Twas time this year to make the trip to the Hastings family Christmas at my grandma's house in Nevada. As per our usual, we had Christmas at home, let Mom enjoy her birthday (12/26), and then hit the road on 12/27. It was a slow ride thanks to tons and tons of traffic. I passed the time by trying out the knifty knitter my mom bought me for Christmas, napping, and listening to my MP3 player. We arrived in Boulder City just before dinner time, which allowed us to check into the Boulder Dam Hotel before meeting the rest of the clan for dinner.
12/27 is my AuntDiane's birthday, and she likes to go out for dinner on her birthday. So we ate right across the street at the Big Horn Cafe. Our nuclear family got to meet Diane's boyfriend Steve and Courtney's baby Michael. Dinner conversation centered heavily on wedding plans and preparations. It was fun to get to fill in the family and family friends who were there. For dinner, I enjoyed chicken parmesan and a tomato, lentil soup. Since we had two birthday celebrants, they gave us several baklava, two slices of cheesecake, and two slices of chocolate cake.
We spent a little time after dinner at Grandma's getting caught up with Diane and getting to know Steve. He was very sweet and brought each of us a scratcher as a gift. I think between the four of us we won $5 lol. Back at the hotel, we had an interesting "The Middle" esque incident before heading off to bed. Let's just say, it's a good thing we had two bathrooms.
The Boulder Dam Hotel provides a full breakfast now, which was fantastic. Tuesday morning I had juice and french toast with bacon. After a leisurely breakfast, we set out for the day. One of the family friends is an executor for people's estates, and wanted help moving some furniture. THus, fisst stop was at the estate. It was a little house built int he 50's. There was some very crazy wallpaper and an old dial phone.
The afternoon was spent at Grandma's, playing games and chatting, oh and playing with the baby! Mom made a roast for dinner and we enjoyed a round of The Game of Things over dessert. Our evening was made complete by stopping by a house with most Christmas decorations I've ever seen! They had lights EVERYWHERE!!! We took quite a few pictures and then retired to our hotel.
Wednesday for breakfast I had some very delicious blueberry pancakes. My aunts and cousin had left for home early that morning, so it was just us and Grandma for the day. The four of us drove out to see the new bridge over the Colorado River from Hoover Dam. We had pizza lunch in town and did a bit of shopping. Quite luckily, we happened across some very cheap bridal shower supplies and stocked up on plates/cups/napkins, balloons, invitations, and thank you cards.
We ate up the leftovers for dinner and played some more games. Though there weren't new ones on, we watched a couple episodes of teh Middle and Modern Family. Thursday morning we had breakfast, said our goodbyes to Grandma, and were on the road again. We stopped at a Krispee Kremes to fuel up and got a dozen donuts and tasty coffee drinks. The way home held much better traffic. The only excitement we had was seeing a jack-knifed semi, and seeing snow.
Boulder City doesn't have much excitement, but it's always nice to see family and celebrate the holidays together :)
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
Ten Highlights of 2010
I feel like I was just writing one of these posts for 2009. I certainly have years that are filled with fun things and changes. As fun as it is, I won't mind when grad school is done and things are a little more relaxed in my life. Here are some of my favorite things from the year. :)
On the ferris wheel at Boomers
The hat shop in Seaport Village
In front of our hotel
On the farm in Cambria. This is the next picture I'm going to submit for the GDB calender.
Me with my supervisor Joann
Thanksgiving Day at my parents'
Looking back, 2010 has been a wonderful year with progress made towards my Master's degree and plenty of time spent with my love. 2011 can only get better from here!
Family Cruise in the Caribbean
At the very beginning of 2010 my entire family took a fantastic vacation to the Caribbean Islands of Puerto Rico, St Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, and Aruba. We had a week onboard the Caribbean Princess. My favorite part of the trip was seeing the joy on Valencia's face on our catamaran ride in St Thomas.
First Valentine's Day Spent with my Love
This was very special to me. In the 3 and 1/2 years we had been dating, Valentine's day had never been a convenient time to be together. Now that Tad and I live int he same city, it's usually convenient to be together. Tad planned a very sweet surprise date for me. We made a cherry vanilla cake, and then re-created our first date by going to Boomers for mini golf and go carts. After which we got our favorite appetizers at Applebee's.
On the ferris wheel at BoomersSpring Break with my Biola Girls
For a fun change, instead of visiting my Biola girls (Becky and Krista), they came to me. We spent a few fun days catching up and exploring San Diego. We watched Walk the Line, had Rubios with Tad, and spent a day in Seaport Village. I sure do love those ladies!
The hat shop in Seaport VillageMother-Daughter Trip to SF
In April, I happened to get a four day weekend, which happened to coincide with the California Council of the Blind convention in Burlingame. We flew up and enjoyed a long weekend of relaxing, shopping, and seeing old friends. We ate out at an old favorite Chinses restaurant one night, had dinner with friends from church another, and got to see my friends Amy and Dave as well as Valencia's puppy raisers. Oh, and I went to some convention related things lol
In front of our hotelElizabeth & Matthew's Wedding
My friend Elizabeth got married on April 24 at the Grand Tradition in Fallbrook. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding. It was also another fun excuse to get to dress up and go to a party with Tad. We enjoyed spending time together, meeting some new friends, eating some delicious food, and celebrating Elizabeth and Matthew's marriage with them. :)
Birthday Weekend with Becky
Becky's and my birthdays are 2 days apart and we have found a way to celebrate them together every year since we met freshman year at Biola. This year was no exception. I did the train ride up to Fullerton and had lunch with Becky at The Olde Ship (a pub!). We had our birthday dinner at Red Robin, and Krista and I watched Becky perform in the orchestra pit for Biola Youth Theater's production of Cats!. It is good to have a birthday buddy! =)
4 Year Anniversary
This was only our 2nd anniversary actually spent together, the 1st being our one year. Like Valentine's Day, Tad planned a surprise date for me, which consisted of a delicious Round Table pizza and a movie night in with mocchi to snack on. By dating anniversary 5, we will be married!
Family Summer Vacation
Our week of family vacation kicked off with a trip to the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Bowl concert. We went with the Biola Alumni Association and enjoyed a spectacular Tchaikovsky concert complete with fireworks. Several days later, we embarked on our trip to Cambria. It was a relaxing week of tidepooling, shopping, farm exploring, Hearst Castle touring, and Olallaberry pie, yum!
On the farm in Cambria. This is the next picture I'm going to submit for the GDB calender.Sharp Community Re-entry Internship
This fall I had my first off campus clinical experience. And I loved it. I became a part of the family at the day treatment program at Sharp Memorial. I learned a lot, met some very cool therapists and clients, and became very confused about what I actually want to do after graduation.
Me with my supervisor JoannEngagement
Probably the happiest day of my life to date - on November 23, my sweetheart asked me to be his wife. I am thoroughly enjoying being able to call him my fiance and enjoying planning my wedding. This highlihgt to be continued in 2011 ;)
Thanksgiving Day at my parents'Looking back, 2010 has been a wonderful year with progress made towards my Master's degree and plenty of time spent with my love. 2011 can only get better from here!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Moonstone Beach
Our family vacation week continued Monday bright and early. We left the house around 9:30 to head to a formerly favorite vacation spot: Cambria, CA. About 12 years ago, we went for 4 years in a row and stayed at Captain's Cove Inn on Moonstone Beach. We enjoyed tidepooling, exploring the little shops, visitng nearby farms, and touring Hearst Castle. When thinking of a family vacation destination for this year, we decided it was high time to go back.
