Postcard from the Del

 In which Lucy's parents have a holiday. :)

The last time Brian and I had a night away from Lucy was, well, on June 21, 2009, in the hospital the night before she was born. And I don't know about you, but being epidural-ed up, hooked up to machines and being administered oxygen isn't exactly my idea of a relaxing time. I'm sure Brian would agree with me, as he probably got even less rest that night, due to the loudness of my machines that night. The last 'real' getaway for us, then, would have been our babymoon to Carmel in May 2009 (aka: WAY too long ago).

 We've considered trying for a night away in the past, but were apprehensive to burden anyone with Lucy and her routine, and even more apprehensive to burden anyone with the doogles, who we all know is, for all his sweetness, somewhat high-maintenance. However, after over 2.5 years without a single night off, we decided to take Gramma and Grampa up on their long-standing offer to baby-and-dog sit so we could have a little getaway. B made the reservations and I was blown away at our plans! Not one, but TWO nights at the Hotel Del Coronado! The Hotel Del! Neither B nor I had ever stayed at the Del before, so we were excited (understatement).

So, after a fun-filled morning at the Safari Park, we left our 'kids' in the very capable, experienced hands of Gramma and Grampa and left for our getaway. Coronado is always so much fun to visit in itself- it feels so far away, maybe because of crossing over the bridge.

And the Del, I mean, how pretty.

And during the holidays they really do it up extra, with lots of lights, decorations, and even an outdoor ice skating rink!

Our room was in a separate part of the hotel, overlooking the beach. The view was a dream, and I was instantly relaxed

.

I could seriously get used to waking up to a view like this:

And end the day with sunsets like this:

I mean, come ON!

During our stay, we walked along the beach, had yummy meals at Sheerwater and 1500 Ocean, and I even got a massage at the spa*! In addition, I was also able to knit- whenever I wanted, we were able to wake up- whenever we wanted, and even nap- whenever we wanted! We also did a good amount of NOTHING! Which, was the real luxury. Since becoming a mom, as much as I love about it, one thing I definitely miss is the luxury of being 'lazy.' Gone are the days of lazing around, waking up late, watching TV, reading, or knitting all day...just not being on a schedule at all, let alone someone else's schedule all day, every day. It was beyond lovely to be able to do whatever we wanted for a few days, whenever we wanted, or just do nothing at all. Aaaahhhh...

On the way back, we stopped to have lunch with our friend Chris, and even went to watch The Descendants. (Yes, we made the most of every single minute of our getaway!) I really enjoyed The Descendants, by the way. Shot in Hawaii, it reminded me of home a lot, and was, therefore, a nice addition to our getaway.

When we returned, Lucy was busy, sitting at the kitchen table, playing puzzles on the iPad. We're told she didn't even notice we were gone. :) How could she, when she had lots of fun playing with Gramma and Grampa and her new Christmas toys, and going to visit the life-size gingerbread house at the Rancho Bernardo Inn! And after the initial shock, Dakota even settled into life at Gramma and Grampas house like a champ, following Grampa around the house like he does B, and even sleeping in Gramma and Grampa's bedroom! In fact, both Lucy and Dakota both seemed to be good kids while we were away, and Gramma and Grampa survived! Hooray!

I'm SO happy we finally did this! When can we do it again?? :)