California Trip: Part 2

(I'm sorry I've been away for so long. It was just kind of a bad week for me. Even though nothing bad happened. I think I was just in a funk. I'm better now. On with the program.)

If you haven't read it, here's the first part of our trip. It has a map.

Day 6, Friday: Six people in a hotel room does not make for very good sleep. In my opinion. Because I definitely didn't sleep as much as I would have liked. I was more than happy to get up at 7am, eat breakfast, and get on with our day.

We got to David's cousin's place in Monteray around 10 or 11am. We visited with them for an hour or two, and then we got back in the van, and did the tourist thing (except for Sally, who went grocery shopping for the Filipino feast we were going to have that night). We went to Cannery Row, which is the tourist hub for Monteray.

We didn't get to go to a beach, but we did get to see the Pacific Ocean. The actual ocean. As in, it's not a bay where ocean water flows into, blocked by islands. It's the real ocean, that stretches out into nothingness. We don't have that around here. :)

After a walk around the peer, where every little cafe was trying to sell us their clam chowder (and I was tempted), David took us to the Aquarium. You guys. It is not cheap. But it was so worth it. I don't actually think I've been to an aquarium before, so this one definitely spoiled me. It's amazing. And huge. Gigantic indoor tanks for sharks and large tuna, and sting rays, and touchable coral reefs and starfish, and beautiful jellyfish displays, and a whole section devoted to seahorses....I wanted to stay and stare at everything forever.

We were there for several hours, and even though it was amazing, I was ready to get off my feet and go back to the cousins' house. Also, I knew what was waiting for us there. I wasn't kidding when I said "feast." Plates of lumpia piled high, tons of fried rice, even more tons of white rice, beef and broccoli, sinigang...I'm sure I'm missing something. Anyway, there were 13 of us, and we didn't nearly finish all the food (except for the lumpia. The twin uncles can't get enough of it. And neither can I).

We stayed the night at their place, and I know I should be grateful for free lodging, but they have pets. Indoor pets. Who don't necessarily sleep at night. So......yeah. Anyway, the next day we stayed until after lunch, took some pictures, and then we were on our way back to Fresno.

Day 7, Saturday: We stopped in at great-grandma's place in Fresno just long enough to repack our day-trip bags, and then we went to visit David's cousin David in Visalia. We got there around dinner time, which is fortunate for the guys, because there was an important football game on, and they wanted to watch it.

But I wanted to go swimming. Mari and I immediately changed into our swimsuits and headed out to their backyard pool. I took that opportunity to coach Mari on a few things, like swimming underwater. They had some pool toys, so I threw them into the pool again and again, encouraging Mari to try to get all of them in one shot. She did pretty good.

Art and Joe joined us briefly during halftime, which I was glad about, because I was pretty sure that would be our only opportunity to swim. (I was right.) Then we ate a late dinner of bbq'd hot dogs and hamburgers. Someone had just barely started a puzzle in the next room, so that's where I spent the rest of the evening.

We stayed the night at their place, and surprisingly, this was the night I got the most sleep. They also had pets, but they made sure the dogs and cat wouldn't be running around at night to keep us up. It's a good thing I got such a good sleep, because otherwise I would have been miserable for the most important day...

Day 8, Sunday: I got two words for you. Magic Mountain. Need I say more? Well, I'm going to anyway. We actually managed to leave Visalia at the time we said we were going to leave (7:30am). It probably helped that we were REALLY excited. It took about three hours to drive Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, and we wanted to get there as soon as it opened.

Since Magic Mountain is only open on the weekends, it was pretty packed. The first ride we went on was their new one, and we waited in line for an hour and a half. Yeah. We got there at 10:30, and went on our first ride at noon. We would have had to wait that long no matter when we went on the ride, so it's a good thing we got it over with first. Also? It was so scary!! You lay down in your seat, and then the seats rotate at strategic spots on the roller coaster, to make it even more frightening.

I had my eyes closed for probably 60% of the ride. Very glad to get it over with. I think I was so scared from that ride, and so relieved to go on the next, more normal ride, that I don't even remember that next roller coaster.