The ride was long, but fairly tolerable with very little heavy raffic. We got lunch from McDonald's in LA and had hoped to stop at a family favorite restaurant called Hobee's in San Louis Obispo. Sadly, Hobee's was no longer there. Instead we got cookies from the Madonna Inn. The most amusing part of the drive was Tilly growling at a hobo on the side of the road. We arrived on Moonstone Beach just before dinnertime. My mom had wanted to bring Tilly with us, so instead of Captain's Cove we stayed at the Cambria Shores Inn. I think everyone staying there had at least one dog with them.
The owners were great. They gave us a goody basket for the dogs which included some treats, towels for them to sleep on, and an issue of "Fido" magazine. Each eveningthere were appetizers set out in the lobby (next to the bowl of dog treats), every afternoon there were fresh baked cookies, and every morning there was a breakfast basket with muffins, croissants, and fresh fruit.
We settled into our room, freshened up, and then went straight into town for dinner. Night #1 we decided on our favorite place in town, Linn's. Linn's is a family owned restaurant, but not just that. They have a farm just outside of town with a large shop of fresh made jams, syrups, etc. They also have several boutiques in town and a small cafe. For dinner I had the berry stuffed chicken which was incredible. For dessert we took home one of their famous Olallieberry pie. Olallieberry is a cross between loganberry and youngberry which are crosses of blackberries and raspberries. The pie is absolutely wonderful!
Tuesday morning we drove to Linn's farm to do a bit of shopping and watch the peacocks that roam around the farm. My mom and I had fun taking numerous different farm themed pictures, many including Valencia. Lunch was in town at "Easy as Pie", the cafe associated with Linn's. Mom and I shared an amazing chicken and berry salad.
We all crashed for naps back in our room and then set out for our first try at tidepooling of the trip. We found a number of hermit crabs and one starfish clung onto a dry rock. For dinner we decided on the Mexican place in town called Las Cambritas. It was very festive, and the food was pretty good. Back in our room we had another slice of Olallieberry pie and watched "The Bucket List".
Wednesday morning was our tour of Hearst Castle. Back when we were coming every year, we had done all of the main tours, leaving only the gardens and special night tours. None of the evening tours were available during this trip, so we did the first tour again. It was just as incredible the second time to see everything. That man did not think in small scale on ANYTHING! lol
My parents had leftovers from Las Cambritas for lunch, but Steve and I did not. While my mom purused the shops, Steve and I got lunch from Round Up Pizza and Grub. The food was good, and I love hanging with my brother, but I felt like the staff assumed we were on a date, which was quite awkward. Once we'd eaten, we joined my parents for shopping, and got icecream before heading back to the room. My dad and I took another stab at tidepooling and found more hermit crabs, anemones, and a submerged starfish.
Everybody was still rather full from eating a late lunch, so we ate a light dinner back at Easy as Pie. We took another olallieberry pie back with us and watched "The Blindside". What a great movie that is. I love things that are true stories and don't overdramaticize conflict.
Thursday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast basket and headed for home. We stopped for lunch in Santa Barbara and stopped again at a Wendy's not too far from Biola.
It definitely wasn't a high action trip or an exotic one, but it sure did the trick of relaxation!
The ride was long, but fairly tolerable with very little heavy raffic. We got lunch from McDonald's in LA and had hoped to stop at a family favorite restaurant called Hobee's in San Louis Obispo. Sadly, Hobee's was no longer there. Instead we got cookies from the Madonna Inn. The most amusing part of the drive was Tilly growling at a hobo on the side of the road. We arrived on Moonstone Beach just before dinnertime. My mom had wanted to bring Tilly with us, so instead of Captain's Cove we stayed at the Cambria Shores Inn. I think everyone staying there had at least one dog with them.
The owners were great. They gave us a goody basket for the dogs which included some treats, towels for them to sleep on, and an issue of "Fido" magazine. Each eveningthere were appetizers set out in the lobby (next to the bowl of dog treats), every afternoon there were fresh baked cookies, and every morning there was a breakfast basket with muffins, croissants, and fresh fruit.
We settled into our room, freshened up, and then went straight into town for dinner. Night #1 we decided on our favorite place in town, Linn's. Linn's is a family owned restaurant, but not just that. They have a farm just outside of town with a large shop of fresh made jams, syrups, etc. They also have several boutiques in town and a small cafe. For dinner I had the berry stuffed chicken which was incredible. For dessert we took home one of their famous Olallieberry pie. Olallieberry is a cross between loganberry and youngberry which are crosses of blackberries and raspberries. The pie is absolutely wonderful!
Tuesday morning we drove to Linn's farm to do a bit of shopping and watch the peacocks that roam around the farm. My mom and I had fun taking numerous different farm themed pictures, many including Valencia. Lunch was in town at "Easy as Pie", the cafe associated with Linn's. Mom and I shared an amazing chicken and berry salad.
We all crashed for naps back in our room and then set out for our first try at tidepooling of the trip. We found a number of hermit crabs and one starfish clung onto a dry rock. For dinner we decided on the Mexican place in town called Las Cambritas. It was very festive, and the food was pretty good. Back in our room we had another slice of Olallieberry pie and watched "The Bucket List".
Wednesday morning was our tour of Hearst Castle. Back when we were coming every year, we had done all of the main tours, leaving only the gardens and special night tours. None of the evening tours were available during this trip, so we did the first tour again. It was just as incredible the second time to see everything. That man did not think in small scale on ANYTHING! lol
My parents had leftovers from Las Cambritas for lunch, but Steve and I did not. While my mom purused the shops, Steve and I got lunch from Round Up Pizza and Grub. The food was good, and I love hanging with my brother, but I felt like the staff assumed we were on a date, which was quite awkward. Once we'd eaten, we joined my parents for shopping, and got icecream before heading back to the room. My dad and I took another stab at tidepooling and found more hermit crabs, anemones, and a submerged starfish.
Everybody was still rather full from eating a late lunch, so we ate a light dinner back at Easy as Pie. We took another olallieberry pie back with us and watched "The Blindside". What a great movie that is. I love things that are true stories and don't overdramaticize conflict.
Thursday morning we enjoyed our last breakfast basket and headed for home. We stopped for lunch in Santa Barbara and stopped again at a Wendy's not too far from Biola.
It definitely wasn't a high action trip or an exotic one, but it sure did the trick of relaxation!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Hollywood!
My family didn't make any particularly big plans for summer, partially because we had our cruise in January, and partially because of other expenses that came up, but my dad took the last week of August off from work. Thus Friday kicked off our family vacation time. The Biola Alumni Association planned an event to go to one of the Hollywood Bowl concerts, and since the Griffith Observatory is only a short distance from the Bowl, we planned a day trip out of it.
We ended up with a little extra excitement before our trip when my dad came home Thursday night to find water trickling out of the water softener in the garage. It became worse, to the point where we had to shut off the water to the house. This meant that we had to brush our teeth out of water bottles, and I didn't get my shower for the day. I greatly disliked the idea of doing a whole car trip, without having had a shower. Fortunately, the LA Fitness that my dad and Dave are members at agreed to let me shower there.
The Culligan man was able to fix the problem, and we left only about an hour later than originally planned. Our drive went pretty well until about 10 miles past Biola when we hit tons of traffic, and continued to hit traffic until we reached our destination, 2 hours later. We got lunch from a little golf course cafe and then drove up the hill to the observatory. The Griffith Observatory has beautiful views of the LA area. You can even see the Hollywood sign off in the distance. We browsed the exhibits for a couple hours, and then made the short drive over to the Bowl.
