We’re In California Honey

This phrase continues to roll off our tongs as if we’re still in shock. Hubby’s said it twice so far today and I know I’ll be hearing and repeating it for weeks and months to come.

Last week I had the privilege of having yet another venture with Beth. This time we took a 4 mile walk on the boardwalk along the pacific coast.


While the raging sea provided lovely rhythm and views, the other side was dotted with beautiful beach homes along the way.


Each place held its own special identity.


What a dramatic entry to the wave place. A place where one can learn to surf. I believe Beth said this arch dates back to the early 1900’s.


I still get tickled seeing vehicles on the beach. This happens to be the lifeguard.


What a great place to walk


And visit


And dream of spending the night in one of these homes. Wouldn’t that be so cool?


Palms peppered along the way


There was so much to take in


To the point that I started looking at the homes as works of art


And this mailbox totally stopped us in our tracks.


We admired the wood floating table although hard to see in this picture.


This place had me at hello


The artist who fabricated this place put so much thought into the design. While this would not be my taste in a home, I’m completely in awe.


Cool fire pit on someone’s deck


Octopus mosaic ~ Neat work of art just outside the lifeguard station.


Here’s the shop where I scored one of those island dresses and a hat. There were some really neat shops and restaurants along the way and if we didn’t have something else planned for later in the day, I believe we could have spent more time along the way.


Beth and me with my new cap


Oh what a walk along the pacific coast


That long pier out over the ocean was our destination.


And closer. I was in total shock when my friend introduced me to those cute little cottages above the ocean. For just $250.00 a night you can sleep over the ocean letting the sounds of the waves rock you to sleep.


How cute is this?


It was amazing to be out on the pier standing right over the crashing waves.


What can I say, I plan to return to this exact same area very soon for another walk. That had to be one of my favorite walks along the beach.

I’m still having a difficult time allowing it to sink in that we actually live here. I think that’s why we keep reminding ourselves. There are times I find myself missing the snow but not enough to get in the car and drive an hour to the mountains to see it. For now, I’m just enjoying my day to day life and love the adventure of our new home sweet home.

From The Harbor To The Sea

Yesterday was a full day with my friend Beth. We met at 10am and we made our way to Point Loma, just about 5 miles from her place. I had no idea what to expect, all I knew is that I was going to get to enjoy the ocean.

We arrived at Point Loma where we made our first stop at the harbor


And watched Navy ships


Cruise from the harbor out to sea


We were the audience and enjoyed lots of commotion in the sky and observed lots of touch and go at the base across the way.


And watched sailors pass by



Again ~ zoomed in


Another Navy ship heading out


I think this was the refuel ship - zoomed in


After a nice long visit at the harbor, we made our way up to the lighthouse.


Point Loma Light House (1855 – 1891) – The lighthouse stands over 400 feet above sea level. In January 2004 the National Park Service completed restoration of the grounds of Point Loma.

After spending time at the lighthouse we then made our way downward to the other side to enjoy views of the cliffs along the sea.

The path we trod


Huge boulders


A sign I’m here


I stand amazed


Me


Amazing views


And we climbed along the coast


It was worth the effort


Our descent


We timed the coast side for low tide, so happy we did. Can you see the water line along the cliffs?


A little closer to show the high tide line better


The sounds of waves crashing and views of birds passing was so relaxing


I wanted to take in each and every step along the way. What a peaceful day.


Ever changing landscape along the coast


The path down


Looking back from whence we came


What a treasure at the end of the stairs. It felt crazy standing where waves were crashing at high tide. So happy Beth thought to find out when it was going to be low tide.


This is the spot where we decided to park it for a while. We stopped to just take it all in.


From the same area


I’m still here but not for long as we needed to head back to the condo to get ready for dinner.


So we picked up late afternoon


And went back to Beth’s

View from her balcony just before we all left for dinner


Back over to Fred’s in Old Town for dinner. We're finally enjoying great Mexican food again!


Love the ambiance there – Rolling out homemade tortillas


Cooking them on the grill


Cheers to great friendships, amazing ambiance and delightful dining outside. Shot taken as we were leaving.


Love our friendship and these days spent together. I still feel like I’m back in yesterday, thanks my friend.

Happy New Year

We were so thrilled to get the call that our friends (Bob and Barbara) were in town (visiting) during the holidays. We had an invite to their place to spend the afternoon and evening to celebrate the last day of 2009.

The two of them “cheers”! Hubby and Bob


We spent the afternoon in the back yard.


Bob and Barbara’s nephew jumping out of his newly constructed fortress


I got you!


