La Jolla – Holla!

This weekend was wonderful. Logan drove down to Vegas Friday morning; we met up at my house and left for La Jolla, California in my car around noon. The drive was easy – both because there was surprisingly little traffic and because the scenery is so much more interesting than the drive from Utah. We only hit bad traffic once; we actually had to park on the I-5 for a half hour. We found out later that the abundance of helicopters over-head did in fact indicate a high speed chase that ended in a pile-up.

We checked into the hotel about six to discover the biggest bed I’ve ever seen in a hotel room. Logan and I could have slept in the king-sized monster with no worry of touching each other. Don’t worry; he slept on the pull-out sofa bed.

There is little better than the beach in spring, with the sun, the sand and a light breeze. The water was far too cold for me to go into, but Logan took a dip. We took turns babysitting our stuff and walking along the beach. I found nearly a dozen sand dollars which I will be dolling out as souvenirs for everyone who lamented that they couldn’t come. The only drawback was that I got burned. Logan helped me put lotion on my back, and not wanting to get anywhere near my butt, he rubbed the lotion on for as much coverage as he could muster. I now have a swatch of lobster-red skin just above the waist-line of my pants. Next time, I need to double check potentially sensitive areas.

The drive back was dreary, knowing that we would be land locked again. The worst part was getting gas in Baker. We really should have stopped in Barstow, but we wanted to hurry home and rest. We were coasting in to Baker on fumes only to find highway robbery. Gas in Barstow had been $2.39; in Baker, gas was $2.99. Unbelievable!

Once we made it to town, we got all Logan’s stuff into his car and he left to spend the night with friends from high school. He called later that night to inform me that I had left my beach paraphernalia in his back pack; he announced - without hesitation in only the way a man secure with his manhood could say - that he needed to return my tampons, bra, panties and the umbrella I had used to shelter the food we brought. Poor guy had to carry around tampons and other female regalia until he could get to me on Monday.

My mom graduates next Saturday, so we attended a Hispanic graduates’ appreciation ceremony on Sunday in addition to Mother’s Day activities. The ceremony featured talks to encourage community and heritage support. Voter participation needs to increase as well as education opportunities for the community. Most importantly, individuals need to know that their heritage can and should mesh with American culture. No one should have to turn their back on who they are in order to appear more American. I’m so proud of my mom finally getting her bachelors at the mature age of 53.

Being back at work today makes me desperately want to be back on the beach.