A Few Questions

Why does California have to be so far from St. Louis?

Why did our families settle in the Midwest?

How is California so stinkin' awesome?

These questions were all raised by our recent adventure (vacation does not describe it) to Central/North Coast of California.

Sophia's joy below is her response to our first steps into the Pacific this time around.

It had been a few years since our last trip, and we were very excited to catch up again with the Creaches on the coast. Sophia loves hanging out with those cousins. They always pick up right where they left off. I'm hopeful it won't be another three years.

And the beach. Oh, the beach. After a couple days near San Francisco with the Creaches, we headed south between Santa Cruz and Monterey to a very out of the way condo complex between two state beaches. The rest of our week was spent primarily right there: building in the sand, running in the waves and watching the ocean change while it stayed the same.

A highlight for me was the fulfillment of a dream that many, many people share. Riding horses on the beach. This particular dream had the added bonus of whale and dolphin sightings. I could not stop smiling. Sophia was impressed, of course, but did not love the ride as much as she loved using her own two legs to get into the water.

The sun wasn't our constant companion, but it came out now and again. We didn't mind the clouds. Apparently, the sun makes people crazy...

On our last day in California, we packed a lot in. More beach, the redwoods and more pier fun in San Francisco.

Vacation was lovely. Restful, fun, adventurous, memorable. Happy to be home, but I think I'd be happier with just another couple weeks on the beach. Maybe a month.

Coastal Cousins

Quite a few things fell together to draw us to San Francisco and the Bay area last weekend. Redeemable Southwest points, a San Jose Earthquakes match and, most of all, the promise of getting to know some cousins better than we did before.

Erick's cousin Andy lives in the Bay Area. In adulthood, our families have mingled a handful of times, and every time we wish it could be longer. This last weekend, we decided to test the truth of that statement. Fortunately, we found that neither of us was just being polite.

 

During our visit, we filled our time with lots of play, soccer matches and even a couple of naps. We were very lucky to get to visit the winery where Andy and Bridget were married eleven years ago - almost to the day!

 

The weather was perfect, the conditions were restful (except a little stomach bug for Dylan), and the weekend went too quickly! Connor and Dylan wanted Sophia to stay and be their sister, which I'll take as a vicarious complement (yes, I just invented that phrase.) I have a feeling Sophia might have taken them up on the offer if we'd given her a chance!

 

Big Weekend

 

Just so you know, we went to San Francisco for the weekend, and I got my hair cut. More to come!

It's a Miracle

I have decided to cram the post about vacation into one because anything I say won't be enough. And too many pictures (I took over a thousand) will numb your minds.

Our vacation was fantastic in every way.

 

We had a great visit with Erick's grandma.

 

My favorite view is from her kitchen window.

 

We played.

 

and truly didn't tire of one another.

 

We ate good food.

 

 

The ocean was there.

 

 

We made new friends.

 

and enemies...

 

Sophia had her daddy.

 

 

And her books.

 

 

The sun set.

 

Perfection.

Away we go!

Vacation starts tomorrow. It seems surreal to say that, but it's really true! Tomorrow afternoon we're starting our vacation the way we did before Florida this summer - at the Kansas City Airport Marriott. We'll get relaxed and we'll get to swim. hopefully we'll get a decent night's sleep. Friday morning we fly on Southwest to LAX, where we will head out to see G.G. (Erick's grandma).

We are so looking forward to this trip. It's a week long vacation, in which we'll spend the last five days with friends (and the Timbers VanDykes) in a house on the beach north of San Diego. I can't think of a better way to spend a week in February.

The visit with Erick's grandma will be lots of fun too. It will be nice to catch up with her, and Sophia is always taken with her. We haven't been to her house since Sophia has been walking. She loved the lemon tree on our last visit. I can't imagine how much fun she'll have in a spring-like environment after being cooped up in this year's frozen tundra of Missouri. For that matter, I can't imagine how much fun I'll have getting to be outside!! I really can't wait.

Anyway, I'm not trying to rub it in. But I will try to update the blog if I can, as a journal of our activities if nothing else. I won't blame you if you don't read it. We'll be back next weekend and I may be back to normal blogging the next week. Who knows.

No more blogs from Missouri for over a week! Yippee!