Looking off to the distant far right was this very long pier. I think that’s the restaurant I’ve heard so much about, there at the end.


Getting close to the last bit of daylight of 2009


Each shot changed as the sun went down.


Wish I could remember their nephew’s name. He’s standing out there with his board just before sunset.


From the balcony


Big orange ball, sinkin' in the water… This was our first experience to enjoy the setting of the sun on the Pacific coast. What a sunset and evening spent with friends to remember.


Their nephew playing with his new Christmas electronic gadget.


Linda and her son, nice moment, just wish I had zoomed back out after taking a previous shot in the distance. Terrible quality but love the moment.


Card game – The question I keep asking myself “why did I forget to change the setting when I came inside”? Ugh Hubby reminds me to use the flash but I prefer no flash. But it didn't help that I left the setting for outdoor shooting. But I want to remember the night so I'm posting the pictures anyway. Sorry...


Bob and Barbara – Looking forward to another visit already.


Friends and family = Good times to remember


Some of the boys


Travis Pastrana New Years Eve 2009-2010 Rally Car Jump – On the west coast the live event took place at 9pm.


And that concluded our wonderful afternoon and evening with friends. We’re light weights and couldn’t last ‘til midnight. But we woke the morning of January 1st feeling refreshed and excited to begin this New Year.

A Christmas to Remember

It was our “first” Merry Christmas in southern California and we hope it won’t be the last.

We had our daughter join us from Michigan. I think the thing she enjoyed most was the beautiful weather here in Sunny California; it’s something she talked about every day.

Christmas morning was such a relaxing time. I started the coffee, visited with hubby and waited for Kristy to wake for the opening of the gifts. Eventually she woke and we began our little tradition of giving and receiving gifts. I must say “we all must have been very good this year”.

Hubby sporting his new robe and anxious to try out the flat screen for his computer


One of the gifts Kristy received from her aunt ~ it truly is a cool cookbook now that she’s out of college and on her own.


Since I was taking pics I don’t have any of me but Santa didn’t leave me out. He totally surprised me with a new Bose head set for my cell phone, some new spinner luggage and some other fun stuff.

Then it was time to do something about our tummies so we got around and made our way to Christmas dinner reservations at 1:00pm. We totally bypassed breakfast, saving all the space for our big meal.

We arrived at the same place where we spent Thanksgiving but reserved a different room this time.

The FOOD


Carving the Roast ~ For the main course they served honey roasted ham, turkey and roast.


The deserts were in a side room and it looks like Kristy found the chocolate fountain ~ yummy stuff.


But the pecan pie was my favorite; I think it was hubby’s favorite too.

We enjoyed the views while we savored dinner. It was cool observing ice skating by the beach on Christmas day.


After lunch we took a little stroll out back


And again


On over to the rink


Some folk came for the occasion


And didn’t miss a beat


While others took their foot work a bit more serious


Children zoomed


While others held on tightly


And it was so cute watching the little one take baby steps with her daddy close behind


Hold on, it’s gonna be alright


Because one day you’ll be able to take on the whole rink in stride


We took a little stroll down by the beach and Kristy enjoyed stepping foot on the pacific coast for the first time. And I have a sneaking feeling it won’t be her last.


This was definitely a Christmas to remember as I’m sure there won’t be another one like it.

It was nice to spend our Christmas with Kristy and the memories made will be lasting ones.

Hubby’s Bailiwick

Christmas is the time of year when cards and newsletters are added to the list of things to do. And in our household, hubby holds the reigns to that overwhelming task. If it were up to me, I’m not so sure family and friends would hear from us through snail mail each and every Christmas. But in a perfect setting they would all be mailed the day after Thanksgiving.

This Christmas is one of those years that I know that no one would hear a peep from us. No, not even the slightest peep of a signed Christmas card. It’s a year that I’ve asked hubby if we could just do a Happy New Year newsletter. After all, he’s so busy and I hate the thought of adding more to his plate, so I tried to make his load lighter. But he seems to have a built in Christmas clock and he can’t imagine letting one Christmas go by without putting our annual newsletter together. And this year made no exception.

He finished and presented me with all the copies last evening. That’s when his job ends and my little contribution to the newsletter kicks in. I love my job and feel I totally get the easy end of it.

This was my little set up this morning


Our 11th edition


LOVE those pull and seal envelopes – Many a thank you to the inventor of these guys


Hubby called to see how I was doing and I told him I was on a roll to get them in the mail.


As the envelopes pile up, the newsletter stack (to fold) goes down


By 11:30 the entire stack of newsletters were folded, stuffed, stamped and labeled and in a sack to deliver to the PO.

