Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Returning from extended blog vacation...

Alternate title: Pictures aplenty...
Or: Still finding sand in unusual places...

I finally went through our California photos this week and found my favorites. I know they say you should dig right into editing while the pictures (mentally and physically) are fresh, but I need some time away from my photos to really appreciate them. Going back through these a couple weeks later brought back so many memories and much appreciation for the absolute BEAUTY of our vacation. Time away from our world here at home, away from the business and clients, with friends and family, with each other in a place that wasn't below zero degrees in temperature – was BEAUTIFUL. PERFECT. Just what we needed.

Friday 1/16

  • Flight at 7:00a with a windchill that could only be described with an Eskimo's vocabulary. Flight, however, was not delayed or canceled, making us very happy.
  • We stayed with our friends for the first four nights.
  • That night we went to a studio taping of 'Til Death, which was hilarious. The cast even did a little stand-up in the beginning and talked to the audience. Sadly, the producers didn't have an air date for that episode, but we'll be watching for it.


Saturday 1/17
  • Dave and Kathy have annual passes to Disneyland, so we bought a 3-day pass ahead of time and spent a day at the Disneyland park. The other Disney option there is the California Adventure park – we went there a different day.
  • I only picked a couple shots from Disney, otherwise there are mainly themed attractions and scenery of the parks. The fireworks show that night was awesome, though. It's no Cinderella castle, but Sleeping Beauty's castle was very nice with the light show.

Doesn't this look like a movie poster or something?


Love the star lights on the castle.

Sunday 1/18
  • Sunday we all hit up Rodeo Drive for upscale shopping that made me cringe a little more with each price tag. Not because I wanted the stuff in the shops, but because I can't believe people spend THAT MUCH MONEY on their fashionables. Really.
  • The rest of the day was spent with our personal tour guides around SoCal, hitting up Universal's CityWalk and having dinner at Hard Rock.
  • That night we saw Craig Lyons play at a bar in Santa Monica. He was rockin' as usual, and especially so with his new band.


Monday 1/19
  • Monday we headed out to the beaches. Venice Beach was first. We walked around and saw a lot of the culture there (aka hippie people) – very interesting and cool.
  • Next was Santa Monica Pier for exploring, watching the sunset, and having dinner at Bubba Gump's (shrimp soup, shrimp gumbo...). As soon as I saw the ferris wheel, I was like a giddy school girl. But not to ride it, just for the photos. Great day.



This one and the next turned out just as I imagined before I shot them. I'm in love.




This photo starts Santa Monica Pier. I love all the people in this shot.


Yes, the sky was really that blue.





Tuesday 1/20
  • Went to Disneyland's California Adventure park where they have the roller coaster rides and other fun stuff. I didn't dig it as much as the other park, though. Not surprising.
  • Afterwards, we drove to my sister's house and stayed there the next four nights. Risa and her family have an amazing house and adorable kids. I wish we could've stayed longer with them, but that gives us a reason to visit again. The fact that Delta has finally lowered their prices out of Cincinnati gives another reason. Boo-yah.
Wednesday 1/21 – Saturday 1/24
  • We relaxed, visited, enjoyed, tried to get over colds that we caught during the week, and explored San Clemente a bit. We also spent a third day at Disneyland.
  • On the last day, Risa took us to Dana Point beach for a mini photo session and dinner. She took some really great shots with our camera, including my profile photo. That was awesome because I don't remember the last time we had good shots taken.





San Clemente Pier.




Photo taken by Risa.




She also took the great shot of us looking toward the sunset.

Great vacation. Great photos – some that I'm already imagining on my walls. But it's also good to be back, back to reality and some interesting changes that have taken place since our return.

Irie.

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