Tahoe Cruisers...
Nothing better than leaving town with snow on the ground! Sunshine is waiting ahead! The weather app shows perfect weather for this four day adventure!
It was a good idea to purchase the “Early Bird Checkin” so we could secure a nice place in line on Southwest Airlines. Roxanne and I had our morning coffee… got in line and walked down the jetbridge. Of course, we had to stop for a quick photo.
We caught Linda walking down the aisle. Sitting in the window and aisle, we figured no one would fight us for the middle seat…. and we were correct. As Linda approached, I scooted over to the middle seat so Linda could take the aisle!
All together in our seats. Let the fun begin!!! Our short, 90 minute flight to Los Angeles would be over quickly, then off to the hotel.
Standing at the check-in kiosk at Southwest, I hear, “OH MY GAWD”… it’s Kirby! Our bartender from the Hyatt. He said he was embarrassed because he didn’t expect to see anyone he knew and therefore, had not dressed up. Personally, I thought he looked fine… comfy… He was heading to Kansas to visit his kids and grandkids. We got to see cute pictures of them! You never know who you will run into at the airport!
We never saw Kirby again because he was on the continuing flight. A small number of passengers remained on the plane for Phoenix. Our next stop… baggage claim. Michael had driven down earlier in the week to visit family. He picked us up at the airport and would drive us all to the Hyatt Long Beach.
Surprisingly… or maybe not so surprisingly… we were able to check into our hotel hours earlier than expected. Jeremy at the front desk had a nice room waiting for us! When we got upstairs (17th floor), we opened the curtains and saw our beautiful view!!! The Hyatt Regency Long Beach is located in a newly revitalized area. So many shops, bars and restaurants!
Immediately after checking in, we used the skywalk to cross to the pier side of the street. The first building was a Yardhouse… perfect. Our request to sit by a tv with the Steelers game! As we waited for our table, we got to see a close up shot of Nick… for quite a long time! Sadly, they lost but it was still fun to have lunch and football on a Sunday afternoon.
Posers that we are… just a few more shots with the harbor background. Such a pretty day! Much better than the 20-degree weather we escaped!
Months ago, I looked up We what time the sun would set on October 29. Reservations were made accordingly. We were in our seats… outdoors by the water in plenty of time for the days end. Gladstone’s Long Beach turned out to be an amazing meal. We had fish tacos, seared ahi, swordfish and salmon. All were great!
Fun at the table! What an awesome time… we laughed, talked about all kinds of things and just got to enjoy each other outside of the work environment!
Sunset was worth the planning! The sky lit up beautifully. Reflections off the water added to the incredible beauty! Sunsets are my favorite… so to get to share this ending of the day with my friends, was amazing!
We could NOT keep Roxanne out of the men’s bathroom. It started at the airport… on her way to the bathroom, distracted… she headed right for the men’s bathroom. Very quietly, I said, “not in the men’s”. At the restaurant, once again… Roxanne headed for the wrong bathroom. Just have to keep an eye on this girl!
Across the street from our hotel, is a carnival area. We thought of going on the Ferris wheel… but I’m afraid of heights! I’ll have to get over that before we go zip lining! That’s a story for another day. Fun first day!!! Can’t wait to wake up in the morning to head to the port!
