Depression Era, people lined up for bread
As you already know, California's economy is in the crapper. What you probably didn't know is that the people of California recently voted on proposed measures that were designed to reduce future debt. In a move that is sure to make future CA residents who are not even born yet pay for the consequences, voters rejected all of the measures. The measures included tax increases and the reallocation of funds.
In rejecting these measures, the state government had to find other ways to close the multi-million dollar budget gap. Schwarzenegger is cutting everything. Funds for HIV/AIDS services will get cut, state beaches will shut down and poor children will be uninsured. I think the NY Times sums it up best:
The cuts Mr. Schwarzenegger has proposed to make up the difference, if enacted by the Legislature, would turn California into a place that in some ways would be unrecognizable in modern America: poor children would have no health insurance, prisoners would be released by the thousands and state parks would be closed.One of those proposals is to cut all funding for Proposition 36. Prop 36 is (take it away, Wiki) "an initiative statute that permanently changed state law to allow qualifying defendants convicted of non-violent drug possession offenses to receive a probationary sentence in lieu of incarceration. As a condition of probation, defendants are required to participate in and complete a licensed and/or certified community drug treatment program. If the defendant fails to complete this program or violates any other term or condition of their probation, then probation can be revoked and the defendant may be required to serve an additional sentence which may include incarceration."
Today is D Day, or Day of Decision, as the California State Supreme Court is expected to announce its opinion on three cases filed shortly after the passage of Prop 8, all of which sought to overturn the proposition that amended the state constitution to include the refusal of equal rights for gays.
At the time of its passage, I really couldn't find the words to express the extreme disappointment in my home state (ugh. By the looks of the previous statement, I still can't). After all, this state is the home to San Francisco, Hollywood, and Disneyland (which would all be nothing without the gays). How could the state relegate gays to second class citizenry? How could the Mormon and Catholic Church wield their political prowess and still be tax exempt in this day and age? Whatever happened to the separation of church and state? How soon until we become a theocracy? How can we allow religious bigots to determine the rights of a minority?
In their decision to legalize same sex marriage, the Iowa Supreme Court said it best:
While unexpressed, religious sentiment most likely motivates many, if not most, opponents of same-sex civil marriage and perhaps even shapes the views of those people who may accept gay and lesbian unions but find the notion of same-sex marriage unsettling. Whether expressly or impliedly, much of society rejects same-sex marriage due to sincere, deeply ingrained—even fundamental—religious belief.
...Our constitution does not permit any branch of government to resolve these types of religious debates. State government can have no religious views, either directly or indirectly, expressed through its legislation. As a result, civil marriage must be judged under our constitutional standards of equal protection and not under religious doctrines or the religious views of individuals.
Perhaps you may have heard that there was snow in Vegas over the holidays. It does happen. The last time I went to Vegas, we were driving down the 15 and there were small piles of snow on the side of the road. When most people think of the desert, they think of heat. But really, the desert is all about extremes. Temperatures can drop at night and when you get lots of precipitation (like what southern California received the week I was home), you get snow. Even in the desert.
Having never seen the California desert, Jesse wanted to go. And I like to show him something new every time we visit California. And because he's into National Parks, we set out to visit Joshua Tree National Park. It's right smack in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountain ranges, and full of Joshua Trees. And the snow made it even more awesome!
Hard to believe this is the desert, huh?
That thing standing on the right is a Joshua Tree (Jesse's on the left)
While Joshua Tree had mammoth, regular looking mountains, it also had these types of "mountains" that looked like large piles of huge boulders.
Snow, snow EVERYWHERE
Here's a cactus in the snow (in case you don't believe we were in the desert)
This is the view from Keys View, one of the highest points in Joshua Tree
This was taken in the Cholla Cactus Garden, which was snow free, but the mountain range behind it wasn't.
Here's Jesse attempting to 'eat' a Cholla.
We checked out Cottonwood Springs, which was supposed to be the oasis in the desert. While we didn't find the water, we did find quite a tropical atmosphere...
Which was kinda marred by all the snow
Jesse and I both fell in love with Joshua Tree, actually. Not sure if it would be as pretty without all the snow.
The whole lot of photos can be found here, if you're interested.
And on that note, Happy New Year, blog peeps! I'll be back on Friday with the first post of the new year, FUN, FRISKY FELINES!
