The Vacation Wrapup

I didn't have internet in LA or San Diego, so yes, I backdated all the posts from the rest of the trip. But I think it was worth the wait, because it means you also get pictures. There are literally hundreds more, so if you want to see everything, drop me a line and I'll send you the snapfish link. But I'm not one to foist my vacation slide show on unsuspecting viewers at a cocktail party. Besides, I don't even have a slide projector. And having a cocktail party means that someone would find all the bottles of wine that I brought home, and I'm not ready to share them just yet.

I had a blast, sunburn aside (It's peeling now and does NOT look good. I even bought a pair of reading glasses to cover up the raccoon eyes that I have going opn when I'm at The Hotel (tm). No, I cannot see very well, because I'm also wearing my contacts. But my regular glasses are so thick that I refuse to wear them in public. They're actually more embarassing than this sunburn, and that's saying a lot. Wow, that was a long parenthetical.) and I'm very sad that I had to come back home and go back to work.

It was great to see everyone, and I really feel like I did most of the things I wanted to do:

Hug a redwood
See the Golden Gate Bridge
Go wine tasting
Ride a trolley
See a celebrity
See Jennifer Aniston
See the Galleria and other Clueless landmarks
Go to Pico, Colorado and Las Palmas (to get to Llama School...don't ask)
See the Chinese Theatre
See the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Stand in someone's footprints
See where Gilmore Girls is taped
Find a purple shirt
See the pandas
Go to the beach
Kayak or waterski or something dangerous in the water
Be in an (small and un-scary) earthquake
Drive down the Pacific Coast

That's a lot for one vacation and 10 (11) days. Plus we have the added bonuses of sitting on the Friends couch (who knew that set was still up?), drinking without guilt nightly, the lack of going to work every day, getting a wicked sunburn on one side of my face, listening to Teddy Geiger and Anna Nalick almost non-stop on the iRiver with the help of my new FM transmitter, and keeping my sunglasses on the dashboard with that piece of sticky rubber that they sell for a dollar in check out lines, but which is totally worth it.

It turns out that it takes about a week for my shoulders to relax and not clench in their usual hyper extended position. Luckily, they haven't gone back up to my ears yet, but give it some time. I'm sure they'll make their way slowly as the angst returns.

Sometimes I was lonely or frustrated, usually when I was in the car, or when it started to rain, which was a lot. But then there were other times when I acted like a little kid who had never been on a roller coaster before. There was lots of laughing and smiling and excited facial expressions that I wish people who think I'm too bitter and jaded could have seen, but they can't because I was by myself taking pictures of the things that made me have those looks in the first place.

I'm still on California time, because I can't force myself to go to bed before 2am (partly because I'm not tired, and partly because I can't tear myself away from Angels and Demons, which I bought at the airport to pass the time on my four hour movie-free flight). This is not cool tonight as I have to get up for work at 5 tomorrow. (Well, today.)

So there it is. March Micky Madness in all its glory. Special thanks to everyone who made it possible, including The Amy, Jen and Scott, Chuck, American Airlines, Best Western and Budget Rent-A-Car.

Good times.