The Golden State Of Mind…

You all have probably been aware of my recent escape to the Golden State of California. Colin invited me home with him for his summer stay at his house in Auburn and of course I agreed. I was so excited. I had never been to California before and also this would be the first time I would meet his family. Little did I know that they and my entire experience would be so much more than I had I ever expected.

Our flight landed in San Francisco at about 11:00 PM. Only to learn that my second bag I had checked had been stolen right off the conveyer belt. How convenient. I had packed EVERYTHING for the beach and all my little stuff. Now the ladies will know exactly what I mean by the “little things.” I’m talking all my make-up, underwear, shampoo, my expensive new flat iron (if you know me this could be the one that took me over that emotional edge), jewelry, perfume, cell phone charger, lap top charger, bathing suits, flip flops, all the stuff that just doesn’t quite fold in with your jeans and tops. Stolen. The ID tags to my bag were found in the corner soon after we noticed it wasn’t coming with the rest of the bags. The airline said there was nothing they could do, and they would call if anything came up. Great. So of course I’m getting emotional. Colin, bless his heart, was so patient and so kind, but we all know those two attributes he does quite well. So, I picked my bag (note the singular there) and we made our way to the rental car counter. I tried my best to act as if it was just a bag and everything in it could be replaced. It just really really sucks to lose so much of your stuff at one time, when you are so far from home. Welcome to California! However I was determined to not let this spoil my time here. I wanted to snap out of my angry and shocked state and just make the best of what I did have. I have the only things that matters in my hand already, and that is his.

We arrived at Colin’s house a few hours later, he gave me a quick tour, and we just crashed. The next morning we were early to rise and eager to get to the beach. Pismo Beach to be exact! First stop: Old Navy to replace my bathing suits, Jamba Juice: a very important second for breakfast, and then third: Me hanging out the window taking pictures of the dry grassy covered mountains, countless orchards, vineyard after vineyard, and road signs that say “Highway 101 and San Francisco” ah yes the photos of a complete tourist!

Six hours later we were in sunny, cool, and beautiful Pismo Beach. It was here that I FINALLY met his mom Cindy, his dad Paul, and his sister Amber. It was about 10 PM, but they were up and about and anxious to hear my accent. (Ok if you are still reading this – say this city out loud: “Norfolk.”) If you just said a curse word, you are from where I am from. Hehe. The week was filled with sun and sand and really good food. Not to mention walking 6 miles to rent ATVs to race on the dunes only to be passed by the trailer carrying them in the opposite direction. We were too late, they had closed. Although Colin did save a baby seal that had beached itself along the way. The next morning I got to watch Amber do some serious skim boarding and Colin try to on a board not quite made for his size. Amber is quite talented; you should see this girl on a skateboard! Unreal. We cooked out, built campfires, told ghost stories which lead to all of us walking to the showers TOGETHER, buried our flops in the sand to take long walks on the beach, found sand dollars, explored sea caves, visited the immense Hearst's Castle, roasted marshmallows, and even had Internet access if you sat in just the right place. By the end of the week Colin had crafted a potato cannon, which by the way has some serious distance I might add, and I got to see my first sunset on the beach. Amazing. We left Pismo Beach on Friday June 30th and by the great miracle of telecommunications I got to welcome Selah Grace 10lbs and 8oz into the world. My mom called to keep me updated every step along the way. I also got to talk to Britni and we both just cried and cried and she told me how beautiful Selah was and how great Jami did. I have never experienced anything like the feeling I had at that moment, ever before. It was truly a time I will never forget. I wish I could have been there more than anything. But Jami did it, she really did it! She brought a healthy, happy, gorgeous little girl into our lives and in our hearts forever.

We took Highway 1 all the way Santa Cruz. On the way we stopped in Morro Bay, Monterey Bay, and Big Sur, home of the infamous Redwood Trees. It was truly unique. I didn’t even know mountains could get that big and that an ocean could be so blue, and coexist together at the same time. Breathtaking. We even saw Elephant seals, and they were talking, fighting, and getting warm on the hot sand. That evening when we got back to his house, I met James. James is Colin’s best friend from home and after meeting him I knew exactly why. Colin had told me a lot about James and I really did enjoy hanging out with them. The best was just observing the two of them. Back and forth, back and forth they would laugh, share stories, and reminisce about memories they had shared together.