I have this strange feeling 2009 could be awesome! Let's all hope so.
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday this year! This year, enjoying Christmas seemed to be a daunting task at first, but in the end, I think I was able to pull it out.
This year, we had a pre-Christmas celebration in Orange County, CA with my family. On Christmas Day, we celebrated with Jesse's family in Orange County, VA. Although the two locations couldn't be more different, the end results were similar: both were settings for two different families to get together, eat some delicious food, and open some cool gifts.
Greetings from Orange County! It's the coldest I've ever felt here yet that's the least of my problems. Happy vacay to me! (NOT)
Yesterday was kinda crappy. Jesse and I had a 7:30 a.m. flight to Orange County by way of Dallas. We arrived in Dulles before 6 a.m. so we decided to go to the sit down restaurant near our gate for breakfast (Max and Irma's has a great b-fast for cheap that I highly recommend). After breakfast, we saw a huge line of people by our gate. Assuming it was time to board, we made it to the end of the line, only to be told that our flight had been cancelled. I was plenty tired, had just had a tearful goodbye with the kitties (they took it well; I was a wreck), and all I wanted to do was get home ASAP and now here we were with a cancelled flight.
Ugh. I hate cancelled flights.
They ended up putting us on a flight to Dallas 2 hours later after which we would need to hightail it to the other side of the airport in order to get to our connection to Orange County. Except I was hungry, thirsty, and needing to pee. We got to the gate just as they were doing a final boarding call. I got on the plane and my hunger/thirst/bladder was the last thing on my mind because I felt a migraine coming.
Ugh. What timing.
I took an Imitrex which knocked me out (yay, sleep!). I slept for most of the flight to Orange County until I woke up during some crazy turbulance due to a storm we were flying in. It continued for about 45 minutes until we had the bumpiest landing ever. As I got off the plane, I sighed in that little connector tunnel between the plane and the gate and I SAW MY BREATH.
What??? I'm not supposed to see my own breath in normally sunny, mild, generally perfect Southern California! That stuff only happens in states where winter actually takes place.
Ugh. It's cold.
As we stood outside in the pouring, freezing rain waiting for our car rental shuttle, I saw my breath plenty of times. I checked the weather forecast on my phone and saw that we should expect this kind of weather for the entire week we are here. Great. I left DC to get away from this crap and enjoy some sun. Now I get to spend my week, sans sun.
Ugh. Stupid rain.
Things calmed down a bit after a trip to In-and-Out and a long-needed trip to the bathroom. Two hours later, we started on our way to meet a good friend of mine for dinner.
The normally 1 hour drive to Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood where I was meeting my friend took nearly 2 hours thanks to the usually congested freeway made worse by the rain. Not sure what it is about rain that makes people forget how to drive. We were nearly rear-ended twice because the cars behind me were wayTOOclose and we were stop and go for a while. Hello, inappropriate stopping distance!
Ugh. Silly California drivers.
Dinner was awesome and I'm so glad I got to see my friend and her new husband. It was the first time I had seen her since her wedding and she looked so happy with her boo and her life, which made me really happy.
Yay, friends!
Later, I had some trouble sleeping, so I got up to check email. Big mistake. I received an email from the agency I consult for (I need the extra money as my non-profit salary isn't remotely competitive in today's market) telling me they can no longer afford to pay me so I was being let go. Oh and Merry Christmas, Liz.
Ugh. Sh*tty layoffs.
And now I'm here, blogging this at 4 a.m. PST. Well, at least I didn't get a migraine, we got home safe and sound, we didn't get rear-ended and I got to see my friend.
I really miss my kitties though. *sigh*
I'm incredibly proud of being from California, but I feel as though I am constantly bombarded by events/people that bring shame to where I'm from. For example, that horrible show, The Hills (which I must admit to watching religiously). How a couple of talentless hacks can become incredibly rich and popular for doing absolutely nothing is beyond me. And I'm particularly offended by the douchiest douchebag ever, Spencer, who I am ashamed to admit was once a student at my collegiate alma mater.
But on a more serious note, I'm ashamed of things like Ahh-nold Schwarzenegger being elected TWICE. If the first term was a joke, the second term is definitely not funny. AND I'm ashamed of basic programs like Education getting cut so badly that my sister's school is laying off nearly half of its teaching staff so that classes can double in size. No child left behind? Oh, I see lots of kids getting left behind in California.
