If summer offically begins on Memorial Day weekend we kicked it off with a trip to the mountains. We spent a glorious Memorial weekend with our cousins in Big Bear. Friday night was spent relaxing, cooking and playing American Idol on Xbox. What a hoot. It was a little hard at first to get your bearings AND follow the backup singers AND read the words (if you didn't know every one of them by heart). It took us a while to figure out that I have a loud voice (big surprise) and that I was hearing myself too loudly and getting confused. Turning the mic down was a quick and easy remedy. It was really fun creating our idols and getting just the right funky edge that we all wanted our rock stars to have. We even had a competition and got the same criticisms the judges give contestants on the real idol. I think it was a run off between Damon and Jerry for the title.
Saturday morning we awoke to a cloudless day. The Millers have an east facing wrap-around veranda that looks out into a forest - the San Bernardino mountains as the backdrop - and the morning sun is generous with its warmth. It was so great just to be in a loving and carefree place with nothing to do but take in nature's beauty accompanied by a nice cup of chai tea, a good book, and Jackson. We spent an enjoyable day sitting around laughing, playing pingpong and poker, making cocktails, chasing bunnies in the forest and watching movies. Jerry took us on a wonderful 4X4 summit drive culminating in a hike to the top of the world on Sunday. We thought we'd beat the holiday traffic and drove home Sunday after a lovely lakeside drive.
The most memorable part of June was the trip to Lake Havasu (see earlier post for details). Damon may be going again with a few long lost high school buddies over the labor day weekend for which I was invited but have no interest in tagging along. Another family trip is planned for the following weekend but I have a prior commitment that Saturday.
June was also a very scary (and expensive) month for us where our animals are concerned. I've written extensive play by plays on that topic in real time. The rest of the month was spent in town enjoying Jackson's company, with friends, going to the theater and just savoring the cool weather. We needed the rest to gear up for what was to come in July.
Every weekend in July was booked. Forth of July occupied that first Saturday and we traditionally spend it with friends who have a pool party and fireworks every year. They are some of our favorite company and it's always a great time. The following Saturday we celebrated a friend's 40th birthday and had a bunch of fun. The living room was turned into a disco and we partied till the we hours, dancing and singing. Then the traveling starts.
Who in their right mind would go to Palm Springs in July? It can't be so bad as long as you have a pool and a cocktail, right? WRONG! We drove out Friday afternoon on the hottest weekend of the year. Temperatures soared way above 100 - 116 on the register Saturday. We made the best of it spending the bulk of the day and night in the pool skinny dipping since we basically had the place to ourselves. The main thing that made us all so miserable was the a/c in the condo couldn't keep up with the unbearable heat so we scarcely got any relief but we ate well restaurant hopping, got our drink on and kept entertained by shopping, gambling, and clubbing.
I vowed I would never do it again but I succommed to peer pressure after a couple of glasses of wine at a dinner party. We boarded another booze cruise on Friday afternoon a week after a woman turned up murdered on Carnival's "Fun Ship". I had few expectations but devoted to having a good time anyway. This time around we were a manageable 2 couples intent on relaxation and we did a whole lot of it. We slept when and where we felt like it and partied in the same fashion. Since we had all been up early on Friday morning and nurtured a nice afternoon buzz we collapsed early on Friday night after our formal dinner.
Saturday morning brought 6:30 am alarms about a missing person. For over 2 hours, a staffer with an indiscernible accent called every ten minutes for "wawawa - wawa" to contact the purser's office. Finally around 9am the cruise director intervened to prepare all 3000 passengers for a cabin to cabin physical search for Jennifer Crawford. Within minutes he was back over the airwaves to let us know that wouldn't be necessary as she had just announced her whereabouts. Of course, this starts rumor and innuendo about her morality. We were among the haters that said she had probably passed out drunk in some guy's room who didn't know her name! We later learned that she had been escorted to the California border when we docked in Ensenada for the disruption to ship safety.
We decided not to take a Mexican excursion, instead we would stay aboard and enjoy the pool. After breakfast we thought well maybe we should just walk to the 1st bar off the plank and get a cheap margarita. As it were we had 2 of the most amazing mango margaritas and guacamole for dirt cheap and then sauntered back to ship. I went directly to the pool where I waited for the next feeding. After dinner we caught part of the late night comedy show where the butt of almost all the jokes was Jennifer Crawford. Sunday was a similar day - napping in the sun for the better part of it. Damon and I did dance in the disco on Sunday night just so our muscles didn't atrophy for all the inactivity for 2 days! This cruise turned out to be a very nice and low key experience - one I probably won't be repeating any time soon - but enjoyable and much needed.
We were supposed to go camping with some friends in Yosemite the first weekend of August and I was really looking forward to it since a) we could bring our dog, b) I've never been to the sequoias, and c) I love it and haven't done much camping this year. But our plans were snarled when our friend fell down the stairs, tweaking his knee and faced surgery. Turns out he doesn't need surgery after all but he isn't walking too well.
The change in plans turned out for the best since our niece and nephew were coming into town with their Mom from Oregon. Saturday we hung out at the water park all day - did I mention that this is THE best fun ever? - and Sunday played at the beach followed by an outdoor concert.
August is a month to recuperate and replenish the bank account from an expensive summer. I went on a couple of invigorating local hikes, attended a live polo match, bowled (for real) for the first time since I was a child, wined and dined and had a whole lot of fun. We hosted a very fun weekend with our nephew, which I've previously recounted and had an interesting week of live theater - I'll talk about this in a separate post. Damon has been fly-fishing in Montana for the last 5 days, living like the president, while I man the fort at home and enjoy time with Jackson and the last of my summer reading. I cherish the time I have by myself and use it wisely.
