The 2013 SoCal Holiday Excursion Recap: Part 2

**This is a recap of my vacation back to Southern California from 12/28/13-1/9/14.**

It was nice to wake up to this morning view again. I had woken up to many mornings like this when life was a lot less complicated. It was 48°F the day I took this shot, and I was out in my shorts and flip-flops. For the normal Californian this would've called for Ugg boots at the minimum, but the Midwest life had hardened me enough to not bat an eye at the calm breeze nipping at my legs.

Today was a cruising day with me and my dear friend, Veronica, so it was a lot more on two wheels and a lot less with the camera. Somewhere in between all this, we had old ladies in minivans waving at us on Pacific Coast Highway and the men wondering what these two women, one on a cruiser and the other on a sportbike, were doing riding together. It was like old times when we'd just hop on our rides and travel the familiar roads of home, for no apparent reason than to appreciate the natural beauty that we had access to day in and day out.

I did get to watch the sunset from a familiar point in Redondo Beach and spend some time clearing my mind. Sometime around dusk, we even made young boy smile as we let him sit on our motorcycles while his parents snapped pictures. We even revved our engines high before we left the beach and that little boy was super excited over that. He even got to wear Veronica's helmet in the process! It's always fun to entertain the kids, and they get a kick out of knowing that I'm a girl on a bike.

This Triumph stays "in the family," and that's an order. Yeah, my personal cheerleader, I'm talking to you.

Another day comes to an end, and that the sunset continues to remind me that it's time to rest, reload and give life another go tomorrow.

The following day was New Year's Eve, and to bid farewell to the last day of a tumultuous 2013, I had an impromptu skating session at Toyota Sports Center. The sheet of ice that TSC had set aside for public session turned out to be where the roller hockey rink once stood. I had played there many years ago, and found some of the best teammates I've ever played for there. It was a bit strange to take those turns on what had once been a sport court surface. As a bonus, I had a couple old teammates stop on by and say hello as well. After a decade of playing in this building, it's a place that will always be a part of my life.

It's nice to see a Stanley Cup banner in the NHL rink nowadays.

Even the drinking fountains were water bottle friendly!

After skating, it was back up to the house for the annual New Year's Eve party. This was the first time in five years that I was able to enjoy this family tradition in California with the people who are important to me. By the time this day came around, I was so tired due to the jet lag that I had to duck out for an hour and take a nap during the party, but I was alive enough later on to welcome in 2014 with everyone else. Also, it had fulfilled a personal promise I had kept to myself for several years that, when it mattered, I was not going to be in Ohio on New Year's Eve. I have my family to thank for that as well.

So I'll rest here with the warmth of a fire and the skyline of Los Angeles in my midst. For the first part of 2014, I can start a part of my life over again and find that energy I need to push on toward a new goal.