The Alumni Association provided a picnic dinner prior to the concert. We enjoyed chatting with alumni from different eras of Biola. Steve won a "I went to Biola" tshirt for answering that the eagle is our mascot. After dinner we looked through some of the Bowl shops, and then took our seats. The concert was incredible. It was an all Tchaikovsky performance, a coronation march for the czar, a violin concerto, Capriccio Italiano, the waltz from Swan Lake, and the 1812 Overture. The USC band joined in at the end of 1812 during the most amazing fireworks display I've ever seen.
The conductor for the evening was a guest conductor, but I liked him very much. He was British and had a wonderful sense of humor. Some favorite quotes from the evening:
"The trombones have exited. They don't play in this piece (referring to the violin concerto)...this is a piece of beauty and enchantment."
"You can't ignore trombones, though it's well worth the effort."
"The percussionist would follow the music, allegedly,..."
During intermission we were given the delightful treat of chocolate chip cookies from the Biola cafeteria. While eating these cookies, I discovered that the people sitting directly behind me were Beardo and Ali Rader. It was nice to get to see some people I knew, and who were close-ish to my age.
Following the concert was an adventure I didn't expect. The Bowl parking is done in ferry ashion, cars are just all packed in. This is great for saving space...but it means that the people who get to their cars first, can't necessarily leave first. My mom and I ended up walking back to our car in what felt like a stopped freeway. There were break lights everywhere and people trying to figure out how to get out as soon as possible. We made it safely to our car, and in turn safely home.
It was a great way to start our week of vacation, and a wonderful first Hollywood Bowl experience.
We ended up with a little extra excitement before our trip when my dad came home Thursday night to find water trickling out of the water softener in the garage. It became worse, to the point where we had to shut off the water to the house. This meant that we had to brush our teeth out of water bottles, and I didn't get my shower for the day. I greatly disliked the idea of doing a whole car trip, without having had a shower. Fortunately, the LA Fitness that my dad and Dave are members at agreed to let me shower there.
The Culligan man was able to fix the problem, and we left only about an hour later than originally planned. Our drive went pretty well until about 10 miles past Biola when we hit tons of traffic, and continued to hit traffic until we reached our destination, 2 hours later. We got lunch from a little golf course cafe and then drove up the hill to the observatory. The Griffith Observatory has beautiful views of the LA area. You can even see the Hollywood sign off in the distance. We browsed the exhibits for a couple hours, and then made the short drive over to the Bowl.
The Alumni Association provided a picnic dinner prior to the concert. We enjoyed chatting with alumni from different eras of Biola. Steve won a "I went to Biola" tshirt for answering that the eagle is our mascot. After dinner we looked through some of the Bowl shops, and then took our seats. The concert was incredible. It was an all Tchaikovsky performance, a coronation march for the czar, a violin concerto, Capriccio Italiano, the waltz from Swan Lake, and the 1812 Overture. The USC band joined in at the end of 1812 during the most amazing fireworks display I've ever seen.
The conductor for the evening was a guest conductor, but I liked him very much. He was British and had a wonderful sense of humor. Some favorite quotes from the evening:
"The trombones have exited. They don't play in this piece (referring to the violin concerto)...this is a piece of beauty and enchantment."
"You can't ignore trombones, though it's well worth the effort."
"The percussionist would follow the music, allegedly,..."
During intermission we were given the delightful treat of chocolate chip cookies from the Biola cafeteria. While eating these cookies, I discovered that the people sitting directly behind me were Beardo and Ali Rader. It was nice to get to see some people I knew, and who were close-ish to my age.
Following the concert was an adventure I didn't expect. The Bowl parking is done in ferry ashion, cars are just all packed in. This is great for saving space...but it means that the people who get to their cars first, can't necessarily leave first. My mom and I ended up walking back to our car in what felt like a stopped freeway. There were break lights everywhere and people trying to figure out how to get out as soon as possible. We made it safely to our car, and in turn safely home.
It was a great way to start our week of vacation, and a wonderful first Hollywood Bowl experience.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Mental Health Vacay
So that whole thing about needing to get away from school? Yeah, sometimes it's bad enough I need to leave the area entirely, haha
The weekend before last my mom and I took a girls' trip to San Francisco. It came up because of the California Council of the Blind conference, but we made a full trip out of it. I had half of Wed and all of Thurs and Fri off because my professors were going to a professional conference in Monterey, so Tad picked me up after clinic and stopped by Pick Up Stix for $0.25 wantons and lunch. Mom picked me up from the condo, and decided she needed some wantons as well. Thus we stopped by Pick Up Stix up by home and Borders.
I spent the night at home, and we flew up to San Fran Thurs morning. Since we arrived at our hotel (the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame) a couple hours before check in, I signed in for the convention, we shared a delicious salad in the hotel restaurant, and then we headed in to explore downtown Burlingame. Burlingame happens to be where my family lived when I was born. My dad was in his residency at UCSF and then we moved down to SD when I was 5 (just in time to start school).
We walked up and down Broadway Ave, looking at the different shops and restaurants, and stopped at a cute old-fashioned icecream and candy shop to sahre some rainbow sherbet.
Back at the hotel we had to wait a little longer for our room to be ready. We sat in the lobby and chatted with a fellow convention goer by the name of Sean. My mom was eager to talk to him because he has a dog from GDB as well: a coated German Shepherd by the name of Dupont. Dupont is about 3 times Valencia's size, and a very beautiful dog.
Once our room was ready, we dropped our stuff off and freshened up before going to a reception for the new president of Lighthouse for the Blind (Braille Institute equivalent for northern California). The reception was free, had hot hors d'oeuvres, and a free drink. I saw a few of the people I know from the CCLVI board, and we got free food :o) Following the reception, Mom and I went to a short concert by the California School for the Blind jazz band.
Since we had a late lunch and appetizers, we got clam chowder to go from the hotel restaurant for dinner. I worked on a it of homework, and then got to bed early.
Friday morning I went to the CCCLV session on audible traffic signals. It was interesting hearing about what has been done in San Francisco and working with the city. I worked on mor ehomework while Mom picked up a rental car. When she got back, we went for lunch at a neighborhood favorite breakfast/lunch place called Stacks. We split a delicious club sandwich. After lunch we hit the shops of Burlingame Ave. Mom got a few new items and I got a new shirt. We also stopped by the chocolate shop where Mom took me for my first outing when I was 3 days old.
We went back to the hotel to feed Valencia and freshen up before meeting friends for dinner. Linda dn Joe were friends of my parents from church when we lived up there. They have a daughter who's a little older than me and a son who's about a year younger. It was a fun visit. I remember their son, but was too little to really remember them. We had a nice visit over chips and salsa, and then lasagna and cheesecake for dessert. Back at the hotel, we watched a couple episodes of the Office and then got to bed.
Saturday morning was busy for me. I went to the Blind Students business meeting, and then slipped out early to go to the guide dog users meeting. They had instructors from several different guide dgo schools (including GDB) talking about dog attacks. After the meeting they had a luncheon and some raffles.