I wish I could describe every roller coaster we went on, but this is already a long post, so I'll just tell you my favorite and least favorite rides. My favorite ride was called Terminator: Salvation (based on the movie, obviously). I think it was my favorite because it was more than I expected. It's a wooden roller coaster (totally smooth and safe though), and I guess I thought it would just be okay. But it was WAY better than that. There were some cool effects, and good music. I wish we could have gone on it twice.

My least favorite was called Colossus. It's also a wooden roller coaster, but it rides like an old, rickety coaster. On purpose. It rattled my bones, my teeth, my brain, my life. I hated it. I highly recommend that you never go on it. It hurt.

Another piece of advice, if you ever go to a theme park (because this didn't occur to me): wear comfortable shoes. I had so much fun, but my body hurt, from all that walking around, and all the adrenaline. And the flip flops didn't help. I should have worn better shoes. Also, the food there is SO expensive! So be prepared.

Anyway, we stayed at a hotel that night. I thought I would sleep like a baby from pure exhaustion, but unfortunately, it was like most of the other nights. Inadequate.

Day 9, Monday: So Magic Mountain was my favorite day because it was crazy exciting and fun. But this day was my other favorite day. We went to the Ronald Reagan Library and Museum in Simi Valley. Definitely the most patriotic thing I've ever done in my life. It was awe-inspiring, it was encouraging, and I was moved to tears on more than one occasion. Without slipping into a political diatribe, let me just say that our country needs another Ronald Reagan in the White House.

I can't wait to show you the pictures from the museum. Callie, you would have loved it.

We were at the museum for four or five hours. On our feet. Walking. So one day at Magic Mountain walking around + half a day at the Library walking around = Jenene was SO DONE!

Thankfully, that was our last tourist day. We drove back up to Fresno that same day and stayed the night at great-grandma's house.

Day 10, Tuesday: Woke up, ate breakfast, packed up our stuff, took some pictures with great-grandma, went to David's step-dad's and took pictures there, then we went to back to Salinas to hang out with and take pictures with one of the cousin's. Art and Joe spent the whole evening playing Wii. We have a few hilarious videos of them.

We started our return trip at 9pm that night. We left a day earlier than we had originally planned. Not that I minded. I think we were all tired (in a good way). And I know Sally was missing home.

Day 11, Wednesday: Well, what is there to say about this day? We drove and drove and drove, and got home at 8pm. I was so happy to shower, and sleep in my own bed. David and Sally stayed the night, I got up the next morning and went to work.

And that's the trip! I've finished editing the pictures, so hopefully I'll start to get them up soon.

Sorry I Can't Blog Tonight. I've Got a Date

I just looked up the weather online and found out it's 81 degrees out there! No wonder I'm practically melting in my long dark jeans and half-sleeve shirt. The mornings are so cool these days, but the afternoons are just as summer-y as ever!

I was going to blog the second half of my California trip today, but while I was at work, Art emailed me and asked me out on a date. :) He suggested a sunset stroll downtown, near the water. After I dissolved into a puddle of mush because he still makes me giddy and starry-eyed, I replied that I would love to go for a walk!

So that's what I'm doing this evening. And before he gets home, I'm going to tackle yet another pile of dishes. Right after I change into a swimsuit or something, because man alive! It's so warm!

Cali Trip: The First Half

As promised, here follows an account of our California trip.

Day 0.5, Sunday: Yes, day zero-point-five. Art's parents picked us up at 5:30 pm, and we were leaving our driveway by 6pm. AS SOON AS we started driving, the antics started. Art and I claimed the back bench, and Mari and Joe had the seats in front of us. Art's spot in the van provided many an opportunity to stick his feet in his siblings' faces. And when opportunity knocked, he answered. We hadn't even left Bellingham yet, and I was already wondering if "we were there yet."

Mari and Joe were annoyed, but also amused. All three of them had dissolved into side-splitting laughter before too long. I realized that was the first moment I had seen Art laugh so hard that he cried. I wish I had caught it on camera, but my mind's eye will do just fine.

We drove straight to California, only stopping at rest stops to use the bathroom (which I made sure I did at every one. I did not want to be the one begging to stop because I had to pee).

