Over the Valentine’s Day weekend a group of us decided to go camping instead of wasting our time waiting in line for an open table at our favorite restaurant. We opted to visit the Joshua Tree National Park. This gave me an opportunity to use my tent. I bought this thing over 6 years ago and never had a chance to use it. It only cost me $20 at the time and I was wondering how that quality would hold up in the cold desert nights.
We arrived on Saturday afternoon and was immediately welcomed by our friends who had food ready for us to eat. Talk about getting the royal treatment. After the quick meal, we scoped out our site and I setup our make-shift shelter for the night. It was an easy setup and I was done withing 15 minutes.
The temperature dipped down to the low 30s when we hit the sack around 10:30PM. Thank goodness for the mummy sleeping bag we each had. It kept us warm the whole night. Only the part that was exposed suffered through the cold night which was mainly our nose.
In the morning, we indulged in more food. We practically ate all day and night. After breakfast, we ended up driving into the park and visit the Hidden Valley area for a quick hike to Barker Dam. There, we scaled rocks and boulders and witnessed a dried out dam. Saw lots of natural desert vegetation including the famous Joshua Trees of the area. After the hike we had a brief lunch and made our way to a beautiful look-out of the Joshua Tree valley. The temperature fell 11 degrees as we proceeded up. Snow lined the side of the road as we approach the look-out point. It was an amazing view, but the cold got the best of us so we quickly hauled ass out of there and back to our campsite.
Looking like it might rain, everybody opted to go home that night after a quick dinner and gathering around the camp fire. When that was said and done, we left around 8PM. I didn’t get back home till about 10:30. I was exhausted but was satisfied with the escape to nature. Can’t wait to camp again this year!
I can’t believe I’m on the half-way mark of my vacation. Can’t say they were dull. Spent the first day of my vacation in Sun City, Ca at our 4th Annual Christmas Party. We had lots of food to eat, had our gift exchange, played a home-made game by Sophorn, sang karaoke, and finished the night with a Trivia Pursuit game. The fun didn’t stop there. I delivered some gifts on Christmas Eve and went over to my sister’s for our annual tradition of opening gifts at midnight.
I received some great gifts this year! I received a set of Memory Foam Contour Pillows, which by the way eliminated all the shoulder pain I’ve been experiencing with my old pillow. I received a pair of Converse All-Star shoes, a GPS, and some motorcycle and car related toys. It’s amazing but I didn’t get any gift cards this year. I did however received alot of picture cards from friends.
Christmas day was spent with the parents eating Hot Pot and hanging out at Billy and Jen’s watching movies and eating at a buffet. The day after Christmas and the Wednesday afterwards was spent at the Harrah’s Casino in Rincon, San Diego. Played some poker and lost about $130. Still on that losing streak. Thanks Drew for setting all that up.
Here I am today with nothing to do. It’s a great feeling and I’m glad I do this every year. Gives me a chance to reflect the events of this year and usher in the new year. I’d have to say 2006 was one of the better years in my life. I became debt free, went to new places, continue to challenge myself at work, began investing, and just enjoyed life. There really isn’t anything else to complain about. Except maybe living on my own, but I have feeling I may be able to make that happen in the coming year or 2. Hope everyone have a safe and happy holiday. Let’s make this new year a good one too.
Poker, Special Event, Toys
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Aaron, Billy, Christmas, dinner, Fran, Harrah's Rincon, Jen, party, Peuv, Sophorn, Sun City
I would like to extend my congratulations to Aaron & Fran on a beautiful wedding ceremony and banquet. I was honored to be part of the small and intimate ceremony and enjoyed the food of the banquet while cruising the Orange County bay in a beautiful yaht. It was a perfect day all around with beautiful weather, good food, and even better company. I just want to thank them for sharing their special day with us.
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