I'm back online!!

My laptop died and I haven't had a desirable way to access the Internet. Before that, I have no good excuse for not blogging ;)

Bookit.com <---- a travel website to be avoided at all costs. Because so much of this blog is dedicated to our nutty adventures I thought I might share a tidbit of the grief experienced and the impromptu fun that followed.

Originally we planned to take or nutty mulis to Utah, coincidentally during General Conference. Life happened and Nahdia and I had to back out. Because we were already given the green light to take those days off from work we decided to have a more local getaway.

Day 1: La Montana Magica =) hahah. We drove to Magic Mountain on Friday morning, got our beautiful season passes and trekked through the park...for about 2 hours before we realized we weren't in the mood to deal w/the rude high school, senior ditch day, spring break revelers and 86'd our Plan A. We were excited to get to our hotel b/c we decided to do it big and spend a bit more than we normally would...we were hoping for an Embassy Suites type of joint. While the hotel wasn't as modern as we thought it would be (pictures can be so misleading), it was very comfortable. Grand Vista hotel is nice, but not nice enough to warrant the extra money; lesson learned. If you want to do it big, you can't just spend a bit more. We took our customary vacation nap and charged up for dinner, TGI Fridays style. Have you ever tried the Jack Daniels chicken? It is fantabulous! I love it, can you tell?

Day 2: We met up with some friends in Hollywood and then drove to the Griffith Observatory. The views at night are gorgeous and there is a lot of exercise to be had, lol. Our time was shortlived there and we decided to check in to our next hotel. Did I mention Bookit.com is to be avoided at all costs? I have to mention that we booked our first hotel room on Expedia.com the day before we needed it and things went as scripted. We planned the same outcome for Day 2. We pulled in to the hotel parking lot and went in to check in. The attendant was unable to find our reservation. We gave her the confirmation number and still no cigar. In speaking with the customer service rep at Bookit.com we were told that a cancellation fee was going to be charged because we weren't keeping our reservation. SKOOOZE ME? We were there, ready and willing to accept that reservation, you know, the one that didn't exist as far as the hotel was concerned? The customer service rep said she'd call the hotel and it should be about 35 minutes; really? Thankfully it didn't take 35 minutes and she said something about trying to call the hotel 6 times and no one answered, sure. She told us she was going to waive the cancellation fee (she better!) and she could either find a room at another location or give us a refund. REFUND! Too much was happening not according to plan to leave us uneasy and dispassionate about the rest of the trip.

We decided to call it quits for LA county, but we weren't ready, just yet, to go home. We traipsed through the OC, spent time at Dave and Busters--46,000 coupon Wii! You're as good as ours!! Oh and ladies and gents? Please watch your cards. Nahdia's was stolen right out from under our noses. Please also register for their rewards program. The Spectrum DnB staff was very helpful in replacing the card, with extra credits too! We decided to hit the theater and watch Hunger Games for the second time in 3 days. It's a great movie and a spectacular book. I highly recommend both, multiple times :) After a midnight trip to Walmart and a resounding rendition of heaps of musica latina, we walked into our humble abode. [sigh]

Home Sweet Home

I hope you felt the range of emotions we experienced. We can't wait to do it w/you Uila!

Happy Hunger Games, all day, every day to all of us =)

-the truly nutty one