California Weekend

It has been almost a week since I last posted. A lot has happened since then. Life is going full speed ahead and I'm trying to keep up.
Last Thursday I spent the night at my parents' house before heading out to the LA area with my mom. We were going out for my cousin Rachel's wedding. This is the first 'real' vacation Mom has been on in ages and the first time she's flown in about 20 years. The last time she flew anywhere was when we went out to LA as a family the summer after my cousin Ben's Bar Mitzva. (We couldn't go in February for the Mitzva because of this silly little thing called school....) Mom couldn't stop saying "I'm in California" all weekend. It was cute.
Friday was about a normal travel adventure to me. I just had to remember that I had someone with me and not just go bolting off to wherever I needed to be on my own. Well, there was a little mix up. I'm not used to flying out of Philly. We checked in and the lady told us gate D2. No problem. Up the stairs and through security.
Wait, this is terminal E.
Uh-oh, we're supposed to be at D2, not E2.
Unfortunately you can't get to D from E without going back through security. (Southwest now uses 2 terminals, I'm used to going out of E with Delta and seeing the Southwest planes there too...)
The good news is, we've got plenty of time because check in was almost easy.
We get to California in good time and it wasn't a bad flight in the slightest. California traffic on the other hand, is. I mean, come on... we got in around 4:00 on a Friday evening. It was 5:00 by the time we picked up our luggage and got the rental car. Our hotel was about 55 miles away in Ontario. (Yes, we could have flown into ONT, but it was significantly more expensive than LAX... and I was being cheep...) This should take us about 1.5 hours or so on a good day. It wasn't a good day. It was just about 7:15 by the time we made it to the hotel. We were supposed to meet my brother and his girlfriend for dinner at 7:30 about another 50 miles away in Studio City. It wasn't going to happen.
Instead, we ended up going over to his place around 11 the next morning for brunch. Becca was there and my brother made waffles. It was a very good breakfast and a nice visit. I really do like my brother's girlfriend. She's a lot of fun to be around and has the sense of humor needed to keep up with my brother and to keep him in line. (Come on, all boys need to be kept in line at some point...) My brother has a great apartment and is the total opposite from me when it comes to housekeeping. My place looks well lived-in and not exactly tidy. I wouldn't hesitate to eat off his floors. His bathroom floors at that. (Then again, it's always been this way since we were little...)
On our way back to the hotel Saturday afternoon Mom and I stopped at the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena. I'd been there with Beverly and Richard on my visit out there for Aunt Silvia's 90th birthday several years ago now. I thought it was a nice little museum. Mom thought so too. I think what makes this place so special is how many Degas sculptures they have. Mom always knew he'd done a fair number, but not this many. Degas is her favorite artist, so I was glad to be able to show her this little gallery. She bought a new poster to add to the collection in her sewing room. It's one of his dancer sculptures in dress, tutu and hair bow, taken from the back. She's a very pretty little dancer. We also enjoyed the sculpture garden they have there. It was a very pretty day and a nice quite place. (Well, other than the constant noise from the 134, but that's LA for you.)
Saturday night was the 'family' dinner for the wedding. Rachel and Kami had their rehearsal a few days before, this was to gather the family and out of town people together to celebrate a bit before hand. It was a wonderful dinner. I finally got to meet Kami, my new cousin-in-law. She's great. She is a very fun, happy and kind person. She and Rae will have a wonderful life together. (That and mom also likes her because she collects frogs, always a bonus!)
Sunday morning was breakfast with Uncle Richard, Aunt Beverly, my cousin Ben and Richard's sister Carol and her husband Saul. There were seven of us and it was nice. I really enjoyed getting the chance to talk to Ben. I feel so stupid that I had to go all the way to California to catch up with him when he lives the other side of Baltimore in Towson. He and his wife Jen are about to have their first baby (a son) in the middle of September. I'm soooo excited.
The wedding was at 4:00 on Sunday afternoon. It was held outside at a Victorian Bed and Breakfast. It was sooo pretty. There was a lot of land for a Upland/Ontario area place. The ceremony was beautiful. I was so happy for my cousin and Kami. They are so cute together and so in love. It made me miss my own husband so much more. It would have been wonderful if Gak had been able to come, but we just couldn't afford it. I hope to get us all together at some point. I know we'd all have a good time. The reception after was nice and fairly short. I enjoyed myself and the company of my cousins (I only have 2....) and brother and his girlfriend Becca.
The flight home yesterday was uneventful, just long.
Yes, I do have pictures to share, they're still on my camera. I may get them downloaded tonight and post some tomorrow.

I head off for China on Friday, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to post between then and Sunday at the earliest, or next Thursday after I get home. (We'll see how the Internet connection in the hotel over there is....) I hope to post at least once more this week, but you know me. It may or may not happen.