Well, I finally have a chance to write about my trip to San Diego. It was so wonderful and relaxing; time seems to pass by more slowly out there. Who wouldn't want to live there? With gorgeous scenery, farmer's markets and fresh produce yearround, near-perfect weather- it's close to paradise. But before San Diego, I was at Na '07, an annual conference for young adults held in Louisville, KY. If you haven't been before, you should check it out at www.newattitude.org My start to the conference was getting my credit cards and cash stolen. I guess God wanted to meet me in a different way than I imagined.  There were a number of people greeting before the conference, and the girls involved all put their purses in a room that was thought to be secured. It turns out myself and three other girls had stuff stolen. Chavia was the only one who had her complete purse taken; the rest of us were missing credit cards and cash from our wallets. So I guess this may not be the best way to advertise for Na....come get stuff stolen while you serve the Lord! But seriously, and as ironic as it may sound, the situation turned out to be one of my highlights. After getting over the feeling of violation, and dealing with anger, fear, anxiety, and self-pity, God really changed my heart to one of forgiveness and gratitude. And the way that people were so kind and caring was amazing! Oh yeah, and Chavia's purse was found! Thank You, God, for answered prayers! The rest of the conference was filled with awesome times of worship, incredible and biblical teaching by godly men, such as John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, and Mark Dever (one of my favorite preachers), and fellowship with other Christians in a small-group setting. I am already looking forward to Na '08 (Lord willing)! I left immediately from the conference with Johannah and Chavia to spend the next five days with my sister and brother-in-law (Jes and Dave) in San Diego. Here are the pics!  Our first day, we went to the beach of Del Mar. It was so pretty! The water was too cold to get into, so we just sat in the sand and enjoyed the warm sun.
 My sis and I at Del Mar. 
The three tired travelers (funny stories to come :) 
Chavia using her skills. Her pics are amazing!  Ok, so I love animals; and the squirrels there are SO cute! They are almost like a mix between a chipmunk and a squirrel. Their fur is more brown than the ones in MD. Don't you wanna just hold him?
The distant shores of Del Mar. 
Pelicans in flight. There are tons of them in San Diego!  On the way to Carlsbad beach. The fateful day we all got burned....
 Burning in the California sun.
 Still burning, but don't we look happy :) We actually didn't realize how much we burned til the next day. The sun is just so much stronger out there, but it's so breezy and cool that you just don't realize how much sun you're really getting.
 Leaving Carlsbad......and on our way to Mexico! Yeah, we kind of got lost and ended up a couple of miles from the border. I almost wish we had made it; imagine the stories :)
 Friday, we decided to stay out of the sun, so Jes took us to a local farmers' market. They had beautiful flowers like these for such cheap prices!
Jes, trying to decide which flowers to get. 
Yummy strawberries!!  One of the hundreds of "The Three" pics we took :)
After the farmers' market, we went to the White's house (friends of Jes and Dave) to pick oranges and citrus from their trees. This is the view from their house. Amazing isn't it?!  Another shot of the view.
 For dinner that night, we made some dishes with all the fresh produce we had. Chavia made this wonderful plate of tomatoes with fresh mozerella and basil, drizzled with olive oil. Yum! There's nothing like Italian food!
 Here are all the cheeries we got at the market. Trust me, it was alot! But they were so good and sweet.
 And yet, more fruit! Had a famine struck, we probably could have survived for a couple of weeks on the fruit alone :)
 Johannah and Chavia demonstrating their culinary skills.
The three cooks of the night. 
And here's what I call "an orange on steroids".  The next day, we went back to Del Mar. There was a young couple selling labradoodle puppies. I wish I could have brought one home!
 This hot couple took us to La Jolla for dinner at George's on the Cove. Aren't they cute?! :)
 Seals! Or sea lions.....I honestly don't know the difference. But they're animals and I love animals :) There were alot of them. Jes and Dave said this is the most they've seen at one time. There were even some baby ones. So fun!
 At La Jolla, before dinner.
With my wonderful sister and brother-in-law! 
The cliffs of La Jolla.  After dinner, lounging around at Jes and Dave's. Our last night....well, technically just my last night. I took a red-eye home Sunday night, but Johannah and Chavs stayed til Monday morning.
 Chavia on her computer (of course :)
Feeling a little spaced out after dinner. It was all so good!  Sunday afternoon, Jes and Dave took me downtown to Coronado. It's a fun place, with an historic edge.
This is the Hotel del Coronado. It was built in the 1800's, and has since been restored and is still in function today. 
I'm so happy to finally see my sister so in love, and with such a great guy :)  And here I am, back at home Monday morning, completely exhausted from taking the red eye. But I must say, the first part of my flight was unbelievably gorgeous! We flew from San Diego to Las Vegas for a touchdown. It was a little over an hour, but I wish it had been much longer. The plane took off into a cloudy night, but after we broke through the clouds, there were a ton of stars against the backdrop of night. The stars seemed so close, and I think there was a planet out, too. I felt as if to fly a little higher would bring me into heaven. To see such a sight certainly makes me long for heaven! To think the Lord made those incredible stars, and has named each one of them! I also saw three shooting stars, which was pretty cool. I could still see all the clouds below....and then I saw what looked like a sunset, coming up through the clouds ahead. It was too late for the sunset, so I wondered what it was. And then the clouds broke away to reveal an island of Las Vegas lights in an ocean of black. They really stand out because it's just desert all around. I wish I had taken pictures! It really was a beautiful sight.
And that's my trip! I can't wait to go back! | 
