run for the border...

Days 6-7.5: San Diego

15-17 July

Tuesday night, after another stupendous Disney-riffic day, Brooke, Lisa and I took a (very) late train to San Diego. Got to bed in the wee small hours of the morning, and took it easy our first day in SD.

Next day, we got up fairly early and made our way to Imperial Beach for a look-see, spent considerable time at the San Diego Zoo, spent a bit of time at the open-air mall, watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and ate some shark (take that Jaws!).

The pictures:

We spent some time walking around Seaport Village
and ended up reading/dozing under some shade there.

Beautiful...

Checked out Old Town SD one evening...

Me and my slurpee, walking down Imperial Beach...
(At some point, I got a text from Verizon saying "Welcome to Mexico!"
I never even left the States!)

At The Zoo, waiting for the Sea Lion show...


Part of the aforementioned show...
The little girl who got kissed was all the way from England. I think her name was Imogen.

I think koalas are darling!


This elephant was already dancing, so I turned on some tunes :)
(Do you like how the song I chose was "Animal" by Def Leppard?)

A couple of macaws flying around The Zoo...

The Zoo was awesome. Very, very hot, but fun! (The bird show was also cool, but I didn't want to upload another video.)

We headed back home on Friday, so that doesn't count for a full day--although it was very memorable. (I'll fill you in on that story next time...)

Anyways, what it comes down to is this: I love vacations!

the Happiest Place on Earth!

Day 3: The Sabbath

12 July

Basically, Sunday was mostly unremarkable. Brooke and I made a valiant effort to go to church, but the public transportation system totally failed us. I like to think that the Lord will bless us for our efforts anyway. On Sunday evening, Lisa returned, and Brooker joined our ranks. Hooray!

Days 4-5: Disneyland/California Adventure
13-14 July

I had never been to Disneyland before, and initially I wasn't overly excited about it. But then we got to Anaheim, and I swear I could feel the magic coming from the direction of said park. As we approached the gate, the magic was dang-near tangible.

I am fully convinced that Disneyland truly is the Happiest Place on Earth. It's just so darn fun! Also, CA Adventure was pretty dynamite too. (My two favorite rides--Tower of Terror and Soarin'--are in CA Adventure.)

We didn't take a TON of pictures during those days 'cause we were having too much fun running around like children in...Disneyland. One thing worth mentioning, though, is that I took me some Dramamine the first day in order to stave off the motion sickness. My problem is that I didn't get the non-drowsy formula; I didn't think it would make a difference.

Oh how wrong I was.

I did pretty well for the most part, but the rides that were a bit slower totally put me to sleep (i.e., Pirates of the Caribbean, and I think maybe the Jungle Cruise? Also, sitting down for lunch nearly killed me.) -Needless to say, I didn't repeat that mistake on day 2 of our Disney-visit...

And now...the pictures (in no particular order):

Outside the park are Mickey Mouse benches.
I totally loved them.

This picture is slightly embarrassing, and the reasons are twofold.
1) The Minnie Mouse hair clips (Way cheaper than the hats, though)
2) I was the oldest person in line waiting to meet Woody.
But meet him I did, and I'm telling myself that Seth will be impressed.

What Dramamine did to Ginabean...

MY FAVORITE RIDE! (no contest!)

I love this picture--it was our first time on the Tower, and our expressions tell all:
(I'm laughing, by the way...laughing hard)
I love the kid's face in the back left corner. A very sincere scream!

California Screamin'
This roller coaster is terrifying...but oh, so fun!

O is for my last name...
(from the "CALIFORNIA" outside CA Adventure)

Our last run on Splash Mountain (1st day), it broke down.
So glad we almost made it to the end before it broke!

I liked the square tree and Nessie by "It's a Small World."
(You gotta go on that ride at least once!)

Trying on a crazy Mouse-ear hat...

I got kinda wet on the...wet ride that isn't Splash Mountain.
The one in CA Adventure...

Okay, so between the four of us, I guess we did end up with a lot of pictures. There are more. (Many more.) But I think you've got the general idea...

