1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY — Sammy and Natasha's Adventures

We recently had our 1 year wedding anniversary. It has been an exciting year of change: getting married, getting a new job, moving, going to Japan, getting a puppy, etc. So we really wanted to make the anniversary special to celebrate being together and all that has come with that. So we decided to celebrate over 2 days. The first day we went to Disneyland (I got us annual passes for an anniversary present; Sammy got me a really nice bike. I bike to work everyday so it’s thoughtful and something I really wanted). The second day we decided to go to the local aquarium as a call back to getting married in an aquarium. I thought it was a cute idea anyway. Also, the local aquarium does whale watching adventures in the Pacific Ocean, something both of us have wanted to do for a while.

DISNEYLAND

So I didn’t really know what to expect from Disneyland. I’d been to Disneyworld ONCE when I was EIGHT. Animal Kingdom didn’t even exist then, and my memories were sporadic and over exaggerated from being a kid at the time. I’d also heard that Disneyland was smaller and often a disappointment to those that had been to Disneyworld. However, they are building a Star Wars theme part of the park and I knew that we would want to go a few times, so I decided to give it a shot.

Going in tentative, I was actually pleasantly surprised how much I really liked the park. We of course headed straight for the Star Wars area and spent most of the time there. It wasn’t until close to the end of the day that we even realized there was a whole other park we had yet to see (California Disney Adventure Park). There was just so much to see and we were enjoying every minute of discovering something new. We barely rode any rides and still filled out the day somehow.

Probably because we spent a lot of time in the shops, looking at all the amazing merch. First off in the day, we got celebration pins indicating that we were celebrating our 1 year anniversary at the park. We got a few congratulations and one of the shops even gave us a phone that had Disney characters congratulating us on the other end. It was pretty cool. Sammy of course had to have some of the exclusive Star Wars merch. He got a new shirt, a new jacket (that looks awesome), some pens, a pin, a new BB8 phone case, and a man purse (he says it’s a bag, but I beg to differ). I got a mouse ears headband with a giant Monster’s Inc bow in the middle, and a teapot that looks like Miss. Potts and cup that looks like Chip from Beauty and the Beast. It’s adorable and I’m really happy with it. We even got a Mickey shoe toy for Illidan. Unfortunately, there were no items for cats :(

We also ate at a few places in the park. We tried Planet Pizza. It was adorably set up to look like the arcade from Toy Story. The food was fine and definitely filling. But also, they had a cute alien shaped macaroon that was surprisingly delicious. It was lemon/blueberry flavored. We also made reservations to eat at a park restaurant, Café Orleans. I’d heard a lot about the Disney restaurants and that they were really good, so I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I was let down a lot by the restaurant. The food wasn’t great, and it was really expensive. But I guess now I know. And overall, we had an amazing time at the park and can’t wait to go back!

WHALE WATCHING

The second day of our anniversary was just as exciting as the first. We went whale watching, went to the aquarium, and ate at a Cajun restaurant. We were really excited for whale watching as neither of us had been before, but both had expressed interest. We chose a good time for it too, because it was blue whale migration season in the area. Blue whales are the largest animals on Earth and are larger than even the dinosaurs. I was so hoping we would get to see one. And the ocean delivered.

We got to see 3 blue whales. One even came up right in front of the boat. It was crazy close which was so awesome. It was a lucky trip. Also, we got to see 2 pods of dolphins that came right up to the boat and played in the wake. We passed a raft of sea lions. I can totally see why a group of sea lions is called a ‘raft’; they definitely looked like one. And we got to see a Mola Mola fish. They are actually kind of rare and not something you see on these types of trips generally. It was such a good time. I want to go back for Humpback whale season.

Also, it was great to learn that neither of us are prone to sea sickness. The boat had to take us a ways into the Pacific Ocean to find the whales, so several people on the boat ended up getting sick. Neither Sammy nor I seemed affected by that though. Unfortunately, we did get sunburnt. We had sunscreen, but didn’t reapply enough I guess. His head burnt and my hair part and the top of my legs burnt. Overall, I’m more surprised it wasn’t worse. It was a hot, sunny day.

AQUARIUM

Especially due to the heat, it was nice to get inside at the aquarium. Aquariums are generally kept on the cooler side and that was in our favor. Although, part of this aquarium was outside, we kind of speed through that part to spend more time inside though.

I was a little disappointed at the aquarium at first. There were 2 levels and an outside part. We did the first level initially, and it was quite small with fairly common fish. It wasn’t much better than just walking around a specialty fish shop. Then we went outside, and after the boat ride, neither of us could really appreciate it. They had a giant touch pool, but it was a bit of a weird set up and not what you would expect of an ‘aquarium’.

But then we went to the second story and I was in love again. It was much larger than the first floor, contained large tanks of unusual fish, and even had a tank tunnel. This was the aquarium I was hoping for. We spent much more time upstairs marveling at the fish and watching an octopus go through several different camouflage while moving around different colored coral rocks. I could have spent the day up there, and now it brought back all the memories of marrying my best friend as well. Overall, it was a good time in the end.

PIER

After the aquarium, we walked along some shops on the pier to find a good restaurant to eat at. This ended up being a good thing for Sammy. First we found a shop that just sold hats, but more importantly they sold hats in his size! And there was a pretty awesome, Indiana Jones style, hat that looked awesome on him so we got it. Gotta keep his head from burning in the future!

Next we found a Cajun restaurant that claimed to import everything in from Louisiana and smelled authentic. I know he’d been craving Cajun food lately so we decided to give it a try. And it was actually really good. It tasted like food you would get in Louisiana. Except for the bread pudding. I was disappointed in that. But at least now we know where we can go to get authentic food in the future if we are craving it!

So that was technically the end of the anniversary shenanigans. But one more sweet thing happened too. The next morning I was exhausted, sun burnt, and just done. I didn’t want to get up and felt a bit out of it. Sammy wasn’t so bad though and got up early. When he heard me stirring, he asked if I wanted tea. Of course I did. He then came in with a whole table of food and tea and water. It was so sweet. I love my husband, my best friend. I can’t wait for many more anniversaries with him!!