San Diego Weekend 9/8-9/12
Consider yourself warned...this is a long one! But I don't want to forget all of the details of our fun weekend :)
I cannot believe we've been home from San Diego for 8 days already--seems like we were just on a plane flying home!
Scott and I flew out to California for his friend Kevin's wedding. Scott and Kevin have known one another practically all of their lives. They grew up together, went to school with one another and their families have always been close. Scott's dad and Kevin's dad have been working together for many years, so now Scott also works with Kevin's dad.
Anyway, we originally told Kevin and his fiance Ericka that we'd bring our little girls with us and make it a week-long vacation. However, back in August as Scott and I looked at the expenses of taking three children all the way to San Diego, and thought about how bored they would be on the flights and throughout the wedding festivities, we decided we should leave them home. While we missed them a LOT, we had a great time celebrating with our friends.
On Thursday the 8th we flew into San Diego and landed around 1pm. Kevin kindly offered to pick us up from the airport and by 2:30 I was with the bridal party getting manicures and pedicures. The vacation was off to a fabulous start. Until........ At 4pm the electricity at the nail salon went out! Ericka, the bride, was only partway through getting shellac on her nails so our first concern was how to get her nails done. Then we were told that power was out in ALL of San Diego and may not be restored until the next day. As all of the details unfolded we eventually found out that several MILLION people out west had lost power in Arizona, California and Mexico. We had no idea when it would come back on and while getting the bride's nails done completely was still a concern, now our worries for all wedding-related events and details were multiplying!
At the beginning we laughed off the power outage, but I have to admit that as the hours went by I started to get a little nervous. As travelers, we were relying on restaurants to be open for us to eat, and they were quickly closing their doors because they had no lighting, much less ways to keep their food cold / fresh and ways to cook their food.
The biggest concern for the bridesmaids as afternoon progressed into early evening though was Ericka's bachelorette party, scheduled to be that night. Originally a scavenger hunt around Del Mar, a San Diego suburb, was scheduled, but since nobody had power we had to come up with another plan. My brother-in-law (Scott's brother Ryan) and his girlfriend Jenna were a part of the wedding party along with Scott, so I went with Jenna and one of the bride's cousins to find a grocery store. Thankfully we found a big store that was still open and keeping food fresh and registers running by a generator. We loaded up on food and drinks and improvised, changing the bachelorette celebration to a smaller scale candle-lit scavenger hunt at our hotel patio.
Jenna had planned much of the bachelorette party including making coordinating shirts for not only the girls, but also the guys who were supposed to meet up with us along the way on the original plan. She also came up with rhyming clues for the bride which led her to finding a veil, garter, sash, etc. The entire night turned out great despite it being much different from what was planned!
We were shocked, but even more so, VERY THANKFUL, when in the wee hours of Friday morning power was restored in our hotel. It hadn't been expected to return until at least 24 hours after it went out, possibly longer! Scott jumped out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning and turned on our air conditioner (I think I failed to mention that the day we arrived in San Diego it was VERY hot--very unlike their normal weather). I couldn't wait until I could get some food into me. Other than a few tortilla chips, it had been 24 hours since I'd eaten anything!
We had a snack at our hotel's continental breakfast, then went out to get a big breakfast with Scott's brother. THEN I went to brunch for Ericka's bridal shower. So I practically had 3 breakfasts....haha....not really since the brunch ended being my lunch. I was so hungry though, and very happy the power was back on so the restaurants were open!
The bridal shower was themed "as seen on tv." Everyone gave Ericka silly gifts that were from infomercials. It was hilarious. Here she is trying on some very special shades:
Jenna gave her the funniest gift that day, the better marriage blanket. So funny!
Later that day we hung out at the beach for awhile:
And then got ready for the wedding rehearsal.
Saturday, 9/10/11 was the big day. I had big plans to go for a run through Del Mar and enjoy the beautiful weather, but Scott and I actually just ended up getting breakfast and being LAZY! Any of you reading this who is a parent knows how rare the days are when you just get to lie around, nap and do whatever you want. We took full advantage of being able to do just that!
Scott headed out for wedding photos around 3 and I called for a cab at 4:25 to take me down to the park overlooking the beach where Kevin and Ericka would be married. The weather was once again beautiful and the view of the ocean behind them during the ceremony provided the perfect backdrop.