However, every once in a great while, Cali goes and does something that makes me smile, makes my heart swell, and almost makes me do a celebratory dance. And yesterday, that something was the California Supreme Court's decision that the banning of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
In 30 days (a delay due mostly to administrative, red tape stuff), the gays in Cali will be able to get married, a right that some straights take for granted but that most gays have been fighting for and denied in most other states (High five, Massachusetts). And this was my favorite part of the ruling yesterday:
...in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual's sexual orientation — like a person's race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights.Wait! So gays are just as human as the rest of us? No effin' way.
I arrived in California at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. I flew into Long Beach, which is my favorite airport in Southern California simply because it is so not complicated. There is only one terminal and it’s the smallest terminal I’ve ever seen. And you deplane on the tarmac which is super cool. So I got off the plane and started peeling off my layers. I put on my sunglasses, felt the warmth of the sun on my skin and thought, “Oh yeah, I’m home.”
My family picked me up at the airport and we’ve been together every waking minute since. Right off the bat, I realized something. My family is loud. They talk loud. They argue even louder. And they might be deaf too. The radio and the TV is always at a loud volume and maybe that’s because they talk so loud that the only way they can hear the TV is if it’s louder than they are.
I spent most of Sunday and Monday saying, “Calm down.” My mom and sister argue a lot and the volume at which they argue is deafening. I can’t believe that my family embodies the “Mexicans are loud” stereotype.
I didn’t fly all the way across the country to argue with my family. I prefer to stay out of it (or gently point out how pointless the fights are). So things were going well until yesterday evening. After a long day of running errands (like my hair which is back to its goth look), I really just wanted to relax at home. My sister had other plans.
When my mom finally got cable (for all my life, my mom thought cable was a waste of money), she conveniently forgot to give me access in my room. My tiny TV in my old bedroom is still using rabbit ears. Normally, I wouldn’t attempt to get my mom and sis to watch I Love NY 2 with me, but seeing as that the season finale was last night, I simply had to watch the impending train wreck.
Sure enough, my mom was appalled that I would watch that show. I explained to her how every one I knew watches it. In fact, every Tuesday morning at work, my co-workers and I would dissect the previous night’s episode in detail. I knew my mom wouldn’t get the appeal so I had to explain to her and my sister that it’s trashy TV and I simply watch it to be entertained. My mom was disappointed in me. My sister bitched about it for 23 minutes.
Yes, I kept track.
After spending all day with them as the rational one, I finally broke. I wanted to watch the show without being criticized, so I loudly said, “Shut up.”
Yeah, it wasn’t such a great comeback. And yes, I stooped to my sister’s level. But I was done with taking all of their crap and playing peacemaker all day. I snapped.
I’m human. What can I say?
Well, my sister snapped even more and got all angry. Hmmm, I thought, it had to happen eventually. The honeymoon is finally over. Reality is setting in. My sister was so angry that she refused to speak to me for the rest of the night. My mom was so upset at me for pissing my sister off that she also didn’t speak to me. It was an all too familiar situation.
I truly am home.
I’m goin back home to the west coast
I wish you woulda put yourself in my suitcase…
Time is travelling much too fast now that I’m in AP (after pneumonia). I realize that this post is a few days late. El Día de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) is November 2nd and it’s a Mexican tradition. Last weekend, when Jesse and I visited the OC, I got to show him what it’s all about.
For the uninitiated, the Day of the Dead is actually a celebration of life. Traditionally, the friends/relatives of the deceased person create an ‘altar’ as a tribute to the life of the deceased. It has the usual fare, like pictures and artwork and such. But (because it is a Mexican holiday), there’s also food. You cook then eat the deceased person’s favorite foods. And there’s even special Day of the Dead foods like, Pan de Muerto (bread of the dead) and sugary Calaveras (candy skulls). And no Mexican feast would be complete without music. Essentially, it’s a big party and the deceased person is the guest of honor. And since it’s a big party, no crying is allowed.
