We're home :0)

We spent last night in Palm Springs, CA. Neither of us had ever been there. It was pretty warm...I guess it had been in the upper 90's. We stayed in the downtown Palm Springs area. It's a cute place with lots of stores and restaurants. I was extremely tired. We have just been doing a ton of driving...so I really just wanted to stretch out on a bed and go to sleep.

Picture below is a view from our hotel in Palm Springs.

We left Palm Springs about 9am and got home about noon. We have tons of laundry to do.

It sure feels good to be home. Traveling is a lot of fun but there's no place like home.

:0)

Santa Monica Pier

We arrived at Santa Monica Pier around noon. The place was packed. TONS of people everywhere. Thankfully we found a parking space quickly...and it was only quickly because we prayed and asked for help in finding one. So we parked and walked. It was a bit cloudy and the sun was trying it's best to break through the clouds but wasn't quite doing it. But the temperature was nearly perfect.












We were looking for a place to eat since we hadn't eaten since early morning. We walked up to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. I thought Tom (Bubba) Hanks would walk out any minute...but that never happened. But we still ate at the restaurant. We had about a 40 minute wait, but there were things to keep us occupied.













We walked to the end of the pier. Lots of touristy shops. There were also performers along the way. There was this one man band which was entertaining. I guess he had been on the Jimmy Kimball show last year. There were other singers as well...and they were pretty good.




On the beach there was a demonstration by the group called "Veterans for Peace". It was a sad display, seeing all of the crosses layed out representing those who have died in the Iraq war. They also had some pictures of Iraq citizens posted and all of the photos were really sad. I am glad that we live in a country where we have the freedom to demonstrate for and against those things we believe strongly in. What made me even sadder was that the display was so one sided. I know this is common but it still made me sad. I hate the fact that we have lost men and women in Iraq but is it possible to see that millions of Iraqis have been liberated? I have seen other photos of Iraqis people holding signs thanking America, thanking President Bush, kids going to school. I want to know that those brave men and women didn't die in vain but that they really did accomplish something even if it was for only a handful of people...though I believe it to be more than a handful.



While we were visiting a couple in Seattle we found out that he was from Romania and had come to the United States as a political refugee. He now works for Boeing and has his own business. He said that today Americans have no comprehension of how well we have it here in the United States. He said that if he needed to that he would fight for this country and all that it stands for. I needed to hear him say these things. Being born and raised in the US I'm sure I have taken my freedom for granted. I need to be more thankful to all of those who not only fought for our freedom but for those who also died so that I could live in freedom.

As Forest Gump would say...Now that's all I have to say about that.