IT. WAS. AWESOME!

the list grows...

There are a lot of foods I haven't tried (which is why I set that one goal for myself at the beginning of the year).

While on vacation, I added a few foods to my list. While at the LA Temple, we ate at the cafeteria there, and Lisa got the chile relleno. She requested that I try some, since I'd never had it before. So I did. I ate some chile relleno. Not bad. I don't think I'd want to make a whole meal of it, but it'd make a good appetizer or something. :)

Chile relleno looks something like this...

Lisa also got custard for dessert. Lisa also insisted that I taste custard, because, again, I had never tried it before. Custard is NOT good! It tastes like egg-white Jello. Or what egg-white Jello would taste like, if the Jello company ventured in that direction. Seriously not good.

Custard...

And then...I tried shark meat--also ordered by Lisa. We went to a fancy-schmancy restaurant and Lisa ordered the mako shark. I braced myself, but told myself, "I'll like it." We took a video of myself trying the shark. (Yes, we busted out the camera in the extremely nice restaurant. What can I say? I'm not the classiest girl in the world, I suppose...)

Anyway. The video:

It really wasn't bad--although it did seem to have a slightly fishy aftertaste to it.

Anyway, my brothers sometimes get a kick out of my aversion to certain foods. Sometimes they'll even play their own version of "what if..." It usually goes something like this: "What if you had to eat a banana in order to save Jackson's life? Would you eat the banana?" Or try this one on for size: "What if you had to eat an entire coconut cream pie or else Seth would die? Would you eat an entire coconut cream pie then?" And so on, and so forth. To my brothers, I say this: I'd do my darnedest to eat the custard in order to save the life of a loved one.

But I'd rather eat the shark...

california dreamin...

Day 2: Hollywood/LA

(11 July)

After considering how long it took to get to the beach from Anaheim, we opted to rent a car on Saturday for our sojourn into Hollywood. What a splendid idea it was, too! I sat in the back seat and slathered aloe vera all over my sunscalded legs until we arrived...

We started off walking down Hollywood Blvd, taking pictures of the stars of...stars. (Just the stars we care about though :) Made our way to Grauman's Chinese Theater and looked at famous hand prints/signatures in the cement. Then we headed to the Hollywood Museum where they have all sorts of stuff (props, clothing, sets) from famous movies. (We couldn't take pictures, which is a bummer; their basement is for all things creepy--they had Hannibal Lecter's cell/hall of doom/dungeon from Silence of the Lambs, and it freaked me right out!) Then it was off to the Hollywood Wax Museum (meh...), seeing the HOLLYWOOD sign, the LA Temple, and then Santa Monica Pier. A very full day!

All because of the Labyrinth...

Michael Jackson's shrine...

Tom Hanks' prints and signature.
I've heard I'm supposed to dislike him 'cause he "hates Mormons,"
but I can't help it. I just really enjoy his acting.

We were most impressed with the wax Samuel L.

Outside the Temple after a session...

I rather like this picture...
my zoom ain't spectacular, but it ended up kind of artsy, no?

Santa Monica Pier (picture stolen from google images)

We met up with Lisa's sister and her fam (Jenna, Dustin, Daniel and Nathan) for a good portion of the day. They live a couple of hours away from LA (depending on traffic, of course), and Lisa went home with them for Saturday night/Sunday while Brooke and I skidaddled back to Anaheim...

More to come...

a day at the beach...

Just got back from the California trip last night (about an hour later than planned--more on that later). I figure that since we did so much, I'd post the pictures and stories in segments.

Day 1: Huntington Beach
(10 July)

When I think of our trip to Huntington Beach, two things come to my mind. 1) Waiting, waiting, waiting for the buses (we used public transportation for most of our trip). And 2) Being scalded by the sun. That's right, I said scalded, not burned. I didn't put sunblock on until I was already a light pink, and of course, it only gets worse with time...

