In Which I Get Bethump’d with Words

I took a couple of vacation days this last weekend and headed down to San Diego to visit some of my favorite people: Noelle, Steve Betz, and Susan. And Steve and Susan’s floppy dog, Penny.

I decided to drive down, because flights were in the $400 range, which seemed a bit ridiculous to fly for a little over an hour. Gas would cost me about $150 (and I had a $25 gas card I used), so that seemed like a better deal.

Nine and a half hours later, I was rethinking my choice. The drive should have been about eight, but traffic backed up in Glendale and never let up. Thankfully, I had Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter on audio book, and Needtobreathe on my iPod. Rolled into SD about 6:30pm, and Noelle (a friend from college) and I went to Rimel’s Rotisserie for dinner. We started with the fried calamari, and then I had a grass-fed-beef hamburger and sweet potato fries, and Noelle had a chicken rice bowl. Delish! It had been almost two years since we’d seen each other so there was a lot to catch up on.

The next morning, we met up with her mom, brother, SIL, and niece Allison to go to Legoland! I’d never been before. Really, it’s geared toward small kids. Allison had a blast! And the grown-ups had a good time nonetheless, enjoying the warm-but-not-hot SD sunshine. There were lots of fun things to take pictures of, and we played midway games (Allison, who is four, smoked us all at the roll-the-ball-and-get-it-in-the-hole game) and ate ice cream and soft pretzels.

Then we headed to Steve and Susans for Cinco de Derby. We had a cross-celebration of Mexican and Southern drinks and food, including mint juleps, margaritas, chips and (cilantro-free…woot) salsa, pimento cheese spread and crackers, BBQ pork and slaw (for tacos or sandwiches), and blueberry pie/pudding/goodness. I ate ALL the things.

Steve and I have long been Words With Friends opponents, and he beats me more often than I’d like to admit. Sometimes he plays a word that I’m unfamiliar with and he’ll just say, “It’s science.” Grrr. I decided to bring Super Scrabble down with me, which has four extra rows around the edge, double the letters, and quadruple word scores. I’d see if Steve could think on his feet instead of having the time to plot while playing WWF. Then I forgot Scrabble in my car! *facepalm* Instead, Susan grabbed Bethump’d With Words, a game she’d been given by a friend.

Bethump’d is pretty much the nerdiest game ever, which was perfect for us. It’s all about the English language — eponyms, homophones, Briticisms, slang, jargon — you name it! We played two full games, and in both I was thisclose to winning. THISCLOSE. But Steve and Susan each eked out a win and left me bethump’d. Next time. Next time.

The next morning Noelle and I ate MORE FOOD at Pipes in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, and then got pedicures. I get about one pedicure a year, and it’s such a treat! I headed out around noon, and made it home more than two hours faster than my trip down, making me one happy, well-rested Cori.

And, if you’d like, you can enjoy a fairly long slide show of our weekend:

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