Newport Trip: Days 4 & 5

Tuesday we spent by ourselves while the rest of the crew went to Sea World. We used this time to sleep in late, read our books by the pool, chow on some In-N-Out and go to the Newport temple.


Scott and I both fell in love with how beautiful everything was from the architecture of the building to the handles on each of the doors. I love going to different temples to see the beauty and unique details each one offers and I especially love going with Scott. Every time we go I am reminded of how lucky I am to have an Eternal marriage and a spouse who is willing to learn and grow along with me.


After coming out of the temple we took a few pictures on the grounds. We noticed that there were several cottontail bunnies hopping around who seemed to be enjoying the landscaping just as much as we were.


We hurried back from the temple to change into some grubby clothes so we could go to our evening activity--deep sea fishing! We were running late...really late...and were worried that we weren't going to make it but ended up getting there about 5 minutes before the boat left. We rented our poles and purchased weights and hooks from Davey's Locker and head out on the 'Twightlight' boat which goes from 7:00 p.m. to midnight. It was a beautiful night with perfect weather and a gorgeous sunset. While we were heading out to our fishing spot we saw blue whales (largest mammals on the earth), lots of dolphins and sea otters. We teased Scott's family that Sea World came to us that day. :) After trying out a couple of spots we started to get the hang of it and caught a few fish. Scott caught 5, I caught 4. Each of them were about 20+ inches in length and we ended up just giving them to some of the friends we made on the boat who wanted to eat them. They took all of the big ones before we thought to take pictures so the pics we have are of the smaller ones. Oops.


One of the guys we met on the boat was pretty much wasted but gave us a lot of good advice. He told us all sorts of crazy stories about taking his Harley across the country and about his fishing boat adventures. His name was Jeff but he told us to call him 'Loud' while showing us the tatoo on his arm. His mom had apparently given him the name at birth. 'Loud' ended up being more help to us than any of the deck hands so we tipped him instead.



I must say that it was a little weird for me doing the deep sea fishing thing. We went once on our honeymoon but it was totally different because they put your bait and everything on for you there. Here they basically just scooped sardines, anchovies and live squid out of the ocean and you have to grab them out of the tub to put on your hook. It was the first time I've touched live squid and the ink took a little getting used to. All in all, we had an awesome time though and would definitely go back and do it again.

Wednesday was another beach day! This time we all went to Crystal Cove which was just down the road from our villa. If you can believe it, we set up an even larger camp than before with a full springbar tent and a pack n play for Jack. I didn't spend as much time in the water this day as I was still trying to finish my book, but Scott was out in the water for a long time on the boogie board. I ended up splashing around in the water with Chelsea for a little while before we headed out to clean up and eat dinner.

{yogurt + a little henry}

Everyone was trying to carry as much as possible so we wouldn't have to make multiple trips to the car. My brother-in-law, Tyler, showed his superstrength by carrying what appeared to be twice his body weight. :) Way to go, Ty.


Dinner on Wednesday night was prepared by Scott's sister Megan and was yummy BBQ chicken, baked potatoes, fruit, corn on the cob and ice cream for dessert. :) Mmm...just thinking about it makes my mouth water.

After dinner we attempted to get a picture of the entire group. My father-in-law brought his tripod so we would be able to do this with his fancy camera. Apparently we were all supposed to wear matching clothes but nobody received the e-mail so we dealt with what we had. The last time everyone was together was at our wedding but Ava wasn't born yet so this was the first family picture we have including her.