So Dave (and my family) once again surprised me beautifully on our 20th by taking me to Cabins and Candlelight in IN. It was so romantic, secluded, and fun!
But it wasn't quite enough, we decided.
When Dave found out about the national nursing home convention being held in San Diego, he successfully pursued attending and me tagging along. Once again, we called on our dedicated family (and some friends) to care for those left at home while we were gone.
God blessed this trip beyond our wildest expectations!
Leaving kids in various places, we flew out on Saturday morning, arriving in San Diego by suppertime. Dave skillfully got us to our amazing downtown hotel and into our room (easier said than
done and I was no help!). Then we walked to a bayside restaurant and started our nightly tradition of eating our supper outdoors in the lovely, balmy weather. The sun was setting as we ate this night.
Sunday morning we had the privilege of eating breakfast with Doug and Janelle and then going to church together. We had to leave at noon to get Dave to his conference for the afternoon.
We were able to spend some time Monday going out to Point Loma/Cabrillo National Monument. The weather was gorgeous! That, along with the scenic coast and being together, refreshed us thoroughly!
Above is the view from where we ate what's pictured below.. fresh catch of the day on a bed of greens. All the food we ate all week was so fresh and so tasty! I'm hungry just thinking about it! And because of all the seafood, Dave always had something yummy to eat. :)
After supper, we sat and rested and chatted on Sunset Cliffs while we watched the west coast sunset until it was gone.
This was the view from my 18th floor motel room window. The water sparkled all day and cheered me up just to look at it! I spent my time unclogging my brain and recollecting my thoughts from 1-2 years of constant change and life adjustments. It was a special, special time for me and God, my memory preservation and reading to-do list, too. :)
Our last day, we were able to spend some time on Coronado Island, walking the beach for miles, holding hands...
That evening we did something we'd never done before! We ate supper on Coronado Island with a couple we met on the airplane, believe it or not. It was so neat! I sat next to Lea for four hours as we crossed the US to the west coast, and I think we talked for three of those hours straight (Dave was in another row). Not even sure exactly how we started, but once we found out that we both are:
1) born again believers (I could tell they were at least religious by the books they were both reading)
2) homeschool moms
3) adoptive moms
4) married to administrators of nursing homes who were attending the same conference
5) nurses
6) staying at the same hotel out of about 15 choices,
we had no trouble talking and talking and talking. She was so special. We took a wonderful afternoon walk together during the week as well and then supper all four of us. A special touch to a special trip.
I missed everyone back home, yes! But considering the snowy pictures I was getting from central IL, it really was quite hard to leave the beauty of this city, the gorgeous weather, and this time God had given us for soul refreshment.
We surely needed it just to face our arrival back home and the few days following! Arriving back at the very remote O'Hare parking lot to find our van covered with ice and snow, in our little coats and loafers and bare hands, we were definitely brought back to earth very fast!
-Kara
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