Idlewild with the Wild Childs

OK -- well, they weren't that wild. But they did have fun at Idlewild, which is apparently been named the 2nd best amusement park for kids in the world. :)

The girls loved the ball pit, which is where we started and then we worked our way up to the scarier rides (which scared auntie Chloe more than any of the kids!) and then on to the water park.

There were a lot of "that was awesome!" and "let's do that again!" heard from the kids.







Here is Maya attempting to catch a ball suspended in mid-air on a column of air.










Well, poor Will. It will be more fun next time, buddy.







Here is auntie Chloe on the "log jammer". This thing used to scare me half to death when I was a kid. No wonder Maya tried to leap out of her seat and onto my lap as we were going down the hill!!






Here are the Boyers and VanHaitsmas -- amusement park buddies.






NEXT UP: Why did Chloe spring clean her apartment only to go live in a garbage dump?

Back to Work...ha ha ha

So, I hesitate to even share these pictures, lest you all think that I don't actually work for a living. Let's just say that this place is just one of the few perks of fulltime campus ministry. :)

This is the sight that welcomes one to the Avalon port on Catalina Island off the coast of California. During our hour+ high speed ferry across the Pacific on the Catalina Express, we were joined by a school of dolphins and greeted by some playful seals as well. While I waited for my ride to Campus by the Sea, I was able to watch the large bright orange Garabaldi fish play in the algae by the shore.

One can only arrive at InterVarsity's Campus by the Sea by boat, there are no roads that lead to our little hideaway. If so motivated, one can hike the 5 miles into Avalon. I love Cedar Campus where I spend much of my year, but it was a unique experience to be entertained by the seals on my journey. They put on quite the show and then stayed to play in the swimming area. This picture is of the CBS beach taken from one of the mountain hikes.




OK, OK -- I SWEAR that I was working. I went to CBS in order to interview some members of the Southern California staff team on "what makes MultiEthnic teams successful?" I had some great conversations with folks and loved meeting more members of the family that I hadn't met before.



And, lastly, here is where I spent many interview hours. I honestly didn't have a lot of free time and I only got to sea kayak for about 15 minutes one day. But I did enjoy sitting on the deck chairs and soaking in the sun.

It was a wonderful work trip and a great 6 days of vacation.

NEXT UP: Idlewild with the Wild Childs. :)

Vacation, Days 5 & 6

So, I know that I suffer for the Lord at times... :) but now is NOT one of those times! Here is my friend's apartment complex where I am staying. I have spent many hours in the pool and hot tub.





So, yesterday I went on a long bike ride (~80 miles?) down to the ocean on the Rio Hondo/Angeles Bikeway. I had two great disappointments: #1. Long Beach is NOT a beach, apparently. It is a harbor. #2. The Mighty Rio Hondo...is on the left here. It is about one inch deep. ha ha ha. I highly recommend this bikeway if one doesn't mind the urban-esque sites (graffiti, shanty villages, homeless, and factories) Which reminds me, I saw a homeless woman who has the same backpack as me...is it time for me to update? It is only a 16-year old backpack...

But, it is deep enough to support a lot of wildlife. I saw loads of ducks, seagulls, sandpipers, pelican(y) birds (I must find out what those were), and here is one of many cranes that I saw.



Eventually, as one approaches the ocean, an actual river appears. It smelled salty, so I am guessing this is largely saltwater "backwash" -- is that possible?





I also saw my first hummingbird in the "wild". At first I thought it was a flying cockroach, but it wasn't! These are not the ones I saw, but I thought this building was funky.





I also saw loads of riders, including this cowboy. :)







So, this is what greeted me on the end of my long journey...a very nice harbor...just no beach. sigh.






After I got home, Migum, Blas, and I had some Thai food and then went to Coldstone Creamery. Here is a picture of him calling the bus: "Come here bus, Come here!" He is very cute and sweet and 2.

