Family Vacation

I can't remember the last vacation that I took without checking work email and voicemail. Was it before I started working seven years ago? Although I kept up with what's going on in financial market, policies, and the first 100 days of Obama's administration, I was able to relax and be on vacation with my family this time around.

Andrew and his dad drove up from Los Angeles and Jim's parents flew in from Green Bay. We barbecued, debated current events around the world, and drank lots of beer, wine, and whiskey. Jim and Jerry lost their voices on the first two days of the visit by challenging each other's point of view on politics while Andrew refereed. Every time when public policies was brought up, Barb always redirected the conversation to something else to avoid excessive opinion battles. I realized that everyone is entitled to his/her opinion and as long as we don't think that we have the ultimate truth, we can co-exist peacefully...

We visited Napa Valley and Placerville for wine tasting, fresh produce, and delicious food. We went to Coloma to pan for gold and there was actually a lot of gold flakes to be panned! I feel bad for people in Zimbabwe having to pan gold for a living - it's a lot of hard work with very very very little reward! I ended up with a sore neck, tanned face, and $8 worth of gold? We visited Fair Field's Budweiser plant for a tour and free beer tasting. Did you know that Budweiser produces pomegranate, orange & citrus, and cactus & lime Michelob ultra beers?

A dose of family was exactly what Jim and I needed. We love living in California but spending time with love ones is what enriches our lives and makes our lives worth celebrating!