california through photos

Late Monday night, I got home from a weekend trip with my parents to visit my uncle (my mom's brother). He has had some health issues, and I hadn't seen him since his last trip to Nebraska over Christmas 2013, so it was great to see him again! Here's a glimpse at our trip through photos ...

Friday
We left around 9:30 on Friday morning. Fortunately, we had time built into our schedule, as we encountered an unexpected detour. We still arrived in plenty of time.

On the shuttle to the airport. I forgot to alert Dad that we were taking a picture.

We ran into some of Steph's friends at the airport, and they ended up sitting right behind us on our Southwest flight to Vegas. Please excuse my wild selfie eyes.

As we neared Vegas, I couldn't help but take picture after picture after picture of the topography. So pretty, and these pics don't do it justice.

From my previous visit to the Las Vegas airport, I knew there would be a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, so we had to get hot drinks. I had hot tea, as I wasn't sure how my system would react to coffee after being on the AIP diet for eight weeks.

And then the fun part ... our first celebrity sighting! After boarding the flight from Vegas to Burbank, we got all settled, I turned off my phone (which was dying--my battery has the shortest life), and I looked up to see Nick Carter searching for a place to put his carry on. In case you've been living under a rock (or you weren't a teenage girl in the 90's), Nick Carter is a member of the Backstreet Boys and a current contestant on Dancing with the Stars. His partner, Sharna, was also on the flight. He ended up sitting about three rows behind us. Absolutely no one even let on that they knew who he was, and I played it cool, too ... until we landed and went to baggage claim. Mom noticed a man holding a sign that said "N. Carter" and told me to get a picture. So I did--not of the sign but of N. Carter himself.

Unfortunately, the picture was blurry, and there wasn't time to snap another. But I swear that this is Nick Carter!

Our friends Lee & Jean picked us up at the airport. Our first stop? In-N-Out, where I had my first fries in two months. And one very sorry "protein style" burger.

Saturday
California is beautiful. I know that's general knowledge, but it's different when you're experiencing it for yourself! The weather was so fantastic--and there were practically no bugs! We spent most of our morning relaxing--and I spent a considerable amount of time in Lee & Jean's backyard.

Mom wanted to get a new Facebook cover photo. I think this one will do nicely.

My uncle is very protective of his privacy, so I cropped him out of the photos, but you can see that Mom and I enjoyed being with him! We spent much of the day at the assisted living place where he lives.

Back at Lee & Jean's, we started to watch the Husker game, but then it was supper time, so we went to Souplantation, where I neglected to take any photos. The food was good, though :-)

Glad the game is on ESPN so I can still watch my #Huskers from California! #gbr

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 7, 2015 at 4:25pm PST

After supper, we went to Walmart to get some things for my uncle. I'd been following the game on my phone, and, as we were standing in the checkout, I saw that we were up by one with 17 seconds left. I began obsessively hitting "refresh" on my Twitter feed ... and when I saw that we won, I yelled. In the checkout. The Californians though I was nuts.

Sunday
We went to Lee & Jean's church on Sunday, and it was so nice to finally meet the people who were so helpful when my uncle had his health crisis. It was also, once again, nice outside ... so we walked home from church.

Family selfie walking home from church. #myselfiegameisweak

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 8, 2015 at 11:05am PST

While the others went to pick up my uncle for lunch, Mom and I relaxed in the back yard.

Backyard reading before lunch. Wish I could take this weather home with me! #vacation #amreading #californiaisbeautiful

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 8, 2015 at 12:31pm PST

We had a wonderful time eating (outside!) and visiting with my uncle and Lee & Jean. Then Mom and I spent time with my uncle in his room.

While my uncle went to supper, Mom and I waited on a bench in the hallway. One cute little lady was so concerned about us because there was a fan on, and surely we were cold. I wasn't at all :-)

Monday

On Monday, it was time to head home. Pretty uneventful, except that we did have another celebrity sighting (though celeb might be pushing it a bit). "It's that guy from Spin City!" I exclaimed to Mom. No, not Michael J. Fox. Richard Kind. So not too exciting, but still fun to spot an actor.

We had a very long layover in Denver, and we ended up eating at McDonald's for lunch--because it was the ONLY fast food we spotted, and no way was Dad going to pay for a sit down meal. But then we found this, and all was right in the world.

Dear Denver Airport: Thank you for having a Coffee Bean. It almost makes up for your woeful lack of fast food options. McDonald's is not my idea of a good lunch. #coffeelover

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 9, 2015 at 12:48pm PST

This time, I took a chance on a latte made with coconut almond milk, and it tasted so good! Also, my body didn't rebel, which I appreciated.

A short flight to Omaha, supper with Blendy, and we headed home. I was greeted by these goobers, who didn't seem too excited to see me at first but have been very clingy in the last two days.

You'd think I'd been gone for a month instead of 3 days. It's good to be missed 😻 #catsofinstagram #Isisthecat #Skaara #Hammond

A photo posted by Becky Ritta (@beckyritta) on Nov 10, 2015 at 5:21pm PST

Overall, it was a fantastic trip, and I'm very grateful that I was able to go along with my parents. Also, I somehow managed to lose a pound--maybe I should disregard my diet more often!

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in other long-forgotten band news ...

Continuing on my theme of "bands that made me happy back in the day," I have some sad news: the lead singer of LFO passed away recently. Who's LFO, you ask? The Lyght Funkie Ones are best known for their summer hit "Summer Girls" (If you listened to radio in the late 90's, you probably know it: "New Kids On The block had a bunch of hits, Chinese food makes me sick. And I think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer, for the summer ... "), but I remember them for a song that came out a few years later: "Every Other Time."

The one and only time I got pulled over, that song was on the radio. It was my "happy song" of the semester--the song I got ridiculously excited about and sang at the top of my lungs each time it came on the radio. I had just left my night class--American History I, a dreadfully boring class that met on both Tuesday and Thursday evenings. On the outskirts of Grand Island, "Every Other Time" came on. A burst of energy poured through me, and I "danced" and sang along. Then I saw the flashing red lights. Suddenly, "Every Other Time" wasn't so fun. I looked at my speedometer. 63. "Is he really pulling me over for going three over?" I asked the air. Trembling, I pulled over and began digging for my license. "License and registration, please," the officer said after I rolled down my window. Frantically, I pawed through the glove box. I couldn't find the registration anywhere. "I'm sorry; this is my dad's car," I murmured as I continued emptying the contents of the glove box onto the passenger seat. "I think it's right there," he said, using his flashlight to point at one of those nifty registration & insurance holders, which was on top of the pile. I sheepishly handed him the registration. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" he asked. I shook my head, remembering that someone once said you should never admit to speeding. "Your left taillight is broken. I'm giving you a fix-it ticket." Still shaking, I thanked him, took the ticket, and drove away. I'm grateful to have that be my only run-in with the law!

Despite the reminder of being pulled over, "Every Other Time" continued to be "my" song ... well, mine and my best friend Dorinda's. When I was away at college, she even sent me a mix cd which included this song, along with a dolphin greeting card--because of the lyric, "Sometimes we swim around like two dolphins in the ocean of our hearts." Ahhh, the memories! To this day, I listen to it every time it comes up on my ipod.

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