Viva, Las Vegas.......(and San Diego)

Did you see the snazzy new picture on my sidebar? It's a award given by 1950's Atomic Ranch House to all the bloggers that read her blog ; I have had the pleasure of getting comments on my blog by her, so I feel honored....and I love the button!

Well here we are....San Diego!

This taco shop was what James has been waiting for! We enjoyed a nice lunch there, and he even went back in afterwards to tell the staff how much he enjoyed his Chipotle fish taco, and how glad he was that the food was still the same!


The weather's been a little iffy; I think we brought a little Idaho with us, because we were greeted by a monsoon while driving down the I-15 from San Bernardino, and the sun has been hit and miss. Yesterday when we left my father-in-law's house the sun was finally shining, and it was beautiful!

We spent the afternoon driving to all of James' old haunts, and we discovered that sadly his childhood home is all boarded up and about to be demolished. He wanted me to take a picture anyway, but I won't post it because it's sad. Seeing his old hometown made him nostalgic and introspective, and he wrote this lovely piece about it. I hope I won't embarrass him too much by publishing it, but I'm proud of him and want to share:

Boise vs San Diego

by James Arnold on Friday, March 25, 2011 at 6:55pm

I love living in Boise.  Transplanting my family from San Diego to the "City of Trees' was the best decision I could have made.  But being in San Diego still feels like home.  These are my people.  They're a crazy, rude, impatient lot.  I'm pretty sure its more important for them to try and kill themselves and each other on the interstate than to get where they are going.  In Boise, turning on your blinker lets the person in that lane know that you would like to move over, and could they kindly allow you to do so.  In general, they do.  In California, a blinker means, "Go _____ yerself! Let me over and I swear it'll be the last thing you do, you jackwagon!" 

I drove past my High School (Go Titans).  Its a little different now, but I remember almost every day I spent there.  We went to go see the house I grew up in.  Its on a little dirt cul-de-sac called Sycamore.  The tiny house I have so many memories of is boarded up and sad.  The front deck is gone.  The yard, not nearly as big as I remember, is overgrown and muddy.  My next door neighbor, and best friend, on Sycamore is dead.  He was about a year older than me and he died in a motorcycle accident about 8-9 years ago, his name was Matt .  The house he grew up in is gone.  There exists an empty lot where the 2nd house I grew up in used to stand. 

The point is, I sat there in my Explorer saddened by the state of my childhood stomping grounds.  The best years of my childhood were spent on Sycamore.  I'm not "from" this state anymore.  I don't recognize the parts of it that were the most important to me.  Those parts exist only in my memories. The things that are most important to me now, are all with me here and they're from Idaho.  They change, but only for the better.  I have friends and family in Idaho, and I love them all.  Idaho is my home now.  San Diego is just a bitchin vacation spot.  I like it that way.

Isn't that sweet and sad? I'm so happy we were able to visit, it's been almost five years since he was able to come back and visit, and I know he sometimes misses it. I've often been afraid that he wasn't happy in our poor little Idaho home and that he didn't feel like he belonged yet. I'm glad to know that he considers himself an adopted Idahoan! 

Ok, I can no longer avoid doing this; I've been talking about my new clothes forever; it's time to woman up and post a picture of myself, although the very idea makes me cringe! After a few failed attempts to get my son Andrew to take a picture of me while I was not talking; and since James refuses to take pictures of me because he claims I'm never happy with them....I took a ridiculous picture of my reflection in the mirror. High-tech, huh? Well, I felt absurd, but I love my new wrap skirt and sweater. And my green shoes, though the quality of the picture is awful:

Our messy hotel suite is in the background, and I think the glare from the window adds a nice touch. Oh well, the skirt is really comfy and has pockets! I'm also thrilled with the versatility of the sweater, I'll be wearing it constantly, I'm sure! Underneath, I'm wearing a nursing camisole so it's a pretty baby-friendly and comfortable outfit! 

Oh, I almost forget what I intended to post about.....Viva Las Vegas! Yes, because I'm an overachiever and possibly a masochist, I've decided to tack on an overnight stay in Las Vegas to our return trip! When we drove through, at 3 am; the boys were amazed at all the bright lights, and it seemed like an opportunity too good to pass up; it's not often we will be passing though Las Vegas, and it will also break up what is a grueling drive! Circus Circus, here we come! 

Have a great weekend!