Blogelemy: Thoughts on our California Vacation

A couple of weeks ago, we went on a great family vacation to California with my parents. We spent most of our time in San Diego going to Legoland, Sea World, The San Diego Zoo and the beach. We had a great time and I think that we have finally recovered from the little bit of jet lag that we had. You can see more about our vacation over at the family blog here or here. I don't intend on recaping every detail and every wonderful thing that happened during our time in California. I do want to reflect on a few things.

Early in our vacation we visited with some family members who I haven't seen in a few decades. The location was a ranch in the mountains. It was a blast for the kids to be able to see and feed the horses. It was also fun to be reaquainted with some long lost relatives. I'm pretty sure that without Facebook, this reunion wouldn't have happened. My mom was able to find some family members via Facebook and then schedule this gathering when we were in town.

Prior to our vacation we gave our 8 year-old son a camera on his birthday so that he could take pictures during our vacation. This ended up being a great thing for him to keep occupied with. I'm grateful that we live in a day and age where we don't have to have pictures developed to see what our son took a picture of. I can't get enough of the following picture taken at the previously mentioned family reunion. Keep in mind that his little point and shoot camera doesn't have a zoom, he had to get right into the face of the horse to get the shot he was looking for! I asked him if I could put this picture on my blog and he said that I would have to pay him $.01 first (no joke). I can't wait until I get paid for my pictures.

We stayed at two different hotels while we were in California. I learned that if you have little kids and you get the choice, choose the first floor. Young kids don't know how to walk silently. I didn't realize that you could get a phone call at 3 p.m. from the front desk asking you to keep it down because other guests are complaining. While at the same hotel, I was reading one of the Gideon Bibles that was left there and I was impressed by the story of the Gideon ministry. The next time you find yourself in a hotel, grab a Gideon Bible and read the preface which tells the Gideon story (read the Bible as well!). I am impressed by the passion that these men had to get the Word of God into the hands of as many people as possible. I was also impressed by the fact that they don't mention any one person by name. They credit the ministry to a movement that God inspired. Man didn't get the credit, God did! This picture was taken right outside the car as we were driving home from "In-N-Out Burger"

And finally, I took a self-imposed break from the online grid while I was away on vacation. It was refreshing to disconnect from Twitter and Facebook and I believe that it helped me actually be on vacation with my family. Plus, I don't think anyone missed me or my tweets. I definitely recommend that you unplug from the grid when you are vacation with your family.