Corpus Christi

First Plan:

Relax on the Pensacola Beach in Florida.

Back Up Plan: 

Fly to Savannah, Georgia, see a few sites and make our way to Tybee Island to play.

What We Actually Did:

Flew to Corpus Christi, Texas, saw a few sites and spent time on the beach.

Remember the good ol' fashion gamble I was mentioning....this weekend was a perfect example of such!

Friday

We cancelled the Pensacola flights and booked flights, hotels and car rentals for Savannah. I even checked our flights before we left for the airport and everything was still on track. Once we made it through security and looked at the monitor, our Savannah flight had been CANCELLED.

We had to think quick and decided upon Corpus Christi, Texas. We transferred our flight info, hotel info and car rental. The flight we chose was supposed to leave at 5:30pm (which was about the time we made it to the airport), but was delayed until 8:10pm. Mat and I went and grabbed dinner, walked through the terminals of the airport (there's a few of 'em), watched the frantic passengers running through the airport and jumping out of the way of the carts they drive in the airport (or they will run you down). We made it back to our gate around 7:45pm, found a spot to relax for a bit and then heard the update. The plane we were waiting for hadn't left its destination, but would be soon, we were looking at a new departure time of 9:59pm. Umm...ok.

Mat and I decided we'd go watch the planes take off and land, but just as we made it to the window, we watched an airplane come in, start taxing to the runway and then become completely surrounded by fire trucks lights flashing and all. By this time, I'm thinking what else could occur?? Luckily, nothing else did and we made it to Corpus Christi a little past 11pm.

Saturday

We made our way to Wal-Mart for water (the heat index was supposed to be 110 degrees, so we planned ahead to stay hydrated), beach toys (Mat requested) and sunscreen. Then we were off to the beach! We paid $10 for a week long pass to Padre Island (aka the beach) even though we were only going to be there for the day.

I also have to clarify, in order to get to the water or even the beach - you have to drive on the sand and there is no specific "path". This proved to be challenging for most cars and even a few trucks! We aired on the side of caution and stayed close to the entrance where it was easy to get in and out of. The water was a perfect 87 degrees! With the breeze, it was PERFECT! We played for a couple of hours and then took a break for lunch. We found a different spot on the beach when we went back and played for another couple of hours before calling it a day!

Here's Mat having a good ol' time with his $2 shovel!

He loves the water!

If he wasn't a pilot, I'm sure he'd find some sort of career with water.

:)

As you walk out into the water, it felt like you were walking on gravel. We couldn't figure out what it was until Mat took his shovel out there and brought back this...

Any guesses??

How about from this picture:

They are small, multi-colored and fast to disappear (sometimes)...

they are CLAMS!!

We were walking on CLAMS!

I have to say, I'm glad we didn't figure that out until the end of the day.

I didn't go in the water much after this.

After we had a little rest time, we went out to explore downtown Corpus Christi and came across....

The USS Lexington or the USS Lex as the locals call it.

It's an aircraft carrier museum much like the USS Midway that we saw in San Diego.

By the time we made it to the ship, it was closing for the day.

We had a full day already, so we just took a few pictures instead.

Including, this one of one of my all time FAVORITE planes!

The Blue Angels!

Growing up in an air force family, the sound of a jet is an all to familiar sound.

It just gives me a thrill of excitement and a touch of home all at the same time.

Some are scared by the sound or the volume at which the after burners can make.

Me on the other hand would have it as a ringtone if I could! :)

Even though this weekend didn't go as planned and we went over budget, we still had a good time!

Now...where to?

Careful Planning to take a Gamble

I feel I need to explain how our travelling really happens. Our weekends are jammed packed-site seeing-fun adventures that we LOVE...and that's only if we make it there...

Our trips resemble more of a good ol' fashion gamble. We never really know if we're going to make it to where we planned to be for the weekend, until literally we get there. It can all change in a second. If for some reason the flights we were scheduled for book up or overbook (this seems to happen more often than not) then we choose another flight or another location. Now, here's the tricky part, we have to be able to get to our desired location AND have to be able to get BACK. For most of our destinations, we've come against this problem. There are plenty of open seats to get us there, but not a single one to get us home - so we end up crossing it off for that weekend.

