Vacation Home - California

Over the Summer of 08 the girls and I took a much needed family vacation away from Atlanta. We went back to my home, California. I was born in Escondido, and my dad and step mom currently reside in San Diego. My brother, Tristan, his wife Jacky and their daughter Atalaya live in Escondido, CA.

Visiting my Dad was my neice, Lily and my nephew, Dakota. So my dad had a full house. His house over looks the valley, and I love sitting out on their porch swing at night during the sunset. This time however, their swing was free-cycled, and they purchased a new one from the Del Mar Fair, which had yet to be delivered. So I settled for sitting on the couch next to my dad and doing Sudoku.

The past year has been pretty rough for me and the girls. When I moved across the country and left Utah, to pursue a greater dream, I never imagined my children would suffer through so much. You live and you learn. All I know is, God will see us through, and we will come out on top of this. Needless to say, we needed this vacation. I needed some sense of home, some sense of family. And my kids, they needed to know they were still loved. Enough of a booster to keep us going here in Atlanta.

We had a blast in California. We went to a musical theatre, and saw Bye Bye Birdie. I never thought the kids would like musical theatre. But they loved it. We bought front row seats. Expensive, but worth it. They watched the musicians in the pit play their instruments. SeKoixa liked it so much, I think she might do theatre when she is older, maybe Cymmone to. They both love music and acting.

We also went to the beach. We hit up Coronado Beach. It is a little island just off the coast. The bridge to get there, well frankly it scares me. But it was great. The beach we went to was a dog beach. There were so many different types of dogs, but it made it so fun to hang with them off of their leashes. We played in the water, I taught SeKoixa and Dakota how to boogie board. We collected shells, and we found the coolest thing any of us had seen in our lives. For the first time, we saw a live sand dollar. Who would have thought they were so pretty when they were alive to. We found about 10 dead ones, and about 8 alive ones. We threw the alive ones back into the water. We also saw a school of dolphins swimming along the coast. My dad, he even came with us. He sat on the beach in his chair with jeans on, but according to my step mom, he put shorts on underneath. Just in case he had to swim in to rescue us.

We also went to the Wild Animal Park. I grew up a few miles away from the park, in Escondido. It has changed a lot from the last time we went. They have a safari ride you can go on. It was really quite cool. We walked all around, and I got some great shots of the animals and kids. We got to feed some birds as well. We fed them nectar from a cup. It scared Cymmone half to death. She hates birds.

I packed the kids in the car one day, and took them to Wienerschnitzel. This is my favorite all time place to eat. The best damn chili cheese dogs you will ever have. For those of you who want to know what I am talking about go to http://www.wienerschnitzel.com/ and check it out. Closest one to Atlanta is Lousiana. Sucks!!! While we were there, a bank robbery happened, and we saw a police helicopter overhead. We wondered if it was my brother. He is a cop in San Diego, and he flies next to the pilot and controls the camera and radio calls. Kind of cool stuff.

This leads me to my next part. Later that night, after eating well, I met up with my brother just up the street from my dad's house. This is where the helicopter pad is for his job. I got to go on a ride a long with my brother. I was stoked. The kids got to hang out in the helicopter and check out all of the stuff. Before we took off, I said goodbye, and up we went. It was a little smoggy, but it did not matter. It was the coolest thing I have ever done. I had been trying for years to get in a ride a long with my brother. Each time, I had not been able to. So this time, it was extra special. I admire my brother for what he does. I had grown up always wanting to be a cop or a lawyer. Who knew computers would be my natural gift from God.
We rode down to the border of Mexico, and along the coast line, over the big bridge to Coronado Beach, and over the top of the olympic training facility, over the baseball field and football field. IT ROCKED!! What an amazing experience. My brother is cool!

We also had the pleasure of spending a day at SeaWorld. I went with my brother, his daughter, my two girls, my niece, and nephew. My brothers wife met up with us a little later, she had to work. SeaWorld from my brothers point of view, having my own personal tour guide, was great. We got to see all of the cool stuff, and since he has season passes, he is able to show us where to go etc. We had a great time. Even when the birds tried to eat our food from our hands. Again, freaked out poor Cymmone.

The trip back home was filled with all sorts of fun and excitement. 4th of July BBQ for my dad's street. Met all of his neighbors again. Great people! I took an amazing photo of my dad's neighbor holding his grand-baby in his hands. Just a beautiful picture. The kids had a great time playing in the yard, and I got a few drinks! I even made Macaroni and Cheese for everyone, they loved it!

SeKoixa stayed there in California for two extra weeks, while Cymmone went on to her Dad's house for two weeks. So I came home to an empty house. SeKoixa took some more swimming lessons while she was out there. She is such an amazing swimmer. I see her going to the Olympics to. When SeKoixa arrived home at the airport she just cried and cried and cried. I love my kids, God truly blessed me when he made them both.