Memorial Day Weekend

Friday:
It was the typical errands around town with my mom and getting packed up for the weekend! I did have a nice lunch with my mom and we looked around at a couple boutiques at The Marketplace. It was actually really chilly out, which I was not expecting for May here. I guess I better take advantage of it while it's here. Oh, yeah and Joe Davola of One Tree Hill followed me on Twitter! :D

Saturday:

It was not a typical Saturday, that's for sure! There was a lot more running around and errands to run than usual. We had lunch, recycled our cans and bottles that we collect, went to Target and Wal-Mart...but by that time I had kind of had enough, so I came home and watched The Vampire Diaries. Season 2 is getting SO GOOD! My parents had another errand to run and when they got back we went to dinner with my grandparents at one of our favorite bbq restaurants. It was really good getting to see them and catch up! After dinner, we went to their house to visit for awhile! When we got there, the sun was setting and had this beautiful orange colored glow; It was a gorgeous view from their house. You could see practically the entire city and the mountains all around! We had pie and talked about the latest news, then decided to call it a night since I had to get up early the next morning.

Sunday:
It was a super long day, but totally worth it. I got up at 6:30 to get ready, went to Starbucks and got to church for soundcheck. We ran through the songs and it actually went a lot better than I was expecting it to. I'm not sure that I exactly had the parts down, but I did the best I could. The first service went pretty good, but it always has kinks to work out, of course. We're all still waking up and trying to find everything just so. Backstage, you hear some of the most interesting stories, I tell ya...Pop culture references, TV show discussions, who knows who, etc. I find out about a lot of stuff that I need to check into and being into entertainment I'm all for it. The service was just what I needed to hear with knowing that God can change me and those bad habits that I need to break. If I have faith in Him and keep fighting, I can get past it. In between the 2nd and 3rd service I had plenty of time to kill, so I hung out with my parents until they left. I ended up talking to a new lady I'd never met before and she was incredibly sweet, unfortunately I had to leave a little earlier because I had to get back on stage. After the last service, I hurried home and finished packing last minute things for the beach and off we went. About 15 minutes later, I realized I'd forgotten my phone. I told my dad it was fine, I didn't need it, but he turned around and went back anyway.

Finally, after a couple hours, we got to Pismo Beach. The weather could not have been better; it was in the 70s, sunshine and quite a breeze. We freshened up in the room, then went to one of the famous restaurants in town, McKlintock's for dinner. It's an old Western saloon type place that we used to go to all the time, when I was younger, with my grandma. It brought back a lot of good memories of her, and I guess the beach in general always does that. Makes me wish that she were still here, though. It has such a fun atmosphere. There was a clear view of the ocean, which was pretty breathtaking, shining in all its glory. The service was a little slower than usual, but we kept ourselves entertained by listening to the country music that was being played overhead and talking about plans for Nashville, etc. I had salmon, broccoli and macaroni and cheese! It was all SO good. When we finished, we decided to take pictures outside, because they have such cool scenery. We explored for a little bit in the garden area that was decorated with a south western vibe, license plates and flowers. Well, I was walking across a wooden plank just talking to my dad, when I looked down and saw this little lizard! I just froze. At first, I thought it was fake. It was this strange blackish color that I'd never seen before. It immediately gave me the heebie jeebies, and I wasn't quite sure what to do, so I hurried down the steps that were close by. I was about to walk off, when I saw another one sitting on the edge. My mom was closest to it, so I just pointed, completely freaked out. After that, I was like we have to get out of here. We basically ran to the car! LOL. It was so funny looking back. Good times, good times. And no, sorry, I didn't get a picture of that! HAHA.

our room

(more pics to come)

We decided to go to the outlets that were close by and looked around for awhile. We didn't go in that many stores because they were getting ready to close, but I found the coolest sweatshirt, so I was happy with that! We ran back to our room to grab some warm clothes and went down to the beach to walk along the pier. It was gorgeous out, but I had no idea it was going to be THAT cold. I had a sweatshirt on and a jacket and was still shaking. We were out there for a little while, watching the sea otters and taking in the ocean air. It's something about being close to the ocean that opens my eyes and heart to God and all that He has in store. When you see something as great and powerful and wide as the ocean, you can't help but compare that to the love of God. He's truly incredible. It finally got too cold to hang out so close to the water, so we decided to walk around to some of the stores. We went to the candy shop and hit a few other stores. It reminds me of small town life. There's basically only one main street in Pismo and it was happening with people. During the middle of summer it will be packed!

