Nearly A Month, but I'm Here

Wow! Has it really been almost a month since I've posted? I didn't even talk about my vacation (as promised). Well, here it is:

We went to rent the car on a Thursday and were presented with a Mercury Sable. Can we say "Land Yacht, boys and girls?" Holy crud! The car was huge! Hubby decided there was no way we were going to tool around three states with that thing. The gay attendant (who was seriously crushing on hubby) hooked him up with a trailblazer instead. Now, we could take the stroller but not feel like we were in a sail boat.

Our trip began on Saturday, June 14th. We drove approximately four hours to St. George and into triple-digit heat. Thankfully, it's a dry heat and I wasn't too miserable (but hot is hot, right?). Our accommodations were lovely; a third-floor, two bedroom condo with two bathrooms, each with their own jetted-tub. Nice. The patio had dual accesses; one from the living room (adjacent to the fireplace) and one from the master bedroom. The kitchen was tidy and fully-equipped (but we didn't use t much). The decor? Southwestern modern with some questionable art in the master bedroom (questionable meaning, we think it a surreal portrait of native Americans, but it looked more like a six year-old's attempt). We spent the evening enjoying the pool and watching the kids have the time of their lives.

The next day, we were up bright and early. We enjoyed breakfast on the patio/deck (which would be the norm for the next two mornings) then off we went to explore. Most of our time in St. George was really just spent relaxing and eating. The girls and I got in a lot of pool time and I even snuck in a work-out with hubby. Tuesday, June 17th, we packed up our gear and headed south and west; onward to California (but not before stopping in Vegas, first).

In Vegas, we tooled around the outlet mall for a couple of hours, ate our lunch and just enjoyed each other's company. We also took advantage of the Disney outlet and hubby purchased goodies for the girls (they still had no idea we were going). Back on the road, we traveled another four hours to Anaheim and 90 degree heat. Ninety degrees and humid doesn't sit well with this chick. I spent our three days there sweating like I had some tropical disease. It was not attractive.

Arriving at the hotel, we were greeted by customer service oriented staff (always nice). The room? Oh, brother. I couldn't tell if we were just spoiled coming from the condo or if it really was as small as we thought. Our girls were basically in a closet connected to the suite. The hardwood floors were dusty (I learned fast and remembered to keep my house shoes on whenever we were there). I had to remind myself that it was a place to sleep and not to get too hung up on the little things. We didn't do much that evening after all that driving. Aside from grab dinner and go back to the room, we walked over to the California Grand to see how to make our way into Disneyland the next day (the hotel was just across the street).

Bright and early Wednesday morning, hubby went for a work out while I got the girls dressed and ready to go pick up breakfast. Why is it that when you go to chain restaurants away from home, they always seem to take twice as long? Denny's brought out our grand slams twenty minutes later and back to the hotel we went. We were way behind our intended schedule, but we ate and made our way to the park as quickly as we could.

I haven't been to Disneyland since I was my daughter's age (around 7 or so). It was quite different from what I remembered, until we got on some familiar rides; Pirates of the Caribbean (now equipped with Jack Sparrow scenes), the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Space Mountain was still as cool as I remembered, if not more so. The babe (due to some interesting circumstances with our fast passes and "wait to ride" cards, got to ride that sucker four times. She was thrilled. We went back to the hotel for a break around mid-day, then came back to ride more rides and enjoy the fireworks. I was quite impressed with my two-year old who never once had a melt down.

Thursday, we took Beach street all the way to Huntington Beach. The girls loved it! Hubby and I,of course, picked that day to let our nerves get the best of us. We weren't speaking much, but I grabbed great photos and video of the girls on the sand and in the water. It was Indy's first time in the ocean. She was a bit apprehensive at first, then really started getting into it. Seaweed and sand for two year olds -- a great combination.

This was the day hubby also stocked up on libations. Liquor is readily available and cheap in California...perhaps that's why they have so many DUIs. Who knows. We're set for a while, at least and with our Albertson.s preferred card discount? We couldn't go wrong.

Friday, we packed up and headed back to St. George. Again, we pit-stopped in Vegas and hubby hit up the Disney store one last time. Despite our arguing, I made out with cute Tinkerbell shirt that I've worn several times since. In St. George, we washed all our laundry and enjoyed stretching out again in our spacious condo. One bedroom this time, but oh, so much nicer than our hotel. We ate dinner and watched a couple hours of the dog whisperer. Interesting memory to make, I'd say.

Back on the road Saturday, I was happier, a bit more tired than I wanted to be but pleased with the arrangements we'd made. It wasn't Florida, but we did have a good time and managed not to break the bank. We came home to a sparkling clean house (we went crazy the night before we left cleaning...hubby even steam cleaned the carpets) and scruffy grass. Our neighbors didn't even notice we were gone (I think that means we did things right). I was glad to know, however, that my mother had stopped by to check on things while we were away. She had also kept our dog who had had an altercation with hers just two nights before we got back. A $100 vet bill later, he was medicated and well on his way to healing (poor doggie).

All in all, it was a better vacation than San Francisco and the St. George vaca we had last year. I'd really like to do something a bit more exotic but I know the reality of our country and I'm not holding my breath. I am, however, hoping that hubby and I will get to see the Virgin Islands some day in our lives. I'm thinking of getting a passport, just so I can be sure it happens sooner rather than later.