California Trip (Part Two) Or Another Emilee Novel-part 2

I have been super busy since our trip out west and I have a ton of other things to write about, but I wanted to put first type up a blog about thre rest of our wonderful vacation out west. (I will have to put up the pictures later. I haven't gone thru Kev's yet, but I can upload the pic's from my camera!)

We started our REAL vacation on Thursday morning, after seminar. We all (Tim, Anna, Kev & I) flew up to San Fran and got a rental car. Yes, I said car. We are cheap, and after working like crazy to get all of our suitcases (4 big ones, 1 carry-on size one, Kevin's backpack with his lap-top and camera, my overnight bag, and both Anna & my purses) along with ourselves packed into a small car (Sadly, I don't have a picture. It was hilarious how packed we were in there. We seriously were ready to get an SUV once we saw how much STUFF we were going to have to cram into that tiny vehicle-but they were out of SUV's and we were ready to hit the road!) we headed out to our first destination. After a short detour to stop at Whole Foods, (where we someone managed to make room for me to cram some food in the car also) and me helping with directions from the back, (Yes, I am a back seat driver, but this was actually WANTED help. Tim is not a map reader and he was in the map reader's spot-therefore whenever Kevin was frustrated, he would look at me and I would take over. Thanks Dad for teaching us the importance of knowing how to read a map!) we made our way to Yosemite! The trip was really beautiful. We saw such a variaty of landscape and I got to see the Happy California Cows they talk about in commercials. There was some landscape that was so amazing, I have never been to Ireland, but there were beautiful, green rolling hills with sheep and it was what I imagine Ireland looking like and I really enjoyed it. I actually spent most my time reading until we got to the super twisty-turny roads going up into the mountains. I was making up stories about the Vampires/Zombies/Wild Animals that live up there and were going to eat us to keep Anna and I entertained since we couldn't read anymore!

We ended up with a LOT of time in the CRAM-PACKED car the entire trip so thankfully I had 3 books and my Nintendo that Kev got me for my birthday last year. (I actually ended up reading Kevin's book also and we got addicted to a new series. It is a childrens series call "The Ranger's Apprentice" written by John Flanagan, an Australian author who wanted an adventure book that was clean for his kid. We went by a B&N on our last day in San Fran and bought books 2-4, Kevin found book #5 when we got home, but I guess there are 8 or 9 total and I think there are more to come. I love following a series. Two of the other books I read & loved were by Elizabeth Asten (it might be Astin-I can't remember) who writes books that continue the story from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice characters. They are so wonderful!)

In Yosemite we stayed at a hotel right outside the gate to the park. We got in after dark the first day so we just hung out at the hotel/lodge for dinner and watched some t.v. and chilled. Since we were so close to the park we were able to spend all day there the first day (well, we slept in a little since we had to get up early all week for meetings/flights/etc.) and a good part of the next day there before we drove to the Lake Tahoe area. There was several feet of snow on the ground so we all dressed warm and after visiting the visiter center we decided to hike up to see Upper Yosemite Falls-because of the snow you couldn't get to the top, but it was still a really long hike-I don't think I would have wanted to do the full thing. It was tiring enough just with what we did! We were soaked thru-and-thru when we were finished and frozen so we went back to our hotel and got warmed up with some hot cocoa and hot tea and a nice dinner. (I had really wanted to see the big trees while we were there, but you had to drive a ways, and then rent snow shoes and hike another hour or so to get to them, so we will have to do it another time!) The next morning we bought some cool covers that went over our boots and pants to protect our lower legs from getting wet in the snow and made hike to Mirror Lake. This was a flat hike and was WAY easier than the day before when I felt like I was going straight up at times and sliding around in the snow and ice!! Overall, I would most deffinately recommend a trip to Yosemite. It is beautiful and I think it would be amazing & different in every season.

