Our California adventure has begun! In perfect Bixler and Ashley fashion, we begin in New Orleans. No time for po’boys today though! We’re leaving MSY at 1:25- we’ll check back in when we land on the west coast!

Got to LA about 45 minutes early! Joe was going to pick us up but our early arrival got him by surprise so we decided to get a Lyft. Well that was confusing! We “missed” our first one because we didn’t know we had to go upstairs after getting our bags. We got charged $5 for that. Awesome. But then Artur came to our rescue and we are headed to Reba & Jason’s!!

We finally made it to the Miller’s...an hour later...but how great it was to be reunited with some of our family! We headed out soon thereafter to downtown and met up with Joe at the Grand Central Market. It’s a great place with all sorts of eclectic foods from many different genres. Ashley went for yummy avocado toast made on crispy rice cakes while Bixler and Joe shared a chicken parm sandwich and a lobster roll. We then walked down to Spring Street Park and listened to a jazz band Jason had a hand in arranging. The weather is fabulous- no humidity!!! 🙌🏻

After listening to the wonderful tunes of the band, Reba, Joe, and the Alabama Cunninghams went to a mezcal bar for a cocktail. It was yum! Now we’re headed to bed so we’ll be ready for our future adventures to come!

We also got to finally see the building with the slide that Jason helped do!

We started our first full day in LA with some R&R at the house. We then headed out and went to the LACMA museum & the tar pits! It was awesome. We saw some Picasso paintings, a Degas painting, and tons of old Roman, Japanese and Egyptian artifacts. There was also an awesome matchbox car exhibit. We then left and had lunch at Joan’s on Third where Ashley & Reba had a yummy mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich with 1” thick mozzarella - yum! We followed it with desserts which included mile high marshmallow cream topped cupcake, cookies and cream ice cream, and some macaroons. Of course we didn’t get a good pic of any of the yumminess but that’s ok:)

We had a wonderful family dinner tonight’s the Miller’s with Allan, Stacy and Sonny, and Joe and his friend, Bryant, who is also a Bama grad. The LA view was amazing. We even were able to see Venus!

Tonight Jason, Bixler and Ashley went to see Allan in his Upright Citizens Brigade improv show. It was hilarious and so fun to see Allan in his element! After the show we went to a couple of places celebrating the show and the start of Bixler’s birthday. I must also note that we were out with a celebrity who is friends with Allan- Matthew Gray Gubler! He is Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds. Very nice guy but nothing like his character!

We stared the day with yummy homemade biscuits. Bixler even got a birthday biscuit!! We then headed to Annenberg where we had a great day at the beach! We had lunch right on the sand and then dipped our toes in the cool Pacific Ocean. \240Neve even tried out a boogie board and did awesome!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIXLER!

Today we celebrated Bixler, starting with yummy popovers made by Jason. We then got dressed and headed out to Smorgasburg LA where we met up with Joe and ate a LOT! We had bbq nachos, lamb quesadillas, burritos, and Neville’s favorite, dumplings! We finished it off in Ice Cream Alley. The birthday boy got double peanut butter chip ice cream, which he thankfully shared with Ashley.😜 It was a very hot day so that ice cream was much needed. \240After we ate more than necessary, we started Bixler’s Birthday Brewery Parade that Joe mapped out. We started at Iron Triangle where we played Trouble and Ms. Pac Man! We went to about 5 other breweries where we tasted beers of all kinds. At the Boomtown Brewery, Allan, Stacy and Sonny met us which was awesome to hang with them some more. We even got in a little bar shuffleboard! We finished the night at a yummy Mexican restaurant with crab enchiladas, carnitas, and homemade guacamole.

What a fun last day in LA! We started just chilling around the house then headed out to Venice. Reba showed us all these awesome neighborhood canals with these amazing homes. (There was one for sale for $4.8 million. I don’t know why Bixler didn’t buy it for me but whatever.) We then found scooters and took them for some spins around the block. \240We can’t wait to use them in San Fran!

