Visit to California

I had a great trip to California recently. I was able to spend two weeks at home, with a little side trip to Vegas. Both of my sisters were in town as well. Allison, who lives in Virginia, had a conference in Long Beach and was able to stay for a week afterwards. Marci, who lives in San Francisco, came down for the 4th of July weekend.

Update on grandma. For falling and breaking her leg and having surgery in January she looks really good. She has a walker and uses it most of the time. She is really thin though...just 112 pounds. We keep trying to get her to eat more, but after eating a big breakfast, she really isn't that hungry the rest of the day. She will eat here and there, but not always the best things for her. Somehow, she thinks that having a twinkie and some of the "goodies" from her stash by her chair will help to put a little meat on her bones. She still keeps trying to get into things that she should probably just leave alone. Apparently she was in the garage while my mom and I were in Vegas looking for her step stool. The same one she fell from in January. Needless to say, she won't be finding that anytime soon. Aside from that, she still has more energy than most people, just can't seem to sit still or leave things alone...has to keep moving things around. I found my granola with the laundry supplies. Yummy. She has a caregiver that stays with her, even though she says she doesn't need a watchdog. Gotta love that grandma still has some pep in her step as she approaches her 96th birthday in August.

So, what did I do on my trip? Well, aside from hanging out at grandma's house the fam and I went shopping. We hit up the outlets, a couple of malls and some random stores. Anything to help out the economy a little bit. Really though, I love a great deal and rarely buy something if it isn't on sale. Allison, my mom and I also went to a Dodger game. We were dressed in dodger blue, got dodger dogs (yum), and sat in the hot direct sunlight. Did I mention we sat in the left field pavilion and that every camp in the LA area was in attendance at the game? Honestly, all of the kids seemed to be on their best behavior, it was some of the adults that needed a manner check. The dodgers won, but honestly the game was a little on the less than exciting scale. They scored one run in the bottom of the 8th inning...nonetheless, I enjoyed the ballpark atmosphere.

What else did we do? Well, Allison and I went on some long walks every day that she was in town. Marci joined here and there when she was in town (she is now training for a marathon). Usually we walked in neighborhoods, but one day Allison and I walked to the town of Sierra Madre a couple of miles from grandmas. Once we arrived we had breakfast and looked at some shops. We even looked at this cute old church that I had always wondered what the inside looked like. In addition to the walks and much needed exercise, we spent time by and in the pool. I enjoyed the opportunity to relax by the pool and get my bronzed goddess on as my friend Jenn calls it. Oh, Allison and I made egg salad sandwiches for everyone as well. I hadn't had egg salad in so long, and it was really good. Note to self...make egg salad again soon.

Other than that, we just hung out...cooked, rented videos, layed with Sienna (our dog..who I always miss snuggling with) read books, etc. I did get to see some of my friends and their kids. Melody and I went out for dessert with her newest addition Thomas Koa (Koa). Her older son Daniel stayed with Daddy because he had video games. I also got to go to lunch with my friend Jennifer and her little girl Paige. It was great to see both Melody and Jennifer and their adorable children. It was my first time meeting Koa...too cute. I can't believe how much Paige had grown. She is funny and is very interested in dogs right now. Think that she is hoping for a new addition to the Reigler family in the form of a puppy. Mom and dad might have other plans though. Wish I had been able to see more folks, but hard to do when you are spending most of the time with family and don't have a car. Thanks Jen and Melody for driving in to see me. You are the best!

Now on to our Vegas trip. We took Marci to the Burbank airport on Monday evening and then dropped off Allison at LAX on Tuesday morning. This was the morning of the MJ memorial at the Staples Center. We did wind up driving right by the Staples Center and expected a lot of traffic. We actually did not run into much on that freeway, but did see a lot of officers at the exits...nice to see that even though California is having some major money difficulties the city of LA is able to keep things in perspective and prioritize what to spend money on.

At any rate, after we dropped Allison off at the airport...btw she saw Daniel from Ugly Betty... mom and I drove to Vegas. The drive is around 4 hours, but we stopped at the outlets on the way to break up the drive and to find some deals. I didn't really get anything at the first set of shops, but did find a couple of things at the next stop. We arrived in the early evening and got settled into our room.

To put it simply...I love Vegas! What is not to love? Well, there are definitely things not to love, like the folks who stand on the side of the road trying to hand out "questionable material" to passersby...I actually felt really sorry for them. I am sure that they would rather being doing something else for a living. Oh well, I decided not to focus on that and just enjoy my trip.

I have always had a great time in Sin City. Typically, I try and get there once a year...usually in the summer. I love that anything goes...it is a great place to people watch. Mom and I stayed at the Monte Carlo. They have a great summer rate, give you coupons for restaurants/shows and I love the pool area. The pool area has your standard type pool, a wave pool, lazy river, and a kiddie pool. The wave pool is definitely my favorite. I enjoy laying out in the 100+ temps (thankfully a dry heat), cooling off in the water, and reading. I read three + books while I was there. Oh, and mom and I highly suggest getting the mango and chicken quesadilla and french fries from the pool menu. Sooo good!

While in Vegas we visited some of the area hotels and casinos. We shared a yummy crepe for dessert and on a different day used a two for one coupon to buy passes to go up in the eiffel tower. I had never been up before and it was so neat to be up so high and overlook the Vegas strip. I got some good pictures and we were able to see a couple of water shows at the Bellagio from up there as well. Mom and I were supposed to see the Wayne Brady Show on Thursday evening. The show got cancelled. Sad day. We were however able to get tickets for Friday night and the show did go on thankfully. Wayne Brady is super talented. It was mostly an improv type show, using some audience members here and there, and then he sang some songs. Apparently he started out as a singer and has recently put out an album. I new he could sing, just didn't know that was how he started. All in all, a most enjoyable trip.

After Vegas, we headed back to California, visited with grandma some more and then it was time to leave. It is always bittersweet to leave California. I miss my fam and friends. I have a ton of work to do now that I am back....Welcome Week and the start of school is just around the corner. War Eagle!

BTW - can't believe that I typed so much...hope that I didn't bore anyone.