February 14, 2008

My uncle awoke at 6:30a.m. to go back to work as I slept in until the shockingly late hour of eight.  I had to remind myself again that I was on vacation and had nowhere to go, fast.  As my uncle did not have internet access in his apartment, I had to get creative and momentarily hijack someone's nearby.  Unethical as it was, I was desperate as I had nothing else to do but swill cheap beer at nine in the morning.  I was house bound as I did not have the code to leave or re-enter the garage below.  I chatted with friends online while looking up the upcoming days weather report.  I also browsed Oregon Live to see if there was anything of interest happening back home. 

At eleven, my uncle returned where he took me out to an electronics store so I could pick up a patch cable for my Ipod Nano.  The Mustang had an input jack, giving me full access to my music I had brought with me as local radio was quite annoying.

Errands taken care of, we raced out to a Bob's Big Boy hamburger joint where the last time my uncle went he spotted Drew Carey.   I doubt there would be any stars there today, but the real motivation was I have not eaten at one of these establishments since I was a young boy.  Oh, and of course, this was vacation and junky fast food had to be on the menu.

After eating, I looked over my itinerary.  Get uncle to the airport, then drive out to Ontario to check in at the hotel, then get Sandra, then a restaurant, then a drive to Mt. Baldy.  For winging a vacation with no rules, my time was quickly getting filled up, but I missed Sandra and was quite excited that fate gave me more time with her.

After dropping off my uncle, I raced over the countless freeways to get to the Best Western hotel in Ontario.  At three stars, it was the best in the area, sporting the best reviews I could find.  The hotel was complete with a bar, fridge, microwave, flat screen 32" TV, incredible California king sized bed, free wireless access, and an extra large Jacuzzi-style bath tub.  The only thing that was missing was a bottle of Lil Penguin Merlot.  I was in heaven. 

After unpacking, I called Sandra and let her know about the room.  She was ecstatic as she has never had a real vacation either.  She had mentioned a restaurant for the evening called Las Campanas.  It sounded trendy to me, but I was game as I had to remind myself, yet again, that I was on vacation.  Plus, I trusted her judgment as she was from Latino heritage and who better to follow to a Mexican restaurant right?  Turns out she knew nothing about the restaurant as I found out later.  Silly girl.

The restaurant was reservations only, but with room at the bar.  Even the bar was more classy than most of the places I have been.  The atmosphere was very pleasant with low conversation, relaxing music, and art/deco hangings that left you wondering what the heck were they thinking.  After catching up a bit, the waiter asked what we would like to drink.  I scored the largest Cadillac Margarita I could while Sandy ordered a smaller, strawberry version after denying the waiter that the extra three bucks was not worth the headache in the morning.  Some freshly made tortilla chips and salsa were a perfect compliment to such fine drinks. 

Our appetizer consisted of a filet mignon quesadilla loaded with cheeses.  Laughter, talking, snuggling, and ultimately spilling my liquor in the salsa, all before our fajitas were even brought out to the table, proved how my vacation was going.  Although Sandra said the liquor in the salsa was gross, the girl would not stop eating it.  Go figure.

With stuffed bellies, we waddled our way back to the car as Sandra wanted to show me the city from the edges of a local mountain called Mt. Baldy.  Albeit a popular place, there was hardly anyone up there as it was a week night and rather late.  We drove as far as we could and got out as I had to prove to myself that at 4200 feet, there could actually be snow in southern California.  I proceeded to break off a piece of this "snow" as a melting souvenir for Sandra as we looked for the best spot to see the city's lights.  Driving back, I did a U-turn to get to the side of the road and a safe place to park.  It was cold.  Cold enough to remind me of many trips over the years I have taken.  Blankets, soft talk, lights below, nothing more was needed.  Eventually, the cold and wind got the best of us as we loaded the blankets back into the car before ourselves.  After opening the car door, sand whipped in from the wind, filling crevasses in the car instantly.  Seats brushed off, we raced to a local Starbucks for some caffeine as we did not want the night to end so soon.  With coffee in hand and soft music playing, we rolled into the hotel parking lot.

February 15, 2008

Normally I am a morning person, but this was turning out to be a heck of a vacation.  On the to-do list today was Disneyland.  The last time I was here, Amber had just turned 5, I was grossly overweight and out of shape and it was just downright tiresome.  Being in shape and 40 pounds lighter, I was ready to tear it up, so-to-speak.  Before heading out, we made a quick pit stop to an In N' Out burger joint.  Sandra has been craving In N' Out as I have only eaten this rubbish once before.  Orders were taken, the top was down and the yummy junk was consumed.

While eating, Sandra convinced me I was tough enough for the big-boy rides since the last time I was there it was kiddy rides only.  Under impossibly blue skies, we made it to the Land sans drama and acquired our parking pass.  The vacation just kept getting better.

Making our way to the park, we had to stop at the Lego store as my childhood contains quite the history of the little, colorful  square blocks.  The days of the Expert Builder Series from the 1970s are long gone as all that I could find now were the lame Technic versions of what was once an extraordinary learning tool for kids and adults.  The store did sport some pretty neat characters made out of the things, one of which I think Sandy had the hots for.

When my heart, mind and body are all one, things strike me differently then they would, say, at work.  During these times, things sometimes spark humor to me for no apparent reason.  Like a waste can telling me to waste paper.  As Sandra works in the paper biz, her company would not find this humorous one bit, but I did.  Time to move on to some rides and leave all the trinket-selling shops behind.

