Just dropped off my little brother at the airport early this morning. I was so tired, I couldn’t even cry. Then I got turned around coming out of the airport and ended up taking the wrong freeway home. I cried on the way home – half out of frustration and being tired, and the other half from just saying bye to my little brother – who I won’t see for another whole year. Life is going to be so much different by this time next year I can’t even wrap my head around it. Either way I made it back, and it took about the same amount of time. I was pretty tired/emotional/flipped out though. Today is going to be a LONNNNG day. We had such an incredible time together. Its surreal that he was even here and even more surreal that his time here with me is over.
He got in pretty late on Sat April 7th. Sunday we were up bright and early to catch the lovely sights down in Venice Beach, Ca. S & J joined us and actually Stephen drove down there, so that was nice. I hate driving around places I don’t really know. We had an amazing afternoon walking the boardwalk and seeing all the freaks and artists with their wares set up along the sidewalks. It was everything that he expected it to be! Ha-ha. I got as many pictures as my stupid camera would let me…but something is wrong with the connection and it kept going dead. Myles had his camera so I am going to get copies of his pictures. We even saw Pauly Shore down there. Yes, it was really him. He was out of his mind on some kind of drug – it was funny! I got a picture of the back of his head. I didn’t want to seem ‘touristy’ and be taking pictures of a washed-up actor, but it was so funny I couldn’t help myself. No one really seemed that interested in him, which I thought was also funny.
After a few hours perusing the Venice boardwalk and taking in all the variety – smoke shops, homeless, wannabe’s, artists, musicians, people basically doing ANYTHING for ‘tips’, we were all starving and headed out to find some lunch. We ended up on Hollywood Blvd at the Tommy’s burgers – it wasn’t that bad, but I have no doubt I will ever eat there again. Certainly nothing to write home about. We were going the Griffith Observatory after a greasy, chili cheese fried lunch. None of us had been there. The road to get there is crazy! I couldn’t believe the cars parked along that road. Everyone had to have been getting into fender benders. Glad to say again I wasn’t driving. How stressful. We went all the way to the top without trying to find parking on that road and found a spot easily. It is SO neat up there. Too bad it was Easter, and at least a million other people had the same idea to go up there that day. It was super packed and getting hot. We breezed through and took some pictures but didn’t stay too long. I would like to go back some day and spend some more time up there. The crowds and the heat were really started to get to me though. SO many funny moments on the drive – “a pineapple with drugs in it”, strange sound that went around the whole truck in a circle on the freeway vibrating the windows, “Jill”, Tommy’s chili, octopus picture, guy with the roller skates in the sand, Jessica shaking the black man’s hand, “I used to be white”.
G worked all week and had school so unfortunately he didn’t get to hang out with us too much. Monday, Myles and I went down to Balboa to go on the whale watching tour. We walked down the pier first, got some pictures, send dad a postcard from the post office down there and got some amazing happy hour lunch before we went on the boat. We didn’t get to see any whales, but we did get to see three different types of dolphins <will have to ask him what kinds because I forget> it was interesting because they were all maternity pods. Moms with their babies! So cute! The babies were so tiny - I wanted to jump in the water and play with them! The weather was beautiful and it was so nice to be out on the water on a boat. I still have my sea legs. I guess it’s from going up around the ocean. Being out on the water doesn’t bother me a bit and balance wasn’t an issue. I LOVE the ocean. Wish I had more opportunities to get out there and enjoy the pacific!
Tuesday we went shopping. We went to a few different places to shop and had lunch at the Macaroni Grill. The brother got lots of clothes and things he wanted to take back with him and he bought me my baby shower present! What a guy eh?
Wednesday the weather wasn’t too good – so we went to a movie (The Hunger Games). It was good! the movie was definitely what I expected it to be and I actually really enjoyed it. After that, we grabbed some food and came home to cook dinner for when G got home from school.
Thursday was much more interesting! I love the days where you wake up and have nothing planned and do something spur of the moment. Those always end up being the best days!
We woke up and decided to head to Palm Springs to go to the Living Desert and then do the Ariel Tram Ride up to the top of the mountain. The Living Desert was so awesome. It was set up really well and I found it surprising that it was so busy! The whole park was very clean and easy to navigate. They had the most incredible model train set. It was huge and covered a lot of ground. There were so many trains, stations and buildings. I am not really a model train person, but I was incredibly impressed with this set up. We literally took a “Journey through the Deserts of the World”. Giraffes, cheetahs, leopards, snow cats, zebras, meek rats, gazelles, camels, wild dogs, ostriches, ankole cattle, badger, big horned sheep, bobcat, coyote, jaguar, mountain lions, etc were just some of the amazing animals we got to see. The place even had a walk through aviary, a butterfly garden, a cactus garden, hummingbird, bee and palm tree garden. The place was nothing short of spectacular. I highly recommend it. It is perfect for a family outing and little kids would love it! The weather is something that you need to keep in mind – I mean, you are in the desert! The morning started off pretty cool, but by mid afternoon we were both scorching hot. I drank a lot of water and had to stop at literally every bathroom I saw. I admit, I did kind of rush through it – but we had a big afternoon planned and still had to go to the tram!
