Last Month & A Half Summary

I am going to be writing three posts over the next couple of days and all will summarize the last month and a half. We've had a busy and enjoyable month and I am looking forward to sharing news, stories and pictures with you.

Well, in my last post I had mentioned that John was laid off. He is still without a job but we are still enjoying the benefits of unemployment. John really is less stressed. I can honestly say that I don't remember a time in our relationship where he was more relaxed. He's noticed it as well.

In addition to that, God prompted us to start cleaning up our finances and paying down debt a couple of years ago. So this interruption in pay hasn't been as painful as it would have been if we hadn't listened. Every time, I sit down to pay the bills I am continually amazed and grateful for His provision and perfect timing in prompting us. By the way, I am spending much less time paying bills which is a great feeling.

Anyway, slightly off track...John's taken this time off to study for a professional certification he's been talking about for years. He started studying for his Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) about two weeks after he was laid off. He studied a lot and worked hard. The exam in Seattle was full so we looked for somewhere close to travel to and take it. San Diego on July 13 was the closest and soonest he could find.

So we decided to make it a long weekend and both travel there. We like the San Diego area but neither of us had gone to California to just visit San Diego. Let's just say it was a blast. We arrived on Friday morning and John's exam wasn't until Monday morning. So we explored...I realized something about the two of us that trip. We are not really the "go-and-sit-on-a-beach-and-veg-out" type traveler. We like to explore especially areas we haven't been to much.

The first day we went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park (sister to the Zoo). It was in the low 90s and very sunny. We enjoyed seeing all the different animals...a lot with little ones and tried to stay cool. They have these cool water misters in the park that helped a lot. We still had to go to the hotel and take cold showers to help cool off and become un-sticky!

The next day we drove up the Southern California coast for a while. We stopped in La Jolla and enjoyed the wonderful park they have there. When we go back, we'll definitely spend a day there snorkeling. They have an artificial reef that has attracted a lot of great underwater plants and animals. We went up to a large outlet mall in Carlsbad and I got to do some maternity clothes shopping while I was there. We turned around slowly and let's just say the beaches were full the entire way back to San Diego. It was hot so it doesn't surprise me that they would flock to the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

Sunday, we spent the day in Coronado. It was beautiful there and the Hotel Del Coronado was majestic. It was fun to walk around the resort and learn about it's history. It was another beautiful day and lots of people were on the beaches. We walked around town looking at shops and eating some ice cream to cool off before we headed back to the hotel. We finished the day back at the hotel with me taking a nap and John studying.

The next day wasn't so exciting. It was just John taking his exam and us getting ready to go home. I realized something else...if I am having fun on a trip, I don't miss home. I didn't miss home until Monday, the day we were coming home. Let's just say I was thrilled to be at home by the time hit my pillow on Monday night at 11:30 p.m.

And we had another trip in less than three days...