California Adventure Tour.

Two weeks of intensive city hopping, roller coaster riding, exhilarating adventurous experience at its finest.

My friend Feargal flew into LA from Dublin with his son on December 26th. We had a nice dinner at a steak house in LA as they fought the jet lag of their first night in town. Killian loves ribs. He ate an entire rack several times throughout the trip. He also developed a fondness for poking me constantly while we waited in lines for roller-coaster rides at the various amusement parks which I wasn't quite as fond of.

Second day we drove down to San Diego from Brentwood and had an overnight adventure at The San Diego Wild Animal Park. It's called the Roar & Snore, was during the Festival of Lights and I highly recommend this experience once... just not in the middle of winter when the temperature is below freezing unless you bring your own mini-heaters for the tents. The way the experience works is you are private guests of the Park. You are assigned tents just outside the areas where most of the animals roam. The package includes dinner, breakfast, two days at the park and two/three private tours with the animals. The night tour takes place late at night after the public has left the park. There is a campfire with singing and they opened up the sledding just for us which the kids loved even though it was freezing cold outside. I would also recommend bringing an extra set of clothes if you plan on participating in this little bit of fun because everyone who sledded was soaked. There were a lot of laughs and the Christmas lights in the shapes of animals adds a bit of nostalgia to the experience. They wake up the campers early for 1-2 early morning walking tours as well as a bus tour before the park re-opens to the public and you can for an additional cost have private feeding sessions with the animals as well. It was a great experience overall and enjoyed by all of us.

We spent the rest of our evening after the Wild Animal Park touring old town San Diego's Mexican restaurants with Margaritas and mariachi bands, got a great discount at the "W" hotel via travelzoo and there was ice skating downtown across from our hotel. There was also a basketball contest going on while we were there so the jacuzzi was not quite accessible unless you wanted to pile in with 20 college-age girls but they were all nice and we did night swimming in the heated outdoor pool and warmed up in the jacuzzi afterwards.

The next day we awoke and headed to Sea World for my favorite part of the trip... swimming with dolphins. We actually got to spend about an hour in the water with them, playing, giving training commands and they do take pictures of the experience for you to keep. It was the best experience of my trip and I now want to do this on every beachy vacation I take because I loved it so much. Our dolphin, Maggie, was so soft that when I touched her it felt like touching velvet and dolphins are such docile creatures that I couldn't help but smile from ear-to-ear throughout the entire experience. They do provide hot showers afterwards before you head back into the rest of the park which is an added bonus. We spent the rest of time enjoying the various Sea exhibits and shows until the park closed. We stopped in Pacific Beach for a late night dinner on the strip and then drove back to Los Angeles that night.

The next stage of our trip was dedicated to amusement parks throughout the Los Angeles area. We toured Universal Studios, Disneyland, California Adventures, and got our admission tickets for both Sea World and The Wild Animal Park on a group pass that we purchased through the Universal Studios website. This is a great package deal because it includes 2 days at Universal and 3 days at the Disney parks for a cheaper rate. We also separately purchased discounted tickets via AAA for Magic Mountain. I purchased the annual pass at the full rate which means I can visit for the entire year free. Only thing I would have done differently was add a parking pass for Magic Mountain as it's approximately $20 per trip to park.

Highlights and favorites included the incredible fireworks shows including DJ's and a midnight countdown at Disneyland on New Year's Eve night. I also loved seeing the updates and changes to Universal as working as Guest Relations at Universal was actually my first job in high school when I was 16 and they were still in the process of building Citiwalk at that point... I really enjoyed seeing all the additions and growth to the park since I had last been there. I also loved going on Tatsu at Magic Mountain... best roller coaster I've ever been on and I laughed so hard that I cried at the way Feargal screamed in a Dublin accent the entire time we first went on the ride. We liked it so much we went on three times in a row, but nothing beat the first time. I liked that California Adventures offered wine tasting as well for when we wanted to relax after being on our feet for two weeks straight.

