What We Did on Our Summer Vacation

So a while back I said I would write about our family vacation, a 7-day cruise from Los Angeles (San Pedro) down to Mexico & back.

Here's a start:

Day 1 -- We flew into Orange County Friday afternoon, staying at a hotel by the Long Beach airport. That first night should have clued me in on how the entire trip would go.
After a late family dinner at one of our favorite places, I was hoping for some sex-filled quality time with DH. But there was a game he wanted to watch & a friend he wanted to go out with. By the time the game finished, I was falling asleep. So DH showered & went out.
He came back well after 2 a.m., drunk & high. Yes, I said high, as in stood in the mens bathroom with strangers smoking joints. He climbed in the bed & fell asleep. I did not sleep well.

Day 2 -- Our 15-year-old son woke us at 8 a.m. because he was bored & hungry. And then because we didn't immediately hop up & fulfill all his wishes, he had a breakdown, yelling, sulking, walking off so we couldn't find him. (It was after we got up but before we got with the kids that DH told me about being too drunk & smoking pot. I was incredibly disappointed in him).
I finally managed to 'text' our son down & we went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I love this aquarium. When we lived near there, we always had a membership.
Considering how the day had started, we all had a really good time. We saw everything, taking all the time we wanted. We held birds, touched sharks & skates & rays & sea urchins & sea hares. In one of the large tanks there was a huge grouper that seemed to be very interested in our youngest, repeatedly swimming up to & past her. At the largest tank, we got to watch divers feeding lettuce to various fish & sea creatures. Our youngest got an upside down high five from one of them.
Just a really great time. After 2-1/2 hours we were still reluctant to leave but we wanted to visit some of our old haunts, have lunch & then drive down to Huntington Beach & Laguna Beach. Later, it was back to the hotel & a late dinner at In-n-Out.
We did manage to get in a quickie before bed.

Side notes -- I'm a west coast girl ~ childhood in the east bay area of California, youth in Washington State, down to southern California after university. It always feels like coming home. The purple blooms of the jacaranda. Palm trees. Bougainvillas. Hibiscus. Ice plants along the freeways.
White stucco walls. Red tile roofs.
June gloom, which hopefully burns away for at least a few hours before the marine layer rolls back in as the day approaches its end.
Standing on cliffs or beaches staring out to sea, watching boats, ships, surfers, gulls, pelicans; hoping to see dolphins swimming by; listening to the waves crash upon rocks or shush over the sand; salty air blowing & coating skin and hair.
Even after 8 years away, I miss it horribly & always suffer homesickness even after just a short visit.
~sigh~

Someday soon I'll try to get some more posted.

P.S. Right now, I can't add pictures as they are all on my malfunctioning laptop & I am writing this on my phone. Hopefully in the not too distant future I'll be able to get some posted.

*hugs*
Robin