Another World

For four days, we mixed a few teenagers with technology and took them to Southern California to find ourselves in another world.

After picking up Brittany in Oakhurst, we headed to UCLA to get Sabrina from softball camp. That's when we got our first taste of modern day urban civilization. Using the GPS and our cell phones, we found Sabrina without a hitch on the second level of a parking structure at the huge campus.

Another cell phone call from Cindy's cousin Tota had us plugging Huntington Beach into the GPS instead of Santa Monica beach because there was a big surf competition there with a fair on the Boardwalk and all kinds of free goodies. The beach was crowded with 1000s of people and tents and boothes, a fashion shows and beach volleyball, and in one of those incredible small world stories, we walked down the stairs onto the esplanade and there was another of Cindy's cousins with her 2 little sisters. How does stuff like that happen? After visiting the booths, we sat with the multitudes on the beach while Brittany and Sabrina body surfed on the other side of the pier from the competition.Then we headed inland to Anaheim and our hotel. After some pool time, we got wired in: DVD on the TV, laptop with email, and cell phones for checking in with the rest of the world.

Everyone, but me stayed up late and slept late, so our day at Knott's Berry Farm started after noon, but the kids milked every last minute out of the day so we were there until closing time. They rode one scary ride after another as this photo album confirms. Being a total wuss when it comes to rides, I sat on benches and rock walls and took pictures. I can't imagine being upside down, plunging through space, or acceleratingly from 0-80 in 2 seconds. I'll take the carousel anytime . . . my favorite ride in a fun park.

After 4 days of urban sprawl and techno wonders, we headed back to the hills. Excuse the cliche, but we literarlly went from the frying pan into the fire as we drove directly into the smoke from a massive fire burning behind Mariposa.

More on that tomorrow.