California: Part II

Saturday

This was the day of days, the event that started the planning of this entire trip.  This was concert day.

Corbin and I said farewell to our baby in the morning, and drove into the West toward Santa Barbara. We had planned on going to the beach before the concert, but decided against it due to traffic and a perceived time crunch.  Instead, we stopped at the hotel, went swimming, got dolled up, and left for the Santa Barbara Bowl.

 

 

(By the way, swimming was really really fun.  It was nice to just play and not have to worry about Theo jumping in and drowning.  I just hope we didn’t gross out the children who were also swimming, with our lovey-dovey tendencies.)

 

Corbin was a bit worried about the parking situation at the Bowl, but it worked out very smoothly and quickly. When it was over, we even got out quickly, thanks to a secret back exit of our parking lot.  Anyways, we walked up a beautiful wooded path to the Bowl, having to sacrifice our apples to the will of the security people.  We ended up just giving them to a couple girls working security, who felt bad about us getting rid of them since we were trying to be so healhy.  It worked out, though, because they were handing out Cliff bars just inside the gate. 

 

We had to wait a few minutes, but when it finally started it was a grand time had by all. The opening act was a bizzare Englishman, who was later joined by a few members of the Barenaked Ladies.  He was funny, but maybe a little too off the deep end for my taste.

 

Next, Guster game onto the stage.  I was happy to sing along with the songs I knew, and bob my head to the ones I didn’t.  Between the songs, their lead singer heckled a couple who were sitting in the very back in a corner.  They hadn’t reacted at all to the performance, so Ryan said he was dedicating the rest of the set to them, to make them happy.  They finally came around by the end of the set, with the help of two annoying women who came and danced by them.

Next was Ben Folds Five.  I don’t know much of their stuff, but it was a lot of noise for just three guys.  Plus, Ben Folds had the most epic rock piano stance I’ve ever seen.  Their bassist just about blew Corbin’s mind with the cool stuff he was doing, and has inspired him to try out some of his techniques.

 

Last was Barnaked Ladies, and they were quite a show! Between songs, their lead singer would do some white boy rapping, introducing the members of the band and talking about random other stuff like movies and the quality of the audience.  They would tell stories between songs as well, and their banter was hilarious!  One song has the lyrics, “I’m gonna walk, I won’t quit, till I get, to the bottom of your heart,” to which Ed decided to do a walking motion.  When the song ended he made fun of himself for the move, saying it wasn’t very rock and roll.  The crazy British man came out for the next song, and got everyone on stage to do the walking move.  I guess you had to be there, but it was really funny.

 

For their last song, the lead singer dropped a beat while the drummer came out from behind his drums, and joined the bassist for a choreographed dance and song.  I’ve never ever seen anything like that, and I busted a gut laughing. 

As the night got darker, it got colder.  I had forgotten to warn Corbin that it gets chilly by the ocean, so we were both freezing by the end of the night.  I didn’t mind, because of the beautiful view.  That night was Super Moon night, and we got to see it rise.  We also got a beautiful view of its reflection off the ocean, and I hope I never forget that sight.

 

Sunday

We woke up in our hotel early to be able to drive back to Redlands in time for church.  We made it with time to spare, and got to hug our baby tight.  We’d never spent so long away from him before. Seeing his big smile as he ran up to me was a priceless moment.

 

 

 

 

 We went to church and reunited with so many old friends.  Kyle Johnson ditched Sunday school with Holly and I to shoot the breeze.  Cathy Haimson greeted me by grabbing my shoulders and exclaiming, “Oh, Jules! Oh, Jules!” I love that woman! I got to see Chelsea Lovett… although I guess she’s not Lovett anymore. =)  We were also graced by a lesson from Carol Dyer in Relief Society.  I had been talking about her experience on the Cornell rowing team just days before, and she showed some pictures form those days in her lesson.  She is such a delight!  I was having major flashbacks to fifth grade, though, especially as Chelsea was reading quotes aloud.

 After we came home, and lunch and naps were accomplished, we spent some time hanging out in the back yard.  The kiddie pool was still up from the day before, and a certain small someone decided to walk in wearing his Sunday clothes.  So Grandma pulled all the children’s pants and socks off, and we had a spontaneous pool party.  I love spur of the moment moments.

 After dinner we loaded up the wagon with kids and went on a walk.  I love SoCal evenings, and I love walking around my old haunts in Redlands.  While we were out, Michele Rendler drove up beside us, stopped, and jumped out of her car to give everyone hugs and hellos.  I haven’t seen her in years and years, but it was such a delight. 

 We sure missed the Allisons and Kellie!

 

When we reached home, we were just in time to see Michele dropping off two containers of Baskin Robins ice cream.  She is so sweet, no pun intended.

 Jack and Lucy both took turns pushing Theo.  Such sweet cousins

We spent the night eating yummy ice cream, and playing games.  Corbin, Carlie, Holly, and I first played Scribblish, and absolutely laughed our heads off! I’m so glad we have this kind of relationship. (I’m realizing how grateful I am that my husband fits in so well, and is so well liked by my kin).

I didn’t want the night to end, because I knew we would be going home the next day.  I’m so thankful for the time I got to spend with Corbin’s and my families.  I love those folks with all my heart.  Kellie and the Allisons, you were very sorely missed.

 It's tough to say goodbye... to the van.

 

Monday

This day of traveling was very long, but sprinkled with tender mercies along the way.  My dad drove us all the way to the John Wayne Airport, and as we were pulling into the parking lot, I realized my driver’s licence was not where I usually put it.  After what seemed like hours of panicked searching through our bags and calls to my sisters to find it, I said a prayer, reached into my duffle, and pulled it out!  My heart skipped several beats, and we continued on our way.

The nearly four hour flight to Atlanta was a challenge.  I could tell we were all worn out (and I’m pretty sure Theo started teething).  I was getting a bit more plane sick than usual, which didn’t help the situation.  Theo also decided naps were for suckers, and didn’t end up sleeping the whole day.

Our flight had been delayed, and we were worried we wouldn’t make our connection.  But through another tender mercy, it was also delayed, and we had just enough time to make a pit stop and jump on the next plane.

The best blessing of all was on the second plane.  We were in a row with three seats, and the woman on the end found an empty seat in a different row so we could have an extra seat for Theo.  Bless her a thousand times!  It took a lot of pressure off of Corbin and I to let Theo have more wiggle room, although it was still a challenge. 

We made it to Syracuse, met up with Matt who drove us to his house and helped us get loaded into our car.  I can’t remember if I mentioned this before, but they babysat our car so we wouldn’t need someone to drive us the hour between there and Ithaca.  They were practically strangers, but they did it anyways, and we are so grateful.

We finally rolled into Ithaca at about 1:30 local time, and that was that.