Friday July 14
Friday morning we again made it to Disneyland and were all about meeting characters. Our first stop, just inside the gates, was Daisy Duck. Since it was early in the morning, Monki was asleep by the time we made it to the front of the line, but we’ll tell her she had a great time and all will be right in her world. Continue reading “And So It Ends – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Thursday July 13
Well… since yesterday was Monki’s birthday, it only follows that today was mine. The big 5-0. Half a century. Not a bad life so far.
There’s certainly something special about spending your birthday, any birthday, at Disneyland. If you let it be known it’s your birthday, everyone gives you well-wishes and makes you feel good. And for me, celebrating with my first child, it was pretty awesome. Continue reading “Happy 50th – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Wednesday July 12
Finally it was here! One year since our little Monki joined us. It was her birthday and she… well, she couldn’t care less. Pretty sure she had no idea but that didn’t stop us from getting ready to celebrate it. Continue reading “Monki’s Birthday – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Sunday-Monday July 9, 10
Sunday morning, bright and early, all of the out of towners showed up at mom and dad’s place for brunch and goodbyes. AAron and Troy were there along with Tom. Family and other friends came by as well and there was even a cupcake to celebrate Monki’s birthday (although according to Lithuanian tradition you don’t officially celebrate birthdays before the day because that is bad luck and takes time off the back end of your life). Continue reading “Back to LA, Back to France – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Saturday July 8
We all got up early and got ready for the main event, hitting the temple for the 10am services. The place was packed, full not only of all of mom’s friends and family (including Aunt Carla and Uncle Harvey and their daughter, my cousin Michelle. Aunt Bonnie with her daughter Annie (and Annie’s two kids), cousin’s Jerilyn and Thom Deane, Heidi and Troy Teadt, Dana Reznick Campbell and her kids Kym and Manny and Alivia, who is exactly one month older, but half the size of Monki – but was a perfect playmate!), but also the friends and family of the other three women. It was a delightful service (me and the family took a little part in it) and mom was great! Her speech took a jab at my bar mitzvah speech some 37 years ago, but that’s okay – if you can’t hang on to old family jokes, what’s the point, right? Continue reading “The Bat Mitzvah – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Wednesday-Friday July 5-7
The next three days were a blur of seeing friends and doing things around the house with the parents.
Wednesday, I got up early to go shopping with dad. We hit several different stores, including Walmart. I ended up getting a few more things than I originally intended to and got gently ribbed for it. I can’t help it! Continue reading “Visiting Friends – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Monday/Tuesday July 3 & 4
Monday morning and we had been “in country” for nearly a week. We woke up early (no jet lag excuse, just normally get up early) and got everything packed and ready to go. We had to “check out” of our Air B&B by 11am so the house was a flurry of activity as everyone grabbed all the stuff which had migrated everywhere and corralled it back into suitcases and backpacks. Continue reading “Baked and Stuffed Bears – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Saturday/Sunday July 1 & 2
Saturday was reserved for Sea World. Like the Zoo, we were again in a situation of several groups looking at different things. And since we were on baby schedule, no one wanted to stay with us for long (mom and dad stuck it out for a bit, but then they wanted to go see other things, too). Continue reading “Like a Fish Needs a Race Car – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Friday June 30
Friday morning was destined to be a travel day. First up was having breakfast in nearby Oceanside with an old friend, Mike Wallis. I first Mike some 25 years ago when he was my instructor at a comedy traffic school and we ended up having a discussion about Satanism…as you do. Back when I lived in LA, we were pretty tight but, as happens, we drifted away into our own things. We’d chatted a few times over the years, and even gotten together for a coffee or two when I was in town, but even then it had been several years since we’d seen each other. So he came down and we went up and we met for a nice breakfast at a place called Don’s Country Kitchen. Continue reading “Old Friends and Disneyland – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Thursday June 29
Thursday was again planned to be a family day. And again, due to jet lag, we were up early. Fortunately, mom and dad also got up early so we could spend some time with them. Faye, her boyfriend Matt and the three kids were all still sleeping, having stayed up late the night before so just the five of us headed out to grab a bite. Continue reading “Family: Food and Fun – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Wednesday June 28
We woke up bright and early – to be fair, we had no choice. Monki was up at 3:30 or so and that meant we were as well. When she fell back asleep we caught a few more minutes ourselves and then we were up and, with the whole family, ready to hit the day. This was going to be our first day of actual sight-seeing and we were doing it up right – hitting the world famous San Diego Zoo. Continue reading “Animals and Sunscreen – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Tuesday June 27
After the crazy adventure getting in, our first night was a wash. We ate, said hello, then quickly collapsed. Monki experienced jetlag and was up at 1:30am, ready for the day to start. We were kept active with her until 5:30 when we were finally able to get a couple more hours of sleep. Continue reading “Sun and Sand – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Sunday-Monday June 25-26
I’ve said it before, but traveling from Lithuania is not easy. At least not by plane. Very few places are accessible directly, and those that are, are usually through the low-cost airlines (let’s never forget Flights for 50p, shall we) and get you someplace near your destination (For example, going to Paris, Ryan and Wizz fly you to Beauvais, which is about an hour away). Anyway, for our flights to the US, where we are going to spend a week on vacation with family in San Diego then all head back to Vegas for mom’s Bat Mitzvah, we decided to do it in two jumps – Vilnius (not even from Kaunas, so that’s another hour added on to the journey) to Paris then Paris to LA. Continue reading “Coming to America – 2017 Summer Holiday”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 