Surfer's Paradise

Christmas came early for the surfers today.

Ocean Beach "Christmas tree" decorated with beach balls and blown up guitars.

A storm rolled in creating crazy waves and the surfers seemed to come out of the wood work.

They didn't care how they got to the beach.

By bike or...

by car.

But they came and went in droves all day long.

Those little black dots are all surfers! There is always a group of them out in the water, but nothing like today.  And this was only one part of our beach.  There were two other clusters of surfers along the shore as well.

You can see 2 guys surfing in this pic.

And not only were the waves big and strong, but this morning the tide was coming in and the beach was completely covered by water. 

This is the pier at Ocean Beach

Not everyone could handle the surf.

Along with the many surfers, came the many onlookers.  People were lined up in their cars and on the board walks.  Friends were out with their tripods and video cameras.  And in Ocean Beach, the news vans were out.

Apparently, any change of weather from sunny and 70 degrees, calls for a news story.

Have a great weekend!

Drive to Orange County

Yesterday we went on a drive to Orange County.  We took the coastal route, which was beautiful.  We went through a bunch of coastal towns and were able to see the marines setting up tents and doing other drills along Camp Pendelton.  We were also able to visit a few places from my childhood in Laguna Beach.

View of Dana Point Harbor. 

My old neighborhood in Laguna- do I see our house, Mom and Dad?

It's not hard to see how Dr. Seuss found material for his books.

Oh hi

They weren't kidding about the steps...

You have to be dedicated to go to the beach!  We got quite a workout.  I can't believe my mom used to do this with us, just the beach over.  The wooden staircase down to the beach is actually one of my strongest memories from California.  The steps are never ending.

Rubys -my favorite restaurant as a kid.  We stopped in for a milkshake and onion rings.

Laguna Beach

Fashion Island in Newport Beach is great shopping.  I used to go there for the escalators and water features.

 

Thanks for a great day, Gordon. On to more new things!
And yes, we listened to Christmas music the whole way :)

The Zoo

The San Diego Zoo is one of the main attractions in San Diego.  We have already become members and visited twice.  I don't think we'll ever get bored of going to the zoo, so hurry over here so we can take you!  Here are a few of our favorites:

First, watch this video we took of a camel running. It's hilarious!

Sleeping Rhinos

Hungry Hippos

Pouncing Jaguar Pup

And this guy just fathered the newest addition to the zoo.  The baby panda should be in the exhibit in a couple months.  You can watch a live feed of mom and baby here.

We Made It!

We had a blast on our road trip across the country (I will post more about it soon). After 11 days and over 3,000 miles, we finally made it to La Jolla, San Diego.  

(This should have said Beaufort -> San Diego)

We were so excited to see the Pacific! Just in time for the sunset too.

We are currently staying in a vacation rental in the Windan Sea beach area.  We are a couple blocks from the beach and taking advantage of the location everyday.  We've been spending our time getting the lay of the land, looking for jobs, and enjoying all that San Diego has to offer.

Our beach! We have been able to walk along the coast and check out different areas of La Jolla (we walked all the way to La Jolla Shores for those who know how far that is!).  We've even found Mitt Romney's house. 

Gordon originally thought he would be swimming everyday, but after this dunk in the 50 degree water he hasn't made it back in.

View to the left.

View to the right.

While we have an amazing location, our 'home' is a very small, one-room studio. Good thing we only came with a car full of possessions!  

The main house. When you walk through the gate on the left into the courtyard, our studio is straight ahead.

Our front door.  There is another unit upstairs.

The courtyard.

That is the front door.  You are seeing the dining room, living room, and bedroom.  Very efficient!

Hi Gordon, sorry about this.

That is the bathroom door.

And that's it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Happy Thanksgiving from the Desert!

We spent the holiday camping in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  My California family spends every Thanksgiving camping in their RV out in the desert.  I have always heard about it and this year Gordon and I got to experience it!  We did not have the luxury of an RV- we stuck with a good old fashioned tent and sleeping bags.  Thankfully, it was not as cold as normal and to our surprise we were very comfortable. We rode bikes, hiked, played cards, and ate a lot.  On our way out Gordon likened our trip to the Griswold's Family Vacation, only insert Generales, but I think he would agree that it was a great time with no incidents.

We stopped at Dudley's Bakery on the way out for lunch and a loaf of date nut bread.

Site #70. We had the best view!

Lia and I sporting our Beaufort Water Festival shirts.

Gordon discovered his hidden talent of building camp fires.

The RV campsite decorated with Christmas lights.

We had a full Thanksgiving meal, complete with a 17 lb turkey.

Hiking on Friday.

The mountains and canyon are littered with boulders.  We've never seen anything like it.

We spotted a Bullhorn Sheep!

Aunt Marianne, Lia, Uncle Stefan

Once you hike about a mile and a half into the canyon there is an oasis with water and palm trees.  It's really incredible.

The drive home to La Jolla - just a half hour away and the hills begin to roll with grass and large oaks.  

We are so thankful for all of the love and support we have received the past several months and for all of the new things we are getting to experience together.  We miss you all!