Today we went to The Grove for breakfast with our friend Eun-hyey, rode the bus with Blas, did a little shopping...and then on our way to the beach, we locked our keys in the trunk of her car...sigh. So, we spent the rest of the day meeting a variety of servicemen who eventually helped us to get home and get into the car. But, no beach. :(

Vacation, Day 4

When I woke up today, I thought it was Friday. I have a whole route picked out in order to bike from here to Long Beach (~30 miles one way?) and maybe to get over to the Seal Nature Reserve down there as well.

BUT, it is only Thursday, and so instead, I am just going to be lazy and wander around to a variety of shops and coffee shops and...Trader Joes...and go to the pool...and maybe, just maybe, I'll get in a good run.

Migum, Blas, and I all went to the Wheatberry Bakery this morning for breakfast -- good stuff. I bought my favorite: almond croissant, as an incentive for biking hard...now I'm not sure what to do with it! :)

Vacation, Day 3

After picking up my Fondriest bike at Velo Pasadena, I then headed out to discover all there is to know about Griffith Park, "nearby" Pasadena. Little did I know that it is the home of the L.A. Zoo, the Observatory, AND the Hollywood sign. Here are some of the sites as I pedaled around Los Angeles County today:

This is part of the San Gabriel Mountain Range that hems in Pasadena. I was going to pedal into the Angeles National Forest until I realized I rented a bike with only a double chain ring. I don't think I would have gotten very far up those hills!





These are some random Palm trees near Occidental College, I just think they are cool looking...very spindly.









This is a random house in Glendale. I was biking along when all of a sudden I heard a huge racket. Turns out alllllll the pigeons in the county like to hang out on this persons' poor roof. I could not figure out one reason why they chose this roof and not the ones next door.



I eventually breached the wall of freeways separating me and Griffith Park. Unfortunately, I did not know that there had been a huge forest fire (94 acres) only a month ago. All the mountain tops were closed off in order to avoid citizens getting cancer from the chemicals that had been sprayed. While I appreciate that...I had really been looking forward to climbing up to "Dante's View" on Mt. Hollywood. Instead, I moseyed on over into Hollywood where I finally saw the icon with my own eyes.

Here is a picture of me with the Hollywood sign...well, its there behind my big head. :) All in all, it was a lovely ride which I finished off at Bees Knees Bakery with a lemon cheese pillow and a Diet Coke (hit the spot!) And then I proceeded "home" for a long bath, after which I realized that I had completely forgotten to pick up my car. Geesh. (blondes on vacation!)

Tomorrow's adventures will hopefully take me out to Long Beach.

Vacation, Days 1 & 2

Travel was fairly uneventful on Monday...other than the hour + delay and turbulence, and forgetting to pick up my luggage at the airport... :) (blondes!) I arrived at my friend Migum's apartment around 9pm (midnight) and we stayed up to chat and catch up. We figured out that it has been since '98 that we last saw each other face-to-face. Sad. Blas, her two-year-old is quite cute and helping me to not miss the VanHaitsma clan quite as desperately. He loves Cars, Elmo, Toy Story, blueberries, tickles, and his mommy.

The apartment is nice too. It comes with a swimming pool, hot tub (already visited that, you betcha!), meditative fountains, and a work-out facility. I think I landed in heaven. It is also only a brief walk over to Fuller Seminary and...even better...only a block from Target and a mile from Trader Joe's!

So, on Tuesday I woke up and...went shopping, of course. What else does one do in L.A.? Then, after pillaging Trader Joe's and after recovering from migraine #1, I got in my very first heart monitor training run. Step #2 towards 1/2 marathon training (Step #1 was running the Mother's Day 5K) So, I had a good 5+ mile run in a neighborhood where I heard not a single word in English, and then headed home to cook up some salmon steaks, tomato salad, and wine for dinner. Mmmm.

What has struck me most since arriving has not been the people (which is usually #1), but how every tree here seems to flower! Here are a few examples. If you know what they are...please chime in! (okay the baby palm trees don't flower...they are just cute.)