Adventures and Love Stories

As our trip to DC and NYC gets closer, I find myself thinking about all the places Tony and I have been together.  Since our first year of dating we've taken at least one trip per year to somewhere new.  In the beginning, one of us had been somewhere the other hadn't so we kind of double up.  But we had never been there TOGETHER so it was a new experience for both of us.  This week I thought it would be fun to go back through our trips and share a little bit about them.  :)

Our first trip we took together was to the Oregon Coast and the Redwoods in September, 2010.  We had JUST gotten engaged and were absolutely full of love on this trip and it was evident in our pictures. Our first stop was at Multnomah Falls, Oregon where we hiked up to the top of the falls and back into the woods a bit. That night we stayed with my brother in Portland where he was able to give Tony the "official brother once over". The next day we headed down the coastline of Oregon stopping on the way here and there, and ended in Crescent City where we stayed for a night.  We traveled down through the Redwood parks taking pictures and getting out to explore.  We found a nice (privately owned) beach in Klammath where we were able to watch the sea lions trying to snatch the fish away from the fishermen on the shore. It was so cool to see them riding the waves and getting so close to the shore.  That night we decided to camp on the beach, and let me just say, camping on the beach is TERRIFYING. Or at least it was where we were at.  On one side of us was the sea and the other was the mountain.  At any given point I felt like a bear or a shark could have gobbled us up! Not to mention that it was PITCH BLACK.  The sand is also NOT comfortable to sleep on in case you were wondering. haha! But it was an experience I'll never forget.  The next night we treated ourselves to a lovely hotel right on the water with a balcony overlooking the ocean, a fireplace and a nice big jet tub. 

The next trip we made was to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon.  Tony and been there before, but I hadn't.  As we arrived in Vegas I was dazzled by all the hotels and casinos that we passed.  I was so excited I could hardly contain myself.  We stayed at the Planet Hollywood hotel where they had the miracle mile of SHOPPING! Tony chose wisely. ;) Once we got settled in the room we hit the strip! Walked all the way down to the Mandalay Bay Casino, stopping at the M&M shop, passing by the celeb look alikes and trying to ward away the people passing out nudey flyers. ha! Once at the Mandalay Bay, we had a DELICIOUS dinner and went to the Lion Kind show.  Tony probably fell asleep during the show, but I LOVED it.  After the show we took a very expensive cab ride back to the hotel and wandered around the other casinos for awhile.  We watched the fountains at the Bellagio, had a few drinks, ended the night early at 1:00am.  We tried staying awake but just couldn't after a long 10 hour drive.  The next day we shopped the miracle mile, toured the "erotica museum" (which was interesting to say the least! ha!) and visited Madam Tousadd's wax museum.  We had never been to a wax museum before so we had quite a bit of fun taking pictures with all the molds.  That evening we met one of Tony's long time friends from his childhood for dinner and headed to Freemont Street to take in the huge TV screen.  We did a tiny bit of gambling, I think we wasted a total of 40 bucks and my payout voucher was .40 cents.  Dang! Not surprising, we got tired early and headed back to the hotel, not before taking a wrong turn down some sketchy road and trying to figure out how to get back to the strip without getting our car windows bashed in.  (or at least that's what it felt like at the time ha!) The next we were up early and on our way to the Hoover Dam.  I forgot to say that this trip took place right before the 4th of July 2011, and it was HOT!  Sweating our buns off climbing up the dam steps and taking pictures up there.  Next we drove to the Canyon.  I can't say I remember what much of the scenery was like on the way there, I definitely like to sleep on road trips.  We spent a few hours climbing around the park and taking pictures.  It's amazing to see for sure. It's also pretty unnerving standing on the edge looking down.  Thinking back to it now, I wonder how I didn't freak out a little more.  That night we drove for awhile into the middle of nowhere trying to find a place to stay.  Apparently there weren't a lot of options and the options that were there were taken.  Luckily Tony always brings his trusty camping gear and we found a campsite to stay in.  Lesson number 2 when it comes to camping on trips; don't do it in Arizona in 110 degree weather.  It was SOOOOO hot neither of us could sleep.  We were up bright and early at 4am and started the trek home.

 Our next adventure was one of my lifelong dreams, to go to Hawaii.  I'm sure that seems a little silly, but growing up it was always a place on my to do list.  It wasn't, however, on Tony's.  He indulged me though and we went for our Honeymoon.  Two days after our wedding we were on our way!  We stayed on Wakiki Beach on the main island for 7 days.  We had saved for the whole year before and some of our wedding guests contributed to the trip so we were able to do just about everything there was to do.  We went surfing where I totally kicked Tony's butt and stood up for a few short rides on the waves. ;) We snorkeled in Haunama Bay where we encountered a sea turtle and many colorful fish.  One of our guests paid for us to go on a dinner cruise where I learned that I shouldn't have wore a short dress on a windy boat...oops! haha! We hiked up Diamond Back mountain, passing a bunch of people as we made it to the top in about 20 minutes.  Before we left Tony found a coupon for underwater scooters.  They were basically just that; scooters with little helmets so you could breath. Unfortunately it was cloudy and a little windy so the water wasn't super clear, but they were a blast.  The water must not have been super warm either because when we got out my toes were purple! eek!  We kept seeing buses everywhere we went to "swim with the dolphins!", so we looked into it hoping it'd be affordable.  Much to our surprise it was about 200/person to swim with the dolphins.  yikes!  But I think Tony knew how much I secretly wanted to do it so we did.  I had the "ride of a lifetime" and Tony got the satisfaction of making his wife extremely happy.  He even got a super adorable kissing picture with the dolphin. ;)  One of the days we were there we drove around the island stopping here and there and exploring.  I had an "ice cold coconut" and we had some fresh shrimp at a little shack on the side of the road.  Another night we decided to go to an "authentic luau".  Let me just say, there was nothing authentic about "Germaine's Luau". haha!  It was almost torturous actually. Stuck on a tour bus with 50 other excited (but much older) tourists with a tour guide who thought "wheels on the bus" was a great group song to sing.  The food wasn't authentic and the drinks were week.  The only cool thing about it were the dancers.  4 hours and a grumpy Tony later, we were back at the hotel. Hawaii was definitely expensive, but with all the saving we had done we were able to do everything we wanted to and more.  Dream fulfilled. :)