Happy 4th of July!! That day at Colin’s church we were invited to a pool party. There would be volleyball, basketball, and food. I don’t even know how many games we played, but we had a lot of fun. Colin was the star of the show although his dad gave him a run for his money on the court! That evening, for the fireworks festivities Colin, James, his parents, and I went high a top one of the many Auburn hills and watched the fireworks being set off from the fairgrounds over the courthouse. They were quite good. We woke up the next day and decided to go see the newest attraction in Auburn – “The Street of Dreams.” These were unbelievable homes you could tour and really see how the rich and famous live. Anything you could imagine adorned these homes. Elevators, double fridges, double dishwashers all stainless steal. Countless bedrooms, wine cellars, workout rooms, theaters, infinity pools and tubs, a closet the size of my room with washers and dryers in them. Anything you wanted, needed or had no use for was here.

The next couple of days were spent hanging out with his family, celebrating Colin’s 22nd birthday, and catching some really great movies at the local cinema. “Pirates of the Caribbean” is amazing by the way, and “Click” is a must see. Colin’s house has great opportunities for some serious style and design potential. Luckily I am trained in the interior realm of design and his mom decided let’s give these walls a face-lift!! Why not?! I am there and I can do it. After all, they had been so generous with meals, letting me stay there for FREE, and just taking really good care of me while I was been there. So we painted the room a yellow ochre color and then did a burnt sienna brown glaze over top for a bold Tuscan feel that really warmed the entire room substantially. I’m just praising the Lord that it went so well and I didn’t have any major hang ups! Except one. Before I could do what I just listed, I had to get the necessary products. The closest vendor for the glazes I needed was in Redwood City. So what do we do? Well whatdaya know Redwood City is right below San Francisco. So we thought we would make a day trip of it. Perfect. So after painting the walls with the base color, we spent the next day in San Francisco. Now none of this was new to Colin, but I was awe struck. I got to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Something I have truly wanted and been looking forward to doing for a long time. We went down to the Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39. We walked around the docks, did a little shopping, walked by countless bistros and restaurants and had a really good time. We stopped and got some clam chowder (Colin said it was tradition) and it was scrumptious. After we finished we gave the pigeons our leftovers and walked the ocean’s edge to sit down for a little while. At the end of day we squeezed in a trip down Lombard Street (the steepest and most windy street in the world), visited the Coit Tower (the fireman’s memorial tower), and wrapped up the day at the Palace of Fine Art, walking around, taking pictures and just simply enjoying each other’s company.

The rest of the week Colin and I worked on his family room. Well I painted and Colin held the ladder. I don’t know why but when I’m twenty feet in the air I get a little woozy. Anyway the room turned out great and his family loved it so that was a plus!! I was just glad that I was there for enough time to accomplish that for them. It was my pleasure.

Colin got two tickets from his parents to Paramount’s Great America. A theme park much like our Kings Dominion. We had a blast!! We went on every rollercoaster they had to offer and they had some pretty state of the art ones as well. After a supa large Cherry Coke, we decided to call it a day. It was so much fun! My favorite part was just walking around with him, hand in hand and just being us. On the way home we stopped into Santana Row, in San Jose. Did I mention this was the most expensive place to live in California? It was like a little Manhattan tucked away in a beautifully landscaped quaint part of Cali. We ate an absolutely amazing dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then found ourselves craving a good movie. I loved this place.

