Home again

On Monday, Dad had to go to work early, so I got up and slowly got everything ready to go- attempting to avoid traffic in LA. I went to breakfast, washed and dried my sheets and put them back on the guest bed, put away all the cds I'd burned, re-alphabetized the cds... gave Riley her drugs, and hit the road by noon.

I got stuck in a traffic jam in LA, then hit more traffic... then finally made it to El Tejon where another woman was attempting to walk her old dog. She commiserated with me, and I totally let her think the reason why Riley couldn't walk straight was because of her age. I stopped again somewhere 3 hours later- probably around Lost Hills, because that whole area is the Bermuda Zone. I'm not just calling it that because I am tired.

My last stop was in Auburn  (I try to stop in places I like the names of), where I got some tacos and Riley's drugs wore off. I almost made it to Reno with just two stops, but there isn't much choice when urine need of a bathroom.

At home, Mini doted on us as much as possible as we staggered to our beds. Mini promptly curled up on me and stayed curled up against me all night.

I had Tuesday off, so I lazed around, unpacked, and went to see Mad Max at the fancy theater. That was a lot of fun. The rest of the week went fast, of course, and now I have a three day weekend, because I am getting this vacation thing down.

Even more pictures

On Sunday, we met up with Nik and Dana at Happy Head for some massages. I'm too tired to explain the whole process, but Dad and I got Asian reflexology massages, which is like a normal massage, but with clothes, and you soak your feet for a while, and they work extensively on your feet, which is so amazing that I fell asleep. So did Dad, but he snored so much, he woke himself up.

Then we went to this amazing restaurant and ate yummy food (Right?), and walked on the beach.

Nik had to take Dana to the airport, so Dad and I walked the beach some more, then drove up the coast. We had leftover grilled food for dinner.

Spoke too soon

Well, I was doing good with my trip blogging.

Alright, so Saturday, Dana, Nik, and I went out to breakfast. The food was fantastic, but that is always such a theme when I visit San Diego that I consider that a requirement now.

These pictures are all out of order since they're from different people's phones, but that first one is Riley hiding under Dana and giving me the stink eye because I'm cuddling Nik's dogs. We sat in Nik's house and talked a long while before and after breakfast, and I learned that Dana is unbelievably sweet, kind, understanding, and nonjudgmental.

We eventually made our way to Dad's, stopping for fuel on the way. Some dickhead very intentionally cut us off to get to the pumps first. Dana yelled "Asshole!" so loud that I could hear her plainly in a separate vehicle. She is sweet and kind and tolerant... but can still make quick assessments as needed.

2nd pic- at Dad's... Hell, this might have been Thursday.

3rd pic- at breakfast

4th pic- Saturday night at the dinner table. Nik's husband Rob just deployed, so I'm drinking his beer so it won't go bad. I'm willing to make these kinds of important sacrifices to support the troops.

5th pic- That's Snoopy investigating, and Brees trying to climb into our laps.

6th pic- Brees is the kind of dog that needs love so bad that she will not let a crossed leg deter her.

We saw a few of Dad's friends, drank alcohol, and ate grilled food.