The tram ride was AWESOME! We ascended two and one half miles to a pristine wilderness aboard the World’s Largest Rotating Tramcars. I had no idea that they were that big! There are two trams that go to the top of the mountain and each one can hold up to 80 passengers. They are much bigger than I would have expected. The temperature differential between the valley floor and the top of the Tram is usually about 30 degrees - I brought a winter coat and I am so glad I had it. When we got to the top it was a little windy and definitely chilly. A total opposite from where we had just come from. The redwoods were so beautiful and there was snow on the ground. We didn’t explore too much but we did get some pretty awesome pictures. We even stopped for hot chocolate to warm up a bit inside! This is certainly a place that you could spend hours and hours at exploring. They have hiking up there, camping, snowshoeing and cross country skiing (in winter) and even guided nature works. Both things we did were fun in themselves, but you could easily spend a entire day doing each thing to get the full experience. Next time he comes we are going back on the Tram and spending the entire day in the mountains. Both of us LOVE the mountains and the scenery it has to offer. I stopped at the gift shop on the way home and bought a book for the baby and a geode key ring. I like having little mementoes of my travels.
Honestly, I was glad for the rain on Friday. Myles and I just hung out at my place waiting for the storm to pass and for Gary to get home. It cleared up by the time he did get home and then we went to Stephen and Jessica’s to meet up with them and go to dinner. We went to the Rose Cantina in Trabuco Canyon - a cool Mexican food place in the back of the canyon. After dinner, we hung out at their place for a little while but had to make it an early night because Gary worked on Saturday too.
Saturday, Myles and I got up and went over to Bill and Nancy’s house (great Aunt and Uncle) Nancy is my grandmothers sister on my father’s side. We stayed and chatted for a few hours and got caught up on all life’s events and even gave my grandma a call when we were there. We were so glad she could hear us on the phone! It was a nice visit. They showed us all pictures of their grandkids’ and kids and filled us in on what has been going on with that side of the family. The crazy part is that Nancy is like 20 years younger that my grandma – and they look identical (just with a 20 year age difference ;) ) When I look at her it looks exactly like my grams – a little nostalgia when I see her for sure. They have the same kind, blue eyes and the same mouth, they even sound the same! She had bought a walker for her granddaughter, but she didn’t play with it at all. So she packed it back up and asked me if I wanted it. I said of course! The we headed over to my Uncle Roberts house, where my mom and my Aunt Carol were already over there. It was a jam packed day of visiting relatives and getting caught up on life. Mom headed back to our place with us and we picked up Gary once we got home then headed over to backwoods BBQ for some dinner. Long day!
Sunday was really neat too. Gary’s mom, my mom, S & J, my brother, G and I all went to the baby’s 4D ultrasound. It was like a movie theater. I laid down on the bed and the family sat up close and personal to a colored image of the little boy I have growing in my belly. He had his face smashed up to the right side of my uterus and seemed to be pretty comfortable because he just didn’t want to move from that spot! I got up and tried to walk around a bit but he didn’t turn to face us for very long. We got some good pictures of him opening his eyes and even opening his mouth. What a cool experience and I’m glad I was able to share it with the people that came. We all went to Mill Creek for a late lunch after that. S & J and Debbie had errands to run so they didn’t hang out very long. That was ok – gave us some time with mom (who I haven’t seen since Christmas).
Monday I came back to work (blah) and Myles and mom spent the day together cooking for G and I for when we got home. Stuffed mushrooms, scallops, pineapple and orange chicken, a spinach and prosciutto salad. It was delish! Mom left around noon yesterday, so I picked Myles up from my house and brought him into work with me. He hung out for a few hours while I was waiting to get off work. We went over to Kohl’s after and he picked out some running shoes to take home with him. Got home, picked up G and went to the carniceria for carne asada and queso fresco. We BBQ’d and stuffed our guts before relaxing on his final night.
It was a great time. I can’t believe it’s already over and as I write this he is on the plane headed back to Nova Scotia. It is so sad to me that my family lives so far away. I guess I am grateful that I do get to see them at least once a year – but it still doesn’t feel like enough! Time goes by SO fast and the time that we have together is so precious that you want to savor every single minute of it because that moment will be gone before you know it. All we really have is our memories and stories to re-live the important moments in life.
I really miss my family!
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