Agua Caliente - Day Four

Friday, March 27, 2009

Yesterday was a doozy.

Normal day... pool (I didn't go in - a little too sunburned), catch, lunch, breakfast (not necessarily in that order). Breakfast was my specialty (chorizo and eggs). Lunch was another... carne asada quesadillas. Yum!

The baby did better walking and playing... Thank goodness! She was all over the place - movies, blowing bubbles, catching bugs. She loves the bug catchers with the magnifying glass in it. We caught lots of moths last night.

Mom and the girls went to a more receptive for cell phones to get ahold of my sister - to see if she was coming or not, plus talk to Jr and hear his status and get the details. He was supposed to leave my sister directions... by my mom left voicemail directions, as she couldn't get ahold of her whywho. And Jr says he left/gave them to her (can't tell which it is!).

OK... so time passes. I realize NONE of the texts the girls sent to my sister went through. The phone was in "off." So more time goes... my mom and I finally go to call/text her and see where she is.

You don't wanna know! She was about 2 hrs off! She had just left at 7:37. She was supposed to leave around 2pm. Didn't happen. Go figure. So we figured her for around 7:30'ish. And I got all of the texts to go through.

More time... 7:30'ish... I go alone to see how she's progressing. I should've known. She is infamous for getting lost. She definitely does not have a GPS system built in (or purchased!).

She was another 2 hrs off! She had turned the wrong way at Julian! Between calls, I was looking at maps and trying to figure out just where the heck she was, when she called me again and said they were going home. They were at the entrance to the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Way out of the way. Yikes! So, I went back to deliver my news.

My mom disagrees and said she gave the right information/directions, regardless of what my sister said. But from what my sister tells me, it sounds like what they thought/said. It really is a semi-confusing deal, if you don't know and if you don't have a map.

Anyway, we ate dinner. I went to bed... and I heard a car pull up. They had gotten almost all the way home when she decide to come back the way I'd told her and bring my mom's cake for her birthday. How sweet. Literally, she made a full circle. That was one long round trip.

Agua Caliente - Day Three

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Yesterday was fun! We had Jr & Renee follow us out (so they wouldn't get lost) to Julian, where we were going to visit.

Jr had to take down one tent and air mattress though, 'cause we made him. He ended up taking down one of the girls' tents, because they were moving into the larger tent, which he was using.

We were on a slant, so our pancakes were on a slant, too. They were slightly burnt, but good. Then we were on our way...

Julian is a quaint town of a whole 427 people. It is beautiful and the daffodils grow wild. According to the locals, the town is known for its lilacs and the branches are beginning to boo,, but we didn't see them...

Julian is also known for apples, and no one, but the Witch Creek Winery, from around there makes hard cider. Yep. I went to a wine tasting and west through robust tart to sweet. Yummy. I bought a bottle of the hard cider. And we bought a pie.

Lots of the shops have cute country stuff, including Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and anecdotes. Most also have Coca-Cola stuff, so they got me! My mom bought me a diner-style salt and pepper shaker set. I purchased myself a perpetual calendar that I'd never seen. Needless to say... I could've easily spent another couple hundred in there. The girls weren't into much except candy, so I didn't get them anything. My mom bought them the candy.

The markets didn't have much, so we got what we could on our lists. Luckily, Juan had found my bandaid stash in a diaper bag, so those weren't needed.

The museums were closed,l and we didn't venture out of town to the caves or the haunted stage. Maybe Friday on our way out of town we'll hit them.

It got kind of windy once we got back. Dinner was my simple meatball grill packets (meatballs, onions, corn-on-the-cob, and potatoes topped with honey & bbq sauce). Everyone loved them. So dishes were almost nothing.

We had pie and a bottle of hard cider (my Strawberry Arbor Mist died while we were gone...)... and sat by the fire for a bit. I went to bed early and took a pill.

The other day... when we were "poolin'", I had gotten a little burnt. I was starting to feel it when I turned in.

Thank goodness everything was either tied down or staked down when I went to bed. Even thought I'd taken a pill, the wind howled and blew the tent walls in and out. It whistled and gusted throughout the night, making it hard to get a good night's rest. The tent walls shuddered and blew up like a child filling its cheeks with air then blowing out, the cheeks going in.

Maybe today the girls will fly kites.

The baby kept scooting over, nearly pushing me off the ed. It's hard to sleep with a toddler, but I knew that anyway from home. By the time I got up, I was on the edge of my side, a familiar place for me, and about to go over. So I have up and got up.

Today, though, I'd like to try some trails. Wish me luck!

If i forgot to mention it, the baby complained all day about her "hurting feet." She claimed her feet still hurt and wanted to be carried around. They are scraped pretty well.

Agua Caliente Trip - Day Two

And here is a continuation of our trip. If it bores you... move on... lol!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

And yes, I forgot to bring some things (don't we all!)... the baby's bathing suit was a big one (Don't worry. I told her that babies have to wear "shorts" bathing suits; it's one of the "rules."), a corkscrew (had to bring my wine - Thank God one of them was a screw top!), a can opener (so we didn't have baked beans or tomato sauce - for the rice, etc.) Oh well... can't remember everything.

Tuesday wasn't bad at all, if you don't need a cell phone, texting, a computer and your friends... I don't! A few days away is a great thing. But there are those that just constantly complain. Juan's kids (Jr & Renee) did just that.

As a matter of fact, they are cutting the trip short and leaving today for those very reasons. Poor Juan... Jr also forgot his deodorant, toothbrush and "flavor" (tobacco) for his Hooka (He insists this is not smoking!). Great...

Renee just super misses texting.

My cell phone just sits in my car... no worries, no pain, no wistfulness of days gone by or phone calls not received or made...

Back to yesterday...

I got the baby to go into the wading pool. Turns out - she didn't want to go Monday because she saw this "lady making kids count" and she didn't want to have to count. She loved it. I can't get her into a pool at home, but this is a wading pool, and she can touch the bottom and have a lot hang out, still. Yippee!

The kids came from the big pool, saying it was way too cold. That's what all the other campers say, too. The wading pool is about 90. They are both supposed to be 90.

I went to the "therapy" pool (jacuzzi to me) for a little bit... NICE...

Ugh. You'd think I could get my own coffee right... too much sugar! (Drinking coffee right now...)

By the time I got back to the wading pool, the baby's toes were scraped on the bottom (the pool is very roughly finished). So she complained all day. Oh! And I forgot more - bandaids and Tylenol.

Everyone but Jr had a good time in the pools. Jr didn't go in at all.

We played games (Bullshit, Solitaire, Yatzee). We played frisbee. The girls caught softballs.

Rey fell from the hammock that Juan had bought... the manufactured knots came out. It was hilarious! Thump! Right on her back. No, she wasn't hurt and didn't play it up either.

Then the hammock got fixed. We found a place the baby could fall asleep in! Yeah!

We rode bikes around the campground (the hills are tiring... I'm SO out of shape...).

Burgers were for dinner. Since Mom forgot the potato salad and salsa, we just had chips with it.

The baby was watching movies in the car. The battery went dead. That's ok. We used Jr's car to charge it up... So the baby watched movies in the tent. Until bedtime. (She didn't want to walk with her toes like that.) After the fire and s'mores, she went right to sleep with me.

The hammock was a big attraction for all the kids and Juan. I'll pass, but it was nice watching each of them in it. They'd swing, kick back, sleep and, overall, have a good time.

Jr was originally supposed to leave Thursday and Renee stay, but they've been sort of (very much) complaining a lot. Of course it irks me. Juan bought extra stuff just for them when they said they were coming. The complaining also get to me, but of course, they've made excuses as to why they have to leave.