My Adventure

Not much about the kids in this post. This is all about my weekend away. Going to Anaheim was the biggest solo adventure I've had since Peter was born. In fact, it was around January or February when I was pregnant with Peter that I took my last work trip out to the East Coast. Eight years is a long time.

That doesn't mean we haven't gone on trips as a family. But they always tend to be within driving distance and/or close to San Jose. I've been feeling pretty cooped up and going to meet a couple authors I like seemed like the perfect opportunity stretch a little bit.

I had been planning to fly, but eventually it came out that I'd need a car down there anyway. So, driving it was. I have all kinds of friends that go to and from Southern California a couple times a year, so I knew it was long but doable.

I got anxious for a couple days beforehand. A combination of leaving the boys and also feeling like I wouldn't fit in at the events. But I got through the anxiety and started driving right after Peter left for school. Of course, my plans to start driving really early in the morning to beat traffic were foiled by the first day of snow in ages.

I drove a couple hours and then anxiety had me pulling over at the rest stop for a bathroom break. The stretch of 395 is about six hours of almost nothing. Lots of pretty things to look at, but only a few small towns, really far apart. Luckily, there were rest stops with bathrooms every now and then too. I wanted to stop and take pictures of all the pretty things, but I settled for pointing my phone out my window and shooting as I drove.

I couldn't make it all the way to Southern California on one tank of gas, so I stopped in Mojave for gas and a sandwich. Everything there looked very religious and there were lots of signs with God things on them. I think the funniest one was a 7th Day Adventist sign that asked something like "Do the dead interact with the living?" And below that (with the exclamation marks) "The Dead Do Nothing!!" And I thought, whoa that's pretty forceful.

I ended up hitting the LA area near rush hour, so I chose a different route in Apple Maps. I guess I took about the same amount of time but ended up adding 20 miles to my trip. I didn't get to my hotel until almost 7pm. I kept checking in on iMessage with Boris and all my friends on Twitter to let them know my progress.

I was a little sad to have no time out and about on my first day. The really long drive took all my time and while it was nice to have the peace and quiet, I would have enjoyed being able to do my own thing too.

I had big plans to run every day that I was down in Anaheim (right across the street from Disneyland too), but it rained a lot and I only managed it once on Saturday. Instead, on Friday, I spent the day in my room relaxing. I'm starting to think about trying my hand at writing, so I spent a bunch of time doing that. It's really hard at home with the noise level of the boys to concentrate on new ideas or coming up with words, so this was the perfect time for me to practice.

The night of the author event, I got dressed up for the first time in a while, even though I really didn't think I'd stay very long or talk to many people. I had some gifts for the two authors I was anxious to meet, so I convinced myself that I at least had to go deliver my gifts.

I felt awkward for the first half hour, but then I struck up a conversation with someone and we ended up mingling, chatting with authors and other people for the full four hours. My feet were so tired afterwards but I had such a good time. Everyone was really nice it was just great to be around adults for a while.

I met some of the same people the next day at the book signing, but I was also feeling good about being on my own for a while more. I hung out in my hotel room and kept myself busy working on things, reading, and writing. I barely ate while I was gone. I just had so many other things I was doing that I didn't feel hungry or anything. I brought a bunch of apples, bananas, and granola bars  with me so those kept me filled up most of the time.

By Sunday, I was getting into a groove of doing things but it was time to pack up and go back home. I walked over to Disneyland to buy the boys a few souvenirs before I left. The walk was long and the stores are just crazy. They have a LEGO store, build your own R/C car store, designer brands, and lots of food. I didn't want to go too overboard with the boys (since I plan to take more of these sorts of trips in the future), so I got each of them a LEGO keychain and a caramel apple decorated to look like Mike from Monsters Inc.

Then I hiked back to my car and started driving. I had all these nice relaxed plans of stopping to eat at one of the restaurants we're missing in NV and taking in the scenery for a while on my drive, but by the time I left Anaheim it was already noon. I knew that if I drove straight through it would still be near 8pm before I got back. So I made a quick stop in Mojave again for gas and a sandwich, then just kept sailing through. I pulled in just before 8pm and got to see the boys for just a few minutes before bed time.

Everyone survived fine without me and they were really excited to see their presents. I don't think I imparted any lasting damage by being away. Now I'm sort of hopeful that I can get away even for a night or two about once a quarter or so. It's really nice to take a little time without the noise and the constant motion necessary to keep up with the school runs and other activities.