My friends Amy and Dave drove up after the luncheon to visit for the day. They hadn't eaten, so Mom and I took them to Stacks. We shared a "Jitterbug" smoothie (java and banana) and looked at Dave and Amy's wedding album. After lunch we walked up and down Burlingame Ave again and stopped by Baskin Robbin's. Now completely full, we went for a drive through Hillsborough and stopped to walk by the Crystal Springs Reservoir.
Dave and Amy went home around dinner time, which left Mom and me to do our own thing for dinner. We went to Hong Kong Flower Lounge, a Chinese restaurant that had been a favorite when we lived there. We shared kung pow chicken and a vegetable clay pot dish. It was delicious! We finished off the night by watching Four Christmases back at the hotel.
Sunday morning we inadvertently missed the devotional service because my alarm hadn't been set, oops. I went to the closing session of the conference. A little after that, Valencia's puppy raisers arrived to have lunch with us. I'll give you one guess where we took them, =D
That's right, Stacks! It was wonderful catching up with them. I'm so glad they got to see Valencia again. They had with them the current puppy they're raising, Kyra. They're a great family, I'm glad we've kept in touch.
After lunch, it was time for Mom and me to get to the airport and back to real life.
I had a great time. It was a lot of fun spending so much time with just my mom. It was also interesting, because there were a lot of Europeans at our hotel who were stranded because of the volcano in Iceland. We got to talk to several of them while in the business center at the hotel.
Now, just a few more weeks until some time off, and a much less hectic semester!
The weekend before last my mom and I took a girls' trip to San Francisco. It came up because of the California Council of the Blind conference, but we made a full trip out of it. I had half of Wed and all of Thurs and Fri off because my professors were going to a professional conference in Monterey, so Tad picked me up after clinic and stopped by Pick Up Stix for $0.25 wantons and lunch. Mom picked me up from the condo, and decided she needed some wantons as well. Thus we stopped by Pick Up Stix up by home and Borders.
I spent the night at home, and we flew up to San Fran Thurs morning. Since we arrived at our hotel (the Crowne Plaza in Burlingame) a couple hours before check in, I signed in for the convention, we shared a delicious salad in the hotel restaurant, and then we headed in to explore downtown Burlingame. Burlingame happens to be where my family lived when I was born. My dad was in his residency at UCSF and then we moved down to SD when I was 5 (just in time to start school).
We walked up and down Broadway Ave, looking at the different shops and restaurants, and stopped at a cute old-fashioned icecream and candy shop to sahre some rainbow sherbet.
Back at the hotel we had to wait a little longer for our room to be ready. We sat in the lobby and chatted with a fellow convention goer by the name of Sean. My mom was eager to talk to him because he has a dog from GDB as well: a coated German Shepherd by the name of Dupont. Dupont is about 3 times Valencia's size, and a very beautiful dog.
Once our room was ready, we dropped our stuff off and freshened up before going to a reception for the new president of Lighthouse for the Blind (Braille Institute equivalent for northern California). The reception was free, had hot hors d'oeuvres, and a free drink. I saw a few of the people I know from the CCLVI board, and we got free food :o) Following the reception, Mom and I went to a short concert by the California School for the Blind jazz band.
Since we had a late lunch and appetizers, we got clam chowder to go from the hotel restaurant for dinner. I worked on a it of homework, and then got to bed early.
Friday morning I went to the CCCLV session on audible traffic signals. It was interesting hearing about what has been done in San Francisco and working with the city. I worked on mor ehomework while Mom picked up a rental car. When she got back, we went for lunch at a neighborhood favorite breakfast/lunch place called Stacks. We split a delicious club sandwich. After lunch we hit the shops of Burlingame Ave. Mom got a few new items and I got a new shirt. We also stopped by the chocolate shop where Mom took me for my first outing when I was 3 days old.
We went back to the hotel to feed Valencia and freshen up before meeting friends for dinner. Linda dn Joe were friends of my parents from church when we lived up there. They have a daughter who's a little older than me and a son who's about a year younger. It was a fun visit. I remember their son, but was too little to really remember them. We had a nice visit over chips and salsa, and then lasagna and cheesecake for dessert. Back at the hotel, we watched a couple episodes of the Office and then got to bed.
Saturday morning was busy for me. I went to the Blind Students business meeting, and then slipped out early to go to the guide dog users meeting. They had instructors from several different guide dgo schools (including GDB) talking about dog attacks. After the meeting they had a luncheon and some raffles.
My friends Amy and Dave drove up after the luncheon to visit for the day. They hadn't eaten, so Mom and I took them to Stacks. We shared a "Jitterbug" smoothie (java and banana) and looked at Dave and Amy's wedding album. After lunch we walked up and down Burlingame Ave again and stopped by Baskin Robbin's. Now completely full, we went for a drive through Hillsborough and stopped to walk by the Crystal Springs Reservoir.
Dave and Amy went home around dinner time, which left Mom and me to do our own thing for dinner. We went to Hong Kong Flower Lounge, a Chinese restaurant that had been a favorite when we lived there. We shared kung pow chicken and a vegetable clay pot dish. It was delicious! We finished off the night by watching Four Christmases back at the hotel.
Sunday morning we inadvertently missed the devotional service because my alarm hadn't been set, oops. I went to the closing session of the conference. A little after that, Valencia's puppy raisers arrived to have lunch with us. I'll give you one guess where we took them, =D
That's right, Stacks! It was wonderful catching up with them. I'm so glad they got to see Valencia again. They had with them the current puppy they're raising, Kyra. They're a great family, I'm glad we've kept in touch.
After lunch, it was time for Mom and me to get to the airport and back to real life.
I had a great time. It was a lot of fun spending so much time with just my mom. It was also interesting, because there were a lot of Europeans at our hotel who were stranded because of the volcano in Iceland. We got to talk to several of them while in the business center at the hotel.
Now, just a few more weeks until some time off, and a much less hectic semester!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Caribbean Getaway
What a wonderful trip, I'm pretty sure it helped me regain my sanity! hahaha I'm going to attempt to keep this at a "not too long" length, but I tend to be pretty windy in my blogging, so we'll see.
1/2/10 Travel to Puerto Rico
Our trip started at 5:00 on a Saturday morning. The trip through the San Diego airport went without any hitches as did our flight to Atlanta. We entertained ourselves with the onboard trivia game for a good portion of the flight. Atlanta gave us a special treat in that it was 32 degrees farenheit when we arrived. We had lunch, and somehow convinced airport officials to let me relieve Valencia out on the tarmack...something that has not been allowed since 9/11. Go figure. From Atlanta we finished our flying and arrived in much warmer and much more humid,, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
My parents had planned for us to stay the night in San Juan and have Sunday morning and afternoon to explore the city before boarding the ship. We stayed at the Isla Verde Marriott. (Isla Verde is a part of San Juan). The hotel was still decorated quite festively for the Christmas season (all Hispanic countries have a major celebration on Jan 6 for Epiphany, or "3 King's Day" as they call it). There was a live band playing in one of the hotel's bars and there were people dacning EVERYWHERE, including the main lobby, haha It was quite the party!
Upon checking in we were given coupons for free drinks from one of the bars, so we dropped off our luggage in our rooms and went to go get dinner and our drinks. My mom and I both enjoyed a mojito, pretty good and not too much alcohol. The atlantic ocean serenaded us as we ate our dinner out on one of the patios. By the time we finished eating, we were all plenty ready for bed.
