Our Trippy VAY-CAY

So we're back from our vacation to California...which should have been fabulous...BUT it was more like THIS: Sometimes it was like THIS:
But mostly it was like THIS:

First: The Good Points:
1. We ate at IN-N-OUT three times, yes count them, 3 times!
2. We saw our lovely family (wait that should be number one)
3. We visited Mark and Tree in their new beautiful home 6.8 miles from the beach...I know, I'm so coveting that situation! :) Actually, the two days we spent with them was the HIGHLIGHT of the whole trip.
4. The cousins loved each other.
5. UHM....I think that's it.
6. Wait...I went to Trader Joe's and bought some beautiful flowers and delish chocolate covered fruit.
7. San Diego is from Heaven...non-windy beaches, warm water, perfectness all around.

Now: The BAD Points:
1. Leo Carillo campground bathrooms are DISGUSTING.
2. Leo Carillo was full of WIND...cold, sandblasting windy-wind which made us build a shelter out of beach umbrellas and coated our sunscreened lips in gritty sand. Lucy WOULD NOT get off my lap...she would hardly venture out into the wind tunnel/formerly known as THE BEACH.
3. While I love Malibu, they certainly need to get a little more shopping/eating establishments/movie theaters.
4. Our tent trailer was perloined out of the church parking lot (with the intent not to return)...and then happily found by the inspired Mark and the awed Adam.
5. Flat Tire outside of Victorville (105 degrees).
6. Air conditioner blows out right outside of Baker (115 degrees).
7. Family chaos: crying, sweating, complaining, hysteria for an hour and a half until Las Vegas. (how did the pioneers do it, really...HOW?)
8. Stay in Las Vegas. (people REALLY go there for vacation? Puleeez. No thank you.)
9. Car late and not fixed properly. Phone dies. Can't find AW. Asked to use some woman's cell phone and dismissed like a homeless street person, haranged and followed by homeless addicts, accosted by bare booby photos (do women keep their clothes on in Las Vegas?), can't use hotel shuttle because car seat is in suburban being repaired, walk a mile in 115 degree heat with "happy" family.
10. Seriously.
11. Arrive home 5am...
12. I need a vacation from my vacation.

We Did Hawaii!!

And Pearl Harbor...
Dinner with the Dawwwwgs...

A REAL LIVE LUAU...

The Polynesian Cultural Center...

And Grandma's Favorite "Shave" Ice....Blue Hawaii

Whew!! And this is only a sampling of the things we did.... And, we're tired. And our sleep rhythms are off. And we've had WAY too many chocolate macadamia nuts...ohhhh baby.

Viva Mexico!

So we spent some time with Adam's company in Playa del Carmen, Mexico! We had soooo much fun!

There were a million mexican trinkets to buy...on every corner... and from every native...(at least that's what it felt like). Our hotel was teaming with monkeys, peacocks, swans, turtles, and these little muskrat type things....thank goodness no crocodiles in the hotel! :)

We climbed to the top of the temple in Coba, after riding these 1950's looking bikes through the jungle to get there. (I need to find the accent marks on my keyboard, but I don't know where they are :) Adam raced his friend to the top...I mean after looking at this steep climb, I have to ask, 'really, is that necessary?'"


We went to the local Cenote's (which are underground caverns with fresh water lakes)...Adam always wanted to jump first...and the highest (I'm sensing a trend here...) And I jumped too! Some had weird little blind, black fish swimming around. The underground tunnels go for miles and miles.

As you can see the water was AMAZING...and our favorite archeological site was Tulum...just beautiful! We also went snorkeling and took numerous trips out on the Hobie-Cat.

Here we are enjoying local Mexican fare...and of course the monumental Chichenitza...Adam will have to tell you about that day...A long ride in a van, a torn(?) miniscus=a hobbling Adam, and an nonperscribed percocet=Adam throwing-up in the jungle. Hmmm. It was quite a day. But, we're glad we went. And the Cenote afterwards certainly cheered him up.





Our maid service created animals and such out of our towels...we were always interested in what we would find sitting on our bed after our fun adventures...this was the most unusual. Do you know what it is? We still haven't decided, but the sticker eyes and mouth crack us up.

A Whole Lot of Summer Fun!

Oh my. What to do about a whole summers worth of pictures? Well. Here we go.

First. Newport Beach with the Madsen Family. Fun, fun, fun.

Las Vegas Log Ride.




And of course, Grace turned 8! And we went to The American Girl Place. Adam wanted to know if we went for Grace or for me? I say, it was for both.

Adam was so jealous he had to get in the action.



Family Picture 2008

And then we had a Bar-b-que at Grandma Davis' house...very remnicent of the good old days when we went there all the time when I was little.





Sophie lost two teeth.

And Grandpa Jack tries to light himself on fire! DAD! Really, the bbq almost killed him. href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeAZiMgNB4Vs4_7X0-c4y2AWzg21pbhrZO7hYxQPG3NDTk5qplDi6ZPehX9EOYpPUZB23iiIeZTTrqaL1WG-IO9Ep6aIce4IVTuimcN64ZrZWYTf-ilE5UP67KSAxOYdeGIFmXXxYddbXp/s1600-h/June-+July+2008+120.jpg">
And the kids had fun on the slip and slide.