Today we start the first day of August and our last little push to the Pacific Ocean, the wedding of a good friend and our turnaround for home. We’re off to an easy start, no running around, no pressure. The trailer park we are in wakes up slowly as Jack and I walk the grounds. By the time we get back from our 2 cups of coffee and stroll, the girls are also awake and playing outside. The weather is very pleasant and the grass here is like a soft carpet compared to that of Florida.
Everyone is due for a shower, so we take advantage of the real nice facilities. Genna has become “used” to the shower and even told Michelle that she was her umbrella :). When in an RV, many things play double duty … and since Jack doesn’t yet stand long enough for the shower, he’s been using the “tub”. He loves it! Cries when you take him out.
I think he likes the fact that he is up high and can command the entire room from his wash place.
We push west, with our final destination being Santa Monica for a couple of hours before we have to go to our 530P wedding. The drive is, as expected hectic … the smog in LA is thick and the girls keep asking why the city looks so cloudy … Traffic, as this is Saturday is no yet awful, but heavy. I think I lose a year of my life every time I drive around here … I am in constant fear of the person cutting me off (happens every 5 
miles), and am so frustrated that me signaling, is their cue to move forward and block my intended direction. We make Santa Monica by 1230P and park on the beach … for $35, yikes, more than many campgrounds. Parking is tight, so we maneuver around to ensure that we can get out later.
We have a great lunch at a Japanese restaurant, which everyone really enjoys and then we make our way back to Santa Monica pier for a “quick” visit. We do the customary; walk the pier, watch the buskers, enjoy a show from a trapeze school (which Kate desperately wants to attend) and buy stuff from the local vendors. As I walk a while further down the pier, I notice that Jack and I are alone … I turn back to see Michelle and the girls in front of a clown buying balloon animals … noooo! Too late, we are now committed to 3 balloon animals.
The “clown” (a description of his attire) is latino and speaks a little english … enough to ask the girls what they “want”. We end up with a butterfly, a large flower and a bee on a stick. Our “clown” isn’t the fastest balloon animal maker in the world (I wonder if there is a school for this? are they licensed balloon animal makers? Do they apprentice?) … the 3 “creations” takes about 30 minutes … I won’t wait and walk down the pier with Jack people watching.
We leave the pier, ride the carousel on the beach and head back to the RV. Before we get back to the RV (about a 1 mile walk), one of the “creations” suffers a catastrophic loss of air. Oh well, 1 down, 2 to go … one upset child. We don’t realize the time, and leave Santa Monica for the wedding at 4P … yikes … the wedding is 18 miles up the coast highway … and starts at 530P. 
If you have never driven the west coast highway (PCH), it is very pretty, has beautiful views of the ocean and is, in this section, crowded … we realize that we will not make the wedding with the 2+ hrs we had planned on to dress and get ready. While I wind my way up the coast, the girls get dressed.
We arrive at the wedding site, a beautiful ranch in a canyon … which is not really RV friendly. I curse a great deal, and finally make my way to a parking spot about a block from the event. It is now 510P, Kelly, Michelle and myself are still wearing our “beach” attire … oh oh … I have my suit in the outside 
storage, which I retrieve. Kelly gets dressed, the Michelle and lastly me :) … it is now 525P, we’re doing Ok, rushed … but still Ok. Oh yeah, did I mention the AC had cut out, since the generator had decided to overheat … not good! We all leave, a little hectic, a little sweaty … but looking good! We make it by 530P … too wait about 15 minute to be seated … the bride walked at 6P …
The wedding was great! Most important we got to see some great friends … Lia (the bride) had 
been our nanny for one summer when we only had Kate. She’s also the daughter of a very dear friend, so it was great to be here with them. It was also great to see Robin and his wife, as they had travelled from the UK for the event. Lia looked wonderful, the setting (outside) was perfect and the ceremony very nice. The girls and Jack did great throughout the ceremony, not complaining and being very well behaved.
Everyone loved the “party” afterwards … we had a great meal and then went on to the dancing. It was interesting to watch Kate, as she and Jaci stood the side, watching “old people” dance. They didn’t know whether to get in there, or just to watch in amazement, that we could actually move that way. A little prodding and both got on the dance floor. 
Kate showcasing her moves and Jaci keeping up right along … a couple of people came over and asked Kate if she danced “professionally” to which she proudly answered yes! They even worked up the nerve to request the “Cha Cha Slide” and lead the group. It was a great and memorable party. The girls all got to try champagne.
The nice thing about the RV, was that the little ones could retire early … by 10P, Kelly had gone back with Genna and Jack … while kate and Jaci lasted through the end. We said our good byes, wished the new couple a great honeymoon and headed back to the RV and our drive back to the trailer park. Now, you’d think that at midnight the traffic would be a little less … think again … took us 1.5hrs to get back to San Dimas and our parking spot … within 10 minutes of leaving all the kids where sleeping… within another 15 … I was the only one awake.
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