Our time near Lake Tahoe was our most stressfull time. Everyone seemed to be taking turns being in a bad mood, and it rained/snowed/iced nearly the whole time we were there. I was so excited about snow tubing or ice skating in the mountains, but we didn't end up being able to do anything but drive around the top of Lake Tahoe (we were on the north side of the lake) and then wander around Squaw Valley (where there winter Olympics were in 1960). Tim was not in feeling well, and really wasn't in the best of moods, then we were not able to ride the cable up to the peak and ice skate because of the rain (which was a blizzard at the peak). So we basically spent the day wet and cold for nothing but the opportunity to shop at some ski shops in Squaw Valley. (But we couldn't buy anything because it was SUPER EXPENSIVE and we didn't have any more space in our suitcases-period!!!) The next morning we made our way back to San Fran. This is what put my DH in a bad mood because Tahoe was the part of the trip he was actually excited about. I felt so bad that I put him in a bad mood when I greeted him in the morning with "we decided we are ready to go to San Fran." Tim and I had been up for a couple hours hanging out down by the fireplace (and free breakfast) in the lobby, and when Anna got up and it was still raining, as it had been all morning, we didn't want to spend another day cold and wet. Looking back I realize I should have approached the relaying of this message differently so that Kevin didn't feel out-voted. He had read the weather report online and saw that it was passing over and heading toward San Fran-I would have stayed if I thought we could have done anything, but we had to check out of our hotel and I really didn't want to make the long drive in wet clothes! When Kevin is in a bad mood, EVERYONE knows and feels the effects of it, so that put Anna in a bad mood and I don't think any group of people was more ready to be out of a little car then us once we got to San Fran! The Lake Tahoe area is so beautiful, so I was sad that our time there wasn't the best. We will just have to try again another time. The weekend after we got home I was listening to the weather channel and they were talking about all the snow the area had received and how great the skiing was! I guess we were just a little too early!

In San Fransico we got settled into our hotel which was in a great location near Fisherman's Wharf and started out with some sightseeing. We did a ton of walking (hiking more like on all those San Fran streets) and saw Fisherman's wharf, Pier 39, China Town, Coit Tower, the curvy part of Lombard Street, and more. It started raining again that evening and we so we still ended up cold and wet that night as we went out for dinner at a fancy place at Pier 39 (where Keivn ate lobster, and I have a great pic of him with his lobster bib!) and then over to Ghrardelli for dessert. We split up the next day, Tim and Anna did a city tour of San Fran and a trip to Alcatrez Island while Kev & I drove over the Golden Gate bridge to Muir Woods. Kev & I had done Alcatrez Island & all the city stuff before on past trips to San Fran-Coit Tower is where we got engaged! It was a bit chilly and muddy at Muir Woods, but Kev and I took a hike and enjoyed the beauty of the outdoors (and kinda got lost and so met up with this other couple on the trail and spent a good part of the rest of our time at the park with visiting with them. (We pretty much hiked every other day or so while we were on this trip-so I guess that made up for all the time we spent sitting in the car and plane!) I was a little disappointed because I thought these were going to be the Giant Sequoias, but these were the Redwoods. They are super TALL like the Sequoia, but not as wide. (Kels, it totally reminded me of when we saw "big tree" in S.A.) After getting back to San Fran, Kev and I drove around the city some to see some more sites on our own and then walked to the B&N near our hotel, which is where Kev bought the books. We went to Bubba Gumps at Pier 39 for dinner tonight and back up to Ghirardelli Square for dessert again. It is such a fun place, I can't believe we didn't go there on our other trips out to San Fran!

Wednesday morning we were up fairly early to be sure we could get back to the rental car place (by this time I was just totally in charge of the map and we made it in plenty of time!) and flew back home. We sat next to a lady with a baby on the way back, but he was wonderful and hardly made a sound so that was nice. Losing those three hours flying back really messed me up, it was really hard to make it into work on Thursday morning. I still don't think I have recovered-but I have also flown to Dallas and back and we had Daylight Savings Time since then as well!!)

Well, I guess that sums up my trip, in a long-novel-like way-sorry!! I will try to get those pictures up soon and a note (or another novel) about what's been happening since I've been back from California!

California Travel 2009 (Part 1)

I am sitting in my baby sister Mary's apartment in Texas, as she is a her dance class this morning, and decided I would try to write about our California trip again. Hopefully she doesn't have the same internet problems like what I had at work! If I type this all up and then loose it-again-I think I might go crazy!!!

