Epinephrine Adventures: December 2014

Is it Fun, Family and Friends OR is it Food, Football and Fishing???

Preston has elected me to do this blog... the lazy butt ;).

A few weeks ago we did a tour of The Hearst Castle. The last time I was there was in my late teens, so you all know how long ago that was! After a little research I found out they do a night tour a few months out of the year and was highly recommended. It incorporates all 3 of the daytime tours at half the price. It was also a bonus, they had just put up all of the Christmas decorations.

The Castle was started in 1919 and work continued until 1947. It was never completed. It was turned over to the State of California in 1958, with the promise that nothing would ever be changed from that date forward.

The outdoor swimming pool, empty at the moment being refurbished...HUGE!

Dinner anyone, or how about everyone!

The opulence of every room we saw was so over the top. Mr. Hearst was involved in every aspect of the planning and decorating. The weird thing was he just couldn't decide what his style was...Greek, Roman, Gothic...every room incorporated a variety of pieces from various periods.

The library was incredible. The vases along the top are all very old, One of them dating back to 7 BC. He loved anything European and OLD! The costs of not only the castle but the items in them are mind boggling and priceless.

The night tour also has docents dressed up in 30's period costumes, which gave you a real feel for what it must have been like to be invited to his home for a weekend. I loved the tour...Preston liked it OK ! Must be a girl thing lol!!

We headed down to Seal Beach Naval Weapon Station in Southern California mid November to spend time with family and friends. The friend part ended up being a huge bonus for me. I found out my best friend from my childhood was going to be in the area visiting her family also. Ilene is my longest time friend, I met her when we moved to California when I was 11. She orchestrated a get together for her family and mine. We spent a lovely afternoon together.

As you can see my sister and brother joined in the families reunion

I wish we had gotten a picture of everyone, as my mom and dad, and Ilene's mom and dad were also there. A big thank you to Ilene's sister in law and brother in law for opening up their home to us for the occasion.

Ilene, her husband Jim and their beautiful daughter Haley

Mom and dad drove all the way down from Vancouver in their motor home to spend Thanksgiving with us and my brothers Larry and Ernie. Not to be left out of the occasion, my sister Tammy and her dog Bailey also made a road trip down to join in the festivities. Preston was able to get mom and dad into Seal Beach Navel Weapon Station so we were neighbors the entire week they were here. Talk about Thanksgiving Blessings, this was huge and it was so wonderful to have the whole family together!

A whole family of Seahawk fans. Mom and Dad helped bring them to victory on Thanksgiving!

We had a great week, just spending time together, driving by our old house where we grew up and visiting a few other haunts. Most of the time was spent partying in our "home"! Who knew 7 people and a dog could all fit comfortably in our RV.

No event in the Bombach household is complete with out food and wine

After mom and dad left on the Monday after Thanksgiving, we headed down to Camp Pendleton Marine Base, north of San Diego.

First things first, time to decorate for Christmas!

Camp Pendleton is one of my favorite places to stay. We are right on the beach. Water and warm weather make Andy a happy camper :) The day this picture was taken not so sunny, but we are now back to sunny and low 70's!!!