Back in the land of snow and ice

And I love it. Really. As much as I love the sun and warmth and baring skin that has not seen daylight in awhile, it is great to be back home. I got sooo excited when I could see my breath after getting off the plane (Kevin was not quite so amused).

Cali was great, don't get me wrong. We drove up the coast from San Diego to LA, stopping at our fav restaurant in La Jolla for breakfast - it is right on the water - AMAZING. Then we walked around the cove a bit and then headed back to the car to continue up the coast stopping at an outlet malls (yay for new clothes) and in Laguna Beach for a walk on the beach.

Brockton Villa Restaurant, great views and yummy french toast.

We finally made it to LA and headed to the Pistons/Clippers game. Our seats were AMAZING, only 6 rows from the floor and the Pistons beat the crap out of the Clippers. It was great because probably 40% of the crowd were Pistons fans. I did feel a tad bad for the Clippers fans... but it passed quickly. :o)

Can it Kaman... you suck! (not very Christian of me, I know, but during sporting events I turn into someone else entirely)

After the game we drove up to Santa Barbara, crashed for the night and then woke up to walk the beach there and hit up some wineries. I am not much into wine, but it was still fun. It was absolutley b-e-a-utiful there. With all the rain they have had, everything was green and lush and it just felt right to be drinking wine while sitting outside in the sun.

Pretty, eh? Even when dormant, the vines are stunning.

After that we headed to LA to meet up with several friends over the next two days. We saw V and Tim, who we haven't seen since college and went to this cool bar, The Happy Ending. The next day we hung out with our friends Dan and Elissa and their son Elliot. We hiked Mount Hollywood for some good views of the city and the Hollywood sign, ate at Diddy Riese for yummy cookies, and just hung out. That night we headed out yet again (we were busy lil bees) for drinks with our friend Meghan from Spring Hill.

Oh so touristy and oh so fun.

And then it was Tuesday and time to head home. And it was good. And I am glad to be home. And now I must go to bed, because, as Kevin keeps reminding me, I need to get back on MI time... and I do need to be up in 7 hours... ah, it is good to be home.