Holiday Trip Part 2

Besides the clouds, this picture
looks like I'm on a spaceship
looking down on Earth!

A miracle just happened right before I wrote this....IT STORMED IN SANTA BARBARA! I REPEAT IT ACTUALLY STORMED RIGHT HERE IN CALIFORNIA! (For 10 whole minutes) We don't get rain often and when we do it rarely ever comes along with thunder and lighting. At first I thought 'Someone's being really loud upstairs moving stuff'. Then I realized... 'Wait I live on the top floor' and BAM! To my right a flash of lightning lit up Isla Vista outside my window. If you couldn't tell, I love storms. If you still can't tell....let me tell you I have a battery powered snow globe and it's turned on right next to me.
Anyway! I meant to blog as soon as I got back to California, but exhaustion from traveling and jet lag  took over me.

Example A: I kept falling asleep at 7 PM and waking up at 7 AM. 

Example B: I poured water from my Brita into my cereal instead of milk.

Example C: I tried to dial a phone number in my calculator app. 

Wilmington, NC

Yeah, so, not much fun things to talk about since all I've been doing is trying to catch up on sleep and other things. Instead, here are some pictures from the second part of my trip in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia!

Dec 26: We drove from Fredericksburg, VA to Wilmington, NC. There we coincidently watched our family's neighbor's plane take off from the runway in their backyard as we were getting a tour. We all had dinner together, played a game of Uno, and said our goodbyes in the morning.

How opposite having a regular
puppy vs. a German Shepard puppy is

Dec 27: Next we drove to Beaufort, SC. We were stuck on the highway for quite some time due to an accident. People got out of their cars to stretch and everything. Once we got to our family's house we had a nice dinner and chatted the rest of the night.

Beaufort, SC

Dec 28: We visited downtown Beaufort where we got eaten alive by bugs that left at least 15 bites on me (which I still find myself scratching today....my skin has stayed extra sensitive from the lymphoma). In downtown, we checked out all the little stores, walked along the water, and ate at a restaurant on the patio (of course I ordered my sweet tea).

The Bickmann Girls!   Greenville, SC

Dec 29: Then, we woke up and drove to Greenville, SC to visited my dad's brother and his family. My Aunt Hal cooked a lovely pineapple casserole. It was incredibly delicious! All three of my brothers and I opened presents from our Uncle that each weighed like two bricks. It was 28.8lbs of pennies ($50 worth). YEAH I was like 'Uhhh...thanks but this is going to definitely surpass my suitcase weight limit.' Hahahaha. He chuckled and threw us $50 of cash instead......in 1's. After gifts, we played pool for two hours. My cousin Blair and I stayed up late until around 3 AM talking since we already had to leave the next day.

Dec 30: We drove back up to Virginia. At this point I was one cranky traveler. After all the driving and flying, this is when I began to feel homesick from California. We got back to Fredericksburg around 9:30 PM.

Giving Guinni kisses

After taking care of my
brother after he kneed
himself in the eye on
the trampoline, as
his sister, I made sure
his eyes matched. 

Dec 31: I woke up unbearably early after so much traveling just to check up on one of my teeth that was feeling sensitive after the fillings I had. They dentist adjusted it and gave me a paste to use after I brush my teeth to rebuild my enamel that deteriorated from the chemo. It was expensive, but when I found out that it wouldn't only protect my teeth's health, but improve it, I knew it would be a good investment. An hour or so later my brothers and I were picked up to go to our house in Ashburn. For dinner we went out to one of those Japanese grills where they cook in front of you. Afterwards, my friend Bethany and I went to her friend's house to celebrate New Years.

Jan 1: I spent the rest of the day with my family. My dad drove up to say goodbye since his house is farther from the airport. The rest of the night I spent packing.

Jan 2: Even though I knew I was finally going home, it was still incredibly difficult to get out of bed I was so tired. I got dropped off at the Dulles Airport, flew to LAX, the Flyaway bus picked me up from LAX and took me to the Van Nuys station where my car was parked, and then I drove all the way up to Isla Vista. Glad none of ya'll had to see me that day. It was a long one. Oh, I just said ya'll.... Haha, that tends to happen after I visit the Carolina's!

"Future me" Favorite snap filter
(besides the pug obviously)

Keep on enjoying your break everyone! Spring semester is approaching and it will be here before you know it!

Happy New Year! It's never too late to start fresh again. If the new year didn't work out for ya, try the beginning of spring semester! The only reason I love having my birthday in January is so that if I mess up on my New Years resolution, I can make it my birthday/new age resolution! Besides, every day is a new day.