Huntington Beach, the first part.

Finally here at Huntington Beach... not a bad drive from Flagstaff. Actually only took us 8 hours with stops... and the scenary was not that bad. Got to see lots of mountains and boulders along the way that we will never see in Texas. The boulders that we really thought was neat looked like a Giant picked them up and placed them there... sorta like stacking stones to mark a trail.

There is a tradition in our family, when we take road trips... on long road trips I have to get Funyuns and Hot Cheetos, with a Large Diet Mountain Dew. I know I know, not a very healthy lunch... but heck, glad I did not pick up a bag of Hot Pork Rines... (which I usually do... maybe on the way back). I do this since I do not eat these at home or anywhere else. Of course I scream a lot when I eat the Hot Cheetos... kids keep saying stop yelling, and my wife keeps handing me the Mountain Dew... hey, two benefits... I get attention, and my wife serves me ... what a deal... :)

We got the Resort, and first question on my mind, where is the self parking lot ? I mean, a resort will charge you an arm and a leg just to park there... well, there is NO SELF PARKING. $24 a night, charged to the room. Ugh... well, it is a vacation, but that is like 20 cups of Starbucks if you know what I mean... when I say Starbucks, I mean the Pikes Peak blend, not the foo foo stuff ...

Our Room, well it is great... not in the front of the Hotel, but a good glimpse of the Pier and the beach. Wonderful balcony, and most of all, big beds...

Last night I sat on the balcony, typing out the first part of this blog. I took the extra blanket, and sat down on the deck pounding out the story.

The kids wanted to try the pool, which is just below our 11th floor window. So we changed and headed down.

Thank goodness the pool was heated.. a little bit... and the kids really loved it... the wife and I just sat watching, taking pictures and doing some puzzles.

Of course after a long trip, we were hungry. So dinner was at the Hotel.... no big deal, but as you know, EXPENSIVE... ugh.. but hey it is vacation. We sat at the Shade Restaurant... not a bad place, and the food was good.... the kids got pizza (surprise surprise) and my wife got a hamburger... which she really enjoyed. Me, well the Wild Salmon was good... could of used a bit more brazing, but that is just me. BUT the coolest thing... my kids got to try babaghanoush, and yeah, they liked it... finally some other things besides Hamburgers and Pizza.

Overall, a great first night at the Huntington Beach Resort...

We will be venturing out to walk the pier, see the shops, and generally just hanging out on the beach... maybe pick up a few things, and stuff... you know, stuff...

Thanks for reading... tomorrow, on our way to Dublin CA where we have some family there we plan to break up their routine, and have lots of fun... and it is great we will be arriving on St Patrick's Day !