My Not That Exciting but Perfectly Fine Life

Perhaps you’re wondering why we chose San Diego. There really was only one criterion our destination location had to meet – and that was simply somewhere we could spend ample time on the beach in wonderful weather. San Diego met that criterion so we booked the flight. I was thrilled because I’ve always wanted to visit California. It didn’t disappoint me at all.

The weather was absolutely perfect – in the 70s or low 80s while we were there. I’m told it’s like that year round. I also noticed there were tons of young people. You’d think the place would be booming with retired folks considering the weather. But I didn’t see too many seasoned folks.

Allow me to introduce you to our traveling party. There’s Sarah, the girl with great taste in music and a knack for being the last girl out the door for dinner. And then there’s Erin, the girl you never have to guess what she’s thinking cause she’ll tell ya! She’s also a great driver – thanks to her for doing a ton of driving on the crazy California roads. Christin, my roommate, is often the life of the party and never too far away from a belly laugh. She’s also a bit frugal. When she heard about the $30 fee to check luggage, she decided she was going to manage to stuff all her luggage in two carry on bags. The rest of us thought it to be impossible – thus upping the anti to her challenge – and by golly she did it! Kat decided to get on the same band wagon but forgot to ask one of us to carry her toiletries. As a result she lost a whole can of hair spray, her sunscreen, lotion and of any other liquid item she had managed to cram in her bag. But being the smart girl she is – she managed to throw in her Garmin (handy little GPS that it is) and saved us a lot of headache while traveling roads unknown to us. And then there’s Leandra who has an innate adventurous spirit and is always travelling. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she’d have a degree in it! Thus, she makes for a great travelling companion. And finally there’s Michelle – the girl who asks lots of great questions and is always ready to face whatever lies ahead with a compassionate spirit. And so there you have it our young, fun, and crazy group of girls. I had a blast with them. In the picture above from left to right is: Erin, Kat, Michelle, Me, Sarah, Christin, and Leandra.

My co-worker, Diane, had introduced me to one of her relatives who lives in San Diego, Stan, by email prior to our trip. So I had arranged for us to go kayaking at mission bay with him the night we arrived. They were running a special and it was only for that night. So even though it wasn’t the most ideal activity to do after a long day of flying, we wanted to take advantage of it. We hadn’t accounted for the rush hour traffic however, and thus arrived 10 minutes after the departure time. We were instructed by the person in the boating store to go out to the bay and see if we could find Stan. If so, then they would set us up and allow us to do the tour. If not, then we were out of luck. So, we wandered out to the bay onto a peer filled with parked boats yelling at the top of our lungs, “Stan!” “Stan!” “Stan, where are you?” Much to our chagrin, Stan was nowhere to be found. One of the girls spotted the kayaks off in the distance and we accepted the fact that we were not going to be able to participate in that adventure after all. We moseyed our way back up the pier wondering if any eyes were peeking out from the boats watching this strange parade of 7 girls. When we arrived at the gate we had entered we realized it was locked! We were locked in! It was unlocked when we arrived…why was it locked now? There was no way around it as the pier was over water and the gate was topped with barbed wire. So we waited, wondering what to do. Finally, a man pulled up in a truck, parked it, and walked over to us. He unlocked the gate and let us out for which we were very grateful. Once we got on the other side, we realized it was a private pier! So we scurried out of there not wanting to be charged with trespassing. Although, we weren’t too worried since the man who opened the gate for us didn’t say anything. I’m sure they were glad for the entertainment at least.

We decided to explore Mission Beach since our first plan didn’t pan out. Some of the girls were brave and waded into the ocean – I say brave because it was getting dark and there was a chill in the air. Not to mention the water there is always cold. But I’m glad they did because as they were frolicking in the water I was capturing it with my camera. And one shot I took captured the fin of a dolphin unknown to me until much later when I got home. It's at 1:00 in this picture just past the furthest person. After enjoying the beach for a bit we ended up at The Coaster Bar & Grill for dinner. I had some delicious fish and sticks and some of the other girls had a fabulous margherita pizza. It was right up there with my New York margherita pizza experience. Our choice of drink? A pitcher of water. Strange considering our location…but I don’t think anyone of us would claim to be “normal” whatever normal is. Let’s just say, we were all trying to watch our pennies!

The next day we decided to split ways. Erin, Christin, Sarah, and Kat decided to go to an Angels game in L.A. while Michelle, Leandra, and I opted to stay back and find a beach to spend the day at. Let me just tell you…a beach we did find. Everything about it was perfect…except for one thing. We happened upon it after an hour of driving around. We thought we’d hit the jackpot as we stood at the top of a cliff overlooking a sandy beach and the ocean. So, we decided to venture down the steep stairway and pathway that looped down the cliff and made our way to the perfect secluded beach front…only to find some surprises when we reached the bottom. We had happened upon a nudist beach…the only one in San Diego. It’s called Blacks Beach. Of all people to spend the day at a nudist beach – it would NOT be us three girls. We got a kick out of that. Apparently we were on the edge of it so we made our way a little further away from our “care free friends” and did not attempt to go back the other direction the entire day (once we realized the seemingly invisible “boundary” line.) It was a peaceful day, I must admit. Apparently not many other people wanted to venture out to this “scenic” spot.

