A DAY AT THE FAIR:

So we've been seeing the ads regarding the Orange County Fair down in ... well... Orange County! =) Being the hottest day of the year, we thought it'd be a good idea to spend it outdoors - good idea, right? But at least we got away from the 110 degree weather in the valley, opting for a cool 97 degrees at the fair (really, can you tell the difference after it breaks 90? I can't). We were joined by HieRan's sister and husband who live down there (but who interestingly have never been to the OC Fair). It's been ages since HieRan and I last attended a fair - I think it was up in Sacramento (the annual Cal Expo). The main reason we go, is for all the carnival food (corn dogs, funnel cakes, shaved ice, mounds of curly fries, grilled corn on the cobb, chocolate-dipped bananas, any kind of food-on-a-stick... mmmmm boy!). We spent most of the time eating in the shade, which wasn't too bad, really. Mia rode the pony-ride 3 times, and Jacob sat in his front-pack taking in all the sights. I have to say (and HieRan agrees) that our kids were really great today. As hot as it was, they didn't complain or act-up badly while we were out. In fact, I think I complained more than they did about the heat. But we stayed hydrated, and even had a spray bottle with us to keep us cool.

After about a couple hours or so of the fair, we were ready to go. Even though Seal was performing there at night, wanted to find a cooler area to enjoy the rest of the day. HieRan's sister and husband suggested we go to Huntington Beach where it'd be a LOT cooler, so since we were only a few miles away from the beach we agreed to follow them.

We drove up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway, or HWY 1) and soon found ourselves at the beach! The first thing I noticed were the rows and rows of volleyball courts set up!! I really wanted to play, but (lucky for the players out there) I was being the dedicated family man today. ;) *heh*

On a separate note, I've been wanting to get back to playing volleyball. I even signed up for a class at the local community college - but it was cancelled! =( So I got in touch with a friend of mine and he said that there's a four-person coed grass tournament next week. I haven't played volleyball since my best friend's bachelor party in August... almost a year ago! I'm going to try and find an open gym to play in before the tournament, you know... to see how badly I'm going to hurt myself next Sunday. =S

We hung out at Huntington beach for the rest of the day - and through dinner time. Even though we weren't prepared to go and play at the beach, we took Mia out to play in the water. There were a lot of people out there enjoying the beach - and it was about 30 degrees cooler out there, very nice. After walking around the beach, we headed into town and found a restaurant to lounge around in and have dinner. We left around 7pm and had a nice "cool" drive home. Both kids were pretty tired from the day's activities - so after a quick bath for both of them, they were out!

I think they have the right idea - I'm going to hit the sack soon too.