As I packed for our two week long trip to California I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like. The last time I was there I was four and I hardly remembered anything except for long hours in the car and hotels waiting for me at the end of each day. I knew I would keep these memories for the rest of my life. I couldn’t wait to be walking on the sandy beaches and wading in the Pacific.
Pretty soon it was time to go. My parents, grandparents, two little sisters and I left on Monday and stayed at a Doubletree Hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado and at Little America in Flagstaff, Arizona on the second. On the third day we parted ways, my grandparents going to California while we traveled to the Grand Canyon, then on to Tempe, Arizona. We stayed the night at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, and then took a tour of ASU in the morning before we traveled on to Newport Beach.
When we reached Newport Beach, we stayed at our friend’s house. It had everything in it: five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a movie room, game room, two kitchens, formal dining area, 10 car garage, outdoor patio, a putting green, an outdoor kitchen, a hot tub and an infinity pool overlooking the ocean.
The first day we stopped at Laguna Beach and went to the ocean. Then we headed back to the house, ate lunch and spent the rest of the day in the pool. On the second day we shopped, went back to the house, ate lunch and rested. On the third day we walked on the beach. There were piles of kelp that washed in from the ocean and beautiful sea shells everywhere you looked. We walked in the soft sand and the cool wet waves. After that we went back to the house, cleaned up and went to Claim Jumpers, a restaurant in Long Beach. We met up with more people in the restaurant, some of our friend’s family.
After dinner we parted ways and went to sleep, knowing it would be a big day tomorrow. It would be the Fourth of July and we were having a party. In the morning, my parents, little sisters and I drove to Huntington Beach to go shopping before we had to get back for the party. We walked around a little, but there wasn’t much so we went to a fair across the street. There wasn’t very much there either, so we left. We ended up on a pier watching a championship surfing tournament and people fishing off of the wharf. I could see sailboats on the horizon and kids shrieking as the cold waves splashed them. We stayed for about half an hour before we went back to prepare for the party. We got there at about two o’clock and we rushed to get a family picture with my grandparents before everybody came. We had chips and dip, cheese and apples, hot dogs and burgers, cheesecake and strawberry shortcake. Time passed quickly and soon everybody had left. We played a few board games before we went to bed.
In the morning we packed up and left the beautiful house and our friends. We were sad to leave but glad to be going home. We stopped at the Mirage in Vegas and at the Best Western in Evanston, Wyoming. I was sad for the trip to be over, but I was glad to be home. I can’t wait to go back and add to my wonderful memories.
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