Driving straight through the night was like mini-torture for me. It's too dark to see anything, I'm too tired to read, but too uncomfortable to sleep. Art spent much of the trip with his legs across my lap, which I let him do as often as possible, since he's much bigger than me. But eventually it got to be too much. I was very glad when I saw the sun coming up, because that meant that I didn't have to pretend to sleep anymore.


Day 1, Monday: We got to great-grandma's house in Fresno at 11am. She is 95, but besides the walker, she doesn't look it at all. Her house was surprisingly large for just one person to live in, but those two extra bedrooms were our salvation. If all six of us had slept in the same general space every night of our vacation, we would have been a pretty grumpy group.

This day was spent relaxing, obviously, since we had just spent 16 hours in a van. We did some grocery shopping so that we wouldn't be eating grandma's food, and we ordered KFC so nobody had to cook.

Later on that evening, we went to Art's dad's stepdad's place to watch some football. Well, the guys watched football. I read. And tried to stay far away from their wiener dog, who got so excited that she kept peeing everywhere. Mari and I played a little Jenga, and we got a cool video of me making the tower fall over.


Day 2, Tuesday: Art's dad (I'm just going to call them David and Sally from now on) wanted to find a few graves of relatives. We paid a visit to great-grandpa's grave, but didn't find the other ones, and eventually abandoned our quest. David took us to the Fresno zoo instead. I have only ever been to the Winnipeg Zoo, and no offense to Winnipeg, but this zoo is much cooler. The highlight of the zoo (besides the giant parrots, and pacing tiger, and girraffes, and playing elephants, and giant turtles, and swinging monkeys)? Seeing a goat chase Art because Art had paper in his back pocket, and the goat wanted a piece of it. And got it.

On the way back, we went to In-N-Out burger, which is a must if you're going to California. I have been to one before, in San Francisco, but I never got a picture of my first In-N-Out experience, so we got a picture of this one.

We stopped off at David's former sister-in-law's (David's late wife's sister. David was married once before, she died, he met Sally in the Philippines, they had a family, and here we are). We ended up staying there until quite late, playing card games with the cousins while the parents got caught up.


Day 3, Wednesday: Probably my least favorite day. We went the Navy Base in Lemoore to pick up Magic Mountain tickets at a sweet military discount, had a fantastic lunch there, but then I spent a long afternoon in an arcade/gym/rec room watching everyone else play games while I just wanted to nap.

This was my first opportunity to get on the internet, which occupied me for a little while, but I was just so sleepy! (Remember how I said I basically didn't get one night of decent sleep on our whole vacation?) We thought we might get to go swimming on the base, which I was looking forward do since it's so hot there, but only those with a military ID are allowed. I clearly don't have one of those.

When David and Sally got back from where ever they had gone, we went to the navy exchange to do some "shopping" and then finally made the trip back to great-grandma's in Fresno. She went to bed not long after we got home, and the guys wanted to watch a movie. I think I made it halfway through, but I was so hot and tired and cranky that I just went to bed.


Day 4, Thursday: We went west to Salinas. For those who don't know, Fresno is in a valley, which means it's very hot. Going to Salinas meant going "over/through" the mountains, and there, it is much more temperate, since they get a nice ocean breeze. (See Map.) We visited with one of David's many cousins for a while, and then met my former college roommate, her husband, and their year-old baby for dinner. I hadn't seen her since I was a bridesmaid in her wedding three years ago, so we basically ignored the people we were with so we could chat more. I don't even remember eating!

I miss her. She was a godsend as a roommate, and we connected so well. We haven't really kept up that connection as well as I would have liked, but we were like old friends as soon as we saw each other.

That night we stayed in a motel, and then it was off to Monteray and the ocean! Which I'll save for the next post.

I've included a very official map for your assistance, in case you nothing of the layout of California (which I didn't until I made this just now).

Old Anger Revisited

**Update: I have included one more link at the bottom of this post, to a website where you can sign a petition asking the government to continue to investigate the risks of the Gardasil vaccine.**

In June 2008 I blogged about the Gardasil vaccine. I tried to find it so I could link it, just in case anyone wanted to read it. Then I remembered that I deleted it. That post stirred up a lot of controversy, so I removed it. But now I've got it on the brain again, so I'm going to blog about it again.

