My trip to California

Technically when I was around 1 years old my family took a vacation to California and Mexico.  We swam in the ocean, went to Disneyland and spent a lot of time with friends and family...and I don't remember ANY of it.  I've seen a few pictures but that's it!

So now, 24 years later, I was FINALLY able to go to California-a place I've always wanted to visit!

But our trip did not start off so great.  First-we had to board Tucker.  That may not seem like a big deal to some but Tucker is pretty much our fur baby and leaving him is always hard =(  Any chance we get to take him somewhere we always do, even if it's just to my family's for the weekend!  So he had to get an evaluation and they stated he was really shy and seemed anxious. They recommended that he come a few more times before we board (it's also a doggy day care) but with time running out we had to bite the bullet and board him there.... (Luckily, after we picked him up they said he warmed up a lot and seemed to have a good time over all.  He did get extremely sick when we got hom and was for almost a week but we don't think it was the boarding as much as it was the food change and new bone he got)

Next we got a call right before we headed out the door early Wednesday that our flight got canceled! Due to severe storms and tornadoes in Dallas (our layover city and AA hub) we had to get a flight almost 12 hours later and in a completely different airport than planned (we were trying to land in Ontario, CA so Derrick's grandparents could pick us up but instead had to land in LAX-luckily Der's Aunt Patty was able to get us!)  I was a bit motion sick but after getting some food (In N Out Burger) and some amazing hot tea,
we finally make it to Derrick's Uncle Mike and Aunt Patty's house to crash.

The next day we got to go exploring in El Segundo, California!  This little place is located less than 10 minutes from LAX and only about 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean!  I got to see the Pacific Ocean for the FIRST TIME! I teared up at seeing it-it's absolutely beautiful!

Look at that water!

The sun was in our eyes, lol.

Next we went to grab som brunch at a local eatery right on the beach.  We saw surfers coming in, lots of people playing volleyball, and even more people jogging or strolling along the coast.  It was awesome!

After brunch we went exploring around the area for a bit, taking in the scenery and enjoying the weather (a wonderful 75ish degrees and sunny) before heading out to Reddlands, CA to visit the rest of the Raleys!  They were all coming in for Easter weekend so we were lucky enough to see them all!

From L: Me, Der, Grandfather David, Mark (Der's dad), Michelle (Der's stepmom), Andy (the dog she's holding, Cole (Der's half brother, in blue), Grandmother Diane, Guy (Der's other half brother, in front of me), Whisper (black dog) and Saddie (cream dog).

It was a great time getting to meet many of Derrick's family members, seeing where he gets some of his quirks and traits from.  They were all SUPER nice, making it less stressful for me and I felt very relaxed with them.  We mostly hung out, exploring Reddlands and the surrounding area with the family, getting grub and laughing back home.

This was a coffee shop/diner that serves fresh hot apple pies.  They used apples straight from California vineyards!

Unfortunately it was a short visit because we had to head to San Diego, CA the next evening for my SSSA conference presentation.  Derrick's dad Mark and grandfather David drove us to San Diego and said goodbye-it was bittersweet!

We checked into our room, perused the hotel, and then went to bed since I had a big day in the morning.

The next morning I got up and got ready for my SSSA presentation.  I was to be presenting over work I've done with my GA professor regarding religiousness and spirituality as a way of coping for women with life sentences in prison.  I go, check in, make it back to the conference room where I would present alongside 4 other speakers...only to find out that no one had come!!  Only me and one other presenter ended up showing up...I won't lie...it was kind of disappointing.  I mean, I realized there wouldn't be a lot of people because it was the last day of the conference, in the morning, on Easter weekend, but still...I was a bit bummed.  Luckily, the other speaker was presenting on similar data so we just talked for about an hour about our work and the future needs for studies like ours.

After my "presentation" I headed back to the room and lo and behold our friend Patrick was there!  He and his girlfriend Laina had driven to us from Los Angeles, CA to visit.  We haven't seen Pat for over a year!  We 4 packed into the rental car Patrick had and went to the San Diego Zoo for the day!  Check out the pics below of some of the awesome things we were able to see!  There were so many more pictures but here are a few for laughs and intrigue.

Pat (L) and Der (R) being silly at one of the children's exhibits.

FLAMINGOS!!

A sweet giraffe that looks like it's a out to fall!

Baby monkey

Hungry panda

Patrick and Laina

Me and Der at the waterfall in the bird terrarium. 

After the zoo we went back to the hotel to figure out food plans before Pat and Laina left.  We walked along the bay and ended up settling for a little steak house there (although it was over priced and not that great considering...).  We ate and said goodbye to Patrick and Laine then headed back to the room to re-pack and sleep.

Der at the San Diego Bay.

The Bay at sunset <3

We got up the next morning, got a cab to the airport, and once we got to Dallas we had another issue with delayed flights-apparently in the ENTIRE DFW airport all flights to Nashville and the surrounding areas had been cancelled!  We were so frustrated by this happening again...we had to stand in line for approximately 2 hours to speak to someone who basically said there was no way we were leaving the airport and heading that way that night.  GRRRRR!!  So we had the choice of sleeping in the airport for free or we could obtain a discounted hotel voucher and stay somewhere else.  Thankfully, since DFW is so huge, there were 2 hotels joined to the airport.  We chose to stay in one of those (which ended up being SUPER nice considering) and went to the room to sleep.  Normally this wouldn't be that big of a deal but since we were flying home on a Sunday and got delayed I had to: 1-call in to work using PTO and no pay time to cover for it, 2-pay to stay in a hotel when we hadn't budgeted for it (thank god I had money on my CC!) and 3-pay an extra day to board Tucker.  Talk about aggravating! And the most frustrating part was that they said it was due to storms in the East but everyone I talked to in and around Nashville said they saw nothing but sunny skies and great weather... *SIGH* We had to get up at 5 am, catch a flight to North Carolina, then finally, headed back to Nashville.  We picked up Tuck, made it home, and CRASHED.

It was a whirlwind of a trip!  I can't wait to go back-it was too much fun outside of the stupid travel issues!

Our trip to the Capital

Welp-we're back from D.C. and back to the normal life of working, school and waking up early, LOL.  I hope you're jonesing for some pictures because there are a LOT of them on this post!

So to begin out trip, Derrick had to work until closing. I made sure to ask off that day so I could sleep, pack and gather our stuff, and clean before we headed out (and let me tell you: there's nothing like coming home to a clean house after a fun but exhausting trip! Note to self: do this every time!) Then we hauled it to Chattanooga, which it and the airport are an hour ahead so we got into bed and slept around 12:30 that night...which wouldn't have been so bad except we had to get up at 5ish to make sure we got to the airport and through security on time.

Why Chattanooga and not BNA you may ask? Because we needed someone to watch our pup and Mom was awesome in doing so...but we decided that next time we go out of town-he's going to a board house with other pups and fun. No travel to Chatt would mean no extra travel and lack of sleep=success.

Waiting on our flight from Chattanooga to Atlanta (don't mind the man-he's half asleep, LOL).

Once we got to D.C.! This is the Metro ticket box right inside the Reagan Airport-Der had never been on the Metro so I was excited to show him!

Der feigning enthusiasm in front of Union Station-the Metro hub closest to our hotel (only we didn't know that and wandered around in the heat and confusion of the D.C. streets until we stumbled upon our place of stay...a bit embarrassing on my part since I planned the damned trip)!

Hotel bathroom

Hotel bed/main room

We always love getting a King sized bed when we travel if possible (and usually there's no extra charge) because we can spread out and pass out when the day of fun is over.  That first day, since out plane landed in D.C. mid-day and since we got lost and saw a lot of the city before even getting to our hotel, we checked in, unloaded our stuff, and went on a quest to get some food!  After finding a close and inexpensive place to eat, we sleepily trudged back to the hotel. And it was a good thing we did because it rained that night. We had brought an umbrella since the forecast held a lot of rain (of which there was hardly any) but sopping wet after a day of travel and heat sounded nowhere close to appealing to us so we went back and crashed, reading the brochures and guides about what to do the next day.

After some much needed sleep, we woke up to a great sunny day and headed out to eat the breakfast buffet the hotel had to offer...BIG mistake! Now granted: I knew food in D.C. was going to A) be the main expense of our trip and B) be expensive but I had NOT planned on spending what I did on a breakfast buffet for 2! It was good and all but NOT worth its price. Der and I decided the next day we'd figure something else out because that was just a bit much....  We also realized our hotel was a bit of a disappointment, which was surprising since it's a large chain that's supposed to be known for its chicness.

Anyway, we finished eating and decided to see a few sites along to the way to the National Mall. The National Mall was a lot of fun-both the spread where all of the museums/memorials are and that's where a lot of people gathered just to hang.

Me in front of the Capitol building!  I was OBSESSED with the wonderful architecture D.C.'s buildings had. Columns everywhere (and I love me some columns) and amazingly detailed everything!

Der in front of the Capitol building-he'll be visiting here someday when he's a lawyer, I'm sure!  He was a bit bummed that the stairs were blocked off (mumbling about free to the public), but it was just for a 4th of July celebration they were having-they unblocked them on the 5th.

National Gallery of Art (see those columns!) it made me sad that there were hardly any tourists in this line but other museums had lines wrapping around the building....*sighs* Woe is the life of an artist and its fan.  We didn't have time to see this but I AM going next time since art is kinda my thing.

Der and I in line at the Museum of Natural History-a very wonderful Smithsonian that I think everyone should see at least once.

The Museum of Natural History-it held awesome exhibits of Evolution Progression, Gems, Race "differences", Animals, and so much more. Very educational, for sure.

The over 200 skulls found and pieced together to trace the human's evolution to know-very inspiring and a bit overwhelming.

The Hope Diamond-the biggest diamond in the world weighing in at about 45 carats! It's stunning, to say the least.

The National Museum of American History-again, everyone should see this for its amazing culture and wonderful exhibits!

A wonderful exhibit! I thought it was going to just be about clothes but it had information and campaigns that these wonderful ladies have helped start and keep going throughout the years-showing that behind every good man is an even better woman =]

Jackie Kennedy's inaugural dress-you can totally tell its era, haha!

Michelle Obama's inaugural dress-GORGEOUS.

Documents from the (unfortunate) slave trades.

Real red coat.

Abe Lincoln's top hat-very awesome for Derrick to see since Abe is one of his hero's.

Judy Garland's ruby slippers!

On the left are the original muppets created by Jim Henson (can you spot Kermit?) and on the right is the Kermit made famous in the 1960s by Henson-the classic voice and look still carried over today.

The famous Washington Memorial.

The Smithsonian Castle-the main hub where you figure out which museum to start first!

In the Air and Space Museum-real models of the original Wright flyers-very cool! The Air and Space Museum was PACKED (or it seemed more packed because it's smaller and had more open air) but we still had a lot of fun-my favorite part being the planetarium. I can't even explain it but if you ever get a chance to go to ANY planetarium, DO IT. It's relaxing and exhilarating all in one.  Most of what we saw were different planes and some space gadgets but Der had a great time being the space nerd he is and getting so see some actual pieces of NASA work from Space (i.e. Lunar lander,  Voyage spacecraft, etc.).

So we did ALL 3 of those museums in the first full day we were there! *whew!* It was a long day but so much fun and chucked full of information and wonder.  We headed back to the hotel for dinner and then slept.

The next day was the 4th of July! We had originally planned (me in particular) this trip at this time because we knew it'd be holding some HUGE celebrations-and oh it did! Totally worth the heavy tourists and long lines.  It was great seeing everyone being so patriotic and humbled by our country's birthday.  So we got up, I got us some coffee and muffins for a quick breakfast and we jetted out to the National Archives where they were displaying the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the public!

Here is the National Archives building-they were doing a show where Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson read from the Declaration of Independence to start the day off with a bang.  After the show, the line went around the building to see the exhibits!  This was the longest line we waited in but according to Derrick "worth it!" I love my little patriot =]

Obviously, we couldn't take any pictures once we got inside the building but the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and a few supporting documents were all really cool to see up close! Some are heavily faded and hard to read while others still look clear as day.  Very impressive.

While Der and I were in line at the National Archives on the 4th, we signed up to be in the I'm IN! Obama 2012 Campaign.  After the archives we decided we wanted to see all of the memorials-a long journey but well worth it, naturally.

Me and the Washington Monument-something I LOVED taking pictures of (excuse the squints).

The WWII Memorial-spanning on both sides for each state.

The side of the WWII Memorial where TN stands.

A zoomed view of the Lincoln Memorial from the Washington Monument.  I won't lie: they've drained the reflecting pool for restoration and Der and I were both really disappointed because we wanted to see it!  Now let me say: since the reflecting pool was closed down, the trek to the Lincoln Memorial was about 3 times longer than it was supposed to be due to detours and blockages for that night's fireworks!  Long walk there but the walk back didn't seem to bad-maybe because the other side didn't have as many closures?

The Korean War Memorial

The soldier statues in honor of the Korean War.

The Lincoln Memorial-very similar in structure to the representations of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. I was telling Derrick that it was a bit rude and egotistical for the builders to build every building in D.C. in Greek God fashion...Washington in particular hated the idea of being seen as "God-like"!

My hubs and one of his hero-it was very moving and humbling for Der.

The Vietnam Memorial-the wall is filled with nothing but names of those who are gone or lost...and it spans for so long....

From where this women is at all the way back to where the people are ants is how long the Vietnam Memorial and that list of names is...very sad.

The White House! We wrote too late to get tickets to tour the inside of it, but with a line that long AND it being the 4th of July holiday...we decided it was probably for the best and next time we go we'll plan a tour. It was gorgeous though and the President's daughter's birthday is also on the 4th so I felt like if we didn't go, we didn't intrude upon her party, LOL ;)

After checking out many of the Memorials (we also saw the D.C. Memorial which was blocked off), we grabbed some grub, went to change clothes, and went back to the National Mall for the fireworks show from the Memorials! I will say: D.C. fireworks, on the 4th of July, are the best I've ever seen.  I cried they were so beautiful and put to an amazing soundtrack the whole mall could hear.

The crowd for the fireworks spanned the entire mall (which if you know how long that is you understand that's a LOT of people!). Families, lovers, friends, and loners were out to celebrate our nation's birthday and to see the glory of the fireworks show-TOTALLY my favorite part of the trip!

After the fireworks died down, Der and I took a slow walk back to the hotel eating vendor hot dogs and soda (YUM) and talking.  It was hot and there were throngs of people but that walk was a really nice way to end the night.  We were flying out mid-afternoon the next day, so we went back to the hotel and gathered our stuff for the next day.

Once we checked out at the hotel, we went around the Mall, checking out stuff we thought we missed and passing the time before we had to get to the airport.  The night before we were given free "Support the National Mall" tee-shirts so we put those on and checked out the last glimpses of D.C. before we left.

See out shirts?

Another view of our gorgeous Capitol building-this time from the back as we roamed the city.

The Supreme Court building-honestly it looked a lot smaller in person than the grandiose thing I thought it would be considering the landmarks that have come out of it!

The Library of Congress. We (unfortunately) didn't get to go inside it (this trip) but it as a building is gorgeous and I can just imagine what it's got inside it's fantastic walls!  Next trip: this is priority #1.

The amazing fountain in front of the Library of Congress building.

And that's it! We grabbed some food before our van got there to take us to the airport. We got on the flight from D.C. to ATL and then ATL to Chattanooga. We went to Mom's to sleep and the next morning it all seemed like a dream! The trip went by so fast and was filled with so much fun and stuff to do that it was hard to believe that when we woke up it was the 6th of July already!

I love that city.  This is the 2nd time I've been but this time I was able to see and do a lot I didn't the first trip.  Der loved it too!  We can't wait to go back again and catch up on the things we didn't see and revisit our favorites.

Check it out-go visit our Capital!