I still don’t get it. I mean, I understand the holiday. But I have a hard time getting all happy about someone who passed away, especially if that person is close to me (and long time readers of this blog know that this is a reference to my dad). So, no, I did not go to my dad’s grave site to celebrate the Day of the Dead. I took Jesse to Olvera Street instead.
For those of you who have never been to L.A., Olvera Street is essentially L.A.’s Old Town. It is basically where L.A. started, right across from the first Catholic Church in Los Angeles, the Church of Our Queen of the Angels (angels = angeles).
Luckily for us, Olvera Street was hosting a big Day of the Dead celebration. I took pictures of a few altars that were set up in memoriam.
Here is an altar for the ladies of Juarez. Over 300 women have been murdered in the border town of Juarez and the inept/corrupt police force there has been unable to capture the killer(s).
Not sure why, but everyone’s favorite Mexican hero, Emiliano Zapata, had an altar too.
There was an altar for our fallen heroes from SoCal.
This particular altar caught my eye because of the box of cereal in the corner. 
I love me some cereal too, so I kinda connected with the deceased.
Here’s a close up of the detail.
Some of these altars are truly works of art.
Here’s Olvera Street (it’s only about 2 blocks long).
Here’s Jesse in front of one of the original buildings that line the street.
I’m digging this flag mural.
With the Mexican candy that was consumed and the shopping that was done, I have to admit that this day of the dead was anything but sad.
I’m going home yet again. I know, I know. I was just there. In my 5 years of living in the DC area, two weeks is the shortest time period between visits to California EVER. And although I’m sure you think it’s odd that I’m going back so soon, I wish I could always go home every two weeks. I've already started to miss my niece, Serena.
Now that my niece is approaching three years of age, I adore her so much more. Her personality is incredibly evident, although she currently displays the typical childlike qualities of curiosity, troublemaking, and occasionally shyness with some vanity mixed in.
Serena says the cutest and funniest things…that is, when I understand her. Occasionally, her words come out oneafteranother so I get confused. I ask her to repeat herself and she says it the same way, not slowly. And when I ask her to repeat herself a third time, she gets frustrated with me, like it’s MY problem that I can’t get her. I suppose she’s right. It certainly isn’t the little angel’s fault.
And the girl loves herself some recognition. For example, while at the grocery store getting some last minute stuff for my birthday party during my last visit home, I was busy deciding what kind of wine to purchase (sure, I enjoy the white, but what if some people are in the mood for red…yet, we’re having chicken tacos and chicken goes better with white…but what if people prefer red…and if so, what kind of red…it sucks being a Libra). Since I was busy, I wasn’t paying too much attention to Serena, which she didn’t appreciate. She started to sing her ABCs…LOUDLY. This still didn’t break my concentration. When she was done, she turned around to face me and said indignantly, “Nina, I just did my ABCs!” In my head, I thought, that’s great, kid. But what I said was, “Oh my gosh, Serena, that’s awesome! Good job! You are so smart.” This praise brought a smile to her face.
Taking care of the little angel also taught me something. Kids can be way smarter than adults. Or sneakier, at least. I learned this when my mom asked me to help Serena wash her hands before snack time. I took her to the sink and she climbed up her little step stool to reach the faucet. She turned the water on and dumped two pumps of soap into her palm. She put her hands under the running water and got her hands nice and soapy. And then she proceeded to get her arms nice and soapy. Awww, I thought, she’s trying to be extra clean. Then she proceeded to scrub her elbows. Hmmm, I thought, this kid likes to be thorough. Then she decided to grab her baby toothbrush and brush her teeth. Apparently, she really wants to be extra clean before snack time.
When Serena finally finished giving herself a mini-bath, she pulled away from the sink and headed over to the towel. It was then that I noticed that Serena was SOAKED. Her little tank top was dripping wet. I ran over to the kitchen to where my mom was cooking for the party. “Mom,” I asked, “Do you have an extra t-shirt for Serena? She got her tank top all wet when she washed her hands.” My sister, also in the kitchen, said, “Oh no! Did you let her wash her elbows and brush her teeth too?” Clueless, I said, “Um, yeah. I thought she was being extra clean.” My mom laughed as my sister said, “No, she just likes to get all wet.”
My mom grabbed an extra tee and we went searching for Serena. She was hiding in my room, lying on my bed. When we walked in, Serena turned away from us bashfully. She knew she had been bad. But she looked so cute and shy that I couldn’t get mad at her. Neither could my mom.
