Today, Tim and I had a date day in honor of our anniversary tomorrow. The weather was nice, so we took a drive up the coast to Laguna Beach.We drove by the Ritz-Carlton in Laguna Niguel where we spent our wedding night. Tim hung out in the driveway while I ran into the hotel boutique to see about buying a little trinket. Well, the playing cards were $18 and it just went up from there. Needless to say, no souvenirs from the Ritz.
Laguna is an artists' colony with tons of funky galleries. We strolled around the village and went into some of the boutiques. We had brunch at The Cottage and then walked up and down the beach, exploring tidepools.
We visited the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, where they rescue and rehabilitate pinnepeds that wash up on shore in Orange County. That was amazing. The seals and sea lions are like dogs and they look at you the same way. I swear this one sea lion was begging me with his eyes to pet him.
We ended the afternoon with arts and crafts at a store called Pure Light. I was inspired by the story of the people who founded the store. There you can make a candle with trinkets inside and embellishments to mark a special occassion. We made a candle to match our bedroom with a silver token, an airplane, a weenie dog and some hearts. Though he won't admit it, Tim got into the whole thing and was a willing participant.
It was nice just to get away for the day and enjoy ourselves. And as a special bonus, when we returned, the kids were in one piece and the house was still standing.