1/3/10 San Juan and the Caribbean Princess
Sunday morning la familia arose at a decent hour, ate breakfast at the hotel buffet, and set off for our adventure around the city. Our cab driver Eric took us through the districts in New San Juan and dropped us off at El Morro fort. El Morro dates back to the 16th/17th centuries when Puerto Rico was a part of Spain. It is also where some of the Die Another Day James Bond movie was filmed. After leaving El Morro, we had a thorough walking exploration of Old San Juan before meeting up again with Eric and heading to the ship.
Our check in time before boarding was expedited thanks to having Valencia and in no time we were up eating lunch at the buffet.
Our fabulous room steward Ariel helped us get setted, and sent us in the right direction to find Valencia's potty station for the trip. That's seriously been the most frequent question I've been asked "how did she go potty on the ship". They had several small wood boxes with woodchips int hem, basicay like a giant litter box.
And then it was time to get ready for dinner. We had first seating in the Palm Dining Room. Our table was right by a window, which gave us great views on a couple of the evenings. Our servers were wonderful, Anya (from Ukraine) and Borche (from Macedonia). Highlight from dinner #1: prime rib. Following dinner I went with my parents to a flamenco and classical guitar show by Juan Carlos and then to the Sail Away party with my dad and Steve.
1/4/10 St Thomas
The ship docked bright and early Monday morning in St Thomas, thus we arose bright and early to eat breakfast in the Coral dining room, change into our swim gear, and head ashore for our "Champagne Cruise". The tour company bused us across the island in an open air bus, to the dock where we met our crew for the excursion: Johnny, Eric, and Joe of The Adventurer (who informed us they weren't classy enough to call their trip a "champagne cruise" but instead a "booze cruise" lol).
This catamaran ride was I think Valencia's favorite part of the entire trip. We let her sit on deck with us and watch the water go by. She was in doggy heaven. Our guides took us from St. Thomas to St. John's, another of the US Virgin Islands, where we had time to snorkel, swim, or hang out ont he beach. I did a little of all 3, but mostly hung out on the beach.
On our trip back to St. Thomas is when the party really started. Our crew broke out the fruit platters, mimosas, and rum punch, and we rocked out to classic rock and Bob Marley all the way back to shore.
Before getting back on the ship, my mom and I did a bit of shopping. We bought a pair of sterling and larimar (a local stone) earrings from a native lady named Mandla. Once back aboard we grabbed some pizza from the pool deck, and had a nap.
Monday was the first of our formal nights, so all of us got snazzed up and headed down for night #2 of amazing food. Highlight of dinner #2: nutella icecream. We took a family portrait in the Mezzanine, watched the champagne fountain get kicked off, and went to a comedian show. After the show, my dad and I played Jeopardy trivia with several Canadian ladies on our team.
1/5/10 Dominica
Another delicious breakfast was made more fun by our server with the sweets tray "Sugar, for my honey?" (directed to Dave, lol). The island of Dominica gave us our sudden Caribbean rain shower experience, as we dashed to the shoppping warehouse by the dock. I bought a woven straw hot pad type mat and several kinds of spices.
I had a nap back on ship, then lunch with the family in the dining room. After gazpacho, half a cheeseburger, and some delicious Italian icecream, we set off for snorkeling trip #2. This was also a champagne snorkel, but champagne in this case referred to bubbles int he water due to volcanic activity. It was pretty neat, plus we got to see the site of some of the Pirates of the Caribbean filming.
Highlight of dinner #3: key lime pie
We opted for the hypnotist show Tuesday evening and then did some shopping out int he mezzanine.
1/6/10 Grenada
Unfortunately, by the time we got to Grenada, it was evident I had caught a cold and an ear infection. I seem to have this habit of getting sick on family vacations now. I still enjoyed the day, but was a little sleepier throughout it.
Our tour for the day was a driving tour of the island. Our tour guide Luther took us to Fort Frederick, a volcanic crater lake, to see a local lady who is very knowledgeable about spices, and to a beautiful waterfall. Grenada has a very old timey Dutch look and feel to it, which makes it a very cute place, and very very green.
The ship was in port shorter Wednesday because we had quite a ways to go to get to our next port. We were back aboard for lunch (pizza again) and icecream from the pool deck, and then (you guessed it) nap time.
Wednesday was Italian night for dinner, including proscuto, nippy peach soup (favorite soup of the trip), veel scalopini, and tiramisu.
1/7/10 Bonaire
Bonaire is another Dutch West Indies island. We explored some shops in the town nearest the dock and then took a taxi over to the best snorkeling beach I have ever seen. The water was so incredibly clear I couldn't believe it. If you waded out to about waist deep, and looked down, there were your feet, and TONS of fish. We had lunch on the beach before returning to the ship for a nap.
Highlights of dinner #5: lemon strawberry sorbet, and I tried ratatouille
The show Thursday was my favorite of the comedians on this trip. Afterwards we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding in our stateroom.
1/8/10 Aruba
The fifth and final port on our cruise was Aruba. Aruba and Bonaire were my favorites of the ports. We took a bus from Oranjstad to Palm Beach. Palm Beach is along where mos tof the main resorts in Aruba are. After we'd had our fill of beach time for the day, we explored one of the nearby resorts, and went back to the ship to shower, change, and have lunch
I went back into town with my parents to do some shopping. While there, my dad and I picked up soem phrases in Papmiento (the language of the island, a mix of French, Dutch, Spanish, and a few others). My mom and I got matching necklaces from a jewelry shop on the way back to ship.
Friday was our second formal night. Highlight of dinner #6: feasant with challots.
We took a second family portrait, and had a Lindsey/Valencia photoshoot, which made a lot of people in line very happy.
1
In lieu of a show, my parents and I went to the "newlywed/Not so Newlywed" game, amusing, but slightly awkward at times.1
1/9/10 At sea
The finald ay of our voyage was spent entirely at sea (making our way back across the Caribbean from Aruba to San Juan). We arose a bit late and got breakfast from the buffet. Down in one of the dining rooms was an "outlet sale". Basically they put on sale stuff that has been in inventory for a looong time, lol. I did get a cute shirt from it though.
Then came an activity I'd never done on a cruise before. I went to the ship doctor (for my ear). They gave me some antibiotics and ear drops fo the infection.
I then joined my dad and Steve for morning trivia, which we won! We went to the Crown Dining Room for the "Pub Lunch" I got cottage pie, basically like shepherd's pie. After lunch it was time for a nap, and then more trivia, which was a lot harder, but still fun.
My mom, Dave, and I went for afternoon tea. I love afternoon tea, my favorite part is the scones with jam and cream. Mmm
Our final dinner was "American Night". I had a Caesar salad and New York strip steak. Teh highlight of the evening was the "Baked Alaska Parade" and then of course, eating the baked Alaska, yum! And our final show of the trip was a variety show. Two different comedians and a hypnotist, lots of fun :)
It was a great trip, very relaxing. Plus, we met some great people. Like the deaf couple who also have a service dog (but didn't bring it) and the Romanian waitress at the table next to us in the dining room.
Can't wait for our next family adventure :D
1/2/10 Travel to Puerto Rico
Our trip started at 5:00 on a Saturday morning. The trip through the San Diego airport went without any hitches as did our flight to Atlanta. We entertained ourselves with the onboard trivia game for a good portion of the flight. Atlanta gave us a special treat in that it was 32 degrees farenheit when we arrived. We had lunch, and somehow convinced airport officials to let me relieve Valencia out on the tarmack...something that has not been allowed since 9/11. Go figure. From Atlanta we finished our flying and arrived in much warmer and much more humid,, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
My parents had planned for us to stay the night in San Juan and have Sunday morning and afternoon to explore the city before boarding the ship. We stayed at the Isla Verde Marriott. (Isla Verde is a part of San Juan). The hotel was still decorated quite festively for the Christmas season (all Hispanic countries have a major celebration on Jan 6 for Epiphany, or "3 King's Day" as they call it). There was a live band playing in one of the hotel's bars and there were people dacning EVERYWHERE, including the main lobby, haha It was quite the party!
