CA Top Ten

I love this pier picture!!!

I KNOW I am so behind in blogging. My sincerest apologies. Maci and I had a great time in California visiting Jared for a month. I was so happy that I don't work and could leave home like that. So many other girlfriends/wives can't do that when their husbands leave. Our weekends were especially fun. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk, The Big Tree Park, and San Francisco! And to avoid any rambling, I've broken our trip down into top ten worsts and bests about the trip. We'll start with worsts so you won't leave our blog depressed.

Top Nine (couldn't think of 10) Worsts

9. So much nasty fast food, which never sounds appetizing anyway, not to mention for 3 meals/day with prego nausea.

8. Some kind of funky smell in the hotel (funky like urine) that was in the filtration system and would not go away in any of the rooms! It was 105 degrees outside and I wouldn't turn on the AC because of the smell.

I'll be right back...I have to throw up thinking about it.

7. Driving Jared to work super early and having to wake up Maci so we could have the rental car.

6. Seeing RATS the size of small CATS (and maybe some small humans) at the city children's park. Oh yeah, they were huge. Just running around with the cute little kids at midday...stepping on the same wood chips, sliding down the same slide. We were not the only parents who saw them, but we were the only parents who left the park after seeing them. Scary AND disgusting. 5. Rude people on the San Fran trolley...don't get Jared started on this one.

4. Not having time in San Francisco to see the Exploratorium. Guess we'll have to go back soon! 3. Getting our rental car broken into in Stockton and having almost $600 worth of stuff taken, including all of Maci's toys, books, and travel entertainment. 2. Jared's 60 hour work weeks. He is working so hard and I can't say if I've ever been so impressed with him. Although it was pretty boring for me. 1. Coming home to MI with Jared but not getting to keep him here!

Now onto the good stuff...Top Ten Bests 10. Maci's "Wow this is AMAZING" and "This is BEAUTIFUL" comments about the airport, hotel, pool, taxi, downtown buildings, fast food...everything was amazing to her.

9. Maci and cousin Hali playing so well together. 8. Free food and racking up Subway Fresh Scrabble letters almost daily, which reminds me...does anyone have an 'N', because I need those diamonds (NEED). 7. Free weekend at the San Fran Intercontinental. Pretty sure I wouldn't have spent the $1000 on that myself, but since it was paid for, the experience was priceless. (: Especially the mints on the pillows.

6. Seeing my Uncle Tom and Jeanne who I haven't seen for so long and spending a fun fun weekend with them. Maci is still talking about it all.

5. The bum on the street that stopped me and told me I was beautiful. I KNOW this should be next to the scary and disgusting rat story in the worsts section, but for some reason it made my day! Scary AND weird. 4. Watching Maci pull out these chopsticks at a restaurant and use them like a pro with me and Jared staring jaw-dropped and speechless. I finally took a picture after she started grabbing ice out of her water with them. The funniest thing was that Jared and I were seeing who was better with chopsticks between the two of us (me) and Maci silently showed us up out of nowhere.

3. The crabs and jelly fish we saw at this beautiful beach.

2. Going to places I've never been. I love that feeling. 1. Getting to spend some awesome weekends with my very most important people and making great memories. Also the lazy sea lions at the Boardwalk. Don't you just love vacation? Now it feels like fall, which I really love in Michigan, I'm finding out.

Question of the day...What was your favorite vacation? See more of our California fun here:

California 2008