Rockhound

Did I ever mention that I collect rocks and crystals? I have a modest collection but possess some notable pieces such as aragonite, malachite, citrine, amethyst and quartz. I also have some lovely desert rose which is really gypsum that has crystallized in the shape of a rose. I can't remember all of the names of the rocks and crystals I have but it's a nice little collection. Aside from finding them beautiful, I actually believe in their energy and have been known to carry around certain stones for different reasons.

Once during a very long (and challenging) six hour road-trip in a mini-van (from L.A. to Vegas with my folks, a couple of relatives, my sister, H & I), I stopped along the highway to collect rocks. I thought this would be a great experience for the little one (and quite frankly, for myself) as I'd read several magazines that said this particular route had many rocks to discover. There were some lovely pieces of fool's gold (aka pyrite) and agates among others.

Truth be told, the stop coincided with the 'Welcome to Nevada' sign where we were all forced to get out of the vehicle to take some of those nasty tourist shots that I love to hate. This particular road trip was part of the larger celebratory trip that my parents promised to H on a specific birthday. For this birthday, they promised to take her to Disneyland including many other tourist traps such as SeaWorld, Legoland and Universal Studios (to name a few). We even went to Circus Circus in Vegas which is really not all that child-friendly (what with all the smoking and gambling going on). I was surprised at how dumpy and gross it had gotten (since I was a child). For the record, we drove to Nevada to visit my cousins who live in a golf community just outside of Vegas (and hey, it didn't hurt visiting Sin City in all of its glory).

[Coincidentally, this was to be the last family vacation I vowed to ever take until I was married and had another individual to 'share' these moments with. J has yet to experience this kind of family bonding. Shhh.]