I dare you to get mad at this little cutie pieMy trip to California started with a stop in San Francisco. I had a great view from my hotel.
Here's a plane landing. It looks like it's landing on water.
Here's another view.
On Friday, I flew down to LA and spent the rest of my trip in the OC. My Saturday was spent babysitting my niece and watching college football.
I managed to do both in this picture.
That's the USC/Notre Dame game on TV. I taught Serena how to say, "Boo Irish!"
Speaking of USC, what was initially a joke turned out to be the real thing. My family threw me a very Trojan party.
This is the cake my sister made. Yes, she decorated it herself.
I started to feel like an 8 year old, what with all of the decorations and all. So, after dinner came the obligatory present opening. Here are some highlights.
A scarf from Aditi.
A necklace Lisa made for me.
A Coach make up bag from Aurelio.
And Jesse didn't make it out to California for me so he Fed Exed one of his gifts in time for my party... 
Which was appropriately a USC visor and t-shirt, perfect for the Homecoming Game we're going to in two weeks.
Finally, my friends started making their ways home.
It was a great birthday. Can't wait for my DC birthday party tomorrow!
Here is my trip to California in a nutshell (a very, very large nutshell).
Day One (Wednesday).
I flew out of Dulles at 8 a.m. on Virgin America. It was my first time flying with them and I was impressed. I really liked the atmosphere on the plane and the seats in coach had a lot of room. Plus, we all had our own TVs at our seats, like JetBlue. Unfortunately, the satellite wasn’t working, so the only channel I could get was Fox. Boo.
The flight to SF is normally 5.5 hours. About two hours in, I was feeling incredibly uncomfortable in my seat. I was freezing cold and my body was achy. It wasn’t long before I realized that I was feverish. I put on my down jacket, asked for a blanket from the Virgin flight attendant and hoped that would help. Ummm…nope. Let me tell you how much it sucks to have a fever on a plane. It’s awful. It’s hell. So at the 5.5 hour mark, I was anxious to land. Except we weren’t. We were circling and circling for what felt like an eternity. Apparently, the folks at San Francisco Airport weren’t letting us land.
All of that circling led to one little problem—the plane I was on was starting to run out of gas. So, we headed over to San Jose Airport to get some gas and hang out on their run way until we were cleared to land at SFO. Still feeling feverish, I willed myself to sleep. When I woke up from my nap (feeling incredibly rested so it had to have been at least an hour), we were landing at SFO.
Day Two (Thursday, AKA my birthday)
I had a hard time getting up and an even harder time getting ready to go to my conference. My body was so incredibly achy and I had developed a cough. I really wasn’t feeling well, but I had to work so I forced myself to go.
I left the conference early because I really wasn’t feeling well. I thought maybe if I got some fresh air and tried to enjoy the day, maybe I could salvage my birthday. So my friend Kattie (who flew up to keep me company) and I headed into the city (Union Square) to do some shopping, my favorite pastime and usually the cure to all of my ills. Unfortunately, not today. I didn’t buy much (a pair of shoes, a necklace, and tank top) and I felt so miserable while going from store to store. But I wanted to enjoy my day, I really did. Finally, we left H&M and headed to dinner at a restaurant called Colibrio Mexican. OH MY GOD. The food was so good. And the dessert was even better. And the sangria helped me forget about my misery for a little bit. But then, once sober, it all came back.
Day Three
Right after the conference, I left for the airport for my flight to L.A. When my mom gets out of the car to hug me, I beg her, “Please make me feel better. Please.”
Day Four (Saturday, AKA, the day of my Cali birthday party)
I was determined to have a good time despite how horrible I felt. I learned that coughing up phlegm was making me feel better, albeit temporarily. Shortly before my friends showed up at my mom’s house for the festivities, I threw up phlegm in the bathroom. I thought I was done because I started feeling better.
While talking to my friends, I felt like I couldn’t breathe. The coughing came back. But I put on a smile and made the most of it. I had a great time with my friends. And then, little by little, they left. I rushed to the bathroom after the last person left and coughed and coughed and threw up some more phlegm (I know the difference between coughing up and throwing up and I managed to do both). This time, it came out red. Damn it. I told my mom and she said, “We’re going to the hospital. NOW.”
