In Celebration of MLK...

There are those few days in an adult lifetime that simply make one feel like a kid again...while still relishing the fact that one is ACTUALLY an adult and can do whatever one's little heart desires. For the Woodland Family, good old Martin Luther King brought one of these rare days our little home in La Jolla.

Matt and Kelly awoke this morning to the grayest, nastiest, rainiest day that we have had in recent memory. It may have even dipped down to 40 Degrees last night as there WAS frost on the car windshields for goodness sakes!! Well, this weather was not going to keep the young Woodlands down! You see, both Darling Matt and his beautiful bride had been given the rare corporate gift of a legitimate paid holiday. Thanks MLK!!!

The original plan was to take our little silver Civic up to the quaint township of Julian, California where San Diegans can escape the daily grind and indulge in some delicious mountain-y apple-themed treats (Reference "Apple Hill" if you are a Sacramentan). We haven't been there since the day after Christmas in 2006 and were looking forward to another trip this weekend. However, after much discussion and a perusal of the weather forecast in Julian (a chilly 25 Degrees with accompanying rain showers) we Woodlands made the decision to simply, "hang around the house, maybe watch a movie, and go out to lunch or something..." needless to say, the day was ours and the glorious possibilities were endless!!!

To start the day Matt drove Kelly to one of her very favorite places...the MALL!! Kelly had not had a mall day all to herself in so long, and today both Matt and Kelly were well-prepared with various giftcards in hand (Thanks Santa!). The day's outlook was positive! The presence of aforementioned giftcards paired with the wet San Diego weather, MLK Day, and the early hour at which "Woodland Tour de Mall 2008" commenced, there was nary a teenager nor middle-aged-sale-shopper in sight!! FANTASTIC!

The first stop at Old Navy went off without a hitch and both Matt and Kelly walked away with treasures untold all for under a cool, crisp Hamilton BABY!!! Next up was Tommy Bahama (yes we had giftcards, no we are not 65-year-old Golf Pros) where Kelly was able to find a yummy, smelly candle that reminded her of their Honeymoon in Hawaii and had the added benefit of being not too offensive to Matt's discretionary nose...a true find!! "Woodland Tour de Mall 2008" was rounded out with a short venture into the Gap where the purchase of the day (in Kelly's mind) was eeked out in the form of a bright blue running jacket for the outrageous price of $3.76. Gotta love a clearance find at the Gap!

The best purchase of the day in Matt's mind was next on the agenda...

This is HODAD'S in Ocean Beach. It's a little shop right on the beach that serves Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, and....Hamburgers. That's right, there are 8 items on the menu and they are all Hamburgers, with the Exception of the "Unburger" which is essentially a Grilled Cheese although no one AT Hodad's would ever admit that fact. Kelly had seen a blurb about this little place on the Food Network and had been dying to take Matt. What better day than MLK Day??!!? And now for Matt's purchase of the day:

This is a Single-Bacon Cheeseburger at Hodad's...and YES, Matt ATE THE WHOLE THING including the French Fries. And an entire Chocolate Shake. No Joke. Kelly was dually impressed and may love him more having bore witness to this unimaginable feat.

Post-burgers Matt and Kelly decided that nothing could quite work off the midday gluttony like a video rental at the local Blockbuster (Yeah, you thought I would say "walk" when really all we wanted to do was "nap"). Upon entry at the Blockbuster, and once again equipped with giftcards, greetings were unnecessary as a barrage of posters exclaimed the ongoing clearance of 4 DVDs for $20!!!! No need to even question this...Matt was walking out of that store with at least 4 DVDs but probably more. There were a few tense moments and one small crying outburst when it was discovered that "Transformers" was not, in fact, included in the sale (WHAT!) but in the end the Woodlands emerged victorious as the proud owners of a brand new passel of DVD brain candy.

I wish I could write more, but quite frankly I have some DVDs to watch as I round out this BEAUTIFUL Martin Luther King Day and relish the fact that I am an adult...with maybe a tad of that "kid at heart" thing going on.

Congratulations to all of you who had a holiday along with us, we hope you made the most of it. And for those that didn't...well...you could always get a new job??