We also spent a day shopping around LA including The Beverly Center, 3rd Street Promenade and visiting Paradise Cove for lunch at the beach. Killian ordered full-racks of ribs everywhere he could find them which was amusing to me since I think the meat in Ireland is fantastic and this was his "American" food of choice... that and hot chocolate. I made hot chocolate for him on his first morning in LA and I think he had 1-3 cups every day after that. :)

We headed to San Francisco for the final two days of the adventure because Aer Lingus cancelled their Los Angeles/Dublin direct flight 2 months prior due to massive budget cuts, which was a complete cluster experience to say the least but I really enjoyed my first "real" trip to San Fran. We had booked flights for around 10am and we got to the airport about an hour 1/2 early for a what should have been an easy local flight. Easy except for we flew out of LAX instead of Dublin and it was still only a few days after New Year's so LAX was still extremely congested. We got to the gate and saw that our flight was delayed. We asked how long the delay would be and decided to grab breakfast pre-flight. We came back about 30 minutes later and they had not only "cancelled the delay" but they had closed the flight leaving several of us passengers stranded in LA until the next flights could be arranged. This may not have been a big deal but we had pre-booked tickets to Alcatraz that afternoon and the only flight we could get out in time flew into Oakland instead of SFO.

We made a split-decision to go for it and not lose the days planned activities. So we raced to another terminal, caught the flight to Oakland and cabbed it into the city just in time for Alactraz. Alcatraz is an amazing experience and I recommend every one go once. To see a real jail that housed some of the most dangerous criminals in history is so incredibly intriguing to me. One of the prisoners, who is now in his 70's, was there autographing the book he wrote so of course I had to buy it... and I also bought a book on Al Capone, hoping to find some family history in there... long story saved for another post... but I did purchase that as well. I got some great pics of the cells and the view into San Francisco and we did the tour. It was cool.

And then came the yucky part. Trying to get our luggage was a complete nightmare. Southwest Airlines would not deliver our luggage to our hotel so we spent 4 hours on the train back and forth picking up our luggage from SFO airport and made it back to the hotel in time for dinner at a beautiful Italian restaurant (the name I cannot remember, but it was near a mall and across from a few shoe stores). Unfortunately by the time we finished dinner, the shops were closed so we headed back to the hotel and had drinks in the hotel bar where we met 2 lovely girls and their father travelling from Brazil.

The next morning we had just enough time for me to grab a quick breakfast with one of my friends from LA living in Oakland and back to the airport we went, where we parted ways as I flew back to Los Angeles and Feargal and Killian flew back to Dublin.

All in all it was an amazing whirlwind view of California... an enjoyable and pleasant experience and I'm still in awe of all the things we were able to do and see in such a short period of time.

so behind on travel blogging...

Ok I'm going to try and make an actual attempt to catch up on my travel blogging. I have disconnected for a while but have actually been documenting privately the entire time so hopefully will back track and catch up my blog with my story. Hope you enjoy. :)

A Downside of Online Social Media. (watered-down Kool-aid)

I am not thrilled that online social media sites seem to be watering down real forms of communication. Just because you know how to text or can read a status update on facebook or twitter doesn't mean real forms of communication aren't necessary or that you are getting to know a person. There is much more to life than this.

The frustration I am experiencing comes from a common misrepresentation of thoughts and ideas and experiences. People have a tendency to read small status quotes and think that they know everything about you. This misconception cannot be farther from the truth. My life, for certain, cannot be described in 140 characters or less. It can at best be only a sliver into having insight into someone’s life. I try to keep my interaction on these sites as positive as possible. In a conscientious way, I use a tool designed for social interaction. The misrepresentation comes when people assume that whatever interaction you have displayed on these media sites is a complete representation of your life or of what you may be going through at any given moment. The problem with these invalid assumptions is that with online social media, you can paint a picture of anything you like. You can lie. You can over exaggerate the truth. You can under exaggerate the truth. And don’t be naïve, I know people who do this just because they can and they think that there are no consequences to their behavior. You can make it look however you like, but people seem to assume that following one’s twitter or checking out one’s facebook/myspace page means they know you or know what your entire life status is at any given moment. I follow all the ladies on The View and @iamdiddy and @aplusk on twitter because I respect them, but I promise you, I’m very aware that I do not know them at all. I just think they have interesting things to say and use it as mindless entertainment in hope that these successful celebs may say something inspiring or motivational.