A late start out of the gate this morning meant that just one theme park was enough.  After waiting for an eternity, we finally got our tickets and proceeded into The Land of Dreams.  Although I have not been here for five years, it simply did not feel that long ago.  Eyeballing yet more shops, we decided that rides were more important than shopping at the moment and headed for an attraction that offered the most bang for the shortest wait.  Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had only a fifteen minute wait as we got quickly in line.  Chatting with someone you care about made the time fly by as we quickly stepped into one of the cars and prepared ourselves.  The train took off, up, over, down, and through.  Of course, like most of the attractions, it was over all too soon.

As the last ride was fun, it was time to just walk and talk.  Glancing over at a big ship floating towards us sparked an interest to see what all it was about.  This ride, known as the Sailing Ship Columbia, looked to be slightly entertaining.  We boarded as we were the first ones at the door/gate thingy and took a look around.  I tried to explain to Sandra that the history they were trying to teach was in my own back yard, but there was simply too much to see to care.  Below deck, we looked around as the way people lived on these floating apartments seemed to be incredibly meager vs. how we live today.

As Sandy was a bit dehydrated, we bought some water and made off for the clinic within the Land.  A couple ibuprofen and a rest brought her back to life as we made our way back to the car to fetch warmer clothes for the parade and the fireworks display.  Even in the parking lot, we were blessed with a spectacular moment as the sun was setting on the horizon.  We stopped while holding hands, gawking at what people saw every day and still did not notice.  Back towards the Land, we stopped for some food.  Horrible baked ziti and a some cracker-thin pizza were on the menu for me as a Cesar salad with the same paper-used-for-crust pizza for Sandra.  I must thank those people again for letting their kids play on my orange juice.  Thanks.

The warmer clothes did little as the chill in the air was as refreshing as it was biting.  No matter as I ran for some hot chocolate and a chocolate-fudge brownie.  Upon my return, Sandy was giggling like a schoolgirl, asking me if I had just heard someone call their child numb nuts.  I did not hear it until they said it again.  You would have to be there to appreciate the adolescent humor in it at the time. 

Huddled together, the loudspeaker announced that due to the winds, the display may not happen after all, but to stay tuned.  As we had a primo spot, we were not going anywhere until hearing the final word from the booming voice from the great beyond.  Just when we started to hang our heads low, it happened.  The display began in a glory that even the native Californian, I was with, had not seen.  Tinkerbelle flew to and fro as pyrotechnics of all kinds graced us from behind the castle, from our sides, and even behind where we were sitting.  It was the one of the most romantic times in either of our lives.

February 16, 2008

Another late, but not necessarily lazy morning.  As I have been missing the beach, Sandy suggested Long beach as the place to visit.  Also mentioned, was the Queen Mary, a historic ocean liner that also served in World War II as a troopship.  Nothing more needed to be worked out.  Looking out the window of the hotel brought forth a chuckle.  It had been raining for so long in the Pacific Northwest, I was just in awe that every day, since my arrival, Ontario has been clear-blue skies.  The day was so fine, it would simply be a sin to rush anything.  We drove the speed limit to Long Beach, eventually hitting a bit of traffic, giving me the opportunity to plug in the Queen Mary into the shouting box on my dash.  Upon arrival, we sauntered up to the entrance and purchased our tickets. 

Strange that we were already hungry and found The Promenade Cafe to boast quite the delicious fare.  Unfortunately, we took too long to eat and missed the tour, having to take our own.  We browsed various shops sporting trinkets and souvenirs, walked up and down the ship on all the decks we could sneak on to, and eventually ended up in  a ballroom.  The events that took place in this "haunted" part of the ship would take a journal in itself and would not be for the general public. 

February 17, 2008

The 17th was a day of melancholy, only because Sandy and I only had a full day or so left.   The day was spent eating, soaking in the hot tub, eating, watching movies in the hotel room, eating, walking around looking at the scenery, eating, talking, and of course, more eating.  Eventful and memorable to me, quite boring for a journal entry.

February 18, 2008

It was the last day together as we both loathed to see it arrive.  It's approach was fast and unrelenting as it also meant tomorrow I had to get back to Oregon and continue the life I had there.

Since my dropping forty portly pounds, I have been wanting clothes that did not impersonate my backpacking tarps as I wore them.  Since Sandra loves to shop, we hit up the local mall to look around for some better fitting attire for myself.  After looking around a bit, we decided to also go to a movie as no date would be complete without one.  Sandra picked out the movie Untraceable.  It was pretty good, if not a bit cliché and reminded us of Saw.  One thing that stood out from the movie was the fact it was filmed almost entirely in Oregon; specifically Portland, my back yard.  During the movie, I would point out the various features and bridges that made up my town.  She was excited as it struck another paradigm of the trip that seemed an appropriate ambiance of our time together.

Buying a few outfits was fun with her as she has the gift of good taste.  Afterwards, we wandered around the mall, trying desperately not to think of the separation that will be taking place in the next few hours.  A large Diet Coke, a short drive to gather her things from the hotel, and many hugs later, we said our goodbyes; unknowing how soon we will be together again in the future.  Sandy posed in my 'T' as it was the outfit she wanted since I acquired a few of my own that day.

February 19, 2008

The trip home.  The day I have been regretting before my vacation even started.  Today would provide no more than simple logistics for a journal entry; boring, but necessary. 

I woke up, packed, drove to the rental return, took the shuttle to the airport, and battled security, throwing away my bottles of shampoo and hand cream.  The flight was uneventful.  Calling Sandra after my plane landed was the highpoint of my return in every way.  The cell phone proclaimed tears coming from the other end as the time spent in California was simply not enough.  Waiting for my dad to pick me up at the airport gave me some badly needed time to think.  To think of the future; something I have not done in quite a while as the present was more than enough.  My PCT hike is creeping up fast and it will get me to California, but only for solitude I no longer desired in my life.  Where will I be in 5 years?  Will I get back into school as I work with my math professor and miss going?  So many things to ponder and so little time.

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