California Dreamin'

Eric and I were able to take a nearly-free trip to Ventura, CA in early April because of a business tour he attended. Woot! As is only proper after a trip, I am giving a report: Three Things I Learned About California

1) There are hills and mountains, and then there is the Pacific Ocean. There is waaaay less in between than I thought. At some points there is no in between.

2) Television meteorologists in mid-southern CA have to work really hard to come up with new ways to make 4-5 degree temperature variations sound interesting and important.

3) Even if your flight gets rerouted and delayed twice, and you end up getting to your beach-front hotel 12 hours later than originally scheduled, bone-tired and dehydrated, you are still in a beach-front hotel at 65 degrees in early April.

Pics!

View from our hotel

Our hotel

View from the pier in Ventura

 Looking back into Ventura from end of pier

My walk around downtown - beautiful

 Santa Barbara

Dutch town of Solvang in the mountains/wine country

The Beach-Ball Day

Eric had looked ahead at the weather forecast and thought Friday would be our best Atlantic Ocean day. He was right! We all headed to Virginia Beach, parked right by the boardwalk, had the beach practically to ourselves for most of the time we were there, and had beautiful sunny 80+ degree weather. It was exactly what we all needed.

Long walks on the beach...they're such romantics...

Always the engineer...even made his own beach chair...

Their first time at the Atlantic Ocean...

Someone had to be buried!

After the sun had started turning our skin pretty red, and the sand had made it's way into every thing we brought, we headed back to the resort (again, through crazy-slow Virginia Beach/Norfolk/Newport News traffic) to shower and get ready for The King's Ball. All the families were dressing up (either in period garb or just nice clothing) and putting our newly-learned colonial dance skills to use. Sara was nervous from Monday until Friday at the ball, worried, she told us, that she might forget some of the moves for the dances, or not remember their names and that she knew them. She really, really, liked the dancing. : ) Levi asked me to dance - so sweet! - and Delaney, yet again, rejected invitations from young men to dance with her. She is going to be a tough one for some young man someday.

We weren't too great with our cameras Friday night, but I have a few pics, plus the "big reveal" - pics from Monday night including the parents' and grandparents' outfits!