There Have Been Better, There Have Been Worse....

Days, weeks, birthdays. I hit a landmark yesterday, one that I am still not ready to face even though it's come and gone. I don't know what it is about numbers, but this one has really gotten to me. And the thing is, I'm looking forward to what's next in life, I just have a mental roadblock about this birthday. So the day has passed as has the celebration. It wasn't spectacular, exciting, filled with parties, or anything else that comes with life's big ones. But it was laidback, reasonably pleasant, and shared with one of my bestfriends in the world, Sarah. She flew into town to save me from myself. (The other option was spending it all alone in this big, lonesome party town, and I think that would have been the worst birthday ever.)

It's not the best time in either of our lives right now, even with all the good changes happening, so it was nice that we were there to support one another and have fun at the same time. The two of us decided to escape Los Angeles for the weekend and head for wine country. We hit Solvang and a mission near Lompoc on Saturday and Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo on Sunday and Monday morning. Here are some pictures from the trip, they're more interesting than my stories:


Famous Pea Soup Anderson's in Buellton, CA


La Purisma Mission


La Purisma Mission Animals (There were the weirdest little ground squirrel animals that lived in burrows. They acted more like ground hogs standing above their homes and wouldn't move for ages while we stared them down. What are these things?)


Solvang (Best Danish pancakes and pastries for miles and miles.)















Wine Tasting (This was at the Wildwood tasting room in Arroye Grand Village. We were asked if we were sisters at every winery, but one.)


Pismo Beach
















Pismo Beach Sand Castle (The builders made it functional with walk through hallways.)


Birthday Morning Wine Tasting at Kelsey Vineyards (Our favorite!)


One of Kelsey's 60-plus Peacocks (This guy was courting a couple of very uninterested females.)





The night of my birthday, which lamely landed on a Monday, Sarah and I found a local tavern near my place. Champs is a sports bar with great pub grub, decent microbrews on tap, pool, darts, shuffleboard, and whatever sporting match you want to watch. We happened to see the Penguins and Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals. Great game. It went into triple overtime with the Penguins scoring the winning goal (much to Sarah's delight) extending the finals for at least one more game (best out of seven). Camille, my best friend in L.A. who was on her own trip this weekend, joined Sarah and I over a couple pitchers of Blue Moon Belgian White and onion rings. Yummy.

While it was nothing extraordinary, my birthday turned out to be pretty great because I had friends to share it with me. I could ask for nothing more. Thanks guys.

AND when I returned from the weekend, I had some pretty awesome good tidings waiting for me. Thanks to all of you for your warm wishes, cards, emails, and gifts. It's helped me to miss home and the important people in my life a little less.


No Champs Pic With Camille, So One More of Sarah and I








PS - If any one of you dares mention the number in your comments, I will take it down. Thanks!