Upon checking in we were given coupons for free drinks from one of the bars, so we dropped off our luggage in our rooms and went to go get dinner and our drinks. My mom and I both enjoyed a mojito, pretty good and not too much alcohol. The atlantic ocean serenaded us as we ate our dinner out on one of the patios. By the time we finished eating, we were all plenty ready for bed.
1/3/10 San Juan and the Caribbean Princess
Sunday morning la familia arose at a decent hour, ate breakfast at the hotel buffet, and set off for our adventure around the city. Our cab driver Eric took us through the districts in New San Juan and dropped us off at El Morro fort. El Morro dates back to the 16th/17th centuries when Puerto Rico was a part of Spain. It is also where some of the Die Another Day James Bond movie was filmed. After leaving El Morro, we had a thorough walking exploration of Old San Juan before meeting up again with Eric and heading to the ship.
Our check in time before boarding was expedited thanks to having Valencia and in no time we were up eating lunch at the buffet.
Our fabulous room steward Ariel helped us get setted, and sent us in the right direction to find Valencia's potty station for the trip. That's seriously been the most frequent question I've been asked "how did she go potty on the ship". They had several small wood boxes with woodchips int hem, basicay like a giant litter box.
And then it was time to get ready for dinner. We had first seating in the Palm Dining Room. Our table was right by a window, which gave us great views on a couple of the evenings. Our servers were wonderful, Anya (from Ukraine) and Borche (from Macedonia). Highlight from dinner #1: prime rib. Following dinner I went with my parents to a flamenco and classical guitar show by Juan Carlos and then to the Sail Away party with my dad and Steve.
1/4/10 St Thomas
The ship docked bright and early Monday morning in St Thomas, thus we arose bright and early to eat breakfast in the Coral dining room, change into our swim gear, and head ashore for our "Champagne Cruise". The tour company bused us across the island in an open air bus, to the dock where we met our crew for the excursion: Johnny, Eric, and Joe of The Adventurer (who informed us they weren't classy enough to call their trip a "champagne cruise" but instead a "booze cruise" lol).
This catamaran ride was I think Valencia's favorite part of the entire trip. We let her sit on deck with us and watch the water go by. She was in doggy heaven. Our guides took us from St. Thomas to St. John's, another of the US Virgin Islands, where we had time to snorkel, swim, or hang out ont he beach. I did a little of all 3, but mostly hung out on the beach.
On our trip back to St. Thomas is when the party really started. Our crew broke out the fruit platters, mimosas, and rum punch, and we rocked out to classic rock and Bob Marley all the way back to shore.
Before getting back on the ship, my mom and I did a bit of shopping. We bought a pair of sterling and larimar (a local stone) earrings from a native lady named Mandla. Once back aboard we grabbed some pizza from the pool deck, and had a nap.
Monday was the first of our formal nights, so all of us got snazzed up and headed down for night #2 of amazing food. Highlight of dinner #2: nutella icecream. We took a family portrait in the Mezzanine, watched the champagne fountain get kicked off, and went to a comedian show. After the show, my dad and I played Jeopardy trivia with several Canadian ladies on our team.
1/5/10 Dominica
Another delicious breakfast was made more fun by our server with the sweets tray "Sugar, for my honey?" (directed to Dave, lol). The island of Dominica gave us our sudden Caribbean rain shower experience, as we dashed to the shoppping warehouse by the dock. I bought a woven straw hot pad type mat and several kinds of spices.
I had a nap back on ship, then lunch with the family in the dining room. After gazpacho, half a cheeseburger, and some delicious Italian icecream, we set off for snorkeling trip #2. This was also a champagne snorkel, but champagne in this case referred to bubbles int he water due to volcanic activity. It was pretty neat, plus we got to see the site of some of the Pirates of the Caribbean filming.
Highlight of dinner #3: key lime pie
We opted for the hypnotist show Tuesday evening and then did some shopping out int he mezzanine.
1/6/10 Grenada
Unfortunately, by the time we got to Grenada, it was evident I had caught a cold and an ear infection. I seem to have this habit of getting sick on family vacations now. I still enjoyed the day, but was a little sleepier throughout it.
Our tour for the day was a driving tour of the island. Our tour guide Luther took us to Fort Frederick, a volcanic crater lake, to see a local lady who is very knowledgeable about spices, and to a beautiful waterfall. Grenada has a very old timey Dutch look and feel to it, which makes it a very cute place, and very very green.
The ship was in port shorter Wednesday because we had quite a ways to go to get to our next port. We were back aboard for lunch (pizza again) and icecream from the pool deck, and then (you guessed it) nap time.
Wednesday was Italian night for dinner, including proscuto, nippy peach soup (favorite soup of the trip), veel scalopini, and tiramisu.
1/7/10 Bonaire
Bonaire is another Dutch West Indies island. We explored some shops in the town nearest the dock and then took a taxi over to the best snorkeling beach I have ever seen. The water was so incredibly clear I couldn't believe it. If you waded out to about waist deep, and looked down, there were your feet, and TONS of fish. We had lunch on the beach before returning to the ship for a nap.
Highlights of dinner #5: lemon strawberry sorbet, and I tried ratatouille
The show Thursday was my favorite of the comedians on this trip. Afterwards we watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding in our stateroom.
1/8/10 Aruba
The fifth and final port on our cruise was Aruba. Aruba and Bonaire were my favorites of the ports. We took a bus from Oranjstad to Palm Beach. Palm Beach is along where mos tof the main resorts in Aruba are. After we'd had our fill of beach time for the day, we explored one of the nearby resorts, and went back to the ship to shower, change, and have lunch
I went back into town with my parents to do some shopping. While there, my dad and I picked up soem phrases in Papmiento (the language of the island, a mix of French, Dutch, Spanish, and a few others). My mom and I got matching necklaces from a jewelry shop on the way back to ship.
Friday was our second formal night. Highlight of dinner #6: feasant with challots.
We took a second family portrait, and had a Lindsey/Valencia photoshoot, which made a lot of people in line very happy.
1
In lieu of a show, my parents and I went to the "newlywed/Not so Newlywed" game, amusing, but slightly awkward at times.1
1/9/10 At sea
The finald ay of our voyage was spent entirely at sea (making our way back across the Caribbean from Aruba to San Juan). We arose a bit late and got breakfast from the buffet. Down in one of the dining rooms was an "outlet sale". Basically they put on sale stuff that has been in inventory for a looong time, lol. I did get a cute shirt from it though.
Then came an activity I'd never done on a cruise before. I went to the ship doctor (for my ear). They gave me some antibiotics and ear drops fo the infection.
I then joined my dad and Steve for morning trivia, which we won! We went to the Crown Dining Room for the "Pub Lunch" I got cottage pie, basically like shepherd's pie. After lunch it was time for a nap, and then more trivia, which was a lot harder, but still fun.
