California (and other places) Dreamin'

Ken is on his way to Kansas City, MO. I hope he has a safe flight. It's just a one day trip, so he'll be back tomorrow night, but it will be late and I'll be in bed already. As long as he gets home safe and sound, I'll be happy!

Yesterday I mentioned a character in a book always looking forward to what happens next. I wrote that it can be fun to plan for vacations, which of course made me start thinking about vacations! We only have one planned for now, a week in Florida. (We hope to meet Mr. Baker, who was kind enough to write to me and send pictures of the Alba Court Inn.) We also have a free week (we got it back when we bought another half a week a few years ago) in Cancun, and we're talking about maybe taking that week next year. I really loved Mexico when we were there in July, and I would love to spend a week there. But I think that one will have to wait.

I'm getting the urge for Vegas, too, but we'll hold off on that for now--maybe just spend a day up at Four Winds, have a nice dinner, play a little Blackjack. I'm eager to go to Vegas, though, because I really want to visit the Neon Graveyard. We've talked with our friends Kim and Steve about meeting up there for a long weekend, and they've also read about the Neon Graveyard and want to see it. Not sure that will happen next year, but you never know! I found a great Vegas blog: check out VegasRex. He's funny, and you can also tell that he loves his city.

But then there's a visit to Ken's mom in Missouri, and that will be priority. I haven't met Ken's stepsister yet, but we've all been corresponding, and I'm looking forward to meeting her and her family. The other priority (that seems to be three priorities now) is a visit to southern California to visit family and friends. Aunt Bea (yes, Ken actually has an Aunt Bea, and she's so sweet) isn't in the best of health, and we really want to get out there and see her, as well as Cousin Ros and her daughter. Then there are my nieces in San Diego (Heather has a new baby!), Ken's brother and nephew in SD, Kim and Steve in central California...so many people to see! Last night, we talked to one of Ken's good friends, Todd, who lives in San Francisco, and although we said we didn't think we'd be able to make it up to San Francisco to see him, he seemed to want to meet up with us somewhere in there and see us. It was great to talk to him--he's such a nice guy, and one of the most incredible guitarists I've ever heard. I hope we get to see him, and I think we will.

Speaking of Mexico, there was an interesting story on NPR today about people retiring to Mexico, places like San Miguel. Hm. I can see the lure of that, especially for retirees--your retirement dollars would certainly go further if you lived there, and I enjoyed our brief time there. There's also a certain romantic sound to, "Yes...I'm an expatriate." But I'm not sure I'd want to live down there all the time. We love our place here, and we've talked about how we'd like this to be our home base, no matter where we end up in the winter months.