His family lives about an hour from Lake Tahoe, we would go and have lunch and spend the day with his cousin and our cameras. The water was beautiful. If I had the money this would be where I bought a summer home. The mountains of Nevada still were snowcapped and the sailboats lazily floated by as we enjoyed a dock side dish. Superb. I got some great pictures of the mountains; Emerald bay and its endless waterfalls and a cute little chipmunk that wanted me to give him a snack. So fun. The next day the temperature was a grueling 110 degrees. Colin said we should go swimming in the American River. Not until I put my feet in the water did I know that it was nothing but SNOW MELT! Talk about freezing!! This was like diving off glaciers and wading around in ice cubes. “You’ll get used to it!” he yells after he plummets off a 30-foot rock into the icy river of death!! Comes up out of the water, shakes it from his hair, and just gives me that smile. He, like the river, makes me melt!! So I tried it, but me, I just inch myself in. However, he was right, I did get used to it, we were swimming together in no time. We even had the river cooling our can drinks as we played. After a couple of hours we took our numb bodies home and decided to go out for dinner. We went to so many amazing restaurants while I was home with him I’m not even sure if I remember which was which! After dinner we met Colin’s friends Mitch and Sam for some bowling. Those three are histerical when they get together. I believe I won, well ok, I lost horribly but it was a good time.


The next morning we were up at 5 and sleepily got in the car for L.A. I couldn’t wait to meet his grandparents. You know how some people have the picture perfect grandparents? Well Colin is on that list for sure. His grandma is adorable and his grandpa is so sweet. Hugs all around as soon as we got there. “Colin you have grown even more!” his grandma said as he hits his head on the ceiling fan. They were so welcoming and ready to share the greatest burrito place on earth with me as we sat down for lunch. Good stuff! We were only there for a few hours sadly, picked up our tickets to Disneyland and then drove by his old house, old neighborhood, and I was getting stories from Cindy, Colin and Amber all along the way. Fantastic. We were on the road to San Diego to meet up with Colin’s dad. We were going to stay in a hotel that night and leave for Disney in the morning. Colin has been to Disneyland so many times, but for me it was my first. I was “stoked”. The day was magic. Colin has shared the experience with a lot of people, I’m just glad we shared it together as well. I had my own tour guide and my own map; he knew every hot spot and must-do event. Fabulous. After yet another outstanding California experience that lasted for 15 hours, we were beat. We crawled back to the hotel and just crashed. Only to wake up at 7:30 to shower, shave, and get in the car for yet another road trip, this time destination: LAX! It was my last day. My last day to see that sky that I have completely become obsessed with. My last day to spend with his wonderful family. My last day to live unlike I have I ever lived. I was certainly going to miss it. But the experience was so breathtaking. At the airport we checked our bags, hugged and kissed his mom and sister, grabbed some chili cheese fries from the sports bar and waited for our boarding call. Colin said to me a long time ago that ever time he is in LAX he sees a celebrity. I was like there is no way I’m going to see. . .WAIT A MINUTE. . . THERE IS THAT BIG DUDE FROM THE GREEN MILE AND THE ISLAND!!! Michael Clarke Duncan. Unreal!! So yeah, brushing my shoulder off I got to see one as well. It wasn’t Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp but it was at least one. Wow. So we polished off the cheese fries with a side of supa cholesterol and got on our flight. Because Colin and I were flying with a buddy pass that his aunt had so generously given us, we kind of just had to take our chances with seating arrangements. We had lucked out the last 4 times with seats we actually got seats beside each other. This time it was the case. Now ya see, this makes me a little nervous. In other words, I don’t do well with the whole “taking off” part. But as I always do, I said a prayer, closed my eyes and reached for my ipod. I was instantly comforted and knew that God sat me there for a reason. We landed safely in Atlanta, then safely again in Raleigh/Durham where we were greeted excitedly by my mom, her friend Joanne and of course Maxine. I don’t know which tail was wagging more my mom’s or Maxine’s?!? The ride home was long, Colin feel asleep on my shoulder, but the silence made me think. What a trip I had just been on. I was speechless. I had just been to a place so wonderful with the man I loved and the family I had grown to cherish. There will be nothing that can top this experience. Nothing. Thank you Cindy, Paul and Amber you guys were so wonderful.

I love you Colin with all my heart, thank you for the invitation or I wouldn’t even have had these experiences to share with everyone. You are truly the best thing in my life.