Thanksgiving Weekend, Nov 26-27, 2005: We decided to take our very first out-of-town trip as a family. As our destination we selected one of our favorite places: Ventura Beach. It’s only an hour’s drive from Santa Clarita, a straight shot north on highway 126, including a pit stop at one of the fruit stands along the way. It’s also a touristy kind of town with a funky feel and a somewhat genteel homeless population. Ten years ago it’s the place where I taught myself how to program in Microsoft Access, reclining in a comfortable chair in what used to be a wonderful coffee house at Ash Street and Main (it’s now a birthing center!). Check out our Ventura Beach Photos.
Ventura is one of those places I could envision myself retiring to … spending the days sipping cappuccinos and watching the surfers. We spent this trip at the Holiday Inn right next to the pier, within walking distance of the historic downtown area. Zuzana spent most of the weekend with the baby in our hotel room, except for talking a stroll with the stroller down the boardwalk Sunday afternoon.
It also happened to be the weekend before my forty-something- th birthday – the actual day being November 29th . So it was a combination weekend getaway and birthday present. My reward was sitting in front of the ocean while doing the hands-on labs for the LINQ project and language enhancements for the next version of C#, version 3.0. The hotel had free high speed wireless internet access!
That evening we stopped to see my Dad at St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo. He’s been in the hospital for several weeks recovering from having had his pacemaker replaced. The original procedure took place at St. Joseph’s in Burbank before our son Kerrigan was born. So he didn’t have a chance to see him in person. Finally, we were able to bring Kerrigan to see my Dad, who we wheeled outside for the occasion. Check out our Thanksgiving Photos.
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