Next week I am going camping in Big Sur. Last year, I saw the link on Marko's blog and it sounded perfect for me as I can easily get there from San Jose. I just wasn’t sure if it would work out. The cost isn’t a lot but, when you figure in my PT Children’s Pastor/Volunteer Jr. High worker, it can be hard to save up the $$. I was paid a bit for house sitting and even more for speaking at the retreat.

I should have done this weeks ago. VBS took a lot out of me and I didn’t so anything to recharge. Better late than never! I am looking forward to three days of rest and nature and that’s it. Even though I was the retreat speaker I was able to have some real quiet time to myself and I long for that again.

So, while I am really trying not to run through the money I made last month I did buy a few need/want items:

1. Retail therapy at Old Navy last week. Anytime I can get a pair of jeans for $6.97 is a good day!
2. The cost of the camp site for three nights.
3. An air mattress and lantern for the trip (as well as batteries, a cutting board and food saver bags).
4. A grill/griddle combo from Crate & Barrel I have had my eyes on for the past month and my first piece of silicon bake ware.

$100 will go for my first car insurance payment of my new year and after that…it depends on a few things. I may try and head to So Cal for a few days between Turkey Day and Christmas. I haven’t been there for the holidays in a long time and I miss it.

Anyway, I have been looking at stuff to do while I am in Big Sur. I seriously thought about splurging on a spa day. HA! Number one, I don’t think I deserve to pamper myself in that way and number two…the prices are outrageous. I looked at a few sites and found out I can go horseback riding!!!

I haven’t been on a horse in about 3 ½ years, but I miss it soooo much. So, I am going to splurge on at least one ride…maybe even two! We’ll see how the first one goes! They do beach rides and trail rides through the redwoods. I want to do one of each, but we’ll see. I really fell in love with riding when I was at Remuda the first time. I was so scared to even groom a horse, let alone ride the darn thing. It became one of my favorite things to do…especially after I was assigned a permanent horse. I adored Sam and we went fast! He gave me a confidence I haven’t had in a very long time. This is going to be a great thing! One ride is two hours and I am not sure if I can stand it that long after not riding for so many years…but it might be fun.

I am going to take some books (I need to hit the library this week and I have a bunch of books to return), my ipod and just try and relax. Last year’s camping trip was too short. I only went for two nights and then up to San Francisco for a night and didn’t relax as much as I would have liked. I need to snap out of vacation mode though…too much to do this week!