Home, Where My Love Lies Waiting Silently For Me

Okay, I doubt either of my loves (my big love [Allen] and my little love [Benjamin], but not 'Big Love' in the HBO way; just for distinguishing purposes . . . I have a talent for over-complicating things!) are silent, and I hope they aren't waiting up for me, since I'm at work until 1am and I got here late to begin with. We are home, finally. It was a long trip. It was fun, and very expensive, and the aftermath (laundry, putting things away, etc.) still has to be dealt with, but it's good to be home, too. There is something to be said for routines and being able to find some time within a given framework; I haven't had much of that recently. The Family Reunion was nice, up until we had to move campsites, and everyone started getting sick and decided to pack up a day early. We were all at the end of our rapidly-fraying ropes and that just pushed us over the edge. I was very grateful to be in a hotel room that night, though. The EconoLodge in Fresno isn't much to speak of, but to the weary traveler, it was paradise. It just might be the best $50 I spent on the entire trip. I'll try to get some pictures up later so it's not just a mess of words. I'm sure you could be enlightened by visiting my sister's blog (Becca and her Peeps). Allen started puking Monday morning and Benji is still having that nasty diarrhea. Good times. I thought I might get to drive, since Allen wasn't feeling well, but it lasted about 15 minutes. It was okay, though; I read to him for most of the drive across Nevada, and it made the time go by fairly quickly. He actually enjoyed "Twilight" and when I finished (just past Wendover), he wanted to get out the second book to continue. He'll have to read the rest on his own; I'm trying to re-read them all again before #4 comes out this weekend. Yay! Something to look forward to that won't cost an arm AND a leg!

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Today was the search for In-N-Out Burger. We must have passed 10 of them today, but for some reason or another, we couldn't get to one until 6:(freaking)30 p.m. We didn't leave Pismo Beach until 10:30 a.m., then we thought we'd get lunch there, but couldn't find the In-N-Out in San Luis Obispo. We went to Hearst Castle, which was cool, but we didn't want to eat there either, so we waited, then got stuck on the PCH, then we cut over to the 101, but couldn't find the one in Salinas either. Eventually we went to the one in Gilroy. It was good; I don't know if it was worth all of the crabbiness. All I had had to eat today was Peanut M&M's and Diet Coke (all I really needed was some Law & Order to go with it, but alas . . .) until we got there. It was seriously Crabby's Crab Shack in the poor Isuzu. For those of you who may be wondering, yes, we did get a laptop. I brought it home the day before we left on vacation. Allen wasn't too happy (as I expected), but he has been loving it. If I hadn't just done it, we would never have gotten it. It really is fabulous, and it's more than what I wanted. It's an HP Pavillion dv2000, special edition. It is brown with cool swirly decor; 14" screen (just right), webcam, light scribe, nvidia graphics card, and something ridiculous like 4GB & 350GB. I love it. Today has been a lot of driving; I was hoping to do more than just Hearst Castle, but I think I underestimated how much travel time it would take. I didn't know how windy and slow the PCH was. We finally made it to the hotel around 9:30 p.m. It was a Priceline special, and it's ridiculously nice. This is definitely the sweetest deal we have gotten this whole trip. Even the shampoo and soap smell incredible. We were woefully underdressed when we checked in (Benji had peed all over Allen during the Hearst Castle tour and he had puked all over me 30 seconds after I changed him!), but it's nice to be here. I'm going to take a nice shower and get some sleep so we can do more driving tomorrow. I'm hoping to at least get a decent picture of the Golden Gate Bridge to prove we were here, and to stop by a Bare Escentuals store before we head to Sequoia for the Family Reunion. Vacation is fun and all, but it will be nice to stay in one place for a couple of days; even if we will be in a tent. :o)

Alligator Lizards In The Air

We drove on the Ventura Highway today, so I decided that should be the title of today's entry. We went to lunch at Canter's Deli today, and it was very good. I was impressed with the cheese fries, and I actually liked the pickles. I got an avocado and tomato sandwich. It wasn't particularly memorable, but it was good. We then went to the La Brea Tar Pits, which was cool, but you can tell that the museum hasn't been updated in at least 20 years. It's too bad there isn't more research money for the excavation. I wanted to go to Madame Tusseaud's Wax Museum, but Allen wasn't too keen about spending time in Hollywood. I got to see the walk of fame (from the car). We went to the Griffeth Observatory (which was closed); that was cool too. A little disappointing, but a pretty good day. We went to dinner with Allen's awesome friend Dom. We drove clear up to the valley to go to some hole-in-the-wall sushi restaurant (which was also closed). So we ended up going to a little Italian restaurant which was fabulous. It was very good food and good conversation. So we are back at the Vagabond, and although Benji peed all over me after his bath, it was a good day. Tomorrow will be busy, so stay tuned.

I've Got A Long Way To Run

We are in the Vagabond Inn in Bell Gardens, near L.A. How was I supposed to know this was a shady part of town? Allen asked me to make the hotel reservations, so I did. I guess I could have spent more time reading reviews; I was concerned about star levels and price. Our room is okay, but the toilet paper is stretchy and awful, and no one would even consider stealing the towels. We stayed with Steve & Mary on Saturday night and went to see a community theater production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It wasn't the best production I have seen, and some of the interpretations were interesting (Joseph didn't exactly run away from Potiphar's wife . . .), but it was pretty good, and I think we'll have to purchase the soundtrack out here so Allen can hear what it was supposed to sound like. David babysat for us; I think the poor young man was traumatized by our baby; I guess Benji got himself so worked up that David couldn't calm him down, and he cried for a couple of hours! That's very uncharacteristic for him. Everyone did survive, and Mary thinks it was a good learning experience for David. I hope it wasn't too demoralizing! Yesterday we visited Allen's mother, who is kind to a fault. She won't turn anyone or anything away; besides Grandma and Wendy (her daughter), she has two friends, at least 3 birds, 5 cats, one dog, and two iguanas in her house. She is truly one of the nicest people I have ever met, but she's totally spunky too. I hope I can be as unselfish as she is someday. Today we are going to the La Brea Tar Pits and to Pink's for lunch, then we'll try some sushi for dinner. Should be interesting, to say the least!

California, Rest In Peace

We made it. We left yesterday (a bit later than anticipated) and drove to Mesquite, where we stayed in the luxurious Virgin River Casino Hotel. It wasn't too bad; at least the a/c was already on full blast, the room was clean and we were safe. Benji slept in one of the beds and Allen and I slept in the other. We left around 10am, but that put us too late for the breakfast buffets we had planned for. We drove into Vegas and ate lunch at the Paris buffet. It was okay, but it was a "Champagne Brunch," which cost $25/person! Totally not worth it! The food was decent, and I guess you have to serve what people want to eat; I was hoping for something a little more authentic (I don't remember seeing hashbrowns in France; maybe that was just me), and the cheese selection was definitely lacking. Plus, we had to wait in line for 30 minutes just to get in! We are now in RRRRRancho Cucamonga, and the baby is crying. Gotta go.