I've been to no fewer than a hundred weddings and this one was unlike any I'd ever been to. The officiant was Kevin and Ericka's close friend Steve, so he was able to share some personal stories and make the ceremony's details just right for the bride and groom. They wrote vows as well as said the traditional ones, did a first dance during the ceremony, and presented their moms with beautiful leis as their families united. It was all elegant and gorgeous.
After the ceremony we had wine in the park while they took a bunch of family and bridal party photos. Here are Scott and I, Us with Scott's brother Ryan and Ryan's girlfriend Jenna, and one of the entire bridal party.
Ericka truly thought of EVERYTHING as she was planning her special day. She had these umbrellas to use for photos and while they were meant for the girls to hold, the photographer made the guys hold them and walk around for a few shots! haha
The reception took place just a short walk up the road from the park at a restaurant called Pacifica. Many of my reception photos did not turn out because it was dark, but just like the wedding this celebration was amazing. There were mad libs on the tables which I'd never seen done before at a wedding and we all had fun with those. We watched a slide show that Kevin's dad made (it was awesome) and the best man's speech was unforgettable. Then we danced and enjoyed everyone's company. The wedding was small--just the bridal party / spouses and family--so it was nice that we got to get to know everyone who was there a little bit.
Sunday was our last full day in California and also the start to the NFL season so we hung out and watched football at a restaurant that even showed the Cleveland Browns game. Then we headed to the beach for awhile and since it was the 10-year anniversary of September 11th there was this long line of flags on the lawn by the beach. I loved the display.
That night we had one last dinner with the Bride and Groom, as well as some of their family and friends. The sunset was gorgeous as we enjoyed Japanese cuisine.
Overall, we had a FANTASTIC time and by the end we even managed to forget about the rocky start to our trip with the power outage. Scott and I were honored to be able to share in Kevin and Ericka's special wedding weekend, and we were blessed that our moms were able to care for our daughters so that we could have a long weekend away. Thank you Kevin and Ericka for having us and for providing airport transportation, and thank you to our moms for all of your help and the love you gave our children while we were away!! Thanks to to Scott's dad who cared for our other "child" Jack (the bulldog). Jack loves his time with his Papa the same way our girls love time with their grandparents :)
For anyone who didn't hear anything about the power outage I wrote about, here is an article I found. It was truly nuts!!
SAN DIEGO --
Utility crews brought electricity back to much of California, Arizona and Mexico on Friday, a day after a power outage left millions in the dark, paralyzed freeways and halted flights at San Diego's airport.
Officials, however, warned that the electrical grid was still too fragile and asked residents and businesses to go easy on - or even put off using - major appliances, such as air conditioners.
"Conservation will really help reduce the strain," said Stephanie McCorkle at the California Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid. "Put off doing your major chores until California is fully restored."
Electricity was restored in San Diego early Friday, signaling that the blackout was essentially over because most of the affected customers were in the nation's eighth-largest city.
City schools, state universities and community colleges in the area remained shuttered. City beaches were also closed because the blackout caused a 3.2-million sewage spill.
Mexico's electrical utility said the lights are on for 1.1 million customers, or 97 percent of those who lost power. Power was also restored to all 56,000 customers in Yuma, Ariz.
The San Diego area was hit especially hard with power severed about 4 p.m. Thursday to all of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s 1.4 million household and business customers, the company said.
That left residents sweltering without air conditioners and paralyzing some San Diego freeway and airport traffic.
The outage extended into southern Orange County, across California's inland deserts, as far east as Yuma and into Mexico. The region is home to 6 million people, though it was impossible to say exactly how many had lost power.
The outage occurred after an electrical worker removed a piece of monitoring equipment at a power substation in southwest Arizona, officials at Phoenix-based Arizona Public Service Co. said.
It was unclear why that mishap, which normally would have been isolated, sparked such a widespread outage. The company said that would be the focus of an investigation.
"This was not a deliberate act. The employee was just switching out a piece of equipment that was problematic," said Daniel Froetscher, an APS vice president.
Associated Press Writers contributing to this report include Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Gillian Flaccus in Orange County; Shaya Mohajer and Greg Risling in Los Angeles; Walter Berry, Paul Davenport and Michelle Price in Phoenix and Mariana Martinez in Tijuana.
I cannot believe we've been home from San Diego for 8 days already--seems like we were just on a plane flying home!