On another note, here’s a little word to the wise: don’t leave a bag of chips (even if they are still sealed) unattended on the beach. All three of us took a walk down the beach and upon our return found our sun chips scattered all over the beach due to the hungry sea gulls. The gull of them to do such a thing! Maybe that’s where that saying comes from. The walk was worth it though. We found this house – called the Mushroom house – that was at the end of the beach. Apparently the real house is at the top of the cliff and they use a pulley system to get up and down between the two houses. Towards the end of the day Leandra was swimming and I saw a fin behind her and naturally freaked out. I was in the water too, so I yelled at her about the fin and then promptly made my way to the safety of the sand. We decided to approach the life guards and ask them about this fin – was it friend or foe? We soon learned it was a friend – a dolphin. But as we approached them – half jogging, half walking – the life guards asked us if we’d been stung by a sting ray. We assured them we had not been. They were relieved because it was time for them to pack up and go home. It was then that we learned these waters inhabit sting rays. Great to know after I’d already spent plenty of time crashing in the waves and doing everything but shuffling my feet like you’re supposed to do in sting ray infested water. Oh well…we were done and we had managed to have a great time while not getting stung. Praise God! As we climbed the steep cliff at the end of the day we had the privilege of seeing a dolphin swimming across the shoreline against the sunset. It was stunning. We topped off the evening with a delicious Mexican dinner at Casa Adams. And thanks to the multiple applications of sunscreen, we managed to keep from burning. A good day all around.

The next day we all ventured to the world renowned San Diego Zoo. Now I know why it’s so popular. It was simply breath taking. The landscaping was beautiful and the animals were given so much space to roam. It’s what you would want all zoos to be like if possible. I took tons of pictures of turtles…hmmm, I wonder why. Seems like a strange animal to have an affinity to…but I do. We watched the tigers feed and Erin fed a giraffe. Her goal was to get the giraffe’s tongue out as far as possible…I think she succeeded! We enjoyed a fun sea lion show and I made a point to take in the koala exhibit for my sister, Betsy. We spent almost all day there, an easy thing to do, and then headed off to another beach. This one was called Birds Beach. It’s no wonder. There were sea gulls everywhere! They had managed to pluck a squid out of the ocean and were feasting on it while we were there. Such a lovely thing to watch as we ate our burgers and fries. Are you picking up my sarcasm?

There was a couple getting wedding pictures taken there that evening as well. I think we witnessed four different wedding activities while we were in San Diego. That night we enjoyed watching the sun set on the beach…it was simply perfect. Oh to have that opportunity every night of the week. But alas, corn fields and barns set atop rolling hills can make for a beautiful sunset as well. Good ole Midwest. I really do love it. But I love the ocean too! We ended the day in the hotel hot tub. And the events of the hot tub adventures are to remain a mystery to you. We’ve got to have a few memories that only we get to reflect upon. Now I’ve got you wondering, don’t I?

Our fourth vacation day entailed a trip back to Blacks Beach for a seven mile hike. We had arranged to do this hike with a “Meet Up” group that Stan was a part of. So, we finally met Stan – we were beginning to wonder if he really did exist! He and his wife were very pleasant to talk with and we met some other great people on the hike as well. The write up about the hike did warn about the nudity – but it said it would be a short portion of the beach. Let’s just say, my definition of short and theirs must be different. While it was great to get out and exercise, it was disheartening to be exposed to so much nudity and such an oppressive spirit. It’s hard to describe it. I left that place with heaviness in my spirit and wasn’t relieved of it until later in the day after praying with Leandra. That afternoon we enjoyed the beach from Coronado Island…home of one of the top ten resorts in the world. Leandra, Christin, and I ventured into the lobby of the resort and enjoyed some Moo Time ice cream in the shopping plaza. Later that evening we enjoyed some sea food by an old Navy ship at a restaurant called The Fish Market.

Our final full day in San Diego did not lack in adventure. We enjoyed sleeping in and taking it slow start to the day. Then Christin, Leandra, and I rented a three-man kayak and ventured into the ocean with it. We were excited to see leopard sharks swimming below us on our way out and then again when we returned to shore. Apparently they are of little danger to humans unless you consume them on a regular basis. Apparently they have high levels of mercury in them so it’s not a great idea to make them your dinner. But you’ve no worries of them making you their dinner either. At one point in our kayaking journey, Christin informed us that she felt sick – sea sick. I didn’t believe her until I glanced behind me and found her losing her lunch over the side of the kayak. Poor Christin. We made it back to shore shortly after that and munched on pretzels to help ease all of our nauseous stomachs. Once the queasiness had lifted we drove a short distance down the shore line and met up with Erin and Kat at Seal Beach. Michelle and Sarah had left that morning. So it was just the five of us left. It was fun to watch the seals wriggle their way up and down the beach, into the water and back out again. They’re such a funny creature to watch. We ended our final evening in San Diego with the finest Mexican Food yet! The name of the restaurant escapes my memory, but I do remember what I ate! It was a beef guacamole enchilada with a side of the best cheese I’ve ever tasted on homemade tortillas! Wowsers! I’m drooling now just thinking of it. I only wish my stomach was bigger so I could have cleaned my plate. There was no sense in taking it home since we were leaving bright and early the next day. I ate as much as I could though and don’t regret it at all!

And thus ends our delightful excursion to California. The next day we turned in our car rentals, a Ford Fusion and a beautiful Chrysler Sebring convertible, and headed back to good ole Indiana. Oh what lovely memories. It was a vacation well worth it. If you haven’t taken a vacation lately, I highly recommend it! You can view the rest of my vacation pictures in my Picasa Album if you're interested.