Post spree

We had a lovely winner's weekend, Grant and I, best of all it was on someone else's dime!  It was a great promotional prize and we thank the vendors and company for putting it on so generously.  We arrived at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel by 9-ish and got lots of exercise trying to find our way around.  The hotel was elegantly decorated and seemed to stretch on for miles.  In fact, they have 10,000 square feet of meeting rooms/ballrooms/salons.  Our room was very nice, quiet and comfortable, with a king sized bed and a king-sized shower!  The air conditioner was nice and quiet too, unlike my last hotel stay. 

A typical foggy Southern California morning greeted us the next day.  We were treated to a light breakfast in an enclosed atrium in the center of the main tower and received our welcome packages, including the spending spree credit card. 

The sun broke through and by the time we were ready to get shopping at about 11:00, we could see golfers at the country club next door and the harbor and Pacific Ocean in the distance.

Loved the xeriscape garden seven stories below.  After walking across the street from the hotel we entered the very large shopping center and were surprised to find Fashion Island was an open air mall.  All very upscale with Nordstrom's, Bloomingdale's, Neiman-Marcus and Macy's stores, and dozens of other major retailers, well known restaurants and lots of small specialty shops.

This huge 60 foot tree was in front of the Bloomingdale's.

One of the many shopping corridors, all cobblestoned and beautifully landscaped with dozens of seating areas, fountains, and pavilions. 

A walkway to a stone obelisk and a downtown skyscraper with an impossibly blue So Calif sky. The most surprising thing was the dogs that were everywhere.  Dozens of people with their animals in shops and on the walkways, of every size from Yorkie to Mastiff.

It was a lot of fun shopping with the spree card but we took some time out for a delicious lunch at The Yard House.  Here's my turkey club...

...and Grant's parmesan crusted chicken with garlic mashed potatoes.  Grant topped out at about 3:30 so I sent him back to the hotel loaded with all our purchases and went on to do another hour or so of shopping before my feet were too sore to walk much more!  We knocked out a lot of our shopping list and I even made Grant spend money on himself, albeit he chose boring stuff (a black casual jacket and a black hoodie). 

We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset, the sun going down behind Catalina Island off the coast.

And beautiful clouds looking towards the northwest and home.  We were further treated to a cocktail reception and a lovely dinner and some entertainment in a ballroom.  It was a relaxing and fun evening and Grant came home with an award trophy.  The next morning breakfast was also on the company, and we ate on the patio overlooking the pool (I forgot my camera!!!), but were a bit roasted in the hot sun, as it was already about 75 degrees before 9:30 a.m.  We had a bellman load all our packages and headed home, with money left on the spree card and many Christmas wishlist items scratched off.  It was a great getaway.  I'd be willing to do it every weekend, no problem!