Goodbye Cambodge, Hello USA, and Land of the Beautiful (and Famous) People

Hello, friends! I know, I know. You're wondering what the hell is going on with the Griffins. Let me recap:

Goodbye Cambodge
So, as planned, we started our trip. We headed down to an island off the coast of Cambodia and stayed a week. Here is how the week progressed:

• Day 1/2: This place is awesome; it's a bummer we have to leave for Vietnam in three days
• Day 3: Ugh. We don't want to leave (especially to a new country) and trudge through a new culture, language, etc. What can we do?
• Day 4: I know, I know! Let's extend our visas and stay here on Rabbit Island for a month, then head home.
• Day 5/6: Screw that. Let's change our tickets to go home to the US of A. Celebration!!
• Day 7: Head back to PP to stay with friends our last few days in Cambodia.

So, yup. That's how it went down. And as a final closing to our Cambodia chapter, I'll say this: Cambodia you have shaped my life in ways I never thought. I love your land and your people, and I am honored to have lived here for 7 months. Thank you for treating me well and keeping me safe. Goodbye, and we'll see one another again.

Where are we now? See below.

Hello USA
After around 30/40 hours of travel, we arrived in Los Angeles, and boy does it feel great! There is NOTHING like being back in your home country. It's awesome. We are staying with our good friends in LA, so life has been good here: good beer, sunny/clear skies, beach, biking. What else could one ask for?

Sila, too, is having the time of his life. Our friends have two boys (ages 2 and 5), so Sila is playing nonstop. Additionally, I think he is enjoying have friends who speak English. While diversity is great, being 3 and not speaking someone's language is a bit difficult. I don't think Sila has stopped smiling and laughing since we landed, which is nice to see as a parent.

Land of the Beautiful (and Famous) People
I thought I might end my blog now that we're in America, but then I realized I have international friends and even domestic friends who may not have ever visited the places we plan on going over the next three months. So as we progress, I'm going to write about what I see and where we are, as well as include some pictures. For the latter, we are so unorganized at the moment, that pictures aren't happening today, but I will write about our experience.

Mostly, we've been hanging out with friends, but today we went out to breakfast, took a bike ride down to the beach, hung out at a beach club, and visited the pier. I might add that we are in the fancy part of LA, the part where you see famous people in.

So you might be wondering who I saw today. Here is the list (yup, all in one day): Toby Maguire (at breakfast--I had to say excuse me because he was in my way to get a spoon at the take-out counter!), Naomi Watts (at the beach club), and Ali Larter (also at the beach club, but I didn't really recognize her: she is the one who wears the whip cream bikini in Varsity Blues). Whew. What a day.

So the adventure continues, just in a different way! The good news is that if you live in the States, we'll probably be coming to see you soon! Much love and big hugs.