So last year over the July 4th weekend, we viewed our condo, placed an offer, and were accepted. Quite a significant event!
This year, we shared in the celebration of a friend's (Bu) wedding in Camarillo, CA. We headed south on Friday morning and made great time 'til we hit nasty traffic just south of Valencia - the 50 miles we traveled on the 5 to get to the 605 at that point took 2 hours! But we did discover something new & cool: "Aqua Life," a new product from the makers of the Original Swedish Fish. Guess we'll have to return to that gas station in downtown Burbank to stock up on it if we can't find it anyplace else... We finally arrived in Seal Beach @ 6:30pm (10 hour drive) and had a lovely dinner with Br & J at Ports of Call on the waterfront.
Saturday morning, we went for a 5-mile run along Seal Beach, grabbed some coffee and breakfast with Br & J, and then headed to the Rose Cafe near Santa Monica to meet E's old USC college buddy, F, for lunch. After we finished, we took the scenic Highway 1 along the coast 'til we reached the 23, which cuts across the Santa Monica mountains to the 101. Lots of twists, turns, hills, and valleys - 14 miles seems awfully long when Odo (our car) is traveling slowly... We got to our hotel in Camarillo around 4:30pm, unloaded, then returned to the car to go to the pre-wedding BBQ in Newbury Park. Had some time to chat with the bride Je & the groom Bu along with Bu's brother Ba & his wife A (the only folks we knew @ the BBQ), played some ping-pong (I won!), and then returned to the hotel to meet up with Mom & Jay.
We slept in a bit on Sunday morning & then Mom, E, & I went to the nearby Factory Outlet Stores for some shopping (I was on a quest for some new shoes for the wedding). Grabbed some stuff for lunch back at the hotel where we saw Jay & Br, who had arrived that morning. E & I returned to the Factory Stores to make some purchases (purple sandals for me), and E visited the Ventura Harley Davidson that just happened to be about 1/10th of a mile from our hotel! By then, it was time to get ready for the wedding & head to the Spanish Hills Country Club for the outdoor Jewish-style ceremony (a bit odd, that, since Bu, Ba, Jay, & I were all acolytes at our Episcopal Church when we were younger, but Je's family is Jewish, so kind of neat to see the traditions). Beautiful weather, lovely ceremony, yummy food, fun dancing, and back to the hotel around midnight.
On Monday, I went for a run while E slept in. Then back to the Factory Stores for a return & some final purchases before heading to Ventura Beach with Mom. We found a 40-minute boat tour around the harbor, had great udon at a Japanese restaurant, and explored the Channel Islands Visitor's Center. Then back to the hotel to rest for a bit before getting some takeout dinner & watching the fireworks over the Camarillo airport (great view from the hotel lobby!).
Mom left @ 5:15am Tuesday morning, and E & I headed out around 9:15am. Great drive on the 5 with no traffic, and we could have been home in Sacto by 3:30pm but we decided to take a side trip to Cline to pick-up our current shipment. A very nice but not terribly able gentleman caused our brief stop to extend to a half hour, but we still made it home to Miss Muffin by 5:30pm. Unpacked, opened mail, and even headed to the gym for a swim and some v-ball to wrap up the long weekend.
All in all, a great handful of days, and now a short work week before we indulge in a JEMS weekend (i.e. total couple time with no outside commitment, appointments, etc.). Yippee!!!
