The Saga Continues

Yesterday was kind of a gloomy day with clouds and drizzle, temps in the low 50s. We did some errands in the morning and our friends Janey and Ade, who live in San Diego, came to visit in the afternoon. We had some nice conversation and showed them around our place. We went out to dinner with them in the evening at the Carlsbad Beach Grill. Really good fish tacos!

Today we started out as usual. Lyn went for a long beach walk and I went for a long bike ride. Boy, it's nice to be able to get out and do those things.

In the afternoon we decided to go for a drive north to Dana Point. We visited the marina there; wow, what a lot of boats! Must be a couple thousand. We continued our drive up to Laguna Beach, where Lyn's sister Diane and her husband Rick used to live back in the 80s. Got back home right around sunset. Another nice day...

Lazy Sunday

This morning Lyn went for a walk on the beach and I went for a bike ride to San Marcos. After that we went to the farmers market to get one of those great sandwiches for our lunch. The rest of the day was reading and relaxing. Ahhhhh....

Beaches

Today was an absolutely beautiful day. Temps in the upper 70s and mostly clear skies. We drove down to La Jolla and meandered along the ocean. Lots of people out enjoying their Saturday. La Jolla is pretty cool with lots of rock cliffs. We saw some seals as well as people snorkeling. Later, we parked at the north end of Pacific Beach to watch all the kite boarders and wind surfers, which was really fun.

We got on the bikes and rode the boardwalk down to the heart of Pacific Beach to find some lunch. Then we continued south on the boardwalk all the way down to the end of Mission Beach. Wow, what a lot of people! Playing on the beach, surfing, biking, roller blading, skate boarding, partying, sunning, etc. It was great people watching. On the way back we stopped at the Pacific Bean coffee shop to share one of their Acai Bowls. It was acai flavored ice cream with granola, bananas, strawberries, and blueberries. Very tasty!

The last thing we did was drive up to Soledad Mountain for the great views. You can see practically all the way to Mexico and as far north as Dana Point. It was a bit hazy, but not too bad. Arrived back at out townhouse in time to see a really good sunset. Wow, it was a good day...

A Sad Day

When we were just arriving in San Diego last week we received the sad news that Haylee, the grand-daughter of our friends Janey and Ade, had passed away. She was only 14 months old and had a rare inherited disease. Her mom, Katie, is Janey and Ade's daughter. Her dad, Brett, is in the marines and had been in Afghanistan until just before Haylee died. Today we were pleased to be able to attend the memorial service at Miramar Air Base.

Day 15 - Just the two of us

Bob and Ilona left this morning, heading back to MN in their cool little RV. They'll probably take the south route to stay out of the cold and snow (at least until they hit MN!) So now Lyn and I are alone for a week until Jo, Di, and Rick arrive next Thursday.

We didn't do a lot today: read a bit, sat on the patio enjoying the sunshine, Lyn got a manicure. In the late afternoon Lou went for another bike ride. (Do the days all seem the same? The weather seems to be consistent.) This bike ride I went inland several miles, then looped north and then back to the ocean. Lots of hills! It was a mix of zooming down at 25-35 mph and struggling up at 5-9 mph. A little different than the rolling terrain along the ocean. It would have been nice if there wasn't so much traffic. At least I'll know the route next time. (Next time?)

Day 14 - Birding and Biking

Well, we had a nice leisurely morning, drinking coffee, catching up on email, and talking.

Lou did go for a bike ride after lunch. Started north of Oceanside in the middle of Camp Pendleton and rode north to San Clemente. It was a decent ride, but S.C. was a bit of a letdown. The roads were real steep to get down to the pier and there isn't really much there. Had a small snack from a convenience store and then climbed back up. The major part of the route was pretty flat between I-5 and the ocean. I arrived in San Clemente about the time school was getting out and there were lots of kids carrying surfboards to the beaches. I saw several riding skateboards with their surfboards under their arms. One was even talking on his cell phone at the same time!

Lyn, Bob, and Ilona went out together and did some hiking and birding in some of the nearby natural areas. Their highlight was a baby Anna's hummingbird! They also did the shopping for dinner and for Bob and Ilona's trip home.

We grilled burgers for dinner and had a nice evening chatting and watching the Horse Whisperer movie.

Days 12 and 13 - First Visitors

Our friends Bob and Ilona arrived yesterday. They are our friends from the Northern Lights Sailing Club in Minneapolis. They've actually been away from Mpls since Dec. 18 and spent most of that time in CA with a week in Hawaii. Now they're going to stay with us a few nights before starting the drive home. Ah....retirement....

We took our bikes into Encinitas and rode south along the coast for a bit. Then we came back here to have a nice pasta and salad dinner.

Today we took the Coaster train to the Old Town San Diego station. We had our bikes with us and rode from the station to Mission Beach and had a nice lunch at the beach. We saw a lot of water birds along the river (black-necked stilt, American avocet, cinnamon teal, great-blue heron, snowy egret, coots, green-winged teal, etc.) Very fun! Our ride back to the station was a bit hectic as the bike route map was not really detailed enough. In one place it showed two trails intersecting, but one of them was on a bridge 40' above us! We made it back in one piece, but it was a bit hairy at times. I think we'll skip biking tomorrow....