I'll summarize my experience as best I can:

As a part of the immigration process, I needed to have a medical exam done, to prove that I was healthy enough to enter into the States. They wanted to know that I wasn't going to pass on anything dangerous to the current citizens and residents. They also wanted to make sure I wasn't just moving to America to take advantage of the hospitals and health care, with no intention of paying for it.

Included in the "We hope you don't pass on any diseases" policy, I had to submit my vaccine records, to make sure I had all the necessary vaccines. A brand new law, that was just introduced that year, was that any immigrating females between 18-26 had to have the Gardasil vaccine, which prevents the HPV virus, which is one cause of cervical cancer. I HAD to receive the vaccine.

I remember seeing commercials for it, and I thought it was a choice. But not for me. So I shelled out an extra $100 or something ridiculous like that, and I got the vaccine, because I wanted to get into America. Before the doctor administered it, I asked him if there were any side effects. He said there were none.

So I got a vaccine I didn't want, for a virus I would never contract, because I had never had sex, and when I did have sex, it was with a man who had never had sex with anyone before me. I understand that the US government has to take precautions, but I hate that in this day and age, they assume that every young female (and male) might be sexually promiscuous, or has unsafe sex (which is the only way to contract and pass on the virus that Gardasil prevents).

After I got home that day, I did some research on the vaccine, since I didn't know anything about it. What I found horrified and enraged me.

- 1 in every 1855 Gardasil shots is followed by a negative health experience. The most common complaint is fainting and seizures, within a few minutes to a few hours after having the vaccine. There have been thousands of these cases.

- Other side effects include blood clots in the brain and lungs, causing stroke, brain swelling and paralysis. 4 girls died after a lung blood clot, 4 more in a car accident when they passed out while driving after they got the vaccine. To date, there have been 43 Gardasil-related deaths.

I asked the doctor if there were any known side-effects, any risks. And he said NO. I could have been one of those girls, and I didn't have a CHOICE.

Now, many doctors, scientists and government officials have chalked these up to coincidences. That may be true for some, but it can't be for all.

And no matter how many statistics I quote, the undisputed fact is that the long-term effects and effectiveness of the vaccine is still unknown, and yet they are trying to make it mandatory for girls as young as nine years old. There are so many unknown risks, that it doesn't seem worth it.

Here are a few more things you should know, not about the vaccine, but about the virus it prevents.

The virus is preventable through safe and smart sexual choices. It's interesting that so many people think that it's unrealistic to teach teens that abstinence is the best protection against sexually transmitted diseases. But if people opted for abstinence, then we wouldn't have this outrage against this vaccine, because we wouldn't need the vaccine.

Second, HPV can be detected through regular check-ups, which are recommended whether the vaccine has been administrated or not.

Third, a person can rid themselves of the HPV virus by adhering to a healthy diet.

So let me get this straight: a dangerous vaccine is being pushed on every young teen in America for a virus that can be detected, prevented, and healed by other means.

Now, I'm not downplaying the experiences of women who have had cervical cancer, and the pain of losing loved a one who has died from cervical cancer. But that still doesn't justify mass producing and administering a vaccine that has so many risks.

But you don't have to believe what I say. You can read this upsetting article from Maclean's, and it's already two years old.

You can read this more recent article from the Center of Disease Control.

You can watch this informative and well-researched video on YouTube, about the Gardasil vaccine, as well as the new flu vaccine.

And then there is this video, a personal account of a girl who was severely affected after receiving Gardasil.

Please click here to sign a petition asking the President and Congress to investigate the Gardasil vaccine risks.


I was mad about this more than a year ago (and I'm still mad), when I first discovered what could have happened to me, and what has happened to so many other girls, who had a choice and weren't told the risks. I didn't have a choice, I asked about the risks, and I was told there were none. Either the doctor was lying, or he didn't know the truth. Neither of these is acceptable.

You can choose the vaccine. You can choose a lifestyle where you won't need the vaccine. You can choose to believe me. You can choose to attack me for what I'm saying. But please choose to be informed about this.

