Spontaneous San Diego Vacation

James and I are definitely the type of people who plan big trips and events well in advance. However, a few weeks ago we found out that his older brother Jon and his wife Claire were going to be in San Diego visiting family at the end of the month and they wanted us to be there as well. We rarely get to see them as Jon is also a fighter pilot and has been stationed over seas for the past few years. This is a rather hectic time for us as we're getting ready to move, but we really didn't want to pass up the opportunity to have the whole family together again. So we bought some plane tickets and headed out there this past weekend for a spontaneous California get-away.

The festivities started immediately after we landed. One of my best friends from college, Erin, is currently living in San Diego so I gave her a call and let her know we were going to be there this weekend. She's getting married in June but I'm not going to be able to be there, so I thought it would be nice to at least see her again and congratulate her in person. James and his parents have a tradition where they get some In 'N Out Burger as soon as he arrives, so we all met there and enjoyed some great conversation and good food under the warm Southern California sun!

After that was over, it was time to finally go see the rest of our family! It turns out they were all catching some rays at the beach so we drove up there to meet them. I was a bit apprehensive since I was not at all dressed for a trip to the beach, but that didn't really matter once we got there. Sure, I got some sand in my shoes, but we really enjoyed ourselves so it was all worth it. James' brothers Jon and Sam were out surfing so we had fun watching them attempt to catch some waves. Their wives, Claire and Alison, were just hanging out on the beach with our little niece Madison so they were there to welcome us when we arrived. It was definitely a fun place to start getting reacquainted.

It turns out that this weekend was not only a family reunion, but also a time for celebrating multiple birthdays. Saturday (the day we arrived) was James' step father Bob's birthday so we all decided to go out for a nice dinner that night. James' family is really big on only taking guests to local places where you can really experience something that is uniquely Californian. So, for dinner, we went to a big brewery where you can eat, drink, and enjoy the weather all at the same time. The food and conversaion were all really great. However, I was having a really hard time because I was really worn out from all that we had already done that day. By the time we finally got back to our hotel that night, I was fully prepared to just crawl into bed and not move for a very long time.

Luckily, everyone else felt similarly so we all decided to sleep in on Sunday morning and all just congregate back at Alison's parent's house later that day for a big BBQ in honor of Claire's birthday. It was a very large, but relaxed event - complete with everyone from James immediate family, plus Alison's family and Claire's parents and friends who all came down from Santa Barbara for the day. We played plenty of outdoor games in the back yard while the meat was cooking, and then feasted on the back deck as one big happy family. After that we were all too full to do much else and so we just hung around the house and visited and all participated in everyone's favorite activity - playing with Madison.

Madison is a truly adorable little baby. She's only 7 months old, but already she can crawl around and stand up with a little extra support. She has a BIG personality and always has everyone laughing. I'm usually not very comfortable around babies because I am afraid of doing something wrong and hurting them. However, all of the time we spent interacting with her this weekend helped me to relax and have fun with her. James was a particularly big hit with Madison. He played a ridiculous game of peek-a-boo with her, making a crazy face each time he showed his face, which made her laugh really hard. From then on, every time she saw him, she would suddenly bend over and try to hide her face for a few minutes before popping back up and giggling like mad. Apparently she has never acted like that before so clearly this was an exclusive reaction to James. It's crazy to think that she can already recognize people and remember them for very specific things! I think James is in serious danger of becoming the family clown just like my dad. I can just hear all the future nieces and nephews saying: "Do something funny, Uncle James!!"

Monday was a pretty laid back day. Alison is in the middle of getting her nurses' certification so she was gone most of the day. Claire went with her so she could take the car and visit her grandmother who lives in the city. So I hung out at the house with the guys, playing with Madison while James and his brothers played video games and talked about music, flying and sports. This may seem uneventful, but it was great because we all had time to really catch up and get reacquainted. I have never really had much opportunity to spend time with Jon in person so it was nice getting to know him better. James said it was interesting for him to see the ways in which they had all changed, and what had stayed the same.

That night the young people all went out to dinner while James' parents ate dinner with Alison's parents and - of course - Madison. I think Sam and Alison really appreciated having a chance to get away from their parenting duties for a night and just be "normal people" again. The next morning we were all going to have to go our separate ways - Sam and Alison to work/school, Jon and Claire up to LAX so they could fly back to Japan, and James and I were flying back to Texas later that day, so this dinner was a great final bonding opportunity for us.

The next morning we checked out of the hotel, said good bye to the family, and James and I hung out at the house with Madison until it was time to head down to the airport. In some ways, the trip seemed very short. However, I think we did enough to make it feel like a fun get-away, without a total over-load of activity which would have made the weekend very stressful for me. I often feel like vacations wear me out more than daily life, so I really appreciated all the down time we had to just enjoy each other's company.

Now we have less than two weeks to enjoy time with our friends in Texas before moving to Phoenix on the 15th!!