Trip Satisfaction

There are trips and then, there are trips. I normally fall into that category of people who is more than happy to get home from a vacation. I usually get weary and just want my normal routine and my own bed. I had to take a trip in January that definitely fell into that category due to the nature of the trip (a death in the family) and the miserable weather that prohibited making the connections needed. Well, that episode came and went and I had the opportunity recently to go visit a friend in sunny southern California. Now, unless you've been living under a rock, you know how foul the weather has been in Oregon lately. I was soooo in. I made my plans to go for a week. It was a girl week all the way and it more than lived up to the hype. We went to Newport Beach, we shopped in Laguna and we spent the day at a day spa. Bliss! Not only were the slate of activities wonderful but, the weather totally cooperated. We had temps in the upper 70's or low 80's all week. Not to gloat but, that NEVER happens for me. I'm the person who shows up in L.A. during the rare cold snap. Not this time. It was perfect. But, it wasn't the places or the weather that made it a trip to remember. It was the people. This bunch of woman are so wonderful for their wealth of life experiences and their sheer exuberance for life. We talked until we couldn't and we laughed until we .... well, if you are over 55 you know what laughing too hard can lead to. I'll just be a little delicate and leave it at that. My main point though is ... I really could have stayed longer. I'm sorry to be disloyal Oregon but, it wasn't so fun to come back to driving rain and miserable temperatures. I was sad to leave the good friends and the fun times. So, I guess that makes for a very successful trip and I guess it was just the right length ... long enough to have so much fun and short enough to wish for more.