If it seems like these posts are a little spread out, allow me to first apologize. There was so much emotion and going-on during our wedding and in the weeks after that I am still processing a lot of it. I am also trying to figure out how to share the details without giving up too much as the time from our wedding through now has been busy, filled with emotions and a lot of goings-on. Those emotions and what has made all of this so special are all things I want to share, while at the same time, keeping parts of it close to my heart for my husband and me to remember in the weeks and years to come.
With that in mind, up until a month before our wedding, we had no real honeymoon plans. Then, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision and a few clicks of a mouse later, we had planned a mini honeymoon in San Diego. We had two days and a night to spend there together, and to enjoy and explore the city. Rather than pack a lot into our time there, we picked just a few things to do, deciding to fill the rest of our time exploring and seeing what we could find near our hotel. What planned to do was the zoo, Coronado, Embarcadero, and a Padres Game. All of which we were thrilled to be able to accomplish.
We actually ended up spending a whole day at the zoo - we were there before they opened, and stayed right up until they were almost closed. We saw almost everything. After we left, we realized that in our eagerness to see the reptiles we somehow managed to miss the insect house. Looking back on the day, we weren't upset about that: we saw giant Galapagos turtles, kangaroos, baby capyberas, wombats, koalas, and I got to geek. out. over pandas.
When I say geek out, I mean geek out. I love pandas and have since I was little. I saw the giant panda exhibit at the National Zoo in DC when I was very young, and then saw pandas at the Columbus Zoo again when I was a little older (probably close to seven). To see giant pandas now? I was beyond thrilled, even giddy, so when we saw them not once, but twice in the same day? I was positively in heaven.
In addition to the pandas, I was also beyond excited to see koalas. I haven't seen koalas in I don't know how long. Possibly not at all? So I was excited to learn that the new Australian Outback Exhibit at the San Diego Zoo had opened on our wedding day and that we were going to see pandas. Again with the excited freak out. These were all subdued and were more babbling than anything, but the number of pictures we took just at these two exhibits are numerous, and I am glad we got to visit!
In addition to the zoo, numerous people we knew told us that we needed to go to the Coronado. We did just that during our second day in the city, hopping a ferry over to the peninsula to explore the area. Our real intent in going was to spend time on the beach and to walk in the ocean, which we did. This was a big deal, guys, because I love the beach. Love. We used to go visit the beach in Ocean City, MD, when I was growing up, and it had been ten years since my last trip. Walking into the ocean on Coronado made me feel like a kid again, and I grinned like I had the day we got married. It was breathtaking - perfect weather, perfect sand, and a perfect day to enjoy the sand and surf. We hadn't packed to spend a full day on the beach, so not quite dressed for the occation, we spent a good bit of time just walking around, exploring, and taking photos, right up until our stomachs announced - loudly - that it was lunch, which is when we started to make our way back to the city.
The time we weren't on the beach and at the zoo (or the ballgame, which I will get to a bit later), we explored the city on foot. We stayed in the Gaslamp district, which was incredible. Our hotel had tons of character, and there were several restaurants, galleries, and shops all within a few blocks of where we stayed. We ended up stumbling upon Karl's Brewery for dinner one night, which was delicious, and enjoyed some of the best short ribs I have ever had at a Mexican restaurant another. By chance, we found a Chuck Jones gallery, which had me in awe - I love Chuck Jones' work. We spent a good half hour in the small space, admiring the cels and prints from him and others, including Dr. Seuss.
To wrap up our honeymoon, however, we managed to check another ballpark off of our list. We actually have a goal to visit all of the Major League Ballparks (and many of the Minor League ones as well), so one of the first things we did as soon as our flights were booked was buy tickets to a Padres game. Our last night in the city was spent in the truly amazing ballpark. While its capacity is similar to that of Great American, home of the Reds, the park looked (and felt) huge. It was connected to a hotel, and had towers housing suites while they also served the purpose of holding up the field lighting. One of the sections of outfield seats was connected to an old building, which was incredible. The scoreboard was both old and new, and the atmosphere incredible. Somehow, the game only lasted a mere two hours and twenty-one minutes, but we loved every moment we were there.
Leaving San Diego was hard and easy, if that makes any sense. We had a blast celebrating part of our first week as newlyweds there and saw so many awesome sights - bears, the beach, and a ballgame! We both missed home and our cats, and while we weren't going to get back to normal right away, we were ready for some of our normal life. Things had been busy since before the wedding, so it was nice to come home to our cats, house, friends, and everything we know to be familiar. We may be married, which is a big change, but even as things and our relationship changed, they stayed the same. Our honeymoon was a great cap to an already fantastic week, and we're already looking forward to our next trip together.