Now, there is the occasion we do hit the jackpot and end up in first class...remember San Diego? This doesn't usually happen when travelling in the states, so we were very lucky!

We've also been quite lucky to sit next to one another more often than not (this usually doesn't happen either). When flights are full, you are put where ever they can shove you. This usually entails a middle seat and no where near one another. However, we've only sat away from each other for one flight. I'd say that's pretty lucky. :)


Also! Did I mention we carry everything on our backs...literally. When you fly the way we do, you aren't able to check your luggage. For example, if for some reason, we checked our luggage to say, Seattle, but ended up in Idaho, then umm...we'd be in an "up a creek, without a paddle" type of situation. So, we pack anything we'll need for the weekend in our backpacks and take them as carry ons. [Side Note: I've had to downsize A LOT.] We're trying not to rent vehicles (unless we have to) and usually end up only one night in a hotel - so whatever we take usually ends up being carried around the entire weekend.

Normally, I post "weekend recaps", however, this week I'm doing things a little different. Mat is just finishing his first week of jet training (for the 737) and really could use a break. There's been so much information thrown his way and there really is no way to prepare for what he's doing. He has been studying a lot from the manuals, but he's in a "room" (or "box" as he refers to it as) with a cockpit (all the buttons, bells and whistles) with sound, but no visuals. He's thrown into different situations (your engine just died in mid-air, your oil is leaking, etc.) and he's supposed to react (as the captain or first officer whatever his position is). The other thing is each session is 2 hours long...did I mention he starts at 6 am? For all this, he has asked to retreat this weekend to the beach. This is where the gamble all began...

We checked the Florida beaches earlier this week, they were clear and open. The oil hadn't surfaced, but the officials weren't sure if it would stay that way. We booked our flights to and from Pensacola (the ones we crossed our fingers we would be able to get on, that is), started looking at hotels, etc.

This morning as I'm checking the news, I find the Pensacola, Florida beach has been closed and now looks like this:

I am so frustrated with this situation, that I'll refrain from really going off on it.

But...now the gamble starts over and the journey begins!

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Boston!!

We were so lucky we were able to get out to Boston this last weekend - and we had an AMAZING time!! We spent the weekend with our dear friends, the Mullens, who moved east just last year and were like our own personal tour guides.

(Thank you again Chris & Jenna for EVERYTHING!!)

Boston is an amazing city, with SO much history!

I felt we cheated the city by only having one day.

Here is a rundown of a few things we did and saw - and then followed by pictures!

*Duck Boat Tour

*Boston Commons

*Charles River

*Hard Rock Cafe

*Little Italy

*Quincy Market

*Swan Boats

*Trinity Church

And sooooo much more....

The four of us on the Duck Tour (this was while we were still on land).

Mat driving the Duck (after we went in the water).

The Old State House is the brick building in the center.

By looking at this picture it is almost a hidden treasure between the skyscrapers.

Boston from the Charles River.

This HUUUUUGE building is the tallest in Boston and also where Chris works.

Riding the Swan Boats.

HIGHLY recommended cannolis come from this Pastry shop!

You won't be disappointed!! I promise!

George Washington in the park.

Little Italy

It's hard to see, this is the headstone for Mary Goose.

Also known as Mother Goose.

We crossed the finish line for the Boston Marathon!

Carlee, this picture is for you!!

The Beach!!

I have mentioned before how my husband is more of a big kid when it comes to any form of water.

This trip was no exception!

He makes me laugh!

Side Note: Usually to get in and out of Boston is a challenge when it comes to flights. We were able to get on a flight from Houston to Boston without any problem and we even got to sit next to one another! (We've been really lucky about that!)

Saturday night, we checked in for our flight and there were still quite a few open seats. Enough open seats to fit everyone that was trying to get on. We thought we were home free.

