I do love my ma and pa

We are so lucky to have family visit us. Pat’s brother Kelly stayed with us back in November. This month, my parents came for almost a week. It was wonderful. I admit, I like living in a tropical spot so we can offer guests a nice vacation in addition to our company.

My mom moved to California when she was a kid, and my dad escaped snowy Michigan to move here in his 20s. They met while both working at the Orange County Register some 34 years ago. We spent a lot of time driving around their old stomping grounds and marveling at how things have changed since then (except the In’n’Out Burger menu – that’s deliciously the same). My mom’s brother and sister still live here. We had a nice family reunion, with the three of them together for the first time in probably 15 years.

Mom, Uncle Ed and Aunt Terry

With record high temps, we hit the beach several times – walking the pier at Huntington, witnessing sea creatures brought in by the low tide at Crystal Cove and even laying out in our bathing suits one afternoon, getting good and sandy.

We had dinner at Downtown Disney, saw a fun doo-wop concert in Cerritos, brunched at the Orange circle, shopped the swap meet and visited the Ronald Reagan National Library in majestic Simi Valley. Pretty neat place – I highly recommend it.

Posing with a 9 1/2 foot tall section of the Berlin Wall

They're cray-cray adorbs. Totes McGoats.

We spent our last night at Ruby’s Diner in Huntington, sharing milkshakes and catching a glimpse of some record high waves.

The only bad part about having my family here is the deep void I feel when they leave. I’m counting the days till I see them again – maybe a brief visit in May, but definitely a trip home to Michigan in July. Only 159 days to go.

Title lyrics – Home, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes