I am still really tired from our week-long vacation to California last week (July 23 to 31). Not that I’m complaining or anything. If anything, it was a really great time to spend with family and close friends. I had a ton of fun. The kids too! As well as the hubby, of course. I got to meet new friends as well. And ate a lot, oh my goodness! I think I gained like maybe 10 lbs. alone from eating too much! 🙂
It was actually a last minute decision for us to come with my aunt and uncle and cousins. They planned on leaving by Saturday, the 23rd. We wanted to come initially (and we were planning it over with my aunt, logistics wise) but we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to go given that my hubby needed to ask for time off from his two jobs. So we were kinda 50/50 but were hoping and praying that we would be able to go with them. Well, I guess God heard our plea because he got approved for a week-long time off by Tuesday, the 19th! So we started planning again and packing already for a week-long vacay to Cali that Thursday.
That Saturday – off we went for a fun filled road-trip, cramped though we were inside my aunt’s Acura MDX. Teehee. Nonetheless, we were all in good spirits that even with the long drive (13 and a half hours straight!), we were all smiles during the trip. (Photo taken by my three year old boy, Coniah, as we were cruising along the 95-S Highway in Oregon. Well, I think this was already in Oregon. Or Nevada. Nah, it was Oregon. :D)
We got to Gardena (where my other aunt lives where we stayed during the whole duration of our vacay) at around 10PM. And the party then already started and didn’t finish until we left Saturday after that whole week. LOL. Every night was a party with family and friends. It was tiring, yes – but it was fun nonetheless. And memorable. Nothing beats the memories that that trip gave.
The following day – Sunday, was my day. I asked the fam to give this day to me since I really wanted to watch Imagine You and Me (a Filipino movie featuring the hottest couple in Philippine Showbiz industry at the moment – MaiChard or Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards). It was such a great experience and I got to meet some of the friends I made on Twitter, that are here in the US, because of this fandom. Great friends that seemed like I’ve already known for a lifetime because of how we talked and treated each other even though it was only the first time I saw and met them. LOL.
We definitely clicked and we jived so much that we met again even after watching the movie – extending the friendship outside of the MaiChard fandom. We had dinner at this AYCE KBBQ restaurant (OMG – that was heaven, I tell you! Heaven!), talked and laughed a lot about some intelligent things, some mundane – but otherwise memorable. To me, at least.
We even went for a drink afterwards, talked some more, laughed some more – until we didn’t realize that the sun was already coming up and it was already a brand new day.
Of course, the next couple of days were spent with family. We went and visited my husband’s family, his dad and his siblings. My daughter and son even stayed with them overnight since of course, they wanted to bond with their grandchildren. It was an experience that my kids also loved as they got to meet their extended family, on their father side.
The one thing that I totally love and is missing even right now about California would be their food. OMG, the quality of food there is to die for. Well, at least the ones that I miss which would be the ones from several Filipino restaurants out there where we ate at. Plus the Asian and Filipino supermarkets that we definitely do not have here in Idaho. Below are just a few of the photos I took of the things we ate while in Cali. And we ate. A LOT. Lol.
Not that I’m saying that the quality of food here in Idaho isn’t good – because believe me, there are stuffs here that I wouldn’t change for the world as they are the best – but I simply miss eating at, like for example – Jollibee for instance (which is a Filipino fast-food joint), the AYCE KBBQ (which I’m hoping we could have soon here in Idaho) and some of the other items like honeydew icepops that we do not have here. I think you get my point. Teehee. 🙂
We are planning to return there again sometime next week for the wedding of one of our close friends where my husband is one of the groomsmen. I’m guessing it would still be the same thing where we would binge eat at different restos, buy food stuffs that we don’t normally have in Boise, and gain another 10 lbs. Which hopefully, I could lose easily (asa ka pa, Ruthie. hahaha! :D).
But I will end with this. I miss California because of the food and culture diversity but I love living in Idaho and raising my family here. Idaho is my home. 🙂
Ruth Medina-Ilasco 