Vacation time

We were finally able to sneak away last Wednesday for a family vacation. We decided to make it as low budget as possible so that meant going where we didn't have to pay for accomodations-Pismo Beach. It's not as exciting to do that because it's so familiar, but it's what we could do. We had a really nice time sitting around doing nothing (my favorite activity-by the way). The kids were "plugged in", but it wasn't with shoot 'em, kill 'em games, so it was tolerable. The weather was cool, so it made going to the beach difficult (too cold) so we killed some time by going to the Village in Arroyo Grande. We discovered that most of us enjoyed browsing around the few antique stores we came across. The nice thing was that since the kids are teenagers, I didn't have to worry so much about where they were (or what their hands were touching). Everyone wandered on their own and looked at the things they liked. It was really nice. We had also planned for a nice meal out. We chose to go to the Cracked Crab. This is a great place where their specialty is a bucket of steamed shellfish that they just dump out over your table. They bring you the appropriate smashing tools and you just have at it. We had crab, lobster, shrimp and even tried clams (also in the bucket are potatoes, corn cobs and sausage). It was really yummy :)

Getting ready to eat our yummy food!

We did also make a trip to our favorite ice cream parlor-Doc Burnstein's! Their Motor Oil ice cream (dark chocolate and kahlua) was awesome! My parents joined us on Saturday to stay with the kids that night while Eric and I traveled to his high school reunion. He graduated from Dos Palos High in '87 and looked forward to seeing his buddies again. The reunion was in Santa Nella to accomodate travelers (easy to get to from most places). There was a reasonable turnout. Eric was able to visit with many of his old friends. Only a few friends that he wanted to see did not attend. He had a great time reminiscing and laughing. Since it was a decent drive from home, we decided to spend the night. That allowed him to go to his old hometown before we headed home the next day. I think he enjoyed his trip down memory lane-showing me old homes, his high school and remembering old hangouts. It's nice to visit the past every so often, but it's really nice knowing that you're not stuck there. All in all, it was a nice trip.

(Eric and his buddies-Brian, Nick and Darren)

We will try to get to Hume Lake next weekend for one final (and quick) trip before school begins. We'll let you know how that goes!