California Part 1 :: Moving North

Day 1 // Phoenix -> Long Beach

We hit the road early in the morning for Long Beach, 

just south of LA, 

to visit my great aunt and uncle. 

We took a drive up to Signal Hill

and walked along Seal Beach Pier 

to watch the sun set over Long Beach. 

Day 2 // Long Beach -> Fairfield

The next day we stopped in Santa Monica 

for lunch with a good friend from college

Then continued driving all the way to Fairfield, 

outside of San Francisco, 

to stay with Stephen's cousins. 

Day 3 // San Francisco

Early in the morning we headed into San Francisco. 

First stop: 

appointment at the Consulate General of Switzerland to pick up our visas!

Next stop: Fisherman's Wharf

We walked along Pier 39, 

watched the sea lions, 

ate crab cakes from the market, 

a famous Ghirardelli hot fudge sundae, 

and yummy sourdough from Boudin Sourdough. 

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Golden Gate bridge from Pier 39

We also walked along the 

Maritime National Historic Park pier.

From the pier we had an incredible view of 

the skyline and the Transamerica building. 

We stumbled upon this Banksy before heading back to Fairfield.

We had a lovely evening with Stephen's cousins 

playing Quibbler and watching Mrs. Doubtfire. 

Ft. Lauderdale Temple :: Florida Keys part 5

Day 6 // Ft. Lauderdale

On our last day we slept in 

then drove back to the mainland to fly home. 

We made a pit stop at the new Ft. Lauderdale temple

We then hit the airport for a non-stop flight home

(first one of those in a long time).

Arizona sunsets really are something else. 

We hit the sack as soon as we got home 

because our internal clocks were 3 hours off. 

It was a super trip full of fun memories. 

Dry Tortuga National Park :: Florida Keys part 4

Day 5 // Dry Tortuga National Park

Early in the morning we headed out to board the 

Yankee Freedom Ferry to Dry Tortuga National Park. 

While on the ferry we ate breakfast and watched the morning waves.
Be sure to bring your Dramamine if you get sea sick. It's a little bit of a ride.

We decided to bypass the guided tour and explore Fort Jefferson on our own!

From the top of Fort Jefferson we saw what appeared to be 

a half dozen reef shark swimming alongside the wall. 

We discovered while snorkeling that they were actually large Tarpon!

We grabbed dinner at Azur
after docking back in Key West.

It was a fun-filled, adventurous day and we were whipped by the end.
(I think these guys were too ;))