Vacation Recap

[Written a week ago] I'm sitting here in the San Diego Airport, wishing that I didn't have to board a plane back to reality. Friends, I had such a good vacation! As I told Katey, it was almost like three mini-vacations in one.--Phoenix, girl time in San Diego and then East and West (Katey and Liz) time. Here's a (not-so) quick rundown...

Wednesday: Arrived in Phoenix--I was able to get on an earlier flight in Las Vegas AND had a full row to myself on both flights--that never happens! Wednesday night, Amanda and I went for a walk (planned to hike a "mountain," but didn't quite find the path) and had dinner at Sonic (a treat since we don't have it in the PNW). After that, we went to Awana, as per her usual Wednesday night. I enjoyed it, even though I didn't know any of the kids. I was actually surprised at how quickly I felt comfortable; I guess 20 years of involvement in Awana will do that to you.

Thursday: After sleeping in (which is anything past 6 am), I hung around Amanda's house (well, her aunt and uncle's) while I waited for Jacob. We'd made plans to hike Camelback Mountain, and to go to In-N-Out. We had a good time; both Jacob (and Amanda) are very adequate tour guides and were full of information about Phoenix. After lunch, we hit a used bookstore where I got all 7 Narnia books, 2 Dr. Seuss books and one called "How To Create Your Own Flawless Universe." (It's a pretty great book.) There was also the playing of the "Guy Love" song, but we won't dwell on that, now will we? :) I got back to Amanda's about 15 minutes before she got off home. Our plans were to pick up a pizza and hike North Mountain to watch the sunset, the same place she got engaged a few weeks ago. We did that and it was beautiful.

Friday: I had another relaxing morning and this time joined Jacob in the early afternoon for time at a coffeeshop. It was fun to hang out for awhile and get caught up on stuff on the Internet. Amanda picked me up from the coffeeshop and we hit the road for San Diego! I took over the wheel in Yuma, and would like the world to know that I only had to turn around once when trying to find Katey's house...a true miracle, friends.

Saturday: Let girl time commence! There was a plethora of laughter, sign language, shopping, pictures and memories made. Our plans to hit up the beach were halted by "cold" weather (in the 60s) and a severe lack of sun. Nevertheless, we made the most of our time with some shopping and ended Saturday with a true girls' night--cookie dough, popcorn and "The Notebook."

Sunday: We slept in and went to a 12 pm service at The Rock Church, where Miles McPherson is the pastor. After that, we had pizza for lunch--we tried one kind that had pears on it, and it was delicious! Christie left from the restaurant and then Katey, Amanda and I went back to Katey's so Amanda could pack. After she left, Katey and I watched "Little Women" while giving each other head massages. Heaven on earth, truly...

Monday: I enjoyed time outside with my Bible and journal while Katey was at work, though she came home not feeling the best in the afternoon. She eventually felt better, so we put on pretty dresses, got In-N-Out (again!) and ate it while watching the sunset at the beach. We even saw dolphins!

Tuesday: Katey had graciously taken the afternoon off work, so after she finished her morning appointment, we put on fun skirts and went to Balboa Park. Saw The Globe Theater, got ice cream, saw lots of fun art and watched an IMAX movie on the Grand Canyon/the Colorado River. That night, we went out for dinner and walked out to a pier to watch the sunset.

And there you have it...there are 250+ photos documenting the trip; I meant to include them in the post, but that isn't going to happen, so they'll be separate. A HUGE thank you to my Southwest friends for making the trip such a fun time!