heading home on my own

it was super weird to wake up the next morning and remember that i was rolling solo.  i got all my stuff together and took note of the shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom because i really liked how it smelled:

i figured that since drybar is a pretty easily accessible brand, it wouldn’t be too hard to find at ulta or sephora or something.  of course, when i googled it i learned that it was exclusive to the aloft hotel chain - and even their online shop didn’t offer it.  of. course.

oh well.  i stopped for my hotel selfie and headed on outta there.

since i didn’t know if i’d ever be back in this area, i figured i’d take a quick walk around the corner to get a look at the world-famous apollo theater before calling for an uber to take me to the airport.  

it was already insanely warm and humid and i was more than happy to hop in the car and get outta there.  i was doing carry-on only, so i went straight to the AA lounge to find a seat and grab some snacks.

i peeked out the window at take-off and sent hugs and kisses to the bean, who was down there somewhere…

and we flew right over citi field, which was kinda cool.

before i knew it, we were landing in dallas. 

i had enough time to get myself to the admirals club for another snack and kill time before it was time to board the connecting flight that would get me home to ontario.

on the next plane, i sat back and watched more “selling sunset” while enjoying another hot meal.

we landed in ontario with some daylight to spare, which was great since i’d parked in the economy lot and had to walk pretty far to get to my car.

the hub was on his way home from his trip that evening too, but since i landed earlier i got to go to the pet resort to pick up the doggies.  although i only got teddy in this picture, i promise that they were both happy to see me.

i checked in with the bean, who was all settled in and had already completed the first day of their theater tech program.  the hub got home not too long after that, and it was really nice to be reunited again.  

as much as i love to travel, it’s always really good to come back home after all that time away.  back to normal life!

the day of "lasts"

last island latte.

last look out of the balcony.

last time wearing my "magic band."

last meal in honolulu.

after we returned the rental car it was time to drop off our bags...and mine just barely slid in under the 50-pound limit. oops.

then we were off to get through security and find our gate.

i'd never seen this before - a private little pod for nursing moms to feed their babies or get in a little pumping done before boarding a flight.

the going-home fit - another me-made dress paired with my favorite barbie pink birkenstocks:

before i knew it, we were boarding the plane and bidding o'ahu a sad "aloha and mahalo," one last time for this trip.

just a few hours later, we were home.

and that was the end of our magical, impromptu quickie summer hawaiian vacation.

beach day

you'll never guess where i went when i woke up at the omni hotel.  well, actually, you probably will:

oh come on.  that was too easy.

the omni was very nice, and although we were only there for a night we really enjoyed our stay.  but we were getting tired of the long hours in the car and missed the old lady and the old man and the dogs and our own beds, so we decided to make one last stop along the coast before finally heading home.  not that we don't love san francisco - but it's not like we'd never been there before.  and so we checked out and had the valet bring the truck out so we could start our day.

we were craving lobster rolls that day, but didn't really want to go to fisherman's wharf.  and so i turned to yelp for an assist, and that's how we found luke's lobster.  it's actually a chain that started in NYC, and while most of their locations are on the east coast there are two out here - one in san francisco, and the other in vegas.  the bean and i got out to grab the food while the hub waited on the curb in the truck.

they even sell these DIY lobster roll kits, and i was intrigued but fought the urge to buy one.

we'd each ordered the luke's trio - basically a flight of seafood rolls, one lobster, one crab and one shrimp.  it was SO GOOD.

i'd also picked up a cup of lobster bisque, which i sipped happily as we drove along.

heading south on highway 1, we stopped at bean hollow state beach to stretch our legs and take in the view.

it was so pretty there, and the bean immediately took the stairs down to the beach.

while the beach is covered in millions of these tiny pebbles, collecting them is strictly prohibited.

we went back up the stairs and crossed the bridge to get a closer look at the tide pools down below.

pebble beach and the famous 17-mile drive was close by, and we pulled up to the gate but then decided we didn't really want to sit through the drive this time.

instead we made our way to carmel-by-the-sea, driving through the cute little downtown area before finding a parking spot so that we could get out and grab a little afternoon pick-me-up.

and we stopped in the candy store for a treat.  because did you really think i was going to pass up an opportunity to visit a shop called "cottage of sweets"??

we lost count of how many bridges we crossed during this trip, but they were all so cool.  and we never got tired of the beach views, either.  just so pretty.

look at all the sea lions just relaxing on the beach here!  there were so many of them.

we decided to stop in cambria for our last night, booking a room at the fog catcher inn along moonstone beach.

the moonstone beach bar & grill was a short walk away, so that's where we had dinner and caught the sunset.

the next morning we got up and cruised down the main street in cambria and then ended up waiting till we got to san luis obispo to grab coffee.  it was lunchtime by the time we got to the santa barbara area, so we made the required stop at the original habit restaurant to grab chili cheeseburgers and then battled some traffic once we got into the l.a. area - shocking.  

the kids and the dogs seemed happy to see us arrive a day earlier than scheduled.  and it's funny - nothing makes you appreciate home more than being away from it for a few days.

spring break 2022 road trip, check!