We got back to the house and Neville went to a friends. When Jason got home we ventured to the Highland Park area and went bowling at the most amazing place. It was like we stepped into the 1920s. We then went to a speakeasy. In a barber shop. What?! It was so amazing. After enjoying some moscow mules, we had some wings and house beer down the street. Once we picked Neve up and got back home, Allan came over to say goodbye. We loved our time here in LA! Off to the next adventure!

We said goodbye to our LA friends and family this morning and we headed north. Our first stop was in Santa Barbara. It was a precious town. We had wood fired pizza and bought a couple of suveniors :)

We’re now continuing up the PCH!

We finally arrived in the Carmel area after starting our journey 9 hours before. We stopped a couple of times on the PCH to take in the beautiful scenes the Pacific had to offer. We were definitely ready to get to our destination so we did not end of stopping at Big Sur like we had planned. We did drive through and it was a cute place. We also did stop at the Hearst Castle although we couldn’t get close unless we bought a full tour. But by far the best stop was the elephant seals!!! It was so amazing seeing these giant creatures just bask on the beaches. (There are 2 videos below- one of the ocean, one of the seals.)

Carmel/Pebble Beach is so cute. We have a great AirBnB and the weather could not be more perfect. Hello no humidity!!! 🙌🏻 We got settled then researched where to have dinner. We decided on Vesuvio, which ironically we saw on a Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! It was really good and quaint. We can’t wait to explore more tomorrow!

We had the most amazing day- we got to check something off of our bucket list. We went whale watching for about 4 hours and woah. We saw about 15 whales and 150 sea lions. There was even one whale that jumped up and crashed down about 20 ft in front of us. Of course it happened so fast we couldn’t get a good picture. Actually all the pics were a little blah because of the fog. But still. It was amazing!!!!

After the boating trip, we hung around Monterey- went to some wineries, restaurants, and Fishermen’s wharf. We then went to Trader Joe’s to get some cheese and wine then we checked out Pebble Beach golf course! It was so gorgeous. We hung out at the 18th green then had a drink at the bar. The weather is amazing as well!!

Today we left the beautiful Pebble Beach/Carmel area and headed toward Reno! We are going to spend a couple of days with Bixler’s childhood friend, Brian Cushing, and his family. Unfortunately about an hour and a half after we left, Ashley realized that we had forgotten our hanging clothes!! 😩 Luckily it was only 3 shirts each but still. So aggravating!! They are going to send us our things, thank goodness.

We had a pretty drive through California, even though we got stuck in road construction a couple of times. We also drove around the southern part of Lake Tahoe. It was really pretty, but we didn’t stop as we were trying to get to Reno. We met Brian at his office and then went and had some appetizers because we hadn’t eaten lunch. We then went to their house and met the kids and Sara, then headed to dinner at a cute Italian restaurant called Skipolini’s. Sara had a friend singing so we listened to her for a bit as well. It’s been great visiting with the Cushings and seeing their wedding photos. They look like such babies!!!

Today we explored the Reno area and caught up with our friends! \240Brian first took us to Lake Tahoe where we had lunch at Lone Eagle Grille which was amazing! Bixler and Brian shared a bison burger and a short rib grilled cheese, and Ashley had an amazing salmon salad. (FYI the coin operated binoculars there are from Fairhope!) We then went to Carson City. We didn’t do much there except for going to the post office to retrieve our clothes we left in Pebble Beach! We then headed up to Virginia City which was recommended to us by my new friend Matthew Grubler (aka Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds). 😜 It actually was cool and very Wild West!!

We eventually headed back to Reno where we went to Mr. and Mrs. Cushing’s house to visit. Bixler hadn’t seen them in over 10 years so it was great to catch up! After a drink, we met up with Sara at the house and headed out for an adult night! Brian’s brother, Rob, also met us out!

Today was a lazy day. It was basically a day of vacation from our vacation! We really just laid around all morning. Literally. We then went to lunch at Steak & Shake with Brian and Macy. Yum!

After we got back home from lunch, we fell asleep for about an hour and a half. We woke up and then joined Brian and the kids at the pool for a couple hours. It really felt good in the desert heat. While we were there we witnessed a brush fire which was kinda scary since there are so many fires in the area.

