Labor Day Deja Vu

I was searching through various posts in search for specific memories of Universal Studios.  I was floored when I came across one labeled Labor Day Weekend in which the first line reads Roland said he wanted to take Jenna to Universal this weekend

The date read September 1 – that is when we left the house this year – when did I write that?  Apparently it was a thought that had existed in 2019 which became a reality this year – only it wasn’t on a Sunday that we left.  It was on a Thursday.  We drove to Modesto, California – which I had believed was a halfway point to Monterey Park.  It wasn’t.  It was so out of the way that it proved my point about why I don’t like making reservations.  We should have just looked for something in Sacramento.  Modesto was such a waste of driving and the pool was closed. 

VERY contaminated pool

We continued our drive to LA – another gamble in industrial area that didn’t appear to be a safe part of town.  The pool was open however – but it would have been nice to have known that Jack and Louisa had something available for us that night.  I will certainly do it differently if ever the opportunity arises again.

So it seems like Richard was gung-ho about getting Jaime to Universal for at least the last three years.  We had watched a YouTube video just right before her graduation.  He still wanted to take her to Universal but neither Jaime nor I wanted to go – at least right then.  We changed our minds when we learned that Disneyland decks out for Halloween just before Labor Day.  It was a late graduation/last-hoorah-before-college excursion. 

We’d taken Jaime’s friend, Sam.  Did Universal on Saturday, spent Sunday with Jack and Louisa and family.  Checked in the Disneyland hotel on Sunday night and went to Disneyland on Monday – Labor Day.  I was hoping to hit San Francisco on the way home as neither Jaime or Richard (or even Sam for that matter) had been there before, 

https://gayldsactor.blogspot.com/search?q=San+francisco

but Richard was quite tired from driving.  We went home early.  Jaime unpacked and repacked and we took her to Ashland on the 9^th (our Wedding anniversary – which we have yet to celebrate) and started emptying out Jaime’s room and the office to make way for Biff and his little family. 

So I need to post the details of that trip – at least three days worth.  And I have some other thoughts that hopefully will come out as my posting has been more sporadic and I think I lost my following – not that it’s important that anyone is following.  I have referred to it a lot for journaling purposes.  It has been an interesting journey.

DownPour on My Birthday

I recall a few of my birthdays were cooler than normal – requiring a sweatshirt or summer jacket.  Never a rain slicker!  Not quite a monsoon but certainly not what I’ve grown accustomed to.  I can’t see to drive on the roads.  There’s not enough light.

          Corey and Joh offered to pay for new glasses – but I don’t know that a stronger prescription is really the answer.  The way the doctor explained it to me is that I have weird shaped eyes that just don’t seem to let in the right amount of light needed for me to see throughout each day.  I’m certain that I will go blind eventually. 

          Besides I’d rather have spent the money on shoes or new pants for Roland or something that seemed to take precedence for me.  And we have been blessed in major ways.

          On Saturday Jenna spent the day with her friend August.  When we pulled up in front of the driveway, we could see items being set up for a yard sale.  When the sale was over, the family loaded up a bag of clothes for Jenna.  Three pairs of shoes that appear as though they’ve never been worn. 

          And last night my youngest niece also sent us home with a bag of clothes and a box of shoes.  And I really have been needing shoes – so this is great!! 

          I think the majority of shoes are too big for Jenna, but she’s at the point where she likes wearing big shoes.  Her feet will eventually get bigger than mine.  And then her shoes will be big on me.

          This weather right now reminds me of a time twelve years ago, before Roland and I were married.  I had taken the boys to see my mom at the place where she was working.  At least two of them had their heads hanging out the window and made comments as though they were pirates or sailors fighting off a storm.

          There was also the many times that my family went on vacations – didn’t matter where.  We’d have rain.  We’d have car problems.  Often both.

          The wettest family vacation rain that I remember was the year dad drove us to southern California and enjoy Disneyland and Universal.  It poured the day we went to Universal. POURED!  And it is still one of my greatest memories.

          We had gone on a tour bus.  When the driver dropped us off, he told us that we had to be back by 5:00 pm or we would have to find another method of transportation back to our motel.

          Our experience was awesome.  No lines to wait in.  We got to see EVERYTHING.  Universal never sold so many raincoats and umbrellas on any given day.  As we did not bring rain gear and couldn’t afford six coats to wear, either mom or dad suggested garbage sacks and so we put them over our heads and cut holes for our faces. We spent the entire day going from exhibit to exhibit in our garbage sack ponchos.  It is a really great memory for me and Corey in particular.

          We returned to the bus at 4:30 – the last group of people to arrive.  It seemed that everyone else had been waiting on the bus for at least two hours and were a bit perturbed with us for taking so long.  Hey, we arrived a half hour earlier than the designated time.  And we definitely got our money’s worth.  It was fun!