As I was growing up in the northeastern United States, I remember hearing stories of California. The flora and fauna of the Pacific coast seemed so beautiful and mystical to me.  In particular, I remember stories my father told of a rare and beautiful plant that was half tree, half cactus.  All my life I dreamed and wondered what this fantastic “tractus” looked like. 

Finally in 2007, I made my first trip to California with my wife and daughter.  I’d heard of a resort in San Diego on an island all to itself; a place where the city hadn’t overrun the trees and plants native to the area. This place was Paradise Point and this is where decided to stay and begin the search for the Tractus.  When we arrived we were overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of the grounds and gardens.  Immediately, we parked our car, checked in and headed for the pedicabs to begin the search.

The first things to get our attention were the hibiscus and other brightly colored tropical flowers.  Flowers we had only seen in pictures that we could now see and smell for the very first time. Next, we found cottony soft trees that reminded me of the truffula trees that I had read about in Dr Seuss’  “The Lorax”. We even found a very rare and once thought extinct ghost tree - the only tree native to the area that sheds its leaves and goes into a dormant state blooming only once a year.

We searched all over the island for hors upon hours and still no Tractus.  Finally, after we returned the pedicab and headed back to our bungalow for the evening, we saw one!  Tucked against the wall of our very own building was the elusive Tractus of my childhood dreams.  It was as beautiful and wonderful as I’d always imagined.  We were all overjoyed about the amazing sights we’d seen. 

Hungry from our search we decided on outdoor dining at the Barefoot Grill.  We sat and ate, passing the camera around recounting the sights we’d seen and enjoying our meal. We will never forget our time at Paradise Point  and we wish you all the best as you celebrate your 50^th year.

2012 will be my sixth consecutive Labor Day Weekend spent at Paradise Point and my husband Kent’s  31st. He has spent every Labor Day weekend of his life at Paradise Point with his family. I have many fond memories of roasting marshmallows, reading celebrity gossip magazines by the bay, relaxing in the hot tubs, and barbequing with our extended family. But my favorite memory is when our nephew accidentally let his handmade skateboard slide into the lagoon and it was Kent’s job to fish it out! We look forward to Labor Day weekend every year as a chance to catch up with family and friends while relaxing and enjoying the last few days of summer.

"For a little bit more you can go first class," my dad said several decades ago. With this in mind, my wife and I booked a stay at Paradise Point. We had visited the resort previously and were looking forward to a wonderful, relaxing stay. It was great. The grounds were beautiful, the restaurants excellent, and the atmosphere very relaxed.

On day as we were driving our little rental car out of the parking lot, I turned the wheel a bit too much and backed over a decorative rock and high-centered the car. Within a minute several guys from the grounds crew arrived to help dislodge our little car, but not before my wife snapped a photo of my embarrassing state of affairs. Another guest and his family came by and commiserated a bit. The odd thing was that everyone was smiling. No one was upset. I guess it's difficult to be upset when you're in beautiful surroundings? No wonder it's called Paradise!

My husband Jason and I have been married for many years and for a good number of those years we'd tried and tried to have a baby. Through years of infertility and various treatments we'd always escape to Paradise Point to relax, unwind and try to forget about our issues if only for a long weekend. Back in 2009 we finally decided to pursue adoption. It was another difficult process with many ups and downs. We decided yet again to run away to Paradise Point to recharge our batteries. The day before we left, we received the call that we'd been chosen to become the parents to twin baby girls. They were just 2 1/2 months old and we'd get to bring them home soon. Needless to say that vacation wasn’t very relaxing but in the most wonderful way. We got no sleep and spent most of our time walking along the beach and dreaming of bringing home our babies. The rest of our time was spent wondering what they looked like and deciding what we'd name them. We brought home our beautiful girls 4 days after we returned home and decided to name them Sidney Ann and Sophey Lyn. When the girls got a bit older, we decided it was time to share our special place with them. We came back to Paradise Point and to the very same room where we'd spent all those hours dreaming of them. Paradise Point will always hold such special memories for our little family. Attached is a photo of our girls playing on the grass outside our room.