Putting Out Fires

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Oh vacation, how I miss thee

Ahhh yes, here we are. Back in the real world. Getting back from a vacation feels so strange, like you're getting to know your real life again. Sadly, we're both back to work tomorrow, and for Ryan it means 3 months of 12 hour days Mon-Fri teaching the fire academy. In a way, we both think this was a last hurrah before hell.

But before we get all doom and gloom, a few vacation pics for you. I swear there's only a few. :-) We went to three areas while we were there, so today is about the first: Santa Barbara. Strangely, I went to SB with my family when I was 17 and remebered loving it so much I cried when I had to fly home. I was so excited to share that with Ryan. And Santa Barbara? Disappointed. Yes, it was beautiful like I remembered, but it was littered with begging homeless people and after 6pm it was like a ghost town. Complete with closed restaurants. On a weekend.

Good thing we had other things planned besides hanging out in SB itself. Our first day I'd arranged for a Jeep tour of the wine country. Right up our alley! We shared the Jeep with 4 20-somethings who worked "in the industry" in L.A. I swear, they actually said that's what they did. Three of them worked producing television (we heard all about the inside of Paris Hilton's house) and one worked in "PR" which I gather means she plans parties for famous people. They were the types who fully did not take advantage of the dump pot on the end of the bar. They were fully lit by the end of the trip. DU-runk. Yikes.

We LOVED the first winery we went to. It was just gorgeous. And, the inside 'cellar' was designed by the same guy who desinged the original Pirates of the Carribean ride. Awesome. Here was the view from the patio:

Oh, and us with the view, of course (one of two times I had some take our picture on the whole freaking trip. Note to self...)

We had a good time on the trip but it was really freaking freezing cold on the way over the mountains to the vineyards. Brrrr. The L.A. "industry" people also didn't account for the fact that 'open-air Jeep' meant their hair might get messed up, so we had to take time at each stop for hair-fixing.

The next day we took a boat out to the Channel Islands of the Coast to go kayaking. Sounds like a nice, tame day, and it really did look that way when we woke up that morning. So neither of us thought we'd need to even consider motion-sickness meds. Cue music of impending doom.....

There was this huge swell in the ocean that day which mean people were getting sick all over the boat. Ryan and I were both miserable and barely made it out without using the side of the boat to get rid of our breakfast. When we got to the island our guide told us the swell was going to make it rough for our kayak trip. The trip was supposed to include paddling in and out of sea caves and such, but it was so scary rough out there. At one point we went around a tip of the island and I couldn't see the other kayaks over the swells. Then we went into an area that the guide told us later was called "The Washing Machine" in the spring. Thanks for the heads-up dude. I've never felt so much like I might die. The waves were coming from every direction! I'm freaking out, and of course Ryan (who I'm sharing a kayak with) is loving every minute.

We finally turned around and went the other way down the coast. We saw some seals and a rock covered with hundreds of birds (and corresponding shit), and even a huge blow-hole. Then the guide tested out a sea cave and decided it was safe for us and the other kayak to enter. And we did and it was kinda cool. THEN, we started to feel ourselves getting sucked out the entrances. You know what that means......

The next thing we know, a HUGE swell comes crashing in, throwing the other father/daughter kayak we were with against the cave wall, then throwing it over. Ryan and I got caught in the way and thrown up on a beach in the sea cave with no way to get off. Everyone finally got back in their boats with a few scratches, but it was terrifying. Again, this was Ryan's favorite part of the trip. Boys....

Here's us before we went kayaking. That is, before we knew we might DIE....

I don't have any other pics to share just yet because we took a disposable camera w/ us on the kayaks, so that's all folks. Only two more posts for our Cali trip!

Welcome back me!

1 Comments:

Ramona said...: I just got seasick reading this! You are a brave trooper...
I'd love to visit the California vineyards one day, and, seeing as I really LIKE Californian wines, not too sure I'd use the spit bucket either!; 4:56 AM

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