In January 2012, we were getting ready for Tony to deploy that spring.  Before he did that we decided to take a trip to Nashville to visit his Papa Tony and the Rose's.  We went to the Grand Ole Opry, Opryland hotel and hit the town that night for some karaoke!  We spent some time playing Yuker with Papa Tony, had a football party for the superbowl, and were treated (by Papa Tony) to actually stay a night at the Opryland hotel. Which was awesome. It was so much fun to spend time with his family.  I of course didn't leave Nashville without getting some authentic cowboy boots. ;)  That trip we also flew up to Michigan to spend some time with him mom and siblings.  I got to meet his sister Kathy and my new nephews for the first time, his Gramma and Pap, and visited his childhood hang outs.  Growing up in Michigan is definitely different than growing up in Idaho for sure! His mom also took us to a comedy club and I was able to see the "famous" Michigan Football stadium.  That trip was bittersweet, we had such a good time with everyone, but I knew the day was getting closer to Tony leaving me for his deployment. :(

Not too long after we got home from Michigan, Valentine's day to be exact, we found out Tony would NOT be deploying! (or so we thought..) Instead, he would go to training in northern California for a few weeks of training for work and I decided last minute, (literally like 4 hours before I flew out!) to go spend the weekend with him in San Francisco.  It was St. Patrick's Day too so it was definitely a good trip.  We got into San Fran in the middle of a parade and spend a good hour and a half trying to navigate the hilly streets and trying not to get hit by a cable car! It was a really short trip but we spent some time walking through the warf and checking out the shops and the navy ships.  If we had more time we would have went to Alcatraz, but we were just too short on time.  That night we got together with a couple of his friends and went out for St. Patty's day.  I won a hat, some beads, and smooched a cop that night. ;) The next day we visited the Golden Gate Bridge before we headed back for me to fly out.  For such a short (and expensive) weekend it was definitely worth it.
 

We found out about a month after our San Fran trip that we were to be restationed in Florida!  Then Tony deployed for 6.5 months, then we packed up and moved here!  On that trip we went through Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama and then finally Florida!

In February we took a trip to Disneyworld! woot woot! Another place I never thought I'd get to go.  It was supposed to have been warm, like 65/70 degrees but ended up being around 50 degrees!  I was wearing layers and layers and unfortunately sandals, my toes froze! Poor Tony was sick on that trip too so we didn't get to enjoy some of the park, but it was fun nevertheless.  I even got him to take a few cutesy pictures with me. :)

The next trip we took was to New Orleans in June of this year.  Yet, another place I never thought I would get to go.  We stayed at the Mason Dupuy hotel a couple streets away from Bourbon Street.  It was a quick trip, only a weekend, but we definitely got the full NOLA experience.  Saturday night we walked all over the place watching street performers, visiting the trademarks that make New Orleans, and finally walking bourbon st. listening to jazz, drink in hand and getting beads thrown to us off the balconies.  If you ever want to visit New Orleans, let me warn you, because no one warned me, it STINKS! Like, seriously reeks!  Like pee and vomit all over the place.  We went in the end of June, so it was hot and steamy and nasty.  If it didn't stink so bad, I think I would have enjoyed it more.  Right after we parked the car, Tony got swindled by one of the street guys.  He claimed to guess the exact place Tony got his flip flops.  Tony took him up on it because even HE didn't know where he got them. The guy ended up saying, "you got them right there on your feet, on Bourbon St." Moral of the story, always carry small bills because they don't make change, and more importantly; don't talk to strangers. lol!  The next day we had beignets at Cafe Du Monde (delicious) and headed home!

Our most recent adventure was to St. Augustine where we met up with two other couples for a fun filled weekend.  I mentioned this trip last week so I won't spend much time explaining what we did, but I will say that we had a great time, saw some "ghosts", shopped, laughed, and created wonderful memories. :)

At long last, we are up to date on the ADVENTURES OF TONY AND LACY.  I have to say, I don't think I would have been to half these places if it weren't for my adventure seeking, handsome husband.  He has made so many of my lifelong dreams come true not only by taking me to amazing places and being my partner in crime, but by also making my biggest and most important dream come true by being my "prince charming" and giving me the fairytale lovestory I had always dreamed I would have.  I can't wait for our next adventure to DC and NYC and am so thankfully I get to call him my husband everyday.  <3

Quote for the day: "True love stories never have endings"