonard under the hot sun and explore the 'Grotto' and walk up the yellow brick road. He would never consider himself an artist, but merely a lover of God. So cool!
Next we made it to the city we were the most excited about; San Diego! We stayed in two different places in San Diego, but honestly only one is worth mentioning and boy oh boy was it a doozy! We stayed in a quaint bed and breakfast called "Vintage Sol." It was amazing! Not only was it colorful, creative, and cozy, but the owner was so friendly and personable. She made us amazing breakfast and even treated us to some homemade drinks one evening.
She also made some 'tourism' binders for all of her guests with her own personal suggestions and commentaries on all of the must-see spots in San Diego. Every night we used the advice from her binder and we were never disappointed.
Overall we had an amazing time and we're so thankful that we had this once in a lifetime opportunity to have so much fun and visit such unique and beautiful places. After the honeymoon we went to PA for a reception with my friends and family, but that will have to wait for another post.
