Spring Break, Part One

We spent a night in Laguna Beach,
staying where D. stayed as a child.

The library was fabulous and I was able to get a card.

There was an enormous fairy garden outside the library.

Watching the sunset was one of the highlights.

We had great weather for the trip and we both went in the ocean. We ate some good food, walked on the beach, walked by the shops, and walked inland a bit, too. I can see why people like to go on vacation.

Race Day

The half-marathon in Pasadena was sold out but A. and his friend found a cheaper one in Santa Monica. I thought it would be ridiculous to get up at 4:45 a.m. to go watch, but I changed my mind. I decided it would be nice to watch him run, to see the ocean, and to hang out with his friend's mom.

Check in started at 6:30 a.m.

The pier was lit up even at that hour.

The ocean and the birds were beautiful.

And they're off!

The course was on a footpath and went out about 2.2 miles and back so we were able to see the runners many times. A. was 2/3 when this picture was taken. 

People running the 5K and 10K races were on
the same course but with different turn-around spots.

My friend's son won and A. came in fourth, beating his goal time.
He celebrated with a dip in the ocean.

We found a good place for lunch 

and took our time strolling through the neighborhoods

and along the coast.

I am really glad I decided to go!

Fall Break, mini figure edition

 

arboretum

Monterey Bay

Natural Bridges State Beach

Fall Break, Part Two

 Sometimes it feels like trips are mostly sitting around. This time it was easy to get out and about. 

After watching the eclipse we visited friends in Los Osos and stayed so long that it was dark by the time we checked into our hotel. The shortest way to the Mexican restaurant and ice cream place was along the beach. I had forgotten how dark places are without lights from cars or other sources.

It was also a mile to dinner.

The next day we met family at the UC Santa Cruz arboretum.

It looks like we just meandered,
but we used the map a bit.

Before we met up with more relatives I had a chance to see the Santa Cruz boardwalk for the first time.

Later in the afternoon we made our way to Natural Bridges State Beach

and saw a newly formed bridge!

This time we made sure to leave early enough to ride to dinner in the daylight, but I forgot to record it.

The highlight of the ride was the corner of Short and Granite, which had treasures on each corner, including bonus treasures on one corner. It must be fairly new since the map app does not show any of it.

On the last day we walked to the butterfly sanctuary, lighthouse, John Denver memorial, along the coast and then on a converted railway track.

Such a great vacation!

Fall Break, part one

You can see a lot of pictures of people experiencing the annular (ring-shaped) eclipse on October 14, but here is our version. 

The viewing at home would have been fine and there was an event on campus event thought it was fall break, but we decided to leave early 

and drive to Surfers Point in Ventura. It turned out to be a great choice.

I packed our glasses from 2017

and D. brought a pair he had received in the mail.

It was a challenge to photograph the eclipse. Here are some attempts.

somehow it shows up in the tree

and the crescents in the dappled sunshine

and the most basic way to view the eclipse.

Another highlight was doing some science outreach, helping other people have the chance to see the eclipse. The most common response was a big wow.

Bonus picture my friend in New Mexico shared and said I could post. This was made by using a colander as a pinhole camera.

Combination Trip

A. and his friend spent the night in the Denver airport on the way to California for spring break. Heading back they had a non-stop flight, but out of LAX at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. That was better for them but maybe not so great for us. We tried to make the best of it by planning a beach visit after drop off.

The beach is pretty empty at 7 a.m.!

We found a breakfast place that had tables in the sunshine 

and then walked over and watched the UCLA crew team.

It was a little chilly for swimming
but it was good to touch the ocean.

We'll see whether we try this again.

The Good Life

 

Does this temperature scale make my weather look hot?

Is that better?

We decided to get up early to drive to the beach. We arrived about 7:30 a.m. and A. rode 27 miles while D. and I walked on the beach.

We all cooled off in the water and left just as the crowds were arriving.

If only I could have soaked it up to bring back home.

Last Vacation of 2017

We headed up the coast and were lucky to have clear air. We could signs of the fire right on the edge of towns, but we had no smoke on our drive.

We had a little stop at Avila Beach just to touch the water and enjoy being out of the car.

We spent the evening in San Luis Obispo and met D.'s sister and boyfriend for dinner followed by a visit to Bubblegum Alley and Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab. All the best places in one night!

In the morning we headed to Santa Cruz and D. and A. rented fancy bicycles and had a fabulous ride. I ran along West Cliff Dr. and through Natural Bridges State Beach. Ahh.

I still had time so I looked for a charging station and was lucky to find a solar-installation company that would charge the car for free. That meant I needed to get around on foot, but it was a beautiful day.

I made it to Bookshop Santa Cruz and the public library, which had this display of books about criminals and other people on Santa's naughty list. I have been trying not to shop much, but books don't count.

My cousin lives in Half Moon Bay and my sister drove down from San Francisco and we all took a walk along the bluffs. I would love to live so close to the water.  My cousin took us to a great restaurant that was near an equally wonderful bookstore, which we were happy to support.

We left A. behind with my sister and took home D.'s bicycle, which had been in San Francisco last year. Seemed like a fair trade.

On our way home we took the scenic route. We had probably driven by the sign many time, but this time we took the exit for Pinnacles National Park. We didn't go for a long hike but were still happy to have stopped. Good think I had put that annual park pass in the car!

As usual, it was good to go and good to come home.