Vacation Recap

I am back from Malibu/Fresno and it was so much fun! We got to camp for over a week, sit by a campfire every night (for some strange reason, I wasn't into the S'mores this time...so lame of me), go to the beach, see the waves on the beach at night (I missed the opportunity to see a sunset on the beach because I was sleeping...duh me), go shopping at thrift stores that reside in a ritzier part of town than I will probably ever see, eat some good home cooking and go to the Orange County Swap Meet. Fun was certainly had by this girl!

While it wasn't exactly relaxing due to the fact that there were a lot of kids camping this year and they were prone to get in trouble and we all had our eagle eyes out, my batteries are certainly recharged and I have a whole new outlook on life again.

There was kind of a revolving door in the camp because people were only staying a few days due to work and other commitments, but it was sooooo much fun meeting all those people. They were all so nice and happy and I found myself smiling more than I have in the past long while.

I had gone with a list of books I wanted to read, but didn't get much reading done (though more than Ashlee) because there was always a kid to keep track of, waterproofing of tents to be done (though I slept through most of that, I did help when I realized what was going on), dinner to be started, lunches to be made, breakfast to be cooked (I kind turned into the bacon girl while there if I woke up early enough) and more.

Naps were enjoyed by me and not so much for Ashlee, which I know she was really looking forward to.

I ended up doing 2 haircuts in camp for two semi-related little girls that turned out super-cute. I was supposed to cut and color my Aunt Gwen's hair, but that never happened...not quite sure why. I was also supposed to highlight another person's hair while I was in Fresno, but that never happened either. It would have been fun to be "back in the saddle."

An emergency burn and ensuing argument was had by burn victim to go to the emergency room. There is always one emergency per trip, I understand and it turned out to be bad, but okay.

I got to meet a family that is quite an inspiration and frankly changed my outlook and thought process permanently, I hope. Despite great challenges, they have banded together as a family and are making the best of a bad situation and everything else that seems to get thrown their way. Very moving and touching to someone looking in. They'll probably never read this, but someone will who knows who I'm talking about. Between this family and my extended family, my faith in my religion has been revived and strengthened. Much kudos because my family has been trying to do that for a very long time. Shows what living and leading by example and being in new circumstances can do.

I also went to go see Clash of the Titans...3D with Ashlee. I really liked it. Yeah, at times it was over the top and hokey, but come on...this is Greek mythology! Everything was over the top and extreme. Highly entertaining and quite informative, which I don't think the original Clash of the Titans movie had, even though I love that one, too.

My return trip was going to be a journey and I new it, but it turned out to be quite a journey! I had two layovers, one in Los Angeles for 4 hours and one in Las Vegas for what was supposed to be about 2 hours, but turned into more like 4 or 5. All told, my day from beginning flight to landing time in final destination turned out to be 13 hours. I could have driven home in that time, as my cousin Heidi pointed out, had I been able to drive.

All said and done, I'm very glad I went on this vacation, though technically, I couldn't afford it. It was very good for me and I got to see family much missed! It won't be so long next time and that's a threat and a promise!