Day Five
At the crack of dawn on Sunday, I was in St. Joseph’s Hospital in Orange. Turns out I have pneumonia.
Day Six
Sleeeeeep. Mmmmm…
Day Seven
Back to DC (cough, cough, wheeze, wheeze).
Ok, blog peeps, I really want to post pictures and blog about the wildfires (many of which I saw) but it took all I had to write this post. I’m going to go back to sleep. G’nite.
I’m kind of in a Cali mood today (the weather has certainly helped). I've thought a lot about home and DC and why I’m here and why I wish I never left. I remember when I was in junior high, my advisor told me that I should make a list of pros and cons whenever making a difficult decision. Sounds pretty basic, right? Except I never really ever made this list before I moved away. I just assumed that DC was the right choice for me and my career. That implies that I didn’t find the decision difficult—which is true. However, every once in a while, I find it really difficult to stay here.
So, here are my lists, 5 years too late:
Reasons why California is better than DC
I had the following conversation over the phone this weekend.
My sister had just sent me a text message with the latest picture of my niece Serena doing something cute.
Sister: So, did you get it?
Me: Yeah, it’s cute. I just showed Jesse.
Sister: Yeah, isn’t she adorable? I was trying to get a picture of her eating and then she posed right as I took it. Here. Do you want to talk to her?
Me: Yeah, of course.
Muffled sounds as the phone is passed to my niece.
Serena: HI! (giggles)
Me: Hi, Serena! What are you doing?
Serena: Uh...eating French fries.
Me: You’re eating French fries? Yum!
Serena: Yummmm!
Me: They’re good, huh?
Serena: Are you coming home now?
At this point, my heart sunk all the way down to my stomach. I couldn’t believe she asked me that. A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to tell her, Yes. I wanted to see her right then and there and just hug her with all of my might. But I couldn’t because I was on the opposite side of the country.
About an hour’s trip from the California coast is a little gem of an island called Catalina (actually it’s Santa Catalina, but no one calls it that). In my opinion, it is the best thing California has to offer (and Cali has a lot of good things to offer). All they need is a good vineyard and it would be the perfect little vacation spot.
Anyways, Catalina has a special place in my heart so I was devastated when wildfires ravaged the tiny island back in May. Nearly 4000 acres were burned. The island is only 22 miles long so that’s a good chunk of land. I nearly cried when I found out about the fire. Obviously, Cali has been very dry lately and is almost always susceptible to fire practically yearly. But I knew for a fact that Catalina had been in a drought for quite some time. The last few times I had visited, the mountains and hills were mostly brown because of all of the dry brush.
Because Catalina is heavily dependent on its tourism industry, I was more than happy to schedule a day trip during my vacay. I wanted to help the island any way I could. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. My boat leaving Balboa Pier was packed with vacationers.
There are no vehicles allowed on the island (for residents, there is a 5 year wait for vehicles) so Jesse and I rented a golf cart (the transportation of choice for Catalina residents) and drove around the island. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to see some amazing views.
But before Jesse and I rented the golf cart, we had to have a mini golf rematch. Catalina has the most beautiful mini golf course I have ever seen and it is incredibly difficult (as a mini golf connoisseur, I feel that I could speak to that with some certainty). On our first visit together, Jesse and I played the course and I beat him. This year, we had a rematch. It was a close game!
Here’s Jesse after his hole-in-one.
Here’s Jesse at the 18th hole.
It was down to the wire. I needed to get a hole in one to tie.
I missed and Jesse won!
This sleepy, chunky kitty greeted us at the last hole.
After lunch, we got the golf cart and drove around.
Here is a view of Avalon (one of two cities on the island) from a hill.
Another view of Avalon. You have to click to enlarge this picture to see how clear the water is.
Here I am with Jesse.
Here is a view of Avalon from the dock
Here’s another view from the dock with the Casino on the right.
Here’s my favorite photo subject on the dock.
In case you were wondering, we did see where the fires had burned the island. It was very, very sad to see. Naturally, I made sure the burned parts didn’t show on any pictures.
It was hard to leave the island, but it had been a long day. We had plans with my family for dinner that night. I am happy to report that dinner went fairly smoothly.
You just never know when my family’s going to get all crazy on ya.