As fall rapidly approaches I prepare for a couple of Autumn trips - Big Sur in Sept. and Chicago in Oct. We usually enjoy an Indian summer in the southland at least through September and often into October. I've been wanting to go to San Diego for a weekend so with luck we'll work that in soon. Sadly, we are currently bogged down by ferocious fires burning all around us a little earlier than usual as we've been in a furnace of a heat wave all week.
Saturday morning we awoke to a cloudless day. The Millers have an east facing wrap-around veranda that looks out into a forest - the San Bernardino mountains as the backdrop - and the morning sun is generous with its warmth. It was so great just to be in a loving and carefree place with nothing to do but take in nature's beauty accompanied by a nice cup of chai tea, a good book, and Jackson. We spent an enjoyable day sitting around laughing, playing pingpong and poker, making cocktails, chasing bunnies in the forest and watching movies. Jerry took us on a wonderful 4X4 summit drive culminating in a hike to the top of the world on Sunday. We thought we'd beat the holiday traffic and drove home Sunday after a lovely lakeside drive.
The most memorable part of June was the trip to Lake Havasu (see earlier post for details). Damon may be going again with a few long lost high school buddies over the labor day weekend for which I was invited but have no interest in tagging along. Another family trip is planned for the following weekend but I have a prior commitment that Saturday.
June was also a very scary (and expensive) month for us where our animals are concerned. I've written extensive play by plays on that topic in real time. The rest of the month was spent in town enjoying Jackson's company, with friends, going to the theater and just savoring the cool weather. We needed the rest to gear up for what was to come in July.
Every weekend in July was booked. Forth of July occupied that first Saturday and we traditionally spend it with friends who have a pool party and fireworks every year. They are some of our favorite company and it's always a great time. The following Saturday we celebrated a friend's 40th birthday and had a bunch of fun. The living room was turned into a disco and we partied till the we hours, dancing and singing. Then the traveling starts.
Who in their right mind would go to Palm Springs in July? It can't be so bad as long as you have a pool and a cocktail, right? WRONG! We drove out Friday afternoon on the hottest weekend of the year. Temperatures soared way above 100 - 116 on the register Saturday. We made the best of it spending the bulk of the day and night in the pool skinny dipping since we basically had the place to ourselves. The main thing that made us all so miserable was the a/c in the condo couldn't keep up with the unbearable heat so we scarcely got any relief but we ate well restaurant hopping, got our drink on and kept entertained by shopping, gambling, and clubbing.
I vowed I would never do it again but I succommed to peer pressure after a couple of glasses of wine at a dinner party. We boarded another booze cruise on Friday afternoon a week after a woman turned up murdered on Carnival's "Fun Ship". I had few expectations but devoted to having a good time anyway. This time around we were a manageable 2 couples intent on relaxation and we did a whole lot of it. We slept when and where we felt like it and partied in the same fashion. Since we had all been up early on Friday morning and nurtured a nice afternoon buzz we collapsed early on Friday night after our formal dinner.
Saturday morning brought 6:30 am alarms about a missing person. For over 2 hours, a staffer with an indiscernible accent called every ten minutes for "wawawa - wawa" to contact the purser's office. Finally around 9am the cruise director intervened to prepare all 3000 passengers for a cabin to cabin physical search for Jennifer Crawford. Within minutes he was back over the airwaves to let us know that wouldn't be necessary as she had just announced her whereabouts. Of course, this starts rumor and innuendo about her morality. We were among the haters that said she had probably passed out drunk in some guy's room who didn't know her name! We later learned that she had been escorted to the California border when we docked in Ensenada for the disruption to ship safety.
We decided not to take a Mexican excursion, instead we would stay aboard and enjoy the pool. After breakfast we thought well maybe we should just walk to the 1st bar off the plank and get a cheap margarita. As it were we had 2 of the most amazing mango margaritas and guacamole for dirt cheap and then sauntered back to ship. I went directly to the pool where I waited for the next feeding. After dinner we caught part of the late night comedy show where the butt of almost all the jokes was Jennifer Crawford. Sunday was a similar day - napping in the sun for the better part of it. Damon and I did dance in the disco on Sunday night just so our muscles didn't atrophy for all the inactivity for 2 days! This cruise turned out to be a very nice and low key experience - one I probably won't be repeating any time soon - but enjoyable and much needed.
We were supposed to go camping with some friends in Yosemite the first weekend of August and I was really looking forward to it since a) we could bring our dog, b) I've never been to the sequoias, and c) I love it and haven't done much camping this year. But our plans were snarled when our friend fell down the stairs, tweaking his knee and faced surgery. Turns out he doesn't need surgery after all but he isn't walking too well.
The change in plans turned out for the best since our niece and nephew were coming into town with their Mom from Oregon. Saturday we hung out at the water park all day - did I mention that this is THE best fun ever? - and Sunday played at the beach followed by an outdoor concert.
August is a month to recuperate and replenish the bank account from an expensive summer. I went on a couple of invigorating local hikes, attended a live polo match, bowled (for real) for the first time since I was a child, wined and dined and had a whole lot of fun. We hosted a very fun weekend with our nephew, which I've previously recounted and had an interesting week of live theater - I'll talk about this in a separate post. Damon has been fly-fishing in Montana for the last 5 days, living like the president, while I man the fort at home and enjoy time with Jackson and the last of my summer reading. I cherish the time I have by myself and use it wisely.
As fall rapidly approaches I prepare for a couple of Autumn trips - Big Sur in Sept. and Chicago in Oct. We usually enjoy an Indian summer in the southland at least through September and often into October. I've been wanting to go to San Diego for a weekend so with luck we'll work that in soon. Sadly, we are currently bogged down by ferocious fires burning all around us a little earlier than usual as we've been in a furnace of a heat wave all week.
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