A Little Advice. Some Counsel. Guidance, If You Will

Here's a little marriage advice for all you non-single-ladies out there. Because we could all use at least one more piece of advice.

Don't ask your husband to do something for you while he's 65% asleep, unless you don't want it to get done. Because in his not-so-awake state, he either won't hear you, or he won't remember. Which is fine if you don't actually want him to do it. Then go right ahead. Tell him, at 7 AM, to do something for you at 4 PM. I promise you, it won't even register in his brain.

Say, for example, you gave your house key to a friend so that friend could take care of your mail for you, while you are on vacation. And then you get back from said vacation a day early, which means you won't have your key for at least another day, because your friend doesn't know you're back yet. So you don't have a house key, and you're going to work, so you kindly ask your husband (who is quite groggy and thoroughly enjoying his pillow/bed/blankets/dreams) to make sure the door is unlocked when you get home from work.

Guess what happens when you get home from work: yup, you guessed it. Nobody is home, and door is locked, and you can't get inside.

Here's a second piece of advice: if you insist on asking your husband, while he's practically asleep, to leave the door unlocked for you 9 hours later, make sure you have a book with you, and something to munch on, so that you can spend the next hour on your front porch with relative ease. You can satisfy your hunger pangs a little, and you have something to occupy yourself with, instead of staring out at your neighborhood, wondering if those people looking at you think you're a stalker.

Last piece of advice: when your husband finally does come home, and says to you, sheepishly, "Honey, I'll unlock the door for you now", make sure he also says something along the lines of, "And I'm going to make you dinner" before you forgive him and give him a kiss and compliment him on his new haircut.

Not that this happened to me today or anything like that. ;)


I promise I will blog about my trip. We've only been home for 24 hours, so there is still a lot of unpacking to do. And we just filled our house with groceries again. And I've been catching up on blog reading, whenever Art is not simultaneously begging to get onto the internet that we've missed so much.

I won't promise pictures right away, or even within the next week, because the pictures are on other peoples cameras. But I swear, someday, you WILL see those pictures. I will try my darned hardest to get them on this computer.

Aaaaaaand...We're Back!

We got home a day early. It was a long drive, and I am just delighted to be able to sleep in my own bed. It was great vacation, but I didn't get nearly enough sleep. I don't sleep well in strange beds. Or in moving vehicles.

But we're home now. And I get to go to work two days this week instead of just one!

Anyway, we're tired. We haven't unpacked. And we stink. And we're going to bed now.

Very Quick Post

Free WiFi at a motel we're staying at. Yay!

Cali is great so far. I'm loving the heat. Not everyone shares my opinion, but that's okay. I like it. I've been meeting a lot a family. I like them so far. We've been staying with Art's great-grandma. I'm glad we have a free place to stay, with enough room for all of us to be fairly separate. But I think she's getting kind of sick of us. She's very old, and a little cranky. Everyone else is able to laugh it off, which I'm glad, because I'm almost scared of her.

We've driven a little west of our original destination, Art and I got to see my old college roommate, along with her husband and toddler. We're going to the coast tomorrow, hanging out with more of the family. Then we're seeing ANOTHER family on Saturday, and then Magic Mountain on Sunday. It's an amusement park, for those of you who did not know. We're probably not going to Disneyland after all, just because there are so many families we have to see. We won't have enough time to do Disneyland.

But that's fine. I'm excited for Magic Mountain. I love roller coasters. I think. I've only been on one, once, at the West Edmonton Mall, on my 20th birthday. And I LOVED IT! So I hope I still feel the same way now that I'm 24.

Well, I've spent enough time on the laptop. Each of us only get a few minutes. So I'm going to get ready for bed. I'm glad I got to blog though. I also caught up on some blog reading, so I won't have so much to read when we get home next Thursday.

P.S. I've been recording our vacation so far, so when we get back, you are going to get a nice long post about EVERYTHING we did. And no, I'm not taking pictures, because Art broke my camera on a mountain, but Mari has been taking some, and so have the parents. So you'll get to see a few.

Bye Bye!

I was going to write a few posts, and then set them to post at a future date so that you would still have something read while I'm gone, but time kind of ran away from me, so this is going to be it for a while.

