A Very Cali Thanksgiving

I am working like crazy at school to get ready for Thanksgiving. I have to teach on Monday and Tuesday of this week and then we get five days off and then we have three more weeks. So, I'm making sure that I have no work to do over the break. There will only be fun for those five days.

On Tuesday, when we get out at 4:10pm (which is early for us on a Tuesday), I'm driving down to Orange County with my friend. He was nice enough to invite me to have Thanksgiving with his family. The Celtics were nice enough to lose Game 7 of the NBA Finals, which meant that I lost a bet to him and have no choice. If the Celtics had won, he would have to come to Boston with me at some point. But, the Lakers won, so I have to go to Orange County. I can't say it's on the top of my list for places to visit, but my friend loooooves where he grew up, so it can't be that bad. And now that I look at the weather, I'm pretty pumped. So, Orange County (do not call it The OC, apparently) for Thanksgiving it is.

My Thanksgivings have always been cold (back East and Yosemite) or rainy (here in NorCal). I greatly miss the family time every Thanksgiving that I've been here. Even though I won't be with my family, it will be nice to go to someone's home. My friend is four years younger than me and most of his friends from growing up are in LA, so there will be lots of time with other people.

Aaaaaannnnndddd...I'm going to Disneyland!!!

Me: Are we going wake up early on Wednesday to get to Disneyland when it opens?

N: If you make me.

M: Done.

A few months ago, when we decided I'd be going for Thanksgiving, we started a list of things we'd do. It's almost entirely restaurants, which sums up my friend. But the reason we're driving is so we can bring our fixed gears! I am finally healthy enough to ride! I'm also excited to hit up the driving range that's in his neighborhood and the beach that is spitting distance away (literally). I cannot wait.

Oddly, it will be my second SoCal trip this month. Last weekend, I was in Joshua Tree with Bec. The weather was gorgeous and the scenery was so different than where we live. Oh, the wonder of California. Here are some pics.

Arch Rock

Bec's dreams come true when she spotted this tarantula.

It's a Joshua Tree! Oh how I love the yuccas.

Teachers love long weekends. Sorry, kids. We love you too. Mostly.

The Harmony Motel. This place was great. It's close to the main drag, so you can hear traffic the whole time, but we had a kitchen which made for lots of yummy meals.