We went home where Sara had sweetly been preparing dinner. We had homegrown tomatoes and basil, smoked salmon salad and grilled veggies. It was so nice having a home cooked meal! Ashley played Mastermind with Macy which was quite challenging with an almost 7 year old! The kids read a book to us (Macy read “The Day the Crayons Quit” which Ashley loves!) and then we went to bed because tomorrow morning will come early!

***We took ZERO pictures today... sorry!

San Francisco bound!!!

We woke up super early and headed West. We left Brian and Sara’s at 6 am (with wild horses saying goodbye to us as well!) and arrived in SF about 10. It was surprisingly an easy road into town, especially since we discovered the San Fran marathon was going on today! Once we dropped off our bags at the hotel and returned the rental car, we started soaking up the sights. First stop: Krispy Kreme. 🍩 We then walked to Ghirardelli Square and then to all the wharfs. We saw Alcatraz, only the bottom of the Golden Gate Bridge (thanks to the fog), and lots of sea lions at Pier 39!

After wondering around Fisherman’s Wharf and buying a few souvenirs, we headed to AT&T Park for the Giants vs. Brewers game. The weather was perfect! We saw several homeruns and amazing plays. It was really a great time...and we like to think of ourselves as good luck since the Giants won the first game of the series!

After the game, we rested at the hotel for a bit trying to figure out what we wanted for dinner. We decided to do a little more sightseeing on our way to eat so we walked up to Lombard Street! (There may have been a moment or 2 where Bixler had to push Ashley up the hill...😳) There were a lot of people checking out the crooked street but it was still cool to see. After watching the cars zig zag for a bit, we walked to Washington Square Park and had dinner at Original Joe’s. It was sooo good. We were extremely full so we came back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow!

What a full last day of vacation we had today! It started with sleeping in until 9...whoops!...then a cable car ride to Union Square. On our ride, we got to see the top of Lombard Street which was cool. We then walked to Chinatown where Bixler decided he wanted to spend his birthday money. We got a 70 minutes foot and back massage! So relaxing. When we left there, Ashley got some dumplings (🥟 !) and some other trinkets. We then headed to our next few destinations on the other side of town. \240First stop: Haight-Ashbury. ✌🏻 Stop #2: Alamo Park which gave us an amazing view of the Painted Ladies - a row of houses that is very San Fran AND the place of the picnic scene at the end of the Full House credits! Which takes us to stop #3...a mile and a half away...: the Full House house!!! That show was a staple of Ashley’s in the 90s. It was under construction so it didn’t have the best curb appeal but that’s ok, still worth seeing. It was then up many hills to stop #4: Golden Gate Park. Beautiful scenery...but forgot to take a pic because our legs were weak! We then got an Uber to take us to the epic Golden Gate Bridge. So amazing. We walked a little bit on it but it was crowded and a little shaky 😳

Since we really hadn’t eaten all day, we decided it was time for In-N-Out! And what a feast it was 🍔🍟. We are relaxing now and giving our feet a rest before our last evening in Cali!

Well, we’re still on “vacation.” \240We were very sad to leave San Fran, (we even said goodbye to the sea lions last night at Puer 39), but happy to get into our bed. However, here we sit in Oklahoma City. \240There was really bad weather in Atlanta so we couldn’t land so they diverted us to OKC. When we got here, we stayed on the plane for at least 30 minutes, probably more. The captain then came on and informed us that the pilots were over their flight time for the day and we had to deplane. About an hour later we were informed the flight had been delayed...until 6 the next morning. 😳😩☹️

So we waited at the airport another 90 minutes for hotel and food vouchers, and to confirm flights for tomorrow. We ended up changing our destination from MOB to PNS because of available times. BUT by the time we got our bags and got to the hotel, another passenger informed us that the flight from OKC to ATL had already been delayed from 6 am until 8:30, which means we miss our connection to PNS. Ugh! We’ll get home at some point I guess! Thankful we didn’t have major plans for tomorrow!