Pick Up Where You Left Off.......Part Two

Last Friday was a "can't sleep out of anticipation" night.  We were going to get up at 3:30 am to hit the road at 4am-ish.  I woke up at 3:25, beating out my alarm clock by five minutes....after going to bed at 10:30pm.  I was so ready to go and hit the road, I might have been a little too chipper.  My sister's face as I woke her up pretty much told me that.

About 40 minutes out of town, we hit quite a downpour.  My husband was telling me all the things he did to the car to make sure it was in great condition for a road trip, including installing wipers.  As they swished back and forth, I was asking about costs of repair and joking about how much he charged for labor.  The rain was getting heavier and as he fiddled with the wiper switch the funniest thing happened, the wiper blades got tangled.

We pulled over to the next rest stop, and my husband untangled the wipers.  He ended up switching the wiper blades around, they were working perfectly as we left.  Less than 2 minutes after we left the torrential downpour, the rain stopped.  We all laughed.  The rest of the drive was smooth sailing.  We stopped at IHOP to eat breakfast and got to my aunt's house at noon.

She and the family had since moved from that house I remember but once you walk in, it's that same warm welcoming feeling.  When we would visit as kids, my aunt would make us beds out of blankets and sheets on the floor.  She would ask, "Do you want a queen sized or king sized bed?"

It's amazing how we are able to jump into conversation as if no time had passed.  There is never any awkward moments.  We quickly catch up in the kitchen about what's been happening since we last saw each other, start eating and laughing...seems almost instantly.  Then my aunt suggests, "Do you want to go in the pool?"  The weather is a cool 75 degrees and the pool water is even colder but we jump in anyway.  When someone's backyard is so lush and green with a crystal clear pool in the back, how can you say no?

The next day was a trip to Corona Del Mar (near Newport Beach) for some light beach fun.  My kiddo had a blast with destroying sand castles and getting splashed by the waves.  

Looks like my kiddo is only getting her feet wet right?  I'm so glad we brought another outfit.

On Monday we headed out to Santa Monica Pier which was a bit of a drive but we left early hit up the rides and carnival games.  

From the view of the ferris wheel.

My three year old is in there!

 You can't hit up the pier and not hit up the beach.  We did exactly that.

Taking a break from being splashed by the waves.

This was a perfect day.....the evening was.....adventurous? There was maps, superheroes and my sister's amazing memory.

More to come tomorrow.