My mom, Dave, and I went for afternoon tea. I love afternoon tea, my favorite part is the scones with jam and cream. Mmm
Our final dinner was "American Night". I had a Caesar salad and New York strip steak. Teh highlight of the evening was the "Baked Alaska Parade" and then of course, eating the baked Alaska, yum! And our final show of the trip was a variety show. Two different comedians and a hypnotist, lots of fun :)
It was a great trip, very relaxing. Plus, we met some great people. Like the deaf couple who also have a service dog (but didn't bring it) and the Romanian waitress at the table next to us in the dining room.
Can't wait for our next family adventure :D
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
I Think I'll Go to Washington Part 1
You know, since the last time I saw that boyfriend of mine was in March. Last Wednesday I got up bright and early to fly up to Tri Cities to spend a week with Tad and his family.
My trip got off to an interesting start thanks to a mix up with security. The man standing on the other side of the metal detector either didn't understand that when Valencia set off the alarm he could just check her, or was too lazy to do so. Thus, a very flustered me got patted down and wanded. My flight went smoothly. I was fortunate enough to have been seated next to a man who trains search and rescue dogs, so he's used to flying with dogs at his feet.
I had a two hour layover in Salt Lake City, enough time so I could relieve Valencia and get some lunch. Valencia's favorite part of the SLC airport was getting to ride on the little carts they drive around. We rode on one to get out of security to relieve her, and another when I accidentally went to the wrong gate section. She thought that was the best thing ever.
I got some lunch from Quizno's and found my gate. I happened to meet an older couple whose daughter has raised dogs for gdb. Flight from SLC to Pasco went well and Tad picked me up. When we got back to his house, it was discovered that the crockpot had not been plugged in. So dinner was out at a Mexican restaurant. after dinner we went to youth group at tad's church. He helps out with the kids, and is a general punching bag/tackle target for the boys, lol
Following youth group (about 10) we went over to his friend Paul's place. I finally got to meet Paul and another friend Theresa. We hung out, talked, and I watched them play DDR.
Thursday Emily drove down from Spokane and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. It was great to see Emily again, and Red Robin is always a tastey lunch option. Poor Tad though got patronized by our waitor. *every 5 minutes* "Do you want a box?" "No, I'm just a slow eater." "Oh, no worries man, me too." oh goodness
After lunch we piled into the Tilden's minivan and set off for Seattle. We arrived around 7 and met Tad's Uncle Dave at a restaurant called Thirteen Coins. His uncle was really nice and seemed to like me, which we always count as a good thing. By the time we were done with dinner it was time to head over to our hotel and get to sleep.
In the morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and made our first stop of the day at Uwajimaya, a giant Japanese food/gifts store. I picked up some Pocky and Mocchi and looked at their paper lanterns. When their bookstore opened Tad and I took a quick look through there.
I do love me some Pocky :o)
We met my Aunt Diane at Duke's Chowder on Lake Union for lunch. It was great to see her again and for her to meet Tad and his family. The Hastings and Tilden families are quite alike in personality and humor, so everyone got along great. Mrs. Tilden's favorite thing to do in Seattle is browse through the giant Good Will Outlet store. I tend to be a bit germaphobic, so I didn't do much looking, though I did find a cute mini deck of Hello Kitty playing cards.
Once the Good Will shopping was done it was time to head back to the Tri Cities. We stopped at the SuperMall outside of Seattle and then at Jack in the Box in Ellensberg for dinner. It was on the way home that Tad was given the new nickname "Puddin Head" by his dad. ;)
Saturday we had a leisurely morning and lunch and then got dressed up to go to a wedding at Tad's church. He and his family have known the groom (Jake) for years at church and Tad knows the bride (Heather) from NNU. Needless to say, he was very excited to have so many of his friends from home AND from school in the same place. The ceremony was beautiful, had I not been wearing mascara I probably would have cried through most of it.
The reception was in the church gym. They had icecream, punch, and cake and cute little bride and groom rubber duckies. I got to see several of Tad's friends who I had met before and meet a lot of new ones. Favorite moment of the wedding was probably when Tad's sister Jeana caught the bouquet.
so cute!
me with my love
Jeana with the bouquet
We had dinner at a nice Chinese place, came home, changed, and headed out for another party. I finally got to meet Tad's other friend Lindsey, a birthday buddy for me. Theresa, Paul, Trevor, and Jason were there, as well as friends Molly, Kyle, and Jessica (Paul's girlfriend). There was some volleyball and badmitten played, some hanging out and talking, and bbqing. Later, after it got dark, we hung out in the basement and some people watched a fiarly inappropriate sounding movie. Before we headed home we stopped with the group at Safeway and got mini Ben&Jerry's icecreams.
It was great meeting so many of Tad's high school friends. Though it's sad that most of them aren't Christians, and it sounds like they've had pretty rough lives. Makes a lot to pray for. :)
My trip got off to an interesting start thanks to a mix up with security. The man standing on the other side of the metal detector either didn't understand that when Valencia set off the alarm he could just check her, or was too lazy to do so. Thus, a very flustered me got patted down and wanded. My flight went smoothly. I was fortunate enough to have been seated next to a man who trains search and rescue dogs, so he's used to flying with dogs at his feet.
I had a two hour layover in Salt Lake City, enough time so I could relieve Valencia and get some lunch. Valencia's favorite part of the SLC airport was getting to ride on the little carts they drive around. We rode on one to get out of security to relieve her, and another when I accidentally went to the wrong gate section. She thought that was the best thing ever.
I got some lunch from Quizno's and found my gate. I happened to meet an older couple whose daughter has raised dogs for gdb. Flight from SLC to Pasco went well and Tad picked me up. When we got back to his house, it was discovered that the crockpot had not been plugged in. So dinner was out at a Mexican restaurant. after dinner we went to youth group at tad's church. He helps out with the kids, and is a general punching bag/tackle target for the boys, lol
Following youth group (about 10) we went over to his friend Paul's place. I finally got to meet Paul and another friend Theresa. We hung out, talked, and I watched them play DDR.
Thursday Emily drove down from Spokane and we went out to lunch at Red Robin. It was great to see Emily again, and Red Robin is always a tastey lunch option. Poor Tad though got patronized by our waitor. *every 5 minutes* "Do you want a box?" "No, I'm just a slow eater." "Oh, no worries man, me too." oh goodness
After lunch we piled into the Tilden's minivan and set off for Seattle. We arrived around 7 and met Tad's Uncle Dave at a restaurant called Thirteen Coins. His uncle was really nice and seemed to like me, which we always count as a good thing. By the time we were done with dinner it was time to head over to our hotel and get to sleep.
In the morning we had a nice breakfast at the hotel, checked out, and made our first stop of the day at Uwajimaya, a giant Japanese food/gifts store. I picked up some Pocky and Mocchi and looked at their paper lanterns. When their bookstore opened Tad and I took a quick look through there.
I do love me some Pocky :o)
We met my Aunt Diane at Duke's Chowder on Lake Union for lunch. It was great to see her again and for her to meet Tad and his family. The Hastings and Tilden families are quite alike in personality and humor, so everyone got along great. Mrs. Tilden's favorite thing to do in Seattle is browse through the giant Good Will Outlet store. I tend to be a bit germaphobic, so I didn't do much looking, though I did find a cute mini deck of Hello Kitty playing cards.