Sunday morning, after [an extremely delicious] breakfast, we checked our flight again...dun dun dun...there were only 2 seats left and 7 people trying to get on! We still chanced it and we made it on! Here is the key to the story....Mat ended up in the very back row while I ended up almost to the front...AND I got to sit next to a Continental 757 pilot! How cool is that?!?! I know I sound like such a pilot's wife, but it was one of the coolest experiences! He shared some of his experiences and showed me pictures of his trips to Germany, Ireland, England - all the places I would LOVE to go.

He had so many positive things to say about Mat being in the right place, right now to set his career up. He even offered to let Mat ride jump seat (in the cock pit, right behind the pilots) on one of his flights! (He flies from Newark to Berlin on the weekends!)

Overall, it was one of the best trips we've had!

We are definitely going to have to go back when we have a little more time to explore the city!

Seattle!

This weekend, we shot for Boston.

It was overbooked.

We tried for Portland.

It was oversold.

We decided to try Seattle.

It was PERFECT!

The rain held off (after 14 days straight) for the time we were there and it was wonderful!!

The flight we got on had 33 standbys and we were crossing our fingers that we would be able to get on. It wasn't until the last minute, but we made it! Even the nice man I was supposed to sit next to offered to switch with Mat so that we could sit next to one another (which doesn't always happen). We landed in Seattle after 11pm which made for a very long flight since it was more like 1am to us. It was a beautiful night!

There is just something about the Northwest that I LOVE.

The air was crisp and light. The temperature was perfect. The drivers are considerate. ( Ha, ha!)

I was so excited even through all my exhaustion!

We found a hotel room for $60 (for the night) - what a steal! They even had a light breakfast the next morning that was just enough to get us going. We are constantly trying to find ways to cut costs on our adventures, but still have fun - we will be "skilled cheap tourists" by the end of the summer! :)

Here goes the weekend recap:

Our hotel was one block from the light rail system that would take you downtown, however, this weekend they were doing a little bit of work on the system and had a free shuttle to downtown.

For a round trip ticket it was only $5 a person.

Us on the light rail.

Seattle also has a "free ride zone" within the downtown area which was a benefit, but we didn't take advantage of it this go around - we walked. The city has so much character that I didn't want to miss any bit of it! Plus, everything was close by.

Our first stop was to

The Space Needle

There is an observation deck at 520 feet. 

It's about $16 a person, but the view was spectacular!

 

Mt. Rainier from the top of the Space Needle

It was a perfect sunny day!

After the Space Needle, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and ran off to catch a ferry.

There is a ferry that you can walk on for $6.75 a person, it was relaxing and gave you a different view of Seattle. It was almost 2 hours, but it went by so fast!

This is the pier with the ferry.

This is Seattle from the ferry.

I was freezing from the wind, but it was so worth it!

After the ferry, we hopped  over (a.k.a walked 8 blocks) to

the Hard Rock Cafe!

It just opened earlier this year in Seattle and had the signature upbeat, energetic atmosphere.

We just grabbed a light appetizer before wrapping up our trip.

It was also located right by Pike's Place Market.

Pike's Place Market

We took a red eye flight home (it left Seattle at midnight, pacific time) and landed in Houston at 6am, so I apologize if any of this is hard to understand, I am very much sleep deprived. :)

Looking back on this trip, we pushed a ton in the 24 hours we spent in the city!

It was a "fly by the seat of your pants" trip with a "best bang for your buck" twist!

Plus, we only spent $150 on hotel, transportation, food and seeing the sites!

It's good to be home though...I will try to post more during the week!

Sunny San Diego Weekend!!

We had originally thought of going to Seattle this past weekend, but at the last minute decided to go some place sunny and a little further south. We found San Diego! Thursday night we booked our flights which were going to leave Friday night around 7ish...we booked our hotel, had a list of sites we wanted to see and started to pack!

