Although Dan used up all of his sick leave after his accident, his vacation leave still grew. He returned to work full-time in mid-February and was told in the Spring that he had accumulated so much vacation leave that he had to "use it or lose it."
And so, we set aside two weeks in August for a family vacation. We could not really afford a vacation, but thought perhaps we'd just enjoy so time off as a family here in Colorado.
Well, on August 13, Joel and Rebekah passed some very difficult figure skating tests, so we didn't feel like beginning our vacation until August 14, which was a Monday. They passed their Preliminary Pairs Test and Joel passed his Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field test. The weeks before had been ones of high stress, so a vacation was very much needed.
On that day, the children pleaded with me to "do somthing exciting and different." We packed and then I finally gave in and we rented a car and drove to California! We left at 8:00 PM on Monday night August 14, and arrived in Long Beach, California around 4:30 PM on Tuesday, August 15.
We did not tell Dan's family we were coming, but did notify my sister who lives in Long Beach just a few hours before we arrived. She was able to get us a set of keys for a new condo my parents have in Long Beach near the water. It is not completely furnished yet, so Joel, Annabelle, and I stayed there, while Dan and Rebekah made plans to surprise Dan's parents and stay in their living room and extra bedroom.
After taking a shower and a nap, we walked through Belmont Shore the evening of Tuesday, 8/15, and had dinner at Steak-a-rama. Then, Dan and Rebekah left us at the condo and surprised Dan's family! And...wow were they surprised! When Dan rang the doorbell, Dan's mom looked out the window and said, "That sure looks like Dan and Rebekah." And....to her surprise, it was!
The following day, Wednesday, 8/16, was a day to rest and visit for Dan and Rebekah. I took Joel and Annabelle to 2nd Street for breakfast. When Dan and Rebekah finally made it to the condo, we took the kids to the bay at the beach. They loved playing in the water. Both Dan and I enjoyed sitting on the sand. We had dinner with Dan's parents and brother. That night, we went swimming in the pool at the condo. (That became a tradition every night of our vacation and was that a treat!)
The next day was Joel's birthday. We surprised Joel and the kids with a day at Disneyland. What a wonderful way to spend a birthday.
The next day we recovered a bit from Disneyland. I took Annabelle and Joel out to a real sit down breakfast at a restaurant we could walk to in Naples. (My parents' condo is really on Naples Island just next to a marina) and then went down to the beach in Belmont Shore and inline skated next to the water right on the beach. Dan took a wheelchair to the beach. We then returned to Dan's parents house for dinner. And, of course, we went swimming before bed in the pool at the condo. We also got to visit that afternoon with my sister, Lynnellen.
On Saturday, we decided to visit a real beach. So, we paid $10 for parking and went to Bolsa Chica State Beach. The children played for hours in the waves and built sand castles. Both Dan and I joined them in the water. Rebekah got to borrow a surfboard and tried to surf. Everyone got sunburned. Then, we drove to Huntington Beach and took a walk to the end of the pier. We waited in a long line for french fries. Again, we used a wheelchair for Dan on that long walk.
We had dinner with Dan's family once again. Dan's brother Jack came to see Dan early that morning and that evening, Dan's brother Pat came. There was a small birthday celebration for Joel.
After a quiet Sunday morning, we visited Borders to redeem a birthday gift certificate. Joel bought a DVD (Pirates of the Carribean) and Rebekah and Joel then went to Dan's parents house to watch it. Annabelle, Jo Ann, and Dan went to Straw Hat Pizza and visited with Dan's long time friends, Randall Bradford and Alan Roberts. It was a very fun time for Dan. Later, we returned to Dan's parents house and had dinner together. (And another evening swim before bed!)
On Monday morning, we took the children skating at Iceland in Paramount. That evening we went out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants: The Katella Deli. I think we had forgotten how big the portions were there! (An evening swim before bed followed.)
On Tuesday, we walked through the Naples Street canals to the house of my best friend's Marion's father-in-law. Marion and her family had come down from San Luis Obispo just to see us. We all spend a day together at Shoreline Village. We had hoped to rent bikes, but that didn't work out.
That evening, my sister's son, Drew, took us on a gondola ride through the Naples canals. It was an unbelievable experience and it was wonderful to spend time with my sister and her kids, Drew and Cody. Her daughter Cory was away at camp, so we didn't get to see her. Lynnellen treated everyone to ice cream after the gondola ride. (Of course, we went swimming again before bedtime!)
On Wednesday morning, I took Annabelle and Joel first to Belmont Shore to Starbucks and then we sat on the bay and the kids played in the water and in the sand for quite awhile. We went back to the condo and had a swim in the pool there. By that time, Dan and Rebekah arrived. We then got ready to go skating and spent the afternoon at Westminister Ice Arena. We got to visit a bit with Marion and Bruce and their kids there, and then went to Dan's parents house for dinner. We went for an evening swim back at the condo. Lynnellen came over to the condo that night to say good-bye.
On Thursday morning, it was time to pack. Dan and Rebekah got to visit with his nephew David and his wife Kirsten earlier that morning.
Around lunch time, we took a break and I took the kids to Subway in Belmont Shore for lunch. Dan's brother, Mike, and David and Kirsten also came to the condo just before we left. Our little dog, Porcher, had stayed at Dan's parents house, and they dropped by the dog's bed, that Dan had left without.
We pulled out of Long Beach at 2:20 PM. It took awhile to get through the Los Angeles traffic, but by early evening, we were well on our way. We drove through the night and arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in time for a breakfast at McDonalds. We just kept driving after breakfast, and arrived back in Colorado Springs at 2:45 PM on Friday.
During the night, there was an amusing scene to see in our car. The children were in the back seat watching the TV/VCR, I was in the front seat watching a DVD, and Dan was on the phone! The future certainly has come! I don't think as children Dan and I would have believed that so much technology can accompany a family on a long distance trip.
Dan went to sleep almost as soon as he showered! The rest of us unpacked, cleaned up, and rested.
Then, on Saturday, we took the kids to the movies (Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest) and out to eat at Maggie Mae's. This was to just make the vacation last. I decided to not return the children to regular activities until Monday evening, so on Sunday, we took the kids to eat at IHOP and then on Monday we spent the day at the condo my family owns in Colorado Springs swimming.
I have recorded the memories of our wonderful vacation on Dan's blog since I no longer take such wonderful times for granted. We last went to Long Beach as a family four years ago. So much has changed since then. I cherish each day and I do know we cherish one another. I am thankful that so many miracles and so much love allowed this vacation to happen.
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