Where did vacation go?

Where did the past 14 days go?

My dogs so happy to see me :)

Well I am waiting at the Miami airport waiting to board my plane to the rock (the term the Rossies use to describe the island).  My break home (aka 14 days) was absolutely amazing!! I did not get much “rest” but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  I literally had a lunch/dinner plans, shopping adventures, doctor appointments every day I was back.  Here was the run down of my vacation.

Saturday (left house in Saint Kitts at 6am and landed in LA at 5:30)- we (Brittany and myself) immediately went to In n Out (and it never tasted so good).  My WONDERFUL friend Margaret who I worked with at Laguna Hills Animal Hospital surprised me at the airport.  We then rushed to get a manicure and pedicure.  Brittany, Margaret, my mom, dad, dogs, etc all socialized and ended up going to sleep.

Sunday- we woke up and made our way to El Taco (trip 1 of 4).  I said EL TACO not Del Taco or Taco Bell.  El Taco is the best drive thur Mexican restaurant and I LOVE all their food.  We then packed up, dropped Brittany off at the Fullerton train station so she could visit her family down in San Diego and we headed to Lake Havasu.  We even stopped by Sonic to get a strawberry limeade slush for the road.  We arrived in Havasu a little after 9:00, grabbed dinner and went to bed

Monday- LAKE DAY #1- nothing is more relaxing then getting up, going out on the river and just float.  We stopped by a local restaurant that you can dock the boat and eat at.  I had the most AMAZING cheeseburger there with fried jalapeños, Jack cheese, etc. We got off the lake and ordered food from Mud Sharks (one of my favorite restaurants down there).  They have a homemade creamy Italian salad dressing that taste good on anything.  My dinner consisted of garlic cheese bread and salad….YUM

 

Getting ready to head out on the lake with Bob (our 24 foot Hallet)

Tuesday- LAKE DAY #2- more water fun, went to lunch at Topac (again another restaurant you can dock the boat and go eat. Also went shopping at the Topac mall (ok it is 1 store but yet I can still find something to buy)

Wednesday- Lake Day #3- enjoyed lounging out on the river, playing some volleyball, tubing, etc.  Went out to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant (best Lobster Ravioli you can find)

Maybe I gained a little weight while at school ;)

Thursday- I drove from Lake Havasu to Downey to La Quinata to Santa Barbara.  After living on an island that is 28 miles by 10 miles this was QUITE a drive for me.  I dropped my sister off in Downey (swung by El Taco- trip 2 of 4) and went to La Quinata to get my hair done.  Tashia does a FANTASITC job and undid 9 months of sun and damage to my hair.  Then drove up to Santa Barbara to spen a few days at the dog show with my second mom Lynda.

Friday & Saturday- I first forgot how early dog shows start (ugh), how much work they are, and how tiring they are BUT I got to see many old friends and make a few new ones.  I even got to show a few dogs (to help people out) and didn’t do too bad.  I went Best of breed from the classes with a Dalmatian and Best Of Winners with the springers.  I played with tons of puppies and REALLY enjoyed myself. Thanks Lynda for letting me crash in your room.

Sunday- DISNEYLAND!!!  I was able to go to Disneyland with a bunch of my old co-workers at the animal hospital.  It was an amazing day filled with screaming roller coasters, amazing shows and parades and it all ended with the earthquake Sunday (8 HUGE scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings, 4 full bananas, whip cream, nuts and 8 cherries).  Between the 4 of us there was NOTHING left.  Bad thing was my iphone decided it did not want to turn on that day so I didn’t get any pictures.

Monday- Monday morning and afternoon was spend shopping!!! First time in a mall in over 9 months!!  I got a lot of cute clothes that I can not wait to wear on the island and also stopped by the apple store to see if they could fix my iphone.  Sadly my it was un fixable and I had to pay the $200 to replace it (this was a VERY expensive trip home).  I then met Shireen and Missy (sorority sisters) up in Pasadena for Sushi.  Missy is getting married in a few weeks and I was suppose to go to the wedding but due to school I am not able to (Another even missed because of the rock) but I enjoyed hearing about all the planning and “things” that will be present at the wedding.  It is going to be absolutely beautiful!!

Tuesday- Doctors…BLAHH!!! The only bad thing about coming home is having to go see all the doctors and dentists.  Everything checked out fine but still would rather have skipped that part.  I did learn I am going to have to get my wisdom teeth out at some point now.  I am hoping I can wait till I am off the rock. I then headed to the mall for some more shopping for me and Kitts (the most spoiled dog ever). My mom sister and I also ate dinner at STACKED which is a modern restaurant that all ordering is done through ipads and you can build your meal (burgers, pizzia, mac and cheese, salad, etc).  I thoroughly enjoyed this place.  Their adult shakes looked AMAZING and will definitely be ordering one of those when I return in December.

Wednesday- my mom and I drove down to see my dog show parents (or mom and dad #2) Lynda and Dave.  We went to my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant and had some rolled tacos and nachos.  I got to see Lynda new litter of springers and they are beautiful.  I love the one she is keeping!! I also go to see a lot of the old dogs I use to show and travel with and her 2 birds as well (Dutch and Cheeto). 

Thursday- I used my computer for the first time since being home and the blue screen of death appeared yet again.  My Dell laptop isn’t even 2 years old and I am already having TONS of issues with it.  Long story short I dropped it off at the computer guy and he said that the fan needed to be replaced, reset to factory settings, etc.  I am so scared of going to the island and having my laptop die so I knew it was time to get a new one.  I had lunch with one of my old sorority advisors Cathy at Green Leaf…AMAZING salad place in Newport and caught up with her.  I don’t know what I enjoyed more a salad that tasted amazing with fresh lettuce and ingredients or the company.  I was then off to the Apple store to buy a laptop I could trust.  After learning about all the products I can happily say I am a proud owner of a 13 inch MacBook Pro…now to just figure out how to use it!!  Dinner we met with Kathy (a different one).  She owned Kipp’s brother Coppper and Flurry’s daughter Kai.  We did a lot of traveling together many years ago and it was fun to talk about those times.  I also had Pumpkin pie (I have been craving it on the island since Thanksgiving but there was none to be found)

Friday- Morning and afternoon was spent doing more shopping.  I met up with Casey, another sorority advisor in Huntington beach and had an amazing cocktail with her as looked upon the pacific ocean.  I even put my toes in the sand.  I live 15 minutes away from the beach and pacific ocean but rarely go.  I think I have been in the ocean more at Saint Kitts than my own home. At night I had a big get together at Lucilles with a bunch of my sorority sisters.  For those that don’t know I worked at Lucilles BBQ for almost 5 years and still miss their food like their fried pickles and flame roasted artichoke.  Huge thanks to Shireen, Novelle, Rachelle, Chantel, and Katie for driving down to see me.

Saturday was spent picking up last minute things I needed, stocking up on all the fast food I could eat and one last pedicure before packing my bags and heading back to the island.  Before my flight my parents, sister and myself went to the Fish Market for dinner and I was sent off in style with Alaskan Snow Crab Legs…YUMMMY!!! Made my LAX flight just fine, slept the entire way here and now waiting to board my last plane to Saint Kitts.  I start school at 8am tomorrow!!

Thanks to all my friends and family that took time out of their busy schedule to stop by and see me or meet me for food, coffee drinks, etc!! I am truly lucky to have all the support from you all!! For the people I didn’t get to see…don’t worry I will be home in 15 weeks and you can not escape me again.

I will post more about my school schedule on a later blog.  Until then- Hello 4^th semester of vet school…lets rock this pink!!!