Summer’s end has been the best part. After a summer of not doing a whole lot besides work, a lot of fun has been jammed into the past week and a half or so. I want to squeeze in as much as possible before I leave for Spain.
About a week and a half ago, I started to realize how quickly my departure date is approaching. I started to panic when I realized how long it'll be before I'm able to see some of my school friends again. So one night, I drove up to Santa Barbara to say hi and goodbye for now to some of my old housemates. I got there around 10 pm and left the next afternoon, but it was perfect. It was a blast laughing about old memories, telling stories, and getting caught up on Leah and Stacey's lives. Driving through Isla Vista and seeing our old house made me so nostalgic! It was weird to think that I couldn’t just go inside, go into my room and sit on my bed. It was odd to think that I couldn’t just walk two doors down and knock on Tyler’s door and say hi. None of that exists anymore, and it kind of blew my mind. Being there, reminiscing and catching up with Leah and Stacey, and sitting on our old couch in their new apartment made me realize how much I do miss Santa Barbara. It was an awesome visit.
Later that week, my brother Joey, his girlfriend, her sister and I all got to hang out. We’d been talking about doing this for so long, and it finally happened! Even though they all live about an hour away, the one night we spent there felt like a vacation. We went to this restaurant called Stacked where you can build your own burgers and sandwiches on this iPad app at every table. Totally awesome. After that, we went clubbing in LA., just about one year after they first took me. Dancing all night is one of my absolute favorite things to do, so it was of course a blast! The next morning, we went to Universal Studios. We hadn’t been in awhile, so we did a lot of stuff there for the first time. That new King Kong 3-D experience was incredible and unique. The Simpsons ride was really neat too.
The next day, I had my last day of work at Wild Rivers. My shift ended at 2:30, and not until 2:15 did it hit me that I might never be back to this place I’ve spent these past seven summers. I’ll always look back on Wild Rivers memories as good ones, and I feel lucky to have met all these people and to have made all these memories there. I’ve been really lucky to be able to come home to a job every summer.
The day after that was the last day of the fair. I’d say that working with my parents at the fair was the highlight of my summer. Like I mentioned in the post before, it’s just been awesome to be able to spend all that time with them before I don’t see them for a few months (until they come visit!). Plus, it was a great way to make some extra money when I wasn’t at Wild Rivers.
This past weekend has been a great one. Thursday morning, I flew up to the bay area to see Lauren, one of my best friends from school. I was only there for a little over 24 hours, but it was perfect and so beyond worth the trip. It felt so good to talk about everything we hadn’t talked about since school ended. Venting and talking to her about everything that we see eye-to-eye on was amazing. There’s so much we can talk about that makes me go “THANK YOU! Finally someone gets it!” It’s like free therapy. We walked the Golden Gate Bridge, I got to see where she works, and I got to hang out with her really sweet family. So Lauren, if you’re reading this, thanks for an awesome vacay!
I flew back into Long Beach on Friday morning, and then flew out of Orange County that night with my brothers to meet my parents in Vegas! My brothers got me some drinks on the plane, and then we made some drinks when we got to the room in Las Vegas. I hadn’t drunk (yes, I believe the past participle of “drink” is “drunk”) in awhile, so it was fun to get a little buzz going! So you know how the ads on the side of your Facebook profile are shockingly relevant to your life sometimes? One of the ads on the side of my profile said something about a gay club in Vegas that was 18+ on Fridays… perfecto! It was right on the strip at Planet Hollywood, close to our hotel. My brother Dustin was nice enough to take me, and nothing could’ve been more fun! I ended up meeting this nice guy who’d lived in Granada for a couple years when he was a kid. I only found that out because he said that he spoke Spanish and I asked how he learned Spanish. WHAT are the odds? My family and I spent Saturday at the pool and then went to the buffet at Paris for dinner. It was so good! I’ve finally tried crêpes, and they’re awesome.
Now, like I said, we’re on the way home from Vegas. I’ve got tonight, tomorrow, and then I’m off to España this Tuesday! I know I’m going to miss my family like crazy, but I’m going to really savor these memories with them and keep in mind that it’ll only be a few months before I see them. Other than a lot of packing and a little bit of last minute shopping, all I want to do in the next day or so is enjoy family time.
I honestly have no idea what to picture, think, or feel about the fact that I’m leaving in a couple days. I’m just bracing myself and getting ready to enjoy all of the unknown headed my way.
