Ever Have One of those Travel Days?

I wouldn't say that it was a horrible travel day, just long. Yesterday we started out by leaving the house at 7 am. to catch a 9:20 am flight. Thankfully it was Saturday and the traffic was light. The airport was pretty busy but not like we thought it would be on the start of the Christmas vacation week.

We were catching a flight to LA, then renting a car to drive to San Diego. We rented a house there to bake out and spend time together as a family. We have been to Florida so many times over the holidays, that we wanted a change of pace.

Here is the tough part. Warren woke up with a bad cold. As the day went on it progressed to a fever. The flight was ok, however, it seemed really long. Probably because it was an extra 45 min or so due to weather (they had to circle over LA as the rain was pretty bad). We also hit alot of turbulents when we hit Colorado and the mountains. The seatbelt sign was on for at least a hour (and of course I had to pee). I was surprised at Montana as she slept right through it!

We landed in LA in the rain, and had to rent our car and drive to San Diego. It rained for about 1/2 of the 2 1/2 hour drive, with a stop at Inn and Out Burger (yum!).

Warren was a trooper. He carried on and tried not to complain too much until we arrived at the house. I reminded him that if he made it through the Pyramids in Egypt with a cold, and a stomach issue in Thailand driving to San Diego would be a cinch! It is hard watching him feel horrible when we are finally on our much needed family vacation. All we could do was make it easier for him. So Montana and I went out to get some groceries and let him sleep for awhile. That is the advantage of renting a house for family vacations. You don't have to worry about hotel rooms, and eating out. It gives you a chance to just relax. Unless of course you are stuck with all the cooking and cleaning up! hmmmmm...

So we hope Warren feels better soon. He needs this rest more than anyone as he works so hard during the year.

Have you been ill while on a family vacation? Have any members of your family? What are your stories of travelling while ill and how do you deal with the stress of that?

Photo of the Week - The Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica California

The Third Street Promenade is a great place to spend an afternoon while in Santa Monica, California.

You can wander through the shops, have lunch with a friend, have a coffee, watch the people go by, or enjoy the street performers. There are many volunteer ambassadors for the Third Street Promenade, who are volunteers and are there to help you find what you're looking for.

We really enjoyed our afternoon at third street promenade and had an amazing lunch at La Sandia which is on the third level of Santa Monica Pl.

So the next time you're in Santa Monica don't forget to spend an afternoon at the Third Street Promenade.

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Photo of the Week - Santa Monica Pier and the Arlington West Memorial

Last weekend Warren and I went to Los Angeles to see the LA Lakers play at the Staples Center. Few know it but I am a big Lakers fan! I also love to watch the celebrities at the game (hey what can I say). We stayed at the beautiful Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows in Santa Monica and stayed just a couple of nights.

This photo is from the Santa Monica Pier on a sunny Sunday morning in November.

It is the Arlington West Memorial, Santa Monica and is a project of Veterans for Peace. Each Sunday from sunrise to sunset, this organization displays the memorial known as "the Arlington West Memorial". It really is a site to see and this photo doesn't do it justice.

The crosses represent each fallen soldier and the red ones actually represent 10 military personnel. The draped coffins represent the fallen soldiers in the last week.

We didn't realize that it was temporary and only displayed on Sundays. We must have visited the Santa Monica Pier on a Sunday last year as we thought this was a permanent display. We were sad to see how many more crosses there were from last year.

Have you seen this memorial? We would love to hear your experiences in the comments below.

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