It's finally.....

....almost time. On Saturday morning at 3 a.m. Jenn & I will be hitting the road for the Toronto airport, en route to San Francisco. We have been planning this trip since last year. We've been counting down to it for months. I saved up for what seemed like an eternity. I had to sacrifice countless McDonald's breakfasts and cable payments in order to be able to do this.

And it's finally (almost) here.

Now, I don't leave the confines of my small town very often. It's a big daytrip for us if we leave the county and visit a neighbouring community. And don't get me started on our weekend trips to Ottawa. Those require weeks of meticulous planning, days of packing, hours of laundry, 4 checklists, countless pre-coordination emails, and about 3 suitcases too many. So this is a big deal. I know Jenn will miss her hubby, and her boy, and her adorable baby. And her new, gorgeous house. And of course, being so far from home, I'll miss the boy. And I will miss my 4 little doggie bums. I will miss coming home and changing into a ball cap and ill-fitting sweatpants. I will miss the lower standards for what is acceptable to wear in public. I will miss the small town mentality. And simple life. But that's about it. But I think I will somehow manage to make it through a week filled with water, and surfing and sightseeing and beaches and relxation and roadtrips and waking up with absolutely nothing to do. So for 7 days, I will manage. Then I will return to the safety of my job and my little house and my never-ending battle with tufts of dog hair.

But until then....I am ridiculously excited.

We are going to visit Alcatraz within a couple hours of landing.



I've never been to Alcatraz so I'm looking forward to doing the tour.

We are also going to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I went last year, alone, and I could have spent the entire day there. So it'll be nice to share the experience with someone else.



Even if that person hates me by the end of the day because I've forced them to watch penguins for hours upon hours. Or if I've driven them to insanity by endlessly cooing over stingrays.

We are going to take a road trip along "The 1" towards Big Sur.



It's probably one of the nicest drives I've ever taken in my life. We will probably stop at Nepenthe, an incredible restaurant in the middle of the forest, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, perfect for whale watching....and patio drinking.



I'm sure my brother won't mind driving his inhebriated big sister up and down the coast.

I'm going to take Jenn to my favourite beach in Carmel.



I'm going to go surfing again. I wish I could tell you this is a shot of myself, my sister-in-law and Jenn. But.....oh! Yes, look-ey here, you're right. It is.



I'll get to see my brother & sister-in-law again for the first time in over a year.



And my doggie nephew. Abner.



And my new doggie niece, Tilly, whom I've never met. I'll also get to see their new home.

And between now and our flight out on Saturday morning, I will try hard not to think about my fear of flying. And I will wrack my brain to come up with a clever and witty blog entry before I go. This way, if my plane goes down, just like I am sure it is on the verge of doing every single time I fly, then I will be satisfied knowing I have left a humourous and entertaining last entry.

No pressure.