Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

So you wanted to know about my vacation to the Silicon Valley in northern California? Well, too bad, ‘cause I’m going to tell you anyway!

During the week, Justin attended the conference and I slept late, read, wrote, watched movies, shopped, showered AND styled my hair without being interrupted…you get the idea.

The two of us had so much fun being together. We were so relaxed. We got to be a couple again. We ate together without hurrying through a meal; watched Blades of Glory when we darn well wanted to instead of waiting until the kids were asleep and we were exhausted; talked about our relationship after ten years (guess whose idea that was—but he didn’t seem to mind); drove around, checked out the local tourist attractions, and…none of your business. Anyway (clearing throat), it was wonderful to reconnect without interruption. At one point I said in a conversational tone, “You know, I’m enjoying being alone so much that I’m thinking about finding a military academy for the kids. I mean, there's got to be one that'll take a four-year-old and a sixteen-month-old.”

We went to San Francisco on Sunday. We started by driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, which I had never visited (Justin had never been to S.F. at all, and kept saying he’d had no idea it was such a major city). The weather was so amazing: a little windy off the bay, but in the low 70s in the daytime and down into the high 50s at night; however, it only got chilly after sunset. We checked out Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 and the trolley cars (but decided not to spend $22 to ride one). I got to shop at H&M, the famous discount department store that does not exist in the South, and I was happy despite the crowd because I got some good deals. I had a sandwich on sourdough bread for lunch (a priority for me, since I love me some sourdough bread). By late afternoon, though, we were ready to rest. We said goodbye to the city by the bay and headed back to our hotel.

On Monday our plane didn’t leave until 3:20, so we toured the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. It was built by the heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune after her baby daughter and husband died; a medium convinced her that continuous building would appease the spirits of those killed by the rifle. So she hired workers to work continuously for 38 years, and as a result the house has 160 rooms and a lot of odd features, like a staircase that goes to the ceiling and doors that open on a 2-story drop, or this window built in the floor.

The house was very strange, with low-ceilinged rooms and lots of narrow little hallways. But the outside was pretty and the gardens were lovely.

I already told you that our plane got delayed and our luggage was put on the later plane instead of the one we were on. It was inconvenient, but not horrible; however, we were both missing the kids something awful by that time. The luggage was finally delivered the next day at 2:00 pm. Ever since we got back, I feel that I can’t catch up with all my responsibilities. I’m off my game, not having practiced for a week. Still, it was worth it to get away, and nice to get back home too.