Anyhoo, although I was scalded by the sun, the trip to HB was lovely and so much fun! I'm a wee bit afraid of so much water, especially when there's a current and undertow, but I'm so amazed by the beauty of the ocean. So. Amazed. We walked around the shops of HB and ventured into the water (just a bit--but enough to get completely drenched). Want to know what hurts? Salt water in the eyes! Ouch!

Anyway...I'll stop talking and get to the good stuff; pictures...

Brooke and Lisa...
waiting for the all-important bus to take us to HB!

I liked these benches...

Me and Brookey...

The Ocean...

Getting brave, touching the water...

Lisa trying on a ginormous hat in one of the shops...

After a while, we headed back to our beautiful hotel in Anaheim, took a quick shower, and ate at Buca di Beppo's. It was delicious, pretty much.

The ceiling at Beppo's...
a bunch of wine bottles.

After that, we ran to Target to purchase some more sunblock (we went through ours fast, since you're not allowed any liquids more than 3 ounces on a flight). Oh yes. I also purchased aloe vera. I used nearly 1/5 of it all on my own.

OUCH!
My legs the morning after the initial sunscald...
you should've felt them, even through my kakhis!
So. Darn. HOT.

small-town fun...

So I sponsored the softball team again this year. We've got a winning record, and technically last night was our "last game." However, since most of June was under cover of rain clouds, about 5 games were canceled. We'll be making those games up in the coming weeks.

Anyhoo, this past Monday, our game was early enough for Keree and Perry to come, so I really enjoyed chatting with Keree and going gaga over Perry. (Keree is Nolan's wife; Perry is their son.)

Look how cute this little guy is!

On Tuesday evening, Callie came over and we finally got around to watching Harry and the Hendersons. Callie gave me the DVD for my birthday, and I've been excited to watch it--if not a little nervous. (You know how you grow up watching a movie just loving it, but when you watch it as an adult, something is somehow different and you suddenly can't make yourself watch it ever again? That's why I was nervous.) ANYWAY...we watched it, and I totally love the movie still. Sure it's corny in only a way that 80s movies can be...but it's also funny and cute. Thanks again, Cal!

A few of my favorite things...
(Friends, sherbet floats, and Harry!)

And now...CALIFORNIA! I'm headed to CA with my roommates this week. Simply can't wait! I'll be sure to take pictures and let y'all know how rockin' awesome it was.

Oh yes...and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dad! You're aging quite graciously! :) Love, love, love you!

Happy Birthday, America!

Thought I'd give a shout-out to this blessed land...Muppet-style. Enjoy!

Independence Day: Idaho Falls style...

BBQ at Lisa's Oma's house with kabobs!
YUMMO!

A patriotic cake Krista made...

Sometimes I think I'm clever...

After lunch, Lisa, Brooke and I met up with a few friends (Brooker and her Ma, Janae, Ashley, and Katie) at Edwards Theater to watch The Proposal. It was funny.

Went home and relaxed for a bit, then met up with our peeps in downtown IF to walk around and see the festivities, throw a frisbee, and watch the fireworks.

Me and Taletha...

Taletha, Lisa, Brooke, Ashley...

Most of the crew (minus Brooker, who was dilly-dallyin'
with other friends when said picture was taken.)
Smiley, Skyler, Brooke, Carl, Ashley, Gina, Kelly, Tara, Lisa and Taletha...

A is for AMAZING...

I stopped wearing bandages on Sunday 'cause they just slowed me down and got in the way. The cut seemed to be healing anyway, so whatev...

Monday morning, a gal I work with (Brittany) said the stitches looked like hair on my upper knuckle. Dark, coarse hair. Eeeew. Funny, but eeeew.

Yesterday, two of my five stitches came untied, so I pulled them out. I was supposed to get them removed today, but since nearly half of them were gone, I thought I'd just hurry the process along: I had my friend Skyler take 'em out last night.

The injury...

I'm just astounded at what the body is capable of. It's so darn amazing that if your flesh accidentally gets cut open, it can seal itself back together (with a little help from my friends, of course). I'm seriously in awe of the human body.