Sunny (?) California

CONGRATULATIONS to Patty in WA for correctly identifying the location of the to-scale model of the Chrysler Building built entirely out of LEGOS on view at California's LEGOland! (Tell her what she's won, Johnny... ) Yes, for vacation we cashed in all the frequent flier miles we had and took off for Southern California, home of the Very Rich and Very Beautiful. (Okay, I know not everyone there is rich, but boy did we see our share of dizzyingly expensive sportscars. And really, everyone WAS beautiful, at all ages. Fit, tan, and high cheekboned.)

The educational side of the trip was the chance to expose the kids to a totally different landscape and culture from their own (yes, California is a totally different culture than the one we know in the South). Oh, yeah, and our day at the King Tut exhibit. (woo-hoo!) When I was in middle school, I took a class trip to Washington D.C. and we got to see the very same King Tut exhibit. It's back in the states now for the first time in over 20 years, and I accidently discovered that it would be in L.A. after I'd already booked our flights. I lost no time in scoring tickets and redeeming at least one day of vacation as a school day! (I got all geeked out about it because our state requires homeschoolers to report "attendance." Bleah. It always makes me happy to do a field trip to something educational I would have wanted to do anyway, count it as school, and hold my head up high. With a smug little smirk.)

Anyway, Tut was the same as I remembered it - fascinating. All those carvings, those statues, that furniture, the gold! Decorated and painted and thousands of years old... I always wonder whose hands did the carving and dying and weaving, and if they had any idea that three to five thousand years later total strangers who speak an unknown tongue would ooh and ahh over their skill.)

After Tut, we headed down to a beachside resort, where we sat around our hotel room for a couple of days watching it rain. Bleah again. But we caught up on some movies we'd all been wanting to see, and we found a bookstore with Internet where Daddy could check email, so we survived. And when the sun came out again, we became reacquainted with tide pools, body surfing, sand castles, and vast expanses of horizon. Aaah, salt air and stiff breeze.

Our last day, we decided to hit a theme park. We were close to the big one that begins with a D, but as we hit their bigger sister park only last year, we opted for Legoland instead. That was a nice surprise! Every member of our family marveled at the skill and artistry that is possible with a simple plastic brick. And it was nice to visit a theme park where all of the rides were accessible to the majority of our family, yet no one thought they were too "kiddy" or "boring." And we had nice, cool weather, which helped everyone's mood.

So that's the trip report. I have caught up on the laundry and gotten back into our school routine, so I am ready for reading all of Y'ALL's blogs to see what you were up to while I was gone. And to get ready for HALLOWEEN!!!!!!! (Yes, we're trick-or-treatin' fools around here. No offense to our friends who shun the sport.)

Happy fall, everyone! Below are a couple more vacation photos.