Scott and I flew out to California for his friend Kevin's wedding. Scott and Kevin have known one another practically all of their lives. They grew up together, went to school with one another and their families have always been close. Scott's dad and Kevin's dad have been working together for many years, so now Scott also works with Kevin's dad.
Anyway, we originally told Kevin and his fiance Ericka that we'd bring our little girls with us and make it a week-long vacation. However, back in August as Scott and I looked at the expenses of taking three children all the way to San Diego, and thought about how bored they would be on the flights and throughout the wedding festivities, we decided we should leave them home. While we missed them a LOT, we had a great time celebrating with our friends.
On Thursday the 8th we flew into San Diego and landed around 1pm. Kevin kindly offered to pick us up from the airport and by 2:30 I was with the bridal party getting manicures and pedicures. The vacation was off to a fabulous start. Until........ At 4pm the electricity at the nail salon went out! Ericka, the bride, was only partway through getting shellac on her nails so our first concern was how to get her nails done. Then we were told that power was out in ALL of San Diego and may not be restored until the next day. As all of the details unfolded we eventually found out that several MILLION people out west had lost power in Arizona, California and Mexico. We had no idea when it would come back on and while getting the bride's nails done completely was still a concern, now our worries for all wedding-related events and details were multiplying!
At the beginning we laughed off the power outage, but I have to admit that as the hours went by I started to get a little nervous. As travelers, we were relying on restaurants to be open for us to eat, and they were quickly closing their doors because they had no lighting, much less ways to keep their food cold / fresh and ways to cook their food.
The biggest concern for the bridesmaids as afternoon progressed into early evening though was Ericka's bachelorette party, scheduled to be that night. Originally a scavenger hunt around Del Mar, a San Diego suburb, was scheduled, but since nobody had power we had to come up with another plan. My brother-in-law (Scott's brother Ryan) and his girlfriend Jenna were a part of the wedding party along with Scott, so I went with Jenna and one of the bride's cousins to find a grocery store. Thankfully we found a big store that was still open and keeping food fresh and registers running by a generator. We loaded up on food and drinks and improvised, changing the bachelorette celebration to a smaller scale candle-lit scavenger hunt at our hotel patio.
Jenna had planned much of the bachelorette party including making coordinating shirts for not only the girls, but also the guys who were supposed to meet up with us along the way on the original plan. She also came up with rhyming clues for the bride which led her to finding a veil, garter, sash, etc. The entire night turned out great despite it being much different from what was planned!
We were shocked, but even more so, VERY THANKFUL, when in the wee hours of Friday morning power was restored in our hotel. It hadn't been expected to return until at least 24 hours after it went out, possibly longer! Scott jumped out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning and turned on our air conditioner (I think I failed to mention that the day we arrived in San Diego it was VERY hot--very unlike their normal weather). I couldn't wait until I could get some food into me. Other than a few tortilla chips, it had been 24 hours since I'd eaten anything!
We had a snack at our hotel's continental breakfast, then went out to get a big breakfast with Scott's brother. THEN I went to brunch for Ericka's bridal shower. So I practically had 3 breakfasts....haha....not really since the brunch ended being my lunch. I was so hungry though, and very happy the power was back on so the restaurants were open!
The bridal shower was themed "as seen on tv." Everyone gave Ericka silly gifts that were from infomercials. It was hilarious. Here she is trying on some very special shades:
Jenna gave her the funniest gift that day, the better marriage blanket. So funny!
Later that day we hung out at the beach for awhile:
And then got ready for the wedding rehearsal.
After everyone knew their places and what to do for the next day, we had some delicious fish tacos at the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was outside and the weather was beautiful--a little chilly by the end of the night, but otherwise perfect. San Diego sure has an amazing climate!
Saturday, 9/10/11 was the big day. I had big plans to go for a run through Del Mar and enjoy the beautiful weather, but Scott and I actually just ended up getting breakfast and being LAZY! Any of you reading this who is a parent knows how rare the days are when you just get to lie around, nap and do whatever you want. We took full advantage of being able to do just that!
Scott headed out for wedding photos around 3 and I called for a cab at 4:25 to take me down to the park overlooking the beach where Kevin and Ericka would be married. The weather was once again beautiful and the view of the ocean behind them during the ceremony provided the perfect backdrop.
I've been to no fewer than a hundred weddings and this one was unlike any I'd ever been to. The officiant was Kevin and Ericka's close friend Steve, so he was able to share some personal stories and make the ceremony's details just right for the bride and groom. They wrote vows as well as said the traditional ones, did a first dance during the ceremony, and presented their moms with beautiful leis as their families united. It was all elegant and gorgeous.
