Mother Nature sure has a sense of humor. We’ve had all sorts of weather on this trip so far, from snow & hail in Oregon to flash floods in Hawaii, but the last week has sure been different. The warm weather that was predicted turned out to be super-hot weather. The highest temperature we noticed on our drive down was 108, with 90 being about the lowest (in the shade). Because it was so hot out, we didn’t make many stops like we’d planned, so we ended up getting to Adam’s in 2 rather than 3 days. We stopped in Rice Hill, Oregon for ice cream (a Royer tradition—there’s a small shack 100 miles south of Salem that sells cheap & huge ice cream cones that are super yummy, so we stop pretty much every time we’ve driven by). Then we went to Lithia Park in Ashland so Joshua could play at the park where I have fond memories playing. It was a shorter stop that I’d hoped because it was 96 degrees & we were wearing long pants & long-sleeved shirts. But Joshua still had fun running around & playing with all the sticks he could find. On the 2nd morning, we stopped in Stockton at a children’s museum where we met up with Judith, our good friend. Judith & I got to catch up while we watched Joshua play. It would’ve been fun for all of us if we couldn’t spent the whole day there, but we had to cut things short to continue on our drive south so that we could make it to Adam’s before it got too late. We made one more stop for gas & lunch at In & Out Burger (yum!), but otherwise just drove the whole rest of the way. We were welcomed to LA by the wonderful stop & go traffic on the 405 (Friday evening rush-hour traffic, no less!). But thankfully they keep expanding their carpool lane so it wasn’t as bad as it has been in the past. There was still some daylight left when we pulled up to Adam’s place so we got to visit for awhile before settling in for the night.

The next few days were totally hot & a shock to our bodies that had gotten used to the chilly weather in the Northwest (exacerbated by the fact that Adam’s place doesn’t have a/c). Joshua & I got together with my best friends Iris & Winnie in LA (& their respective boyfriend & hubby). It was nice to see Winnie’s expanding belly as she’s due to become a mommy in a few months. Winnie & Mike babysat Joshua while I got my hair chopped (finally!). They did a great job & Joshua didn’t even destroy their condo (although he tried his best, I’m sure). He gave them a glimpse of what they have to look forward to in a couple of years, for better or worse. Fortunately for them, Josh kept his diaper clean until I arrived!

On Monday, Dad, Joshua, & I went to the Discover Science Center in Santa Ana. Their website said they have activities for kids of all ages, but it’s mainly for kids in elementary-junior high. It was still neat & Joshua had a good time running around at the dinosaur exhibit & playing with a computer. He got his first nosebleed, which didn’t bother him in the slightest. I suppose he takes after his mother, since I used to get them almost every time I’d go to Santa Ana to visit my relatives (it’s sort of ironic that we were actually in Santa Ana when I noticed it). That night, the 3 of us went to a park near Adam’s place & Joshua got to play in sand for the first time ever (he never really wanted to even walk on it at the beach in Hawaii & would put everything in his mouth last summer, so we never bothered introducing it to him in the past). He had a good time walking on the funny surface & playing with it (especially with his sticks), but then our park visit ended abruptly when he threw a huge tantrum after I took a stick away (in fairness to his mean mom, it was longer than he is tall, so not the safest thing for him to play with). On Tuesday, we went to yet another children’s museum, this one in La Habra. It was a great place, although I thought it was a little odd that they had a room with taxidermied animals where the kids could touch them, & they fed a live mouse to a snake in front of the little kids). We went back to Santa Ana on Wednesday to the zoo, which turned out to be such a tiny place with very few animals but a nice play area. Josh got to play in the sand again & go up & down the slides a million times.

Yesterday, we went to California Adventure (the other Disney park across from Disneyland). Adam was sick & couldn’t go to work, so he joined us as our official tour guide. Adam & I went on the “grown-up” rides, Joshua & I went on a carousel, & then all of us went on a couple family-friendly rides. It started raining a little so we decided to go inside a restaurant for lunch. It stopped & then Dad & I went on another ride but when we came out, it was pouring very hard. Needless to say, we decided to leave the park because there wasn’t anything we could do in the rain. Joshua started crying because he didn’t like getting rained on but there wasn’t anything we could do other than walk really fast back to the car. It must’ve rained an inch in less than an hour. At least we’d gone on all the major rides so we didn’t miss much. So much for Mother Nature cooperating with us! Tomorrow is my good friend Pranav’s wedding. I hope she cooperates & doesn’t rain on their wedding day.