On a daily basis, I experience 1000+ emotions. I filter these messages to only include things that are inspiring, informative, helpful, playful, fun. The other side of emotions, I tend to leave behind because it is not productive, in my opinion, to use social media as a place to dump your problems onto other people. Some are not so conscientious. They dump anything on there like a bad case of the runs and expect you to sift through their crap for the truth. I’m not sure what expectation they have or what their desired intent is, but it’s an interesting playground for certain. After a recent bad experience, I was hesitant to post anything else, because of my sudden fear of the consequences of my behavior. I rationalized that if I didn’t share, then a similar situation could not happen again, therefore eliminating further potential loss. But what about future potential gain? How many people’s lives have I quietly touched by something I have written on there? How many feelings have I hurt by the things I have posted on there? And all weighed out, is it worth it? I think it is worth it as long as I post a warning sign. So here it goes…

My Rules of Engagement:

The content you are currently viewing is not indicative of my whole story, nor could it possibly ever be. Please use caution when using this information to gauge the content of my character or the themes of my life. This common misconception cannot be further than the truth. That said, my life and my story is an open book. If you want to know something about me, ask. If something I say on here offends you, please let me know so that I do not repeat what can only be described as an unintentional mistake on my part. And while I appreciate facebook, myspace, twitter, texting, etc., for what they are, it is not a complete form of communication. It’s a snip it, at best. If you really want to know who I am or what I’m about, call me on the phone, talk to me, write me, ask me for coffee or to brunch, lunch or dinner. Finally, my mother taught me that if I don’t have anything nice to say, I should say “That’s nice.” or say nothing at all. If you don’t like the statements that I make, tell me, I will not be offended. In fact I respect people who aren’t afraid to tell me their truth, agree or disagree. It’s how I learn. If you are confused or unsure about something, ask for clarification before you assume anything.

If you don’t like my rules of engagement, or if you’re not interested in what I have to say, agree or disagree, you have options as well, including deleting me as your friend. I would prefer that you communicate with me and give me a fair chance to think and respond, but deleting me or anyone else for that matter is an option. I used to be offended when someone deleted me as a friend. Now I’ve realized I’m better off and grateful that at least they had the courage to set their own boundaries. What I’ve also realized is that if you think my opinions aren’t interesting or not worthy of listening to, while you are entitled to your opinion, I can only guess that you really don’t know me at all, and I don’t need that type of negativity in my life, only love and light. I promise to offer you the same respect in return.

All that said, it’s ok to drink the “online” Kool-aid. I actually like Kool-aid. But Kool-aid is not the only drink and it’s nowhere near the best drink. It’s basically just watered down sugar. Why anyone would only want to drink that crap as their only form of hydration to the body and soul is beyond me.

So sign off of facebook, myspace and twitter, put down the blackberry or IPHONE and go live your life (if you’re not sure how or don’t know where to begin, send me an email and I’ll give you my guide to living a complete life). That my friends is the best online advice I could ever give you. :)

Family History

My aunt Paula has been researching and documenting our family history for as long as I can remember. I am lucky to have so much information about the details of my history and background because of her dedicated efforts to researching information about our family. She just started a new blog. You can see it at http://afropix.blogspot.com/. As you can see, it is most likely her and my grandmother that have given me a passion for photography and writing. I love this new effort to keep us informed and am grateful for the constant dedication she has to journaling. Thanks Paula:)

Meant to be.