Our trip out to California was with another couple Tim (Kevin's best friend since he was a child) and Anna Toms. We spent the first part of the trip in Long Beach California at the annual Chick-fil-A seminar. (Kevin works in the IT department at CFA Corp. and Tim is the operator at a CFA unit in Buckhead) We had a super early flight out on Sunday morning so Tim & Anna spent the night with us on Saturday since we are closer to the airport-and so we could split the cost of airport parking!!!

We all got up WAY TOO EARLY for a Sunday and headed out to the airport. As we were unloading our bags from the truck at "The Parking Spot" Kevin realized he didn't have his wallet! (Tim and I had been the first ones ready to go, so I had started the truck to warm it up and we had loaded it up with all our bags. For Christmas I had bought a new "catch-all" for Kevin's wallet, keys, etc. that we keep in the living room near the front door-he used to keep it all on his sink counter in the bathroom-so as Kevin was coming out with his laptop bag-and I had already grabbed the keys-he forgot to grab his wallet. I am not making excuses for him-or taking to blame since I had grabbed the keys-just explaining how it happened in the first place.) At this point it was around 7AM and we had to make an 8:30 flight. I really didn't think Kevin had much of a chance to be able to make it all the way home and back to the airport in time to make the flight! As Kevin sped out of the parking lot on his mission Tim, Anna & I rode the little bus over to the airport from the parking lot, & found the place where we could check in. Since there were a TON of CFA people flying out to CA throughout the day to get all the Atlanta based people to LAX we had our own check-in spot at an area of the airport I don't think I had ever been to before. And that is saying a lot! When we lived in the Atlanta area for awhile when I was a child we were always making trips to the airport to pick up missionaries, family, etc. and back in the day you could still take the train out to the gates. This was a huge adventure that we all loved-making it on the train (without cutting it too close, because I was always afraid of getting caught in the doors! Yeah! I believed that voice that rang out "Careful, these doors are closing and will not re-open!" I still am a bit afraid to this day-but I actually saw someone step in too late when I was flying out yesterday, and those doors did reopen-so that is a big relief!) seeing all the different people coming and going (whenever I travel I get somewhat overwhelmed with the large amount of people there are in this beautiful world we live in!) and of course the adventure of driving through Atlanta to get there. I have always loved cities-now I like my space, so I don't know if I could really live in a city full time-but I do love the fast-paced life and hussle and bussle of the city.

Oops-I am getting way off course here-back to the story: Next we all had to get through security and take the train to our gate-Tim was talking to Kevin on his cell phone on and off this whole time to let him know where he would need to go-just incase he made it back in time. As we were boarding the flight (about 8AM) Tim let me know that Kevin had made it to the airport-now the question was whether or not he would be able to check-in, get through security and get to the gate on time to board the flight! Luckily-since we (CFA) did have a special area where we were checking in, they let him cut to the front of the line, and another couple, coming on a later flight, checked his bag in for him-then he used his Delta AmEx Gold card in order to take the shorter security screening line (I didn't even know they had that!) and when I saw him board the flight, we were already seated on the plane, I was soooo relieved! In my mind I had been trying to figure out what we were going to do if he didn't make the flight in time-yet I had also been praying like crazy for the miracle that he would!!! (God must have had angels around him because he drove home, grabbed his wallet and made it back again in under an hour-and that was in the truck mind you, not his Corvette!)

Once we were finaly in LA we were herded onto the buses to our hotels-Kevin and I were staying in the hotel closest to the convention center so that was nice-since the wonderful people in charge of the event always make sure I have a fridge and some food that I can eat in my hotel room, so that I can go back to our room for lunch and dinner to eat. The hotel and convention center where in Long Beach right near the Aquarium. There area was nice-we did a little walking along the boardwalk, but we didn't really do a ton because it was rainy several days (it always rains when we go to California) and quite chilly in the evenings when we had free time. There was a gameroom near us (kinda like a grown up Chuck-E-Cheese with pool tables, bowling and tons of games) that they(CFA) had given us free game cards to. We spent most of our evenings there-first just playing the games-then trying to collect enough tickets to get Kevin something for his ipod he saw in the prize box (which I believe broke the first time he used it-oh well!)