While I'm not working this summer, I am still doing a full load of classes and was trying to get my homework done when Mat called me around 1pm on Friday saying that there was an earlier flight that looked more promising for us to get on. Mind you, I was still trying to pick up our apartment (who likes coming home to a mess??? Anyone??), finish packing, and get three days worth of homework done in one (this was the weekend's worth, not me slacking for three days...just clarifying :) ). I told Mat to check with his supervisor about the later flights and see what he thought. Meanwhile, knowing the way Mat thinks, I made sure the bags were packed and the apartment was picked up before sitting back down to get to my homework. It wasn't but 5 minutes after sitting down that Mat called and said, "we're leaving in ONE HOUR, and have to be at the airport NOW!" Talk about rush! I loaded the TrailBlazer, grabbed the trash to take out and flew (as much as I could) to pick Mat up. We dropped off the car, grabbed the shuttle to the terminal, ran through security (it's a lot faster with Mat's fancy employee name badge) and ran to the gate. We made it with 5 minutes to spare their departure, but it wasn't all peaches and cream...the ticket counter lady gave us a tongue lashing on "flying stand by etiquette" - after apologizing continuously and promising we'd never let this happen again, she gave us our tickets and we were on our way!

After flying Southwest time and time again, flying Continental was a whole different experience! We watched Valentine's Day on the way there, of course had the nice complimentary beverage, but overall, the staff was great and I'm not being totally biased since Mat's working for them...(the way back to Houston, was even better....keep reading!)

We got to the airport and went straight to the hotel to drop off our bags. They were also fantastic! Fully ready to provide restaurant guides, directions and FREE food coupons! The time difference was the biggest challenge for us. We landed a little after 3pm (pacific time), but to us it was after 5pm. By the time we dropped the bags off, we were starving! So we decided Friday we would grab dinner and go for a walk down to the bay. It was pure amazing!!! It was 20 degrees cooler than Houston and it was wonderful!!!

Here are pictures from Friday....

This was on our walk down by the bay.

The sailboats...

When water is involved, Mat can't seem to help himself and jumps right in!

Need less to say it wasn't very warm...

Saturday was our BIG day!

We went to the USS Midway, which is a retired aircraft carrier that is now a museum. Basically, anything that has to do with planes, Mat was game! We spent a couple hours touring the ship,seeing all of the planes and hearing stories from the volunteers. One of the neat experiences had to be hearing about the different parts of the ship, by an older gentleman who served on the ship in the 70s - it was such an experience hearing about his own personal experiences. We even had a few photo opportunities...:)

This was the best shot of the USS Midway we got, it was HUGE!

This was the same model of plane used in the movie, Top Gun.

Mat inspecting the plane...

It's slightly hard to see, but this statue was just across the harbor from the USS Midway.

This statue is based from the picture that was taken in Times Square in 1945.

After the USS Midway, we went to Anthony's Fish Grotto for lunch. It was recommended to us by a high school friend that lived in the San Diego area for a few years. It was mighty tasty! 

After lunch we decided to make our way to Old Town. Side Note: When we travel we normally rent a car. For the summer, we have decided to cut costs and use public transportation or just walk (unless it's just not able to get us to where we need to be). We got our exercise in this weekend! We walked just about everywhere! 

After a little shopping and exploring of Old Town, we made our way to the Mormon Battalion Museum. It just opened earlier this year and was AMAZING!! (For more info, go here.) It was full of talking pictures (literally), superb special effects and overall, a wonderful presentation of the experience and story.

This is the museum from the outside.

After the museum, we caught up with an old friend of Mat's, Saez and his brand-new wife, Stephanie! They were just married this past Tuesday and were in San Diego for their honeymoon! We took them out to dinner to celebrate! It was full of good stories, laughs and fun! They actually live an hour north of us back in Utah, but haven't been able to get together much. It was a sweet surprise when we realized we were both in San Diego at the same time!

Sunday:

With flying reserved, you have to take your chances on the flights with the best openings. Ours just so happened to be the first one of the day. We had to leave our hotel at 5 am. Even though it was earlier, the day got sweeter when we were able to fly FIRST CLASS.

What a treat!! We had a cushy seat with a ton of leg room, direct TV the whole trip, hot towels (yes, they do exist and not just in the movies!) and a HOT breakfast that was actually quite yummy!

Here we are with our yummy omelets with ham, potatoes au gratin - fresh fruit and yogurt!

This beats cereal any day! :)

We were quite spoiled on our first flight adventure, but we had a great time either way!