Ojai, and Then Some

Shocker of shockers! It has been only a few days since my last post! Maybe this thing will happen. The truth is, Scott is the one who is more adamant about my blogging, which is sweet.

We left Orange County on Sunday, and didn't quite make it out before stopping in at Knott's Berry Farm. Maybe I should be learning something from these amusement park adventures, because just like Disneyland, I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. The performances were honestly top notch, and the rides were SO FUN. I believe that this is a great example of how dating someone with different interests can be really GOOD. Sometimes I am reluctant to do things Scott wants if I don't feel immediately excited, but often I enjoy them more than I expected. I think this is called growing.

After Knott's we planned to go to Ojai and to Ojai we went, and in Ojai we are.

First, a glimpse at the New Betty White. Of course, now there is a ton of stuff crowding those drawers, and hanging from the ceiling, but she still looks pretty beautiful:

  

The seat back slides out and acts as an extension of the back to make a bed. 

  

I am honestly thrilled to be back at making French press in a van. There is just something about it that is great. Particularly when you are pulled up to a community park in the shade of the Oaks.

Honestly, Ojai wasn't exactly what we expected. We explored downtown (which was cute), but when we went up to the mountains it was barren and exposed, plus the campground we wanted to go to was closed. We spent a strange night an extra 30 miles away in a free campground with a broken down car and a cross made of ashes at our site. It was weird. We left early. Day two was much better though. We climbed some, and set up hammocks over a beautiful creek we finally found. Last night we made friends in a turn out. Today we sat by an even better river with swimming holes, and not a person in sight the entire day. Ojai really ain't bad.

Up next, San Bernardino. This time, pine trees for sure, and hopefully more sitting my streams and climbing. It is a good time.

Here Comes a Bunch of Pictures

      We are finally off again!  I am finally blogging again!

                  We finished our cross country trip well. There were close encounters with tornadoes and flash floods in the midwest, biscuits and gravy at an Amish bakery in Ohio, fireflies in Steubenville, an overheated car (ours) in Pennsylvania, and a final arrival at our end destination in Virginia. Between all of that were great visits with friends and family.

                   Sherrey and Kurt, we loved having dinner with you! You made Fort Collins feel like we

                      already had a home there. 

                   Jon and Diane, thank you for the hospitality in Chicago! And the amazing birthday coffee!

                   Justin, I'm sad we missed you!

                   Erick, it was great to meet you! Thank you for the floor to sleep on and the farm to
                     explore!

                   Katie, I loved getting to catch up with you! We could definitely be roommates. 

                

                  Getting to Virginia meant something great other than finishing the trip: spending time with my lovely sister and her family! My siblings are ALL OVER the country: Chicago, D.C., Atlanta, and then there's me - the wanderer. Spending time with them is precious, and I got to spend almost two weeks with my sister. She and her husband Erik could be famous with all their beauty and cool, and their kids are my favorites. 

        We spent two days at Disneyland, which was both EXHAUSTING (and the kids weren't even mine) and FUN. Have you ever seen children beam at Disney princesses? I'm not all that Disney crazy (Scott finds it hard to understand), and don't particularly love the princess THING, but I can't say I didn't tear up a little. It's precious.
         If you haven't had a chance to go to Cars Land I could recommend spending part of your child's college savings to go (Disnleyland is so expensive!!). Having never seen the movie, and again not being THAT into Disney, I was kind of whatever about getting into the park early to go. It turns out, it is really cool! As I told my friend Sarah later, "I was just in the desert, and it was like I was there again!"

Then we hung out on my dad's boat for a day. How beautiful are they, really?

Then Elisa, Erik and the kids left, and Scott and I were free to work on Betty for our next leg. Now we are (finally) leaving Orange County with a new back to the bench seat, and all new storage for our things. Betty looks great, and though I have enjoyed being at my parents more than I expected, I am so ready to get back on some rock, and back in some forest.

See you again in a month.