CFA has done a "Fit to Lead" challenge (1mile, 5k or 10k) at seminar for the last 4 or 5 years and I have always wanted to participate in it-but I am not a runner so we never have. This year we actually did sign up because I found out you can just walk it. So Kevin and I, along with another couple-Jonathan and Crystal Purser (who was actually Tim & Kevin's first boss when they worked at a CFA in highschool!), walked the 5k. I really enjoyed the time we spent visiting with them as we walked and had lunch together afterwards. They are a great and Godly couple and I am really thankful to have them in our lives. We really only visit with them once a year, while we are all at seminar, but I know that they were a big influence on Kevin growing up as well and I really appreciate that. We did end up running (for me that means jogging!) the last 1/2 mile or so-in which case Kevin left me in the dust. He is SUPER competitive-which is why he never wanted to run it-he isn't really a runner, but anything he does, he does to the extreme, so would be out there killing himself keeping up with the professionals, which is another reason why we decided to walk it.

Seminar was really great this year. They keep you pretty busy with meetings and things, but there was a variety of really fun entertainment between speakers this year-a comedian (she was pretty funny-and of course "clean" so that was nice), a small music/dance crew-similar to Stomp (so neat), a sand artist (I have never seen anything like it before), and a guitarist (who played very non-traditionally and was simply amazing). Kirk Cameron was there one day for a meet and greet (which I didn't stand in line for) because CFA is really into supporting marriage and family (the whole WinShape ministry they have at Berry College) so they where giving away free dvd's of the Fireproof movie to all the store operators. Anna was actually asked by Dan Cathey (the President of CFA) to sing one morning (the morning that Kirk was there so she got to meet him backstage) and so that was cool. There were around 3500 people there-she said that is the largest crowd she has ever sung in front of and was nervous-but loved every minute of it!!! Another big thing this year was that Tim won Symbol of Success. Which means that his sales/profits beat the year before by a certain percentage. He actually gets a free year lease on a Ford vehicle of his choice and it honored at the seminar. (There were around 50 total who did it this year-which is great considering the economy and all.) We were all so proud of Tim, and I hope this puts him in the running for a new store. He has run a really small mall unit down in Buckhead for the last 5 or 6 years and would really love to have a freestanding unit up in north GA somewhere. On the last evening of seminar we actually attended a special performance from the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra in a concert hall nearby. It was really beautiful. We also got the announcement on the last day that seminar will be in Washington DC next year. I am so excited about that-I haven't been there since I was a child!

Well, that pretty much covers the first part of our California trip 2009!

Man...That's annoying!

So I was just about finished with a small novel (There is a GREAT story at the start of our trip!) describing the first part of our California vacation, the Chick-fil-A seminar, when the internet shut down and I lost everything!!!!! WHY OH WHY! I guess that is what I get for writing on my blog at work-hey I answered the phone when it rang! (I can just picture the dinosaur in Toy Story saying "Great, now I have guilt!" after pushing Woody out of the moving truck.) I guess I will try again later today or maybe tomorrow when I am chillin' with Mare in TX! I won't have any pictures (Kev & I haven't gone through them yet) but I will post those as well when I get them.

Snow in GA!!!

After traveling in California (Long Beach, Yosemite, Tahoe & San Fran) for a week and a half (I will hopefully be getting a post up about that with some pictures this week-before I leave for Texas!) what a fun welcome home to have snow on Sunday! It only happens every once in awhile here, but it happened!
In fact, Kevin and I didn't wake up until after noon on Sunday! (That is only 9 California time-so we will blame it on that-we keep staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning and then waking up late. Since I had to work on Thursday and Friday last week right after we got back, getting up was not easy, so I enjoyed being able to get some sleep over the weekend-but I guess since we were up so late I didn't really get that much extra sleep!!!)
So, we woke up to a nice layer of snow on the ground and it was snowing & freezing and Kev & I actually had a snowball fight. Which, I must say I have horrible aim and so should remember NOT to do that again. Plus, the snow was kinda icy and it hurt when I got hit, especially when I got one right in the face!!!