Once the Good Will shopping was done it was time to head back to the Tri Cities. We stopped at the SuperMall outside of Seattle and then at Jack in the Box in Ellensberg for dinner. It was on the way home that Tad was given the new nickname "Puddin Head" by his dad. ;)
Saturday we had a leisurely morning and lunch and then got dressed up to go to a wedding at Tad's church. He and his family have known the groom (Jake) for years at church and Tad knows the bride (Heather) from NNU. Needless to say, he was very excited to have so many of his friends from home AND from school in the same place. The ceremony was beautiful, had I not been wearing mascara I probably would have cried through most of it.
The reception was in the church gym. They had icecream, punch, and cake and cute little bride and groom rubber duckies. I got to see several of Tad's friends who I had met before and meet a lot of new ones. Favorite moment of the wedding was probably when Tad's sister Jeana caught the bouquet.
so cute!
me with my love
Jeana with the bouquet
We had dinner at a nice Chinese place, came home, changed, and headed out for another party. I finally got to meet Tad's other friend Lindsey, a birthday buddy for me. Theresa, Paul, Trevor, and Jason were there, as well as friends Molly, Kyle, and Jessica (Paul's girlfriend). There was some volleyball and badmitten played, some hanging out and talking, and bbqing. Later, after it got dark, we hung out in the basement and some people watched a fiarly inappropriate sounding movie. Before we headed home we stopped with the group at Safeway and got mini Ben&Jerry's icecreams.
It was great meeting so many of Tad's high school friends. Though it's sad that most of them aren't Christians, and it sounds like they've had pretty rough lives. Makes a lot to pray for. :)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Frustrations
Passing frustrations make me think about all that's going on in my subconscious right now. The list of emotions I'm feeling keeps growing as things surface. I'm upset, as I have been for the last 2 months, that my family (parents and both brothers) is on cruise in the Caribbean without me.
I'm hurt that they felt fine taking a family vacation without me.
I'm hurt that they didn't tell me until after they had made the plans.
I feel left out of my own family.
I'm mad they didn't decide to wait to do something until the summer, when I could go and we could count it for my graduation.
I'm hurt that it doesn't seem like they even thought of that.
I'm confused as to why it was necessary to take a family vacation right....*now*
I'm hurt that they didn't think this would hurt me.
I'm jealous they're on a cruise to the Caribbean right now and I'm not.
I'm frustrated that I don't know how to communicate this to them, or even if I should, but don't know how to make all the feelings go away.
I don't want to be bitter about this the rest of my life. I want to feel like I actually belong in my family, but when things like this happen, that gets hard.
I'm hurt that they felt fine taking a family vacation without me.
I'm hurt that they didn't tell me until after they had made the plans.
I feel left out of my own family.
I'm mad they didn't decide to wait to do something until the summer, when I could go and we could count it for my graduation.
I'm hurt that it doesn't seem like they even thought of that.
I'm confused as to why it was necessary to take a family vacation right....*now*
I'm hurt that they didn't think this would hurt me.
I'm jealous they're on a cruise to the Caribbean right now and I'm not.
I'm frustrated that I don't know how to communicate this to them, or even if I should, but don't know how to make all the feelings go away.
I don't want to be bitter about this the rest of my life. I want to feel like I actually belong in my family, but when things like this happen, that gets hard.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Weekend in Nevada
My parents, Stephen, and I just got back this afternoon from spending a long weekend with my dad's family in Nevada. My dad grew up in Boulder City, Nevada, about 45 minutes outside Las Vegas, and my grandma still lives there. My two aunts and cousin had all arrived earlier in the week and were there for Christmas.
We piled into my dad's Camri Friday morning, dropped Nigel off at the petsitter's, and set out on the 5.5-6.5 hour drive. There was snow in the mountain pass, but sdaly none left at my grandma's house. I was hoping it would snow enough on Christmas for some to stick so we could see it. No such luck, oh well.
Friday was my mom's birthday (what a way to spend your birthday, driving for 6 hours in the desert) and Saturday was my Aunt Diane's birthday, so we celebrated by going out for dinner at the only restaurant that was open Friday night, Big Horn. It was a nice Italian/Mediterranean place. We had a fairly large group with my aunts, cousin, grandma and our family friends the Lindebergs. I got veel parmesan, quite tasty.
Two favorite quotes of the evening
#1 "They had me at lamb cabobs" Stephen
#2 My cousin Stephanie: Hey
Our Waiter: What?
Stephanie: It's my mom's birthday
Waiter: I know (ref
Stephanie: I eating it *referring to the birthday cake*
After dinner we went back to my grandma's house and had cheesecake and hung out. My parents and Steve and I spent Friday and Saturday night in the old hotel in Boulder City, since the 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house was already a bit full. It was also good to get a little break from the craziness. My cousin Stephanie, now 15, has physical and intellectual disabilities. She is very sweet, but loves attention and doesn't mind being loud to get it. It was kinda funny, over the course of the weekend I went from "Lindsey", to "Aunt Lindsey", to "Lindseya" (what she had been calling Valencia) to "Aunt Lindseya" haha
Saturday my Aunt Lauren's friend Courtney flew in from Reno to visit and then drive back with Aunt Lauren on Sunday. We hung out, played a couple games of Apples to Apples and Uno and watching Mama Mia. Sunday morning Aunt Lauren and Courtney left, and Aunt Diane and Stephanie left for the airport not too long after. The 4 in my family moved in over to my grandma's house and spent the day relaxing there, and playing Yahtzee. And we drove home this morning.
I love getting to see family, but am glad to be home again. I'm also getting mildly antsy about being back on campus. And don't even talk to me about grad school applications, ugh. I have a lot to do this week.
We piled into my dad's Camri Friday morning, dropped Nigel off at the petsitter's, and set out on the 5.5-6.5 hour drive. There was snow in the mountain pass, but sdaly none left at my grandma's house. I was hoping it would snow enough on Christmas for some to stick so we could see it. No such luck, oh well.
Friday was my mom's birthday (what a way to spend your birthday, driving for 6 hours in the desert) and Saturday was my Aunt Diane's birthday, so we celebrated by going out for dinner at the only restaurant that was open Friday night, Big Horn. It was a nice Italian/Mediterranean place. We had a fairly large group with my aunts, cousin, grandma and our family friends the Lindebergs. I got veel parmesan, quite tasty.
Two favorite quotes of the evening
#1 "They had me at lamb cabobs" Stephen
#2 My cousin Stephanie: Hey
Our Waiter: What?
Stephanie: It's my mom's birthday
Waiter: I know (ref
Stephanie: I eating it *referring to the birthday cake*
After dinner we went back to my grandma's house and had cheesecake and hung out. My parents and Steve and I spent Friday and Saturday night in the old hotel in Boulder City, since the 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house was already a bit full. It was also good to get a little break from the craziness. My cousin Stephanie, now 15, has physical and intellectual disabilities. She is very sweet, but loves attention and doesn't mind being loud to get it. It was kinda funny, over the course of the weekend I went from "Lindsey", to "Aunt Lindsey", to "Lindseya" (what she had been calling Valencia) to "Aunt Lindseya" haha
Saturday my Aunt Lauren's friend Courtney flew in from Reno to visit and then drive back with Aunt Lauren on Sunday. We hung out, played a couple games of Apples to Apples and Uno and watching Mama Mia. Sunday morning Aunt Lauren and Courtney left, and Aunt Diane and Stephanie left for the airport not too long after. The 4 in my family moved in over to my grandma's house and spent the day relaxing there, and playing Yahtzee. And we drove home this morning.
I love getting to see family, but am glad to be home again. I'm also getting mildly antsy about being back on campus. And don't even talk to me about grad school applications, ugh. I have a lot to do this week.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