The packing is all done, the house is clean (more or less), our tummy's are full of Little Caesar's pizza and crazy bread (so nutritious). Now we're just waiting for Art's parents to get here so we can load up the van and leave. I expect them any minute now.

It's currently overcast, cold, and rainy. It makes leaving that much sweeter. Not that it's ever not sweet to go to California for any length of time. I'm not exactly looking forward to the drive though. It's going to be at least 24 hours, with all the stops we'll have to make. There will be three women in the van, you know. And we're going straight through the night. I'll be very glad when it's over.

And here they are! Time to leave for a very wonderful vacation! Bye!

California Here We Come!

It's all settled: we're leaving for California tomorrow at 4pm. Good thing I saved all the laundry and cleaning and packing for today. Not.

I also found out that we might not be going to Disneyland and/or Six Flags after all. It's tentative. We have to find out how bad the forest fires are, so we probably won't know until next weekend. But we will still have plenty to do! We've got a lot of people to see. Art's family that I've never met (and barely heard anything about, because he doesn't know them that well). I'll also be seeing my old college roommate. The last time we saw each other was when I was a bridesmaid in her wedding, almost exactly three years ago. She has a little boy now, so we're really excited for that one.

We're also going to try and meet up with a friend of ours who just moved to Cali a few weeks ago. Yeah. We know a lot of people down there. It's gonna be a good trip. I just hope we don't forget to go to the beach! I've never been to the ocean in California! I kind of saw it San Francisco, but that's not the same thing. I want to be IN the ocean. And I hear it's nice and hot down there, so I'm pretty stoked.

We've been having pretty nice weather here, but today it's cool and cloudy and very windy, so I could use some Cali heat.

And do you know what JUST occurred to me? How much catching up I'll have to do with all your blogs. We'll be gone for almost two weeks! So I'll tell you what: when I get home, I'll try to recap our trip, and you all have to recap what you blogged about in my comments. Deal? Deal.

Oh, and I'm also thinking about changing my blog background. Not the whole template, just the background. I've already had a few great websites suggested to me, but I want to know if there are any others out there. It seems that you all change your blogs so regularly, and I haven't changed mine since.......oh man. That's terrible. I can't even remember.

Well, I REALLY need to get that laundry started. And then tackle another mountain of dishes. Have a great long weekend everyone!

Sometimes, I Really Dislike Coming Up With Titles For Blog Posts

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. And this time I don't have to use the sorry excuse that I'm too lazy, or uninspired. I have a REAL reason.

Art is doing school. He's not IN school, but he's taking a course by distance education. It's called Pentateuch. The first five books of the Bible. And while he's reading the Bible, he also likes to have it read aloud to him, online. According to him, "it's the greatest!"

So I guess I'll have to try it sometime.

I'm finally reading again! It's funny, because I would classify myself as an avid reader, but I haven't really read anything in months! Or so it seems. So now I'm barely ever reading, and Art (who generally hates reading) is reading all the time??? When did that happen?!

So yeah. My friend sent me Persuasion by Jane Austen, because she's determined to make me a fan. And she sent it to me a while ago, so I figured it was about time to crack it open. And I have to admit, it's not too bad! I read Pride and Prejudice, and I love the movie (yes, I love Keira Knightley and I'm not ashamed to admit it), but the book is pretty dull, in my opinion. And yes, Libby, I PROMISE to see the BBC version someday.

And while I'm enjoying Persuasion more than Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's books are just plain hard to read. Probably because she wrote in the 1800's. And I generally don't read anything older than than I am. With the exception of the Bible, of course.

So anyway, what I'm trying to say is, this is kind of a big deal for me. Maybe it's not a big deal for anyone else. That's why this isn't their blog. :D

Speaking of slightly unrelated subjects, Art is home now, and he'll probably want to go on the laptop. So that's the end of this post. Not that I had tons and tons to say, so it's kind of convenient. Hopefully I'll get a couple more in before we go to California.

Oh, and happy wedding day to my cousin Marshall and his new wife, Amanda! Yes, they got married on a Tuesday. No, I don't know why. If I find out, I'll be sure to come back here IMMEDIATELY to let you know, so you can all stop dying of curiosity. ;)