I Believe In A Thing Called Love

I've had a busy last few weeks! Let's see, the last time I blogged, I left off with meeting Sean at the airport.

We spent Thursday and Friday nights in San Diego. Friday morning we ate at International House of Pancakes; I ordered the Eggs Benedict, Sean ordered Huevos Rancheros. (If memory serves...) On Saturday, we intended to drive from San Diego to San Jose. Before we left the motel we partook of the free continental breakfast, where I decided to give guava juice a try. I admit to being dubious about this guava juive business, but it was surprisingly good. It made me feel less guilty for eating a huge donut with sprinkles on it. (He had a croissant.)

That morning, we seemed to get an early enough start, but we kept pulling over. We investigated the (seemingly) brand new mall off of I-5 at Irvine. This gleaming outdoor mall also featured an assortment of fountains, which little kids were already splashing about in, even though it wasn't even noon. At my request, we checked out a pet shop where I saw the most adorable beagle and peek puppies. sigh!

As soon as we hit the city of Angels we hit some decidedly unangelic traffic. We crawled along in bumper to bumper traffic, slowly edging through the San Fernando Valley. When we saw the sign for the Grapevine, traffic teasingly sped up, only to disappoint us, once again, by slowing to an ant's pace. Sean, who was driving at this point, decided we should take this opportunity to exit and take 14, which goes through Palmdale and Lancaster. He had friends we wanted to introduce me to!

After enjoying some ice tea and cookies, we were on our way again. We refueled in Mojave and took 58 through Tehachapi, and eventually reconnected to I-5 again.

What could have been a long, grinding drive was nothing but fun. Sean and I were having a ball-- telling stories, making eachother laugh. We were basking in eachother's presence. I kept glancing down to look at my sparkling diamond engagement ring and smiling the biggest smile I've ever smiled in my entire life!

After one or two more sight-seeing detours, we finally rolled into San Jose. My dad finally met Sean and they really hit it off! There are so many great restaurants where we could have eaten, so much yummy food we could have filled our tummies with. So where did I take my fiance? Go on, ask!

I had to take him to Denny's! (shame!) It was the only place open at that hour. I actually drove to Japantown first, and Hukilau was the only place open, and only open for drinks at that. I drove us by IHOP which was also closed. Denny's was the only choice.

After a much earned night of sleep, we woke up and had breakfast. Sean got to experience the San Jose chill I like to gripe about. While I was getting dressed, Sean and my Dad were out in the "library" talking about different books they had both read. It was pretty cool!

Then we all piled into my dad's stationwagon and made the fifty mile drive down to Hollister, where my mom lives. She had made her famous dish, chicken marsala, along with string beans, and scalloped potatoes (from scratch!). My grandparents were also there.

Sean was a hit with everyone! They all loved him. My grandfather told him the story of the Miraculous Mincemeat Pie, as well as some stories about WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Everyone took a turn and told a few stories. Sean showed off his DVD that he made, as well as some gruesome footage of something called a camel spider.

My mom hadn't had time to make dessert, so Sean and I drove down to Nob Hill and bought Lemon Meringue Pie, as well as Black Forest Cake! yum!

We had to drive back before dark to San Jose. Sean and I had another drive ahead of us that very night. We drove from San Jose to a suburb of Sacramento. It was better to make the drive Sunday night rather than Monday morning. The 680/580/80 corridor is an absolute quagmire, as any commuter in this area will tell you.

Our hotel was a Best Western in Cameron Park. My fiance was particularly impressed that in each room there was a computer with (gasp!) free internet access! On Monday, I would meet Sean's son Collin for the very first time.

Monday morning came, and so did Collin! We took him to breakfast, then drove to the state capital for some fun. Although we did not see The Governator, we did go to a pretty cool mall, a kickass Asian grocery, and the Sacramento Zoo. We all got along really well and had a great time. The day was ended at Costco, then we drove Collin back home to the 'burbs. I just hope Collin liked me as much as I liked him!

