California, Here I Come

I returned from China to an empty house at the end of July. Brad and the kids had already driven down to Ventura for the time that my step-mother had set aside for us. The beach house in Ventura has always been a favorite destination for our kids and I wanted them to have the opportunity to visit with their grandparents and my youngest sister's family.

It is usually overcast first thing in the morning, which has always made it great for jogging along the beach to the pier. We didn't spot any dolphins swimming along the route this year but there were WAY more dead seals washed up on the beach. Not sure what that was all about.

The beach is great for kite flying. There is usually a good breeze and it lifted the string of kites I had brought my little nephews from China. Nice to see my sister, Michelle, in her role as mother. It's funny to her in that role, when I changed HER diapers. I must be getting old!

This year for my birthday, Brad booked a trip to Catalina. I've always wanted to do it and it was even better than anticipated. The dolphins followed the ferry on the way over and gave us a full performance. We rented a golf cart when we arrived and got an overview of the island first. The huge "casino" is beautiful and was for dancing as opposed to gambling. We were practically stacked on top of each other on the small, private beach but the snorkeling was very cool. Nothing like eating fresh seafood beside the ocean.

Glad to have honoured the kids beach house desire this year. This fall, Dad and Carole sold the beach house. The end of an era! No more hours of just soaking up the sun and then heading to Joe's Crab Shack (where Dad introduced Tyler to lobster) or out for Mexican food at Yolandas! I can't eat a fish taco without thinking of Michelle and Dan. Having grown up by Jericho Beach has made me a definite beach person. I love to read and ponder life by the ocean.

Usually on the way home from my father's, I head up to visit Santa Cruz to visit Judy, John, Dan, and Nate's and to Palo Alto to visit her parents. They use to live across Mundy Park. It's always a fun reunion. However this year was a little different because our schedules didn't jib. Instead we spent time gorging on seafood in San Francisco and pursuing Brad's dream of dune buggying on the Oregon Coast. Larkyn rolled her ATV just to make things a little more memorable. Can't lie - glad to hand in those WAY TOO POWERFUL machines! Fortunately no one was hurt! AND it was terrifying but exciting!