janineds: Cool & Cruisin' (Anniversary Part 1)

Last week, Charles and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! This by far has been my favorite anniversary yet because we've learned so much about each other in the past 3 years, so we knew exactly what to do for each other. We decided that it would be fair if we both took turns planning out a day to dedicate to each other. Charles already had a surprise planned out for me on the actual day of our anniversary (Tuesday) , so I chose to do Part 1 of our anniversary celebration (Monday). I honestly had no idea what to do for him at first because it was very last minute... I spent Sunday night yelp-ing restaurants and putting together a map of activities, which was definitely a challenge because I'm clueless when it comes to maps and directions lol. It took me forever to plan out the day and map out all the locations, but it was a SUCCESS. Despite the fact that I only got 2 hours of sleep, I had the perfect date planned out for him with all our activities numbered on a printout map. I knew Newport beach would be the perfect place for the day considering the fact that he'd never been there before and wouldn't know what to expect. Also, Newport is such a picturesque area and I knew he would be overly thrilled to put his camera to work. The only clues I gave him were the addresses since he was the driving haha.

Here is the map I created with all the addresses of the places we went to, if you need any date ideas :)

-First destination: the bike rental shop. He knows that I've been dying to get my own cruiser, so he understood why this was the first activity on the list. The shop was conveniently located near the the boardwalk and pier. We cruised by the beach and we were in awe by all the lovely ocean-side vacation homes that lined the bike trail. We followed the trail down to the pier and he was already snapping photos while riding our bikes.

-Second destination: Balboa Island Ferry. Charles had never been on a boat before so I thought it was suiting for him to have a 'first time' experience on our date. I led us to the port and he was totally excited when he figured out we were getting on the ferry. We brought our bikes along on the boat and although the ride was short, it was such a cute experience.

-Third destination: Balboa Island. The ferry dropped us off on Balboa Island. The island is so adorable and we rode our bikes through the charming little neighborhoods until we got to Marine Ave. The avenue was filled with cute little shops and sidewalk cafes, I was in love. We then headed to the Grand Canal for a bit more sight seeing. We took the ferry back to the mainland and cruised around Newport's million dollar neighborhoods for a while. We couldn't help but pretend we were residents of one the fab beach side homes.

-Fourth destination: Coliseum Pool & Grill. Cruising around the beach was so amazing and I didn't want it to end, but I made dinner reservations for 6:00. I told Charles to change into something fancy and handed him the directions to the next destination. He was blown away when we got to Pelican Hill. The resort is beyond beautiful and known for its amazing villas and breathtaking ocean view... little did he know we were dining inside the resort. We entered the gates and a table for 2 was waiting for us at the Coliseum, which is an outdoor/indoor lounge hovering over the resort's infinity pool. I requested a table with a good view and thats exactly what we got. Not only did we have a view of the gorgeous pool, but also the ocean and the resort golf course. I timed it just in time for sunset. The food was just as amazing as the view.

-Fifth destination: Fashion Island. Of course, I had to squeeze shopping into our list of activities. Fashion Island is located about 5 minutes away from the resort and it was the perfect way to end our night. We stopped to get my favorite flavors from 'Lette and the day was complete.

Although he was busy behind the camera, Charles definitely enjoyed the day I planned out for him. He told me that it wasn't anything he'd ever expected it was a perfect relaxing day that made us both forget about everything else. I also enjoyed our mini getaway and am really happy that he loved it. I'm getting ready to tell you guys all about Part 2 of our anniversary in my next post... I have to admit, Charles' date was way better than mine! <3