After the ceremony we had wine in the park while they took a bunch of family and bridal party photos. Here are Scott and I, Us with Scott's brother Ryan and Ryan's girlfriend Jenna, and one of the entire bridal party.
Ericka truly thought of EVERYTHING as she was planning her special day. She had these umbrellas to use for photos and while they were meant for the girls to hold, the photographer made the guys hold them and walk around for a few shots! haha
The reception took place just a short walk up the road from the park at a restaurant called Pacifica. Many of my reception photos did not turn out because it was dark, but just like the wedding this celebration was amazing. There were mad libs on the tables which I'd never seen done before at a wedding and we all had fun with those. We watched a slide show that Kevin's dad made (it was awesome) and the best man's speech was unforgettable. Then we danced and enjoyed everyone's company. The wedding was small--just the bridal party / spouses and family--so it was nice that we got to get to know everyone who was there a little bit.
Sunday was our last full day in California and also the start to the NFL season so we hung out and watched football at a restaurant that even showed the Cleveland Browns game. Then we headed to the beach for awhile and since it was the 10-year anniversary of September 11th there was this long line of flags on the lawn by the beach. I loved the display.
That night we had one last dinner with the Bride and Groom, as well as some of their family and friends. The sunset was gorgeous as we enjoyed Japanese cuisine.
Overall, we had a FANTASTIC time and by the end we even managed to forget about the rocky start to our trip with the power outage. Scott and I were honored to be able to share in Kevin and Ericka's special wedding weekend, and we were blessed that our moms were able to care for our daughters so that we could have a long weekend away. Thank you Kevin and Ericka for having us and for providing airport transportation, and thank you to our moms for all of your help and the love you gave our children while we were away!! Thanks to to Scott's dad who cared for our other "child" Jack (the bulldog). Jack loves his time with his Papa the same way our girls love time with their grandparents :)
For anyone who didn't hear anything about the power outage I wrote about, here is an article I found. It was truly nuts!!
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/09/general-us-power-outage_8668230.html
Associated Press
Power back on for most in Ariz., Calif. and Mexico
By JULIE WATSON , 09.09.11, 10:03 AM EDT
SAN DIEGO --
Utility crews brought electricity back to much of California, Arizona and Mexico on Friday, a day after a power outage left millions in the dark, paralyzed freeways and halted flights at San Diego's airport.
Officials, however, warned that the electrical grid was still too fragile and asked residents and businesses to go easy on - or even put off using - major appliances, such as air conditioners.
"Conservation will really help reduce the strain," said Stephanie McCorkle at the California Independent System Operator, which manages the power grid. "Put off doing your major chores until California is fully restored."
Electricity was restored in San Diego early Friday, signaling that the blackout was essentially over because most of the affected customers were in the nation's eighth-largest city.
City schools, state universities and community colleges in the area remained shuttered. City beaches were also closed because the blackout caused a 3.2-million sewage spill.
Mexico's electrical utility said the lights are on for 1.1 million customers, or 97 percent of those who lost power. Power was also restored to all 56,000 customers in Yuma, Ariz.
The San Diego area was hit especially hard with power severed about 4 p.m. Thursday to all of San Diego Gas & Electric Co.'s 1.4 million household and business customers, the company said.
That left residents sweltering without air conditioners and paralyzing some San Diego freeway and airport traffic.
The outage extended into southern Orange County, across California's inland deserts, as far east as Yuma and into Mexico. The region is home to 6 million people, though it was impossible to say exactly how many had lost power.
The outage occurred after an electrical worker removed a piece of monitoring equipment at a power substation in southwest Arizona, officials at Phoenix-based Arizona Public Service Co. said.
It was unclear why that mishap, which normally would have been isolated, sparked such a widespread outage. The company said that would be the focus of an investigation.
"This was not a deliberate act. The employee was just switching out a piece of equipment that was problematic," said Daniel Froetscher, an APS vice president.
Associated Press Writers contributing to this report include Elliot Spagat in San Diego; Gillian Flaccus in Orange County; Shaya Mohajer and Greg Risling in Los Angeles; Walter Berry, Paul Davenport and Michelle Price in Phoenix and Mariana Martinez in Tijuana.
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♥Ericka