It was well after midnight when we knocked on the door here at 288 Placer Drive in Goleta, California. There’s never been a year that my Uncle Woody didn’t hang Christmas lights for the holidays. There’s such a reassuring feeling every time I pull into the driveway; I think it’s because they’ve lived in a single house longer than anyone else I know. We chatted a bit and then headed to sleep because no matter when we laid down, we were going to be getting up for breakfast around 7:00. My aunt and uncle have their routines and no one is going to interfere with them.

This was the first time Jessica met my favorite great aunt and great uncle. As always, they put family on a pedestal and were thrilled to meet her. While Jessica never had the opportunity to meet any of her paternal grandparents on my side of the family, amazingly, she’s spending the first part of the day with her great-great-aunt and uncle.

After breakfast, it was off to the dog park and then some chatting before, all of a sudden it was lunchtime and time for us to start back down the coast before leaving California for Arizona.

As we were passing the Summerland area, it was obvious a low-tide event was occurring, so no matter that we had to move in the general direction of home, we were going to explore tide pools, and that was that.

Seeing an anemone or starfish is like admiring a sunrise over mountains or a sunset at the ocean. If you don’t stop to take in these sights, you are missing out on life.

Okay, that’s enough of the Pacific; we’ve got to get going.

Until we got to Hollywood for the briefest of stops to snap a photo of Jessica on Hollywood Boulevard and Gower Street, it didn’t matter whose star was on the sidewalk; what was important was that it was a star, and we could see the Hollywood sign behind my daughter. Maybe on a subsequent visit, we can spend more time exploring Los Angeles. BTW, if you think her gesture should be interpreted as, “What, do you just want me to stand right here?” that is exactly what she’s asking.