“you are loved”, “life is a journey”, and “bitch”

July 16: In the line for Radiator Springs Racers, there is a small house made to look like it was made out of old glass oil bottles and cement. In the dark, people used the light from their cellphones to light up bottles for the kids on the other side of the wall so that they could chase the lights like lightning bugs.

July 17: 1.7 million people have stated they they are going to raid Area 51on September 20, 2019 at three in the morning. They figure that they can’t possibly stop all of them. And if they Naruto run, they can dodge any bullets that come flying at them. They want to see aliens.

July 18: There was a group dog middle aged couples hanging around the bar, killing time until their lunch at the Del Mar Race Track. The women all wore engagement rings with diamonds so big that they looked like they had won the Super Bowl.

July 19: The possible move to Oregon is being taken very seriously. Emily, Jordan, and Nick have been looking at houses for sale and comparing them. They seem to lean towards ones with front porches that are surrounded by trees. They also seem to favor houses that are also within our price ranges, a feat not possible in the areas we currently live.

July 20: The Marriott sells wood sticks so that guests can roast marshmallows over their gas fireplaces. But it was hard to get the perfect, golden marshmallow without hot embers and we all ended up eating s’more with either Luke-warm marshmallows or lumps of coal. Everyone ended up cutting off bite-sized chunks of the steak leftover from lunch and reheating them on sticks over the fire. Angi even lumped a mound of rice on two sticks and cook it as a side dish.

July 21: One booth at the Sawdust Festival sold personalized necklaces with hidden messages. The pendant was mad of two wok-shaped pieces that fit together like a clam. The one in front could be decorated with imprints of stars, daisies, or paw prints. The inside of the back one could have messages printed inside. The pre-made messages included “You are loved”, “Life is a journey”, and “Bitch”.

July 22: Dad’s noir book not only got accepted by a publisher, but they also want to be a series. Nora’s rump is going to be famous.

July 23: Sometimes I forget that I live somewhere that people from all over the world come to for vacation. It still blows my mind how many people in the world have never seen the ocean. Lexi, Zoey, and Mitchell have spent their lives swimming in pools and lakes. They seem very wary of waves and are afraid to dive under the ones that come crashing down on them and they end up being swept and tumbled away onto the sand again. They opt for digging for sand crabs, burying each other, and splashing Mitchell while they stand knee-deep in the brine.

July 24: We spent the day at Redondo Beach, which was the favorite beach of Mara’s dad. We taught Mara’s kids how to rip apart crabs with their bare hands and gave them a taste of the sea urchin mom got that was so fresh its spines were still waving slowly in the air. The water was filthy. It was full of trash and left all of our swimsuits filled with black bits of tar. Even then, the kids refused to leave the water. Summer decided that her mermaid name was Mermalina and she kept begging for me to let her swim on her own. As soon as I let her go, a wave would come and wash over her. She would bob back to the surface, her eyes squeezed shut to keep out the sea water. She would blow out the water from her mouth like a whale breaching and tell me to grab her again. As soon as I had her, she wiped her eyes and wiggled to get free from me again.





much love,
hedgie