I wasn't quite ready to turn in for the night, so we went driving around for a little while, listening to music. There were so many cute, little shops decorated with bright lights. It was adorable! We even stumbled upon the side of the beach where you can drive your car onto the beach! There were quite a few people out there with bonfires. It looked like so much fun. And also reminded me of the episode of One Tree Hill where they have their summer bash on the beach! Great episode.
We came back to the room and I decided to read a little of The Notebook, while watching a Memorial day special and listening to my dad snoring, then hit the hay.

Monday:
I woke up this morning and wasn't in the mood for a whole lot to be honest. I was feeling annoyed and irritated, but didn't want the rest of my day to go that way, so I quickly tried to turn it around.

We got around and checked out of the hotel, then decided to have breakfast at this cute little place called The Apple Farm. It looks like a country/bed and breakfast inn. They have really good food and it's a charming area. We looked around at the store for a bit while we waited for them to call our names. We finally sat down to eat and all ended up ordering Omelette's, which were really good! Our table discussion somehow ended up on the topic of the best selling album of all time, so I was googling that, making my parents guess the top 5! LOL. Oh, the things we do for entertainment. As we were leaving the restaurant, we ended up going through "college town" as it's better known. There's this famous thing called gum alley. Over the past however many years, people leave their gum all along this wall and the two side of the alley are now covered. I know it doesn't sound that exciting, but with a lot of people, it's a tradition. I have no idea how it got started. I'd never been down there, so we decided to take a little detour. We ended up spending close to a couple hours down there, exploring. It was such a beautiful day out! There were so many little shops with vintage clothes and designer duds. There were so many interesting people and things to see as we walked around. It's the kind of place I would love to just sit and observe people. You know as much as I love LA and its beaches, it was really nice to get away from that for a change and just do something a little different than we have been recently. There's a small town/country feel to Pismo/San Luis and it was getting me excited for Nashville.

We made our way back to the beach and it was packed, of course, with the three day weekend going on! We walked along the sand and it was so nice. There's something so calming about the ocean that takes your mind off of whatever you've been worried about; it's inspiring. If I lived there, I would definitely be down at the beach every morning with my journal and Coffee Bean in hand. I could sit there for hours and just enjoy the view! I mean, how could you not? After spending about an hour or so there, we grabbed some more candy and stopped at Coffee bean, then came home.
The drive home is so peaceful! It's mainly country side with wide open spaces, trees and mountains. There are some vineyards along the way and when the sun is shining, it makes for some great picture opportunities. I fell asleep for awhile! When I woke up, I decided to read some of The Notebook and just listened to the radio. I felt so refreshed. This weekend was really just what we all needed; a little break from all the craziness of the daily routines, Dodger games and before the week in Nashville. It was a fun and relaxing time :) I can't wait to go back in July to spend more time at the beach!

The rest of the night I spent getting things together for Nashville, relaxing on the couch, watching The Bachelor and eating dinner! It has been a great weekend and now it's time to start preparing for the next. If there were any doubts as to whether I was a "beach girl", there's definitely not anymore. It feels so safe and I hope to live somewhere close to it someday. It inspires me and just clears my mind of all the clutter I sometimes let in. It's the perfect place to get away.

Most importantly, thank you to all of those who serve our country and have made it the safe and wonderful place it is today. Thank you will never be enough, but it's all we have. We truly appreciate you and the sacrifices you've made so that we can be free! Happy Memorial Day!

That's all for now,
Shelby

More pictures to come!!