Luke had a meeting sprung on him yesterday, so we took an impromptu trip down the hill. I had 7 hours to kill so I drove to Newport Beach. I haven't been to the beach in over 2 years but the beach really feels like home. The sound, the smell, the feel of salt water in the air. Then I killed more time at IKEA where my mom and I solved Christmas-present-to-grandchildren-across-country problems, and then Luke finally got done with his meeting and we hit up Disneyland one last time before Christmas. :)

::Salt water air.

::Doing whatever I wanted to for 7 hours. I explored Newport, drove on Highway 1 up to Huntington (which smells really weird, btw; I know because I was driving with my window down.), and found lots of places to explore in the future.

::Hole-in-the-wall places, like Alta Coffee in Newport. Also, they have a wall of mugs that frequent customers can bring and leave. I wanted to be a frequent guest.

::IKEA meatballs

::Walking around Disneyland without worrying about anything. Not even caring how long the lines are or what rides to go on next.

::Luke not minding me standing in the middle of Main St. at Disneyland to get a panorama.

::How something small like a wrapping paper tube can be the most exciting thing to a little boy. They became light sabers with the help of painter's tape. :)

::Presents arriving and getting wrapped and stowed under the tree.

::Little boys getting so excited about the present they're giving daddy, and showing me which present is mine at grandma & papa's house.

::Lights strung on top of my kitchen cabinets.