Home Sweet Home

So I have been back home from Brazil for almost two weeks and am only just getting around to my blog. LIFE just takes over when you are home and I don't have time to do ANYTHING!!! However, I did get to hike Kennesaw Mountain with my hubby on Sunday and we had some friends over to watch the SuperBowl last night. I got to catch up with some of the Cowan crew and then play some more American Idol with Anna Kay after the game was over and we got to take over the t.v. We celebrated another friends birthday on Friday and all last week I spent trying not to die from the cold after getting used to the wonderful warmth in Brazil. I would say I was born to be a beach bum, because the warm weather and wonderful breeze was absolutely perfect-but then again I am STILL peeling like crazy from my horrible sunburn and I got my picture book in today (from Snapfish-I love making books on there since I am HORRIBLE at scrapbooking-I DO NOT have the patience for that craft!!) and I realized I do not have the confidence in my body that all the Brazilian women showed. No matter their size they seemed perfectly comfortable with themselves, whenever I see a picture of myself all I see are my horrible Binkley arms and in the trip picture how pale I am-and then how pale/red splotchy I am!! Oh well, life goes on and I truly am incredibly happy and feel completely blessed, let's just say its a good thing I do have joy in my life, because I wouldn't be getting anywhere if I depended on my looks! Oh man, that doesn't sound very good-I am not trying to talk smack about myself-just observations that I made and realize that being lazy lately isn't really a good thing and maybe I should be better about using my gym membership-since I am locked into a contract anyhow!!

Wednesday night last week I actually was dragged to a hip-hop class with some of my neighbors. (Just kidding, I wanted to go-it was just funny because I literally pulled into my driveway, threw some stuff inside my door and jumped in my neighbor's van-I was already in gym clothes because after work I had gone to the gym-but left halfway thru the class-so I guess there was a sign right there that I needed to work out!!)

Tuesday night I got to hang out with Natalie and we watched part of one horrible movie and another one that was o.k. (She is as bad at picking out movies as I am!!) but we visited and just hung out and it was wonderful. I love her and her whole family! (She is my bosses daughter and my mom was friends with her mom growing up, and my grandparents where friends with her's.) I miss Natalie soooo much, we used to work together, but now that she doesn't work with me anymore I hardly ever get to see her, so it was great to just hang out!!

Well, I guess I am working backwards here through my time since my last post. The only other major thing to happen is our trip home. Which was basically a 22 hour day with all but the first thirty minutes and last hour spent in an airport or plane. When we got to the Salvador airport around 6:45AM there wasn't anyone to be seen, except for one huge line-which of course was where we needed to be! The trip back was longer then the one there because we had some delays and an extra stop over in Recife, Brazil. Even though it was long, the hardest part was the weather. It was COLD when we got into Miami and when we went through customs I didn't think about pulling out my blue jeans before I rechecked my bag for our flight to ATL. I did have some 3/4 length sweats and a small jacket in my carry one to put on for some warmth since we had a long layover in Miami and then mom and I didn't get off the plane in Atlanta-where it was FREEZING until around midnight! (We had started the day at 6AM-which is 4AM Atlanta time!) I started the trip in a cute tank, jean skirt (with soffee shorts underneath so that I could be comfortable on the plane) and sandles!

This last picture made mom and me laugh like crazy. The first picture on this post is the one I took because I thought we should have one on the plane, but I didn't like the one I took all that much so I told mom to take it from her side and this was the face she made while trying to smile and take a picture at the same time. TOO FUNNY!!! I am sure the other passengers around us thought we were crazy because we were laughing so hard I could have pee'd! (Except for the fact that I had already pee'd a thousand times that day already!) The other pictures through-out the post where taken at the Salvador Airport on the morning we left for home.

Back at the beach house!

I am pushing my luck here, because I already checked my email and read some blogs, so I don't know if I will be able to get anything typed up before the connection cuts off or not! We went back to the apartment in the city yesterday evening and did some shopping at a local craft market and then packed everything up so we would have everything at the beach house for when we leave early Wednesday morning. We went back to the old/historic part of the city and did some site-seeing and more shopping (yippee!!) this morning. I love doing things like that. It is very touristy-but a ton of fun!!! I was starving and exhusted by the time we got back to the apartment, loaded up our suitcases and drove to the beach house. I think we are going to head down to the beach in awhile because it is around 4pm here and that is when I feel comfortable going out into the sun!!! I will try to upload some more pictures later, but I don't want to press my luck with this post so for now, Tchao!

Pictures