Escape Chicago: California in April

In April, I took a long weekend to get the hell out of Chicago and visit California; before this trip, I had not been to California for nine full months, which was way too long: winter in Chicago is much longer when one cannot escape. Lesson learned, and hopefully never to be repeated.

And I was rewarded: the sky looked like this when I arrived:

 

And my dad's garden was chock-full of flowers, including the never-ending terrace of amaryllis:

 

It was lovely to be outside and relax in the sun. Another perk to visiting in April is the fresh squeezed orange juice; I gorged myself on muliple glasses each day, and I maintain that fresh squeezed orange juice is positively the closest thing to ambrosia in this world.

 

My goal for this trip to California was to visit the Riverside house, formerly my grandparents' house, where my dad grew up, and purchased after they died. For the past six years renters have been living there, and they finally moved, which gave me the perfect opportunity to see the inside again. My brother will be living there moving forward, so it'll be nice to visit when I'm again in California.

 

The wallpaper in the kitchen looks like this, and has for at least 40 years:

 

The wallpaper in the girls' bathroom looks like this, and has for around 60 years:

 

It was nice to be back in that house and see the details that I remember from my childhood, though the house seems significantly changed since my grandparents lived there. I'm glad the wallpaper is still the same, dated though it may be.

 

During my trip we went to the Renaissance Faire, which is nestled against this resevoir.

 

The Faire was fun, and was excellent people-watching. I enjoyed myself, and spent most of my time at the naughty music stage, which was very entertaining.

 

It was bittersweet to leave and head back to Chicago, but what are vacations for but to make you long to come back?