Landry's First Vacation - California!

Bentley had to attend a class in Thousand Oaks, California (just outside of LA) so Landry and I decided to tag along and make a vacation out of it. Packing was quite the experience especially since we were flying and limited on the number of bags we could take (and physically carry). My parents dropped us off at the airport on Sunday, June 24th and off we went. Everyone told us that Landry was a good age to travel with and that really was the case. Getting through security was a bit of a challenge but we made it with time to spare.

It doesn't look like that much stuff in the picture but it felt like a lot of stuff and I am sure the people behind us at security thought it was a lot of stuff.

The flight to LAX was very uneventful and Landry did great. People even complimented us on what a great (and cute!) of a baby she was. Upon landing at LAX we had a bit of a challenge getting to the rental car shuttle, getting the car and finally getting on our way. Things just took a while and with a baby it just made it a bit stressful since she eats so often. We finally made it to our hotel Sunday evening, grabbed a quick dinner and crashed (all 3 of us). Bentley and I had failed to take the time change into consideration so our baby who had been sleeping through the night prior to our trip was now waking several times through the night. I think the time change played a large part but I also think Landry hit a growth spurt while we were there because she was constantly hungry. 

During the day Landry and I would take Bentley to his class, pick him up for lunch and then pick him up at the end of the day. I thought I would have lots of time to catch up on organizing our pictures and getting them ordered but the days just flew by (like they did at home). It was really nice to be there with Bentley and get to see him so much and have a lunch date with him everyday. The weather in California was absolutely amazing during the day. It got a little chilly at night but compared to Texas weather that time of year we could not have asked for better weather. 

During Bentley's class he heard about a restaurant called Bob Morris' Malibu Beach Cafe which was on Malibu Beach. We were so excited to take Landry to her first beach but since it was chilly in the evenings we weren't in typical beach attire! Who knew her first trip to the beach would include long pants and a jacket! Our timing was perfect and Landry got to each dinner on the beach! The food at this restaurant wasn't that great but the view and atmosphere was amazing.

Eating dinner on the beach

Sadly it was too cool so Landry's first beach trip didn't involve a swimsuit

We also tried out another restaurant with a great view but this one did have an amazing spicy shrimp appetizer! This one was called Killer Shrimp. 

Bentley's class was from Monday to Friday so on Saturday morning we loaded up our car and drove up the Pacific Coast Highway headed to San Francisco. We had made this drive a few years earlier with Bentley's family when Alabama was playing in the National Championship. We had such a great time that we decided to do it again. We knew that traveling by car for an extended period of time with a 7 week old would be different than our first trip, but we were anxious to enjoy this with Landry. On our last trip we ate at a little beach side cafe called Moonstone Beach Bar and Grill. We tried to take her out on a little outlook over the ocean but it was so windy and Landry was not happy! 

As you can tell from the water, it was so windy and Landry was not impressed. That was a very quick trip in and out of the car. It wasn't cold or windy on our walk to the beach (which wasn't far) but it all changed as we got to the water. 

We also tried to stop and look at all the sea lions on the beach but again the wind was so intense that she was not a fan. Bentley and I were laughing so hard because it had to be comical to see us with Landry trying to shield her from the wind and also take some videos. Again, a quick trip and the video looks similar to the above picture!

We did stop along the way to take a few more pictures and the wind cooperated with us and we got to see some great views. 

We also stopped at a coffee shop that we visited on our last trip. They make homemade hot chocolate and of course I had to get that again - it was just like I remembered! 

We finally made it to our hotel in San Francisco that evening, ordered a pizza from a great little Italian place and let Landry stretch out since she had been in her car seat for so long. 


The next morning we headed out to experience San Francisco with Landry and had a wonderful time. We did a ton of walking around, spent some time at Pier 39, went to the Golden Gate Bridge, visited China Town and drove down Lombard Street (the crookedest street). There was a huge line just to go down this little section of street and the scary part was that we had to go up a very steep section where our car rolled back each time Bentley took his foot off the brake. It scared me each time and I was so relieved to finally make it to the downhill section. 

The Boudin Bakery smelled amazing and they had an alligator in the window made of bread. 

Pier 39 usually has lots of sea lions on the docks but there were only a few this day.

Landry took many naps during our San Francisco adventure. 

China Town

On our second day in San Francisco we had a great lunch at Pier 39 of clam chowder in a bread bowl and fried seafood. Yum!! We also stopped for a nutella and banana crepe which was great. 


Our flight back from San Francisco to DFW was a bit more eventful. We boarded on time and pushed back from the gate fairly quickly.  It took us about 20 minutes to taxi to the runway, but we finally made it and we were happy to finally be on our way back to Dallas.  The engines fired full throttle, but about a quarter of the way down the runway, we are slammed forward in our seats and the engines turn completely off.  Obviously something there is a major issue.  The plane pulls of to the right of the runway and stops.  The captain comes over the intercom to inform us that a warning indicator light has turned on in the cockpit and it has to be checked. out.  However, all maintenance has to be done back at the terminal, meaning we have to go all the way back to our gate to have someone check it out.  

Luckily, the warning light was a malfunction and there was not an issue with the plane.  The light was turned off, the plane rechecked for any other issues, the fuel was topped off, and we were back on our way.  The total delay was about 2 hours.

Landry did great on this flight also.  She got a little fussy about the last hour, but I think she was just tired of being held in the same position.  Honestly, we were all getting a little fussy after being on the plane for 6 hours.

We had a great time together and were excited for Landry to see a different part of the country!