That night, Sean and I made another drive. We stayed southbound on I-99 for hours. Poor Sean had to do all the driving that night because I was coming down with something. The original plan had been to drive straight through from Sacramento to Bakersfield. And we almost made it, too. We ended up spending the night in the small town of Tulare, an ag- town. When we drove by the fair grounds, there was a giant neon sign welcoming the International Agricultural Convention. Our little motel seemed to be very near to some very fragrant cows. Neither one of could have cared less, as we were both bone tired.

Tuesday morning, we were both so fatigued we could barely squeak out of our room by check out time, 11am. We ate at Ana's, a small Mexican cafe right across a dirt road from our motel. I had French Toast, and I think Sean had an omelette of some sort. (I could be wrong about that omelette. Huevos Rancheros? Steak and eggs? hmmm, this is what happens when you don't write things down right away.) Feeling guilty about making him do all the driving, I drove down to San Diego.

As we were coming down the Grapevine, into that other world known as the San Fernando Valley, and idea struck us. We took the 210 East and Sean called my grandma, asking her if she wanted to have lunch. Of course, she said yes, as she loves Sean more than she loves me! We went out to Jack's Salad Bowl on Whittier Blvd.

Unfortunately, we couldn't visit very long because we were determined not to get bogged down in the same traffic that we got stuck in when we had been northbound. Without much delay, we made it to San Diego, and then Chula Vista. Since I had an appointment to get my wedding gown altered on Thursday, not to mention Soviet Studies class, I would be driving back to San Jose the very next day.

But something happened when we were in the movie theatre in Mission Valley. I started to feel not so well. 'Oh no' I thought, 'do I have a fever?' By the time we got back to Sean's siter's house, I 'd curled up nearly in the fetal position.

So much for getting my wedding dress altered. Before Sean went to bed, he went out to his truck and dug around for something to help my pain and fever. Since I didn't want to keep my fiance up that night, I slept on the couch. Or tried to.

That's the thing about being sick in a house not your own. You don't know where anything is-- where are the extra blankets? By the time I was exhausted enough to sleep, I'd resorted to huddling beneath the couch cushions to keep me warm.

It wasn't a good sleep though. It was more of a half sleep. When Sean left for work at the crack of dawn, I was still in that half awake stage.

By mid morning, though, I'd moved back into the bedroom and promptly fell asleep. Until 4pm or so. My honey would call me every now and then, to make sure I was feeling better. I called my dad, who had yet to go back to work full time, and asked if he could cancel my appointment at David's Bridal. As soon as he heard my voice he said more than asked "You're sick, aren't you."

The one good thing about my being sick was that I got to stay on in Chula Vista for four more days. Thursday night we ate at a place called Delish Pizza. Friday night we went to Sycuan Casino and played Bingo. None of us won anything, but it was still a ton of fun! At one point, our group of four, including my future sister in law got separated.

Sean and I still had fun though. Even though we were wondering around aimlessly for awhile, we eventually gave up and decided to have dessert. Can you imagine? Cake and cookies at midnight! We went into a gift shop and I found a lucky horseshoe necklace! I'd been looking for one of those for ages, so Sean bought one for me, as well as a medicine wheel to hang off my rearview mirror. Even the ten minute wait for the keys to the jewelry display case didn't spoil our joyous mood.

As it lightly began to drizzle, we went to the patio and enjoyed hot cocoa (me) and coffee (Sean) at 1am. That's the thing about casinos-- reality and normality are suspended. All kinds of people roaming about, gambling, eating, and what not. Our reunited party finally made it home around 2:30am.

The next day, Saturday, was my last day in town. We saw "Sin City" during the matinee. Afterwards, we drove to Frank's house. Frank is an old friend of Sean's. He seemed super cool, he barbequed us dinner, which included steak, baked potato, and grilled corn (yum!). I also met his little, adorable daughter. Her first words to me were "Your hair is pink!" Afterwards, we played Scrabble.

Sunday morning came, and I was so sad to go home. It seemed like I'd just been reunited with my fiance. It felt like only a few days since he'd been back, rather than ten days. But at least we'd be back together again by Friday morning, when we would meet in Phoenix, Arizona.

(But right now I'm missing you so so much! Your absence physically pains me.) I love you!

~Your Tragedy, Tuyen