A few weeks ago I boarded plane all by myself for the first time in over three years. Charlie had suggested several times that I go away for a weekend, and I finally did it. Amy & I have been friends since we were 11 years old, but it had been a couple years since we'd seen each other. She and her husband Paul were gracious enough to host me for my little weekend get-away.
As soon as Amy picked me up on Friday night, we started talking and catching up, and never stopped until they dropped me back off at the airport! We had so much fun and really packed in a lot in just a couple of days.
Saturday morning Amy & I went out for a run on the Los Gatos trail that runs right by their apartment, then we showered, stopped for donuts, and went to the local farmers market. Next they took me on a little tour of San Jose and showed me their new neighborhood and their new home that they just bought!
After dropping Paul off at home, Amy & I headed over to the Winchester Mystery House for a tour. It is this crazy mansion that was under construction for 38 years! Sarah Winchester was the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune and she believed that the spirits of all those killed by the rifles were haunting her. She kept building and building in order to confuse the spirits and ended up with a 160 room mansion with doors that open into nothing, staircases that lead to the ceiling, and all sorts of other crazy stuff. It was fascinating to see.
Next we drove out to Santa Cruz, stopped to get ice cream, and headed to the boardwalk. It was fun to walk around and watch all of the carnival type rides. I didn't realize how brave I was being when I agreed to ride the Giant Dipper! It is one of those huge old wooden roller coasters, and for some reason I was thinking it would be no big deal. Wrong! It was a total thrill ride, but so much fun. Paul somehow managed to keep his hands in the air the entire time, while Amy and I didn't last past the first drop and let out continuous screams for the duration of the ride.
We walked along the coast and out to the cliffs to watch the surfers and the seals, and to check out the lighthouse. I think this may be the only lighthouse I've actually seen in person. It was a beautiful setting, with the sunset and the ocean behind us.
Sunday morning Amy baked us some yummy banana nut muffins, and then we headed off to church. Afterwards we drove up to Big Basin Sate Park to see the Redwood trees. It is kind of surreal to be surrounded by these enormous trees that seem to go up and up forever into the sky. It was also really cool to see some of the trees that had been damaged by fires or other things - some of them becoming totally hollowed out - but still continued to grow.
We had a non-stop fun weekend. Thanks again Amy & Paul for being such fantastic hosts! I felt so carefree not having to worry about anyone but myself for awhile, but at the end of the day there is nothing that makes me happier than being a wife and a mother and I was so happy to come back home to Charlie, Isaac & Cracker.
After dropping Paul off at home, Amy & I headed over to the Winchester Mystery House for a tour. It is this crazy mansion that was under construction for 38 years! Sarah Winchester was the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune and she believed that the spirits of all those killed by the rifles were haunting her. She kept building and building in order to confuse the spirits and ended up with a 160 room mansion with doors that open into nothing, staircases that lead to the ceiling, and all sorts of other crazy stuff. It was fascinating to see.
Next we drove out to Santa Cruz, stopped to get ice cream, and headed to the boardwalk. It was fun to walk around and watch all of the carnival type rides. I didn't realize how brave I was being when I agreed to ride the Giant Dipper! It is one of those huge old wooden roller coasters, and for some reason I was thinking it would be no big deal. Wrong! It was a total thrill ride, but so much fun. Paul somehow managed to keep his hands in the air the entire time, while Amy and I didn't last past the first drop and let out continuous screams for the duration of the ride.
We walked along the coast and out to the cliffs to watch the surfers and the seals, and to check out the lighthouse. I think this may be the only lighthouse I've actually seen in person. It was a beautiful setting, with the sunset and the ocean behind us.
Sunday morning Amy baked us some yummy banana nut muffins, and then we headed off to church. Afterwards we drove up to Big Basin Sate Park to see the Redwood trees. It is kind of surreal to be surrounded by these enormous trees that seem to go up and up forever into the sky. It was also really cool to see some of the trees that had been damaged by fires or other things - some of them becoming totally hollowed out - but still continued to grow.
We had a non-stop fun weekend. Thanks again Amy & Paul for being such fantastic hosts! I felt so carefree not having to worry about anyone but myself for awhile, but at the end of the day there is nothing that makes me happier than being a wife and a mother and I was so happy to come back home to Charlie, Isaac & Cracker.
1 comment:
you are so skinnY!!!
and isaac is a BIG BOY! he is HUGE! And his hair looks red/brown... am I making that up? He isn't a blonde anymore... at least from the pics in the more recent posts... SO CUTE!!! I need to see more pics of you and isaac... I am guilty too, there needs to be more pics of ME on my blog.
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