Everything in life is happening exactly as it should. I am sure of it. Case in point: The birth of the newest addition to my "Irish family", Liam Christopher, born this evening to Jim and Jo this evening on 8-8-08 LA time but technically on 8-9-08 Irish time. The reason I say this profound statement is at approximately 8:10pm Irish time I was driving in my car on my way to meet my aunt Caroline for dinner after a very busy and productive work day (just as it should be)... thank you God for sanity and productiveness... when I had the thought, "Why haven't I heard about the birth of Liam yet?" It was supposed to happen today... in my head anyway. Needless to say, as I was finishing dinner with Caroline, who was actually in Ireland very shortly after Liam's big brother James birth and had the opportunity to meet him about 3 weeks after he was born, I checked my blackberry to see the wonderful news that Jo had in fact given birth to Liam only 20 minutes after my thought.

I cannot even describe how happy I am that Liam has entered our lives and is now a part of the "Irish experience". Through everything that has happened in the last two years, Liam is proof that through the chaos that comes from picking up one's family and relocating across the world on a bit of "faith" and hope for better things in the future, miracles do happen letting us know that all is right in the world and that things are happening exactly as they should. I cannot wait for Jo and Jim and their family to return to the LA area so that I can continue to see their beautiful children grow into amazing adults. I cannot count my blessings enough that I was able to find a "kindred valley girl" all the way in Dublin, Ireland to help walk me through the experience and I cannot express how grateful I am to have been a part of the raising of their first beautiful child, James and how excited I am to soon get to meet Liam when they return for the next part of their adventure in Los Angeles.

Congratulations to you Jim and Jo and James!!! I am so happy for the newest arrival of your family. Cheers to that. You have so much support on both ends of that Ireland... it's simply meant to be:)

Shake. Rattle and Roll!

Appropriate title as there was a 5.4 earthquake in Chino today which practically shook me off the couch earlier today as I watched the ship that sits on the mantle of the fireplace practically sail into my head but also appropriate to mark all the changes since being back home in LA. Feeling a bit nostalgic as I read all the old posts about wanting to start my own company, I have very wonderful news to share. After 4 months of intensive work, I have officially launched my new company. Yay... I have put a lot of effort into this and am very excited about what's to come:)

Cheers.

Eat Pray Love

I finished reading Eat, Pray, Love last week. Caroline bought it for me a few weeks ago while we were out at dinner at The Cheesecake Factory in the IE (as in the Inland Empire, not Ireland) and afterwards she walked me over to the bookstore and bought me the book and said "Read it, she's you."

It was quite inspiring for me because as it turns out I am very similar to Elizabeth Gilbert and her viewpoints on life and children and travelling and priorities. She takes a different course than the usual on her path of self-discovery, leaving her home after a painful divorce and travelling to Italy, India and Indonesia on a journey of self-recovery, very similar to my trip to Ireland and I found myself laughing, crying, smiling and relating to so many things that she went through on her journey.

It reminded me that I am not alone, not the only one who wasn't jumping to have children and settle down but instead wanted to travel and explore, not the only one who needed to heal from a lifetime of heartbreak, not the only one who loves and lives her life in her own unique way a bit off the beaten path, not conforming to everything that society says I should be as a woman... and by that I mean being 32 and not being a wife or a mother, with a house and a white picket fence who cooks every meal and cleans after her children and has a very routine life that revolves around these roles in her life.

Not that there is anything wrong with those who choose the role of wife or mother or both in any way shape or form. In fact, I admire those that choose the role of mother and have the discipline to do so even more because of my inability to be that committed to that lifestyle. It's just not been of my greatest desires to do so myself, and I've never felt that "biological time clock" that most women talk about and at this point I don't know if I ever will have that overwhelming desire to be a mother.

Strangely enough, I would love being married as long as I felt I was marrying the "right" person for me, not a perfect person but my perfect companion. I enjoy the idea of the love and companionship and sharing that would come with marriage and maybe then my viewpoint on children would change. But that's not the only thing the book is about, just one of the first of many things I related to while reading... and so all that said, read the book, it's fantastic!