Indeed they were mailed today and should reach most destinations by Christmas!

So today I count our little Christmas Newsletter blessings. And thankful that hubby takes this job seriously each year. Because we now have quite a nice stash of memories from years past.

Our newsletters have become one of my favorite keepsakes ever. I brought them with me as I can’t imagine leaving them behind. They hold the news of our lives from the very beginning and it’s fun each year to go back and see all the places we’ve been together.

2006 was so much fun to put together. We had our picture taken that year especially for our Christmas card and newsletter. Little did we know (at the time) that that would be our last year in Texas.

The Christmas card of 2006


The Newsletter design


5 cents in the corner


In 2005 we used a picture of our home with snow. I added the little ornaments to the trees and did a few things to make the card.


Matching card and newsletter


2003 Christmas Card – Our first Texas Christmas


And inside the card


A Merry Christmas from Hawaii back in 2001


And the inside of the card – The newsletter was along the same lines as the card.


I’ll always be grateful to my husband for all the work he puts into making our memories special for family, friends and for me. This will be one of those folders that we will cherish forever.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wha??? It appears I’m having difficulty keeping up with my blog these days. So let’s take a step back to Thanksgiving as Christmas will be here soon.

Hubby and I have celebrated Thanksgiving the last 5 years by making reservations and cutting back on the mess as it’s just the two of us. It has proved to be such a great experience and by now it feels like Thanksgiving. It’s a big treat for me and hubby would have it no other way.

This year we celebrated at The Del Coronado Hotel


What a beautiful place


Almost castle like


My dearest and me in “The Crown Room”


We got down to business with a yummy slice of turkey


And didn’t hesitate to jump right in to the fixin’s ~ lots of good stuff under those lids, let me tell ya.


Everything so beautifully displayed


There was a section of nothing but salads.


I didn’t get too cozy with the salad on Thanksgiving. Don’t get me wrong, I like/love salad but tried saving all the space for the stuffing, turkey, deserts and the like...

More food along the line of appetizers


I wanted to try clams in the worst way but I didn’t even go for them. If it’s not a food I relate to on Thanksgiving, I don’t touch it. The meal was amazing and the food was all cooked to perfection. This is definitely a place I would eat Thanksgiving dinner over and over again.

Can’t believe I didn’t get some shots of the deserts. All I know is that the pecan AND pumpkin pies were delightful!

A little pumpkin décor


in the midst of Christmas decorations


Our dinner music was lovely


Up close


After dinner ~ looking through little shop windows in the hotel


Pretty flakes strung up in the windows


The wood detail inside made a statement, we even met the gentleman whose company fabricated the wood for the hotel.


We truly enjoyed every facet of our day. And this makes another Thanksgiving dinner we won’t forget.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

So today my girlfriend picked me up at the doorstep of my hotel and whisked me off to another great adventure. First she had a piece of furniture to pick up and then, well, we basically flew by the seat of our britches.

After our little jaunt to the store was over we began discussing hunger and lunch. Granted it was only 10:00 in the morning but for some reason our bodies are still on Eastern Time. Twas at that very moment when my girlfriend exclaimed “I wanna go somewhere fun”. More along the lines of something beachy which was an easy fix since the beach is practically in our backyard.

Today was the first day of my life to set foot on the pacific coast. And what a glorious event it was for me.


And “Beautiful Beth”


Ok so my friend pinched me a time or two just to remind me that we were here together enjoying our day.

Since we both had Star Bucks coffee we were more than willing to hold off on our lunch. So we decided to walk along the beach for a while.


And on our little walk we came upon these tracks running right along the beach. I hope to one day have the opportunity to hop on a train and explore the area by train.


After a while we decided it was time to turn around and walk back to the restaurant.

We got there just before the doors opened and was one of the lucky guests to secure a window seat next to the beach.


After lunch we drove over to another spot where we could walk and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

My friend pauses to post on facebook


We walked and stopped to take pictures


And enjoyed the ever changing scenery


We paused to watch the wildlife sun themselves


And these seals completely stopped us right in our tracks. It’s as if they really had something to say.


Aw just look at them out here in the wild.


One more shot of them from a distance ~ I hope to see you next time I visit!


I think they were having engagement pictures taken. They were just too cute not to capture.


Another picture along our merry way


We stopped to just sit and enjoy the day ~ Love Beth’s pretty toes in this pic.


Later in the afternoon we pulled ourselves away from the beach and enjoyed a little shopping.


And that concludes another fabulous day discovering our new home.