CALIFORNIA

What a welcome! Mrs. K & CG (California Ginny) no sooner got me unpacked (which is quite a job by the way) than they wisked me off to a surprise slumber party that CG and LOTS of her friends had planned just for me! Wow! I'll NEVER remember all these names! Let's see there was Linda and Pamela and Susie and ...maybe if I just stay close to CG & grin a lot, it will be OK. Anyway, we had pizza and soda and cake with ice cream & played all kinds of games and talked until the wee hours. I even got to play pool! (I thought that was something you splashed in!) Mrs. K left Jill in charge, but she just had to let us wind down! Mrs. K said we're going to visit the older group today. I wonder what that means? CG said I need to find something really pretty to wear, so I'd better get a move on!

T.Ginny

Well, now I know--the 'older group' that Mrs. K was talking about are even MORE of my older cousins! Isn't it nice to find so much family all across the country? It always surprises me that they don't look all that different from me or CG. Mrs. K said that's because they age really well. It's just that sometimes they get a little creaky in the joints. (Some of them seem to have trouble remembering their name cause they're wearing little tags on their wrists.) And guess where their favorite place to hang out is? It's a Ginny Sweet Shop! Are these like a franchise or something? CG & I had a lot of fun hanging out with the older cousins--listening to them talk about the good old days. They were talking about some singer named Elvis--sounds like he was a hunk! Of course, the pies here are out of this world! Sweetie makes a pumpkin pie that's to die for! If I'm not careful, I won't fit into my box to move on & it won't be because of all my presents!!

T.Ginny

AARGH! No one told me there was year-round school in San Marcos! It turned out OK though. Mrs. K even gave me a new dress to wear! 

CG said that, if I brought Miss Revlon (her teacher) an apple, I could just visit and not have to take any tests and stuff like that. I brought my scrap books and got to share with the whole class. It was fun remembering all the fun places I've seen and all the friends I've made. Also, it was a school for girls, so there weren't any BOYS to bug us! I drew a really great picture and CG said we should put it in Mrs. K's refrigerater gallery--whatever that is! It's going to be a full day tomorrow. But the BEST news is that CG is going off track tomorrow and CG said we get to see her horses & go fishing!

T.Ginny

They have horses on the Kaiser ranch too. (CG said it's only a half acre, but from my size, it sure looks bigger!) Anyhow, cowboy Bob said that they aren't saddle horses. Well Buttercup is, but so far, she won't let anyone take off her halter with her blue ribbon on it! That's OK, CG and I are going fishing and the horses were sort of on the way. (Not really, but I wanted to see the new filly--isn't she cute?) Got to get going--the fish are waiting...

Whew! We finally got all of our gear hauled out to the creek (CG calls it a 'crik'). Actually, we got a lot of help from Jeff and Pam, but now Pam's all tuckered out. Jeff said he was going to try his luck farther down stream. CG & I better get busy if we're going to catch our lunch... 

I guess the fish were smarter than us today. Hmmm-maybe they didn't like the boom box--ya think? Oh, well--Mrs. K packed lunch for us just in case. Mrs. K says we're going to one of her favorite haunts tomorrow.

T.Ginny 

Lookie-lookie! (I know, it's a BIG sign & we're teensy.) I've never been to a real Girl Scout camp before! Well, the sign says it's a program center, but it's really a camp. Mrs. K even loaned me a Girl Scout uniform so CG and I would fit right in. It's so pretty here. There are lots of big trees and a HUGE fire ring. There's even a big lodge with a porch front & back. Ohmygosh! CG just told me there's a store inside the lodge-->

Wow-they have a lot of neat stuff in here! Aren't these racoons the cutest? Hey, where did Mrs. K go? Oh, here she comes--hmmm, wonder what she's hiding behind her back...

Look! I've been pinned! It says "Girl Scouts San Diego/Imperial Council". Got to go--it's time to head home for dinner. I wonder what we'll do tomorrow? No one is saying anything--I wonder if Mrs. K even knows???

T. Ginny 

We got to go into work with Mrs. K today. They sure have a lot of computers around here! They even had a size just right for us to use. The picture in the background is Mr. & Mrs. K. She says she's 'morphed' since then. Does anyone know what that means? Anyway, people keep coming by her office to meet me and see what I'm doing on the computer--I feel so important! Then Mrs. K took us out to eat lunch all the way into Mission Valley! (that's another picture) We were so stuffed when we got back from lunch that CG & I found a dark corner Under Mrs. K's desk and had us a nice nap! Mrs. K was jealous 'cause she couldn't fit under there with us.

T.Ginny

Ahhhh, the best part of the workday--LUNCH! We're at a Japanese restaurant called Onami. They have a really long buffet set out and the food smells like totally yummy. Now, if I can just figure out how to use these things... CG is trying to teach me, but I think I'm asking for a fork! 

Jan invited a whole bunch of us to spend the afternoon at her pool. What a treat! Lots of the gals from the slumber party were there. (I haven't seen Jill since the slumber party--I wonder if she's still sleeping?) Jeff and Bob and their girlfriends <giggle> were there too. I haven't figured out who the little girl is. She wasn't at school. Mrs. K gave me a new 'bathing costume' to wear--she sure uses funny words sometimes. Doesn't it look great? I gotta go--CG's hollerin' at me to take my hat & sandals off and come in the pool... 

This is wonderful! It sure gets HOT here! The pool is in a nice, shady spot &
the water is just right. We've been splashing around all afternoon, just having
a grand old time. Jan just brought me one of her special lime coolers--looks
really yummy. And guess what? Jeff said he's taking us to the beach tomorrow! 

T. Ginny 

Well, we're loading the car to go to the beach. I can hardly wait! What? How can the trunk be full already? Look at all this stuff we absolutely HAVE to take. Jeff, help! Don't you have a van...a pick-up...a skip loader....

Jeff came to our rescue with his neighbor's van. Whew! When we got here, we ran into Bob & his sweetie and they brought a couple more of the gang! They'been here for a while. Look at that great sand castle! And Aloha Ginny found some really neat sea shells--I've just got to find some to take with me! We stopped on the way to get lunch, so we have to rest for a while. Then we get to--nope, can't tell you about that yet. It's a surprise... 

We're going wind surfing! What? Oh, yeah--I guess we do have to get down to the water first. We both got new life jackets and fins too! Jeff is going to follow us on his jet ski in case we fall off.

Boy, was that fun! I only fell off twice too. Jeff said that was really good for a beginner. Then we walked on the beach gathering some sea shells and stuff until we dried off. But then we had to load up the van to come home <sigh> It's not nearly as fun to load the van to come home as it was to load it up to get here. I am sooooo tired. Mrs. K said it was all that sun and sand. Speaking of which, we have to go take a bath! 

Mrs. K had a farewell party for me! She even made me a new outfit--CG has one just like it in yellow. Look at all the people! Jeff's brother even brought his family down in his motor home. All the gals are here from the slumber party. I even caught a glimpse of Jill running into the motor home! There's a new girl here all the way from Yosemite. She's been trying to catch butterflies--I wonder if she knows there's one perched on her net? Mmmm, the food sure smells good! Pam's even baking something in the motor home. Of course, Jeff and Bob are in charge of the bar-b-q. It's going to be a while until it's ready, so I'm going to play on the swings...