STAND BY

1) to be ready or available to act
2) to wait for something, to resume
3) to remain uninvolved; to refrain from acting
4) to remain loyal to; aid or support
5) to keep or maintain

This year's Fourth of July weekend brought a number of firsts, including my first time flying stand by and my first time jet setting off to San Francisco for a long weekend with my girls. 

One of my best girlfriends is currently working for an airline, which allows her the opportunity to hop on a flight's standby list. Using this, she posed a great idea to me -- "how do you feel about San Fran for the fourth?" I think my bags were packed before I even said yes. I am up for any chance to travel! (Keep that in mind everyone!)

I definitely think the best way to see a city is to visit someone who lives there, that way you get the tourist aspect as well as the local's perspective. JD moved from Seattle to San Francisco just about two years ago, so she knew just the spots to take us. 

Although the trip was short and sweet, we hit the major sights I wanted to see and did the things I was dying to do: Golden Gate Bridge and Park, de Young Museum, Ghirardelli, fireworks watching at Chrissy Fields, trolley riding, Unuion Square, Fisherman's Warf, and Lombard Street. The weather was sunny for the Fourth (complete with a little sunburn) and then turned the next day to show us the frisco freeze. Sunny or not -- I was just happy to be exploring with my friends. 

I am so lucky to have such great girls in my life, ones who are ready for adventure, a challenge, a good laugh, or a solid talk. How did I find such amazing friends that are willing to stand by me in this crazy life?! Blessings I tell ya'...

Until next time San Francisco! I am patiently waiting for my next boarding pass and for my name to be called up from STAND BY! 

(Note: Just to be grammatically correct, STAND BY is a phrasal verb, and in most instances is actually used as a noun.)

CRUISE (Part I)

1) a pleasure voyage on a ship, usually with stops at various ports
2) to move slowly through or visit

Finally -- a chance to tell you about my vacation!

A few weeks ago I look my first trip out of the country (oh you know, not including Canada, which we frequent to visit family) which was an 8-Day Mexican Riviera cruise with Holland America Line. Not only was this my first time  visiting Mexico but also my first time on a cruise. And honestly, I could not have had a better experience. 

Our cruise was round-trip San Diego which was: 1) super convenient and 2) allowed us to see my Aunt and Uncle (you know, THE Uncle Tiger) before and after the cruise. I brought some items from the Big Climb to my Uncle and I couldn't help shedding a few proud tears as he put on the "relentless" LLS bracelet that I brought for him. Aside from the quick but wonderful family time, San Diego was also good to us on the weather front -- a clear blue sky send off that made us that much more anxious for the beaches of Mexico. C'mon Zaandam, l-e-t-s let's go!

From San Diego we had two days at sea before reaching our first port, Puerto Vallarta. When looking at the itinerary, I recalled thinking "sea days are going to be terrible..." but we REALLY enjoyed them  (in fact, it ended up that we were very thankful for sea days in between port days as they allowed us some resting time). 

Holland America Line has a plethora of events, activities, classes, dinning, etc. -- or lovely places to enjoy doing nothing at all. Our first sea day, the weather was no so great (which our captain PJ told us is common until we passed a certain longitude...uh huh...), but this allowed us to try many of the on board activities that we might not have tried had we had the chance to sun bathe by the pool. 

Our second day at sea provided some scenic cruises of Los Cabos. This time on the bow not only provided striking views of Land's End, El Arco, and Divorce Beach (oh! and delicious sangria!) but it allowed us to see all of these sites from the Pacific Ocean side. Later, once we stopped in Cabo San Lucas, we were able to explore these sights -- taking a closer look. 

That's all for now. I will continue with our first stop...Puerto Vallarta (which includes swimming with dolphins and parasailing)! Look for more to come as I continue sharing my CRUISE!

JET

1) to travel by jet plane
2) to move or travel rapidly

If I had to use two words to describe my “jet-away” to Laguna Beach last weekend they would be “short and sweet”, without a doubt.
I have found that the older I get, the busier I find my schedule (and if you know me well, you may find this hard to believe — was I born busy?!). Despite the fact that this trip was only Friday afternoon thru Monday morning, I am thankful we all were able to carve out some family time in our schedules. 

These four days were filled with family, sun, sand, saltwater, laughter, and love. It was much needed change of pace that came at the perfect time. I love my family and truly cannot wait for the next time we can all come together.

We are definitely all busy, but clear out some time in your schedule to…
JET! 

Photos (clockwise L to R) — 1: Cousins, oldest to youngest 2: sisters at the airport
3: 70’s party! 4: LA at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre 5: Laguna Beach lifeguard station 6: Laguna Beach