Yep. Oxnard. Never been there before, but K and S had just moved there.
K was the first female friend I had when I moved to San Diego. We were stationed together at FACSFAC when I was pregnant. Then she got out, and her hubby stayed in. And they got new orders and moved away. Who was excited when orders brought them back to SD again? Me! She's one of those people (I have quite a few) who will always be a close family friend. I can talk to her about anything . . . and even if it's two years until the next time I see her, I'm sure I'll still feel the same.
Okay, enough history.
I was a little bit nervous about how the boys would do on this visit. They got excited in the car, but really . . . two years. Would they remember her and her kids? Answer: yes!
The kids all ran and played, having a great time. K, S, and I caught up, chatted and visited. Two hours passed and it seemed like twenty minutes. But it was time to go. It wasn't easy rounding up the boys, but after all the goodbyes, we got everyone back in the car. As we were pulling away, Dad asked me if I had my camera. Yeah, in my purse, why? *Gasp* OMG, we were there two hours and I didn't take a single picture!? Big regret! Next time, right? The kids will be bigger, but we'll do it again.
Okay, on the road again . . . Next stop: Ventura. What's in Ventura? My aunt and uncle. They live there, on their boat. A little bit sad for my dad, I think . . . because it was his dream to live on a boat, too. But he still enjoys theirs when he can.
We put lifejackets on the boys, and went over the rules. No running, no jumping, and don't touch anything! Okay, let's go. We had to hang out a bit and wait for Aunt C to get "home" from work so we could have dinner. When she got back, we got ready for dinner. In the car, you ask? Nope. A tender ride across the harbor. I'm sure Dad's blood pressure dropped the moment he got out of the car at the marina. The ride must have put him in heaven. I know I felt good.
After dinner, we rode back across the harbor. It was getting dark, and cold. But still a great ride. The boys had a little dessert, and we watched the beginning part of a movie. Dad took us to a hotel across the parking lot where I settled the boys down. . . and he went back to sleep on the boat. I got kicked all night, and he probably slept better than he had in weeks.
What a great day!
Okay, so I didn't sleep so well . . . but I was comfy and relaxed, and woke up early enough to shower while the boys were still sleeping. Then I sat outside the room reading . . . relaxing because I knew that today might not go so well.
Honestly? Not as bad as I thought. We got bored. We had to stop a few times. And we ran out of books and toys and had to turn on the DVD player. But we made it back to M & D's house at last.
I unloaded the car and got ready to load up mine and go. I was ready to get to my house. But in our family, there is always a snag at the end of a vacation. My car wouldn't start. Really, not joking. We figured out that it was the battery. Nothing was left on, but it was a five year old battery. It was used to running every day, and sitting for a week just did not agree with it.
What did we do? Well, E was at Mom and Dad's house waiting for us to get back. There was a lot of stress in both of our lives before the vacation, and the separation was tough, so it was good to see him and feel like everything was okay. So we loaded in to his car and went home. Vacation: over.
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