July 7th Our Last Day!
Our last day was a good day, but bittersweet. Phil had to work, so Aaron and I walked along the beach, ate at a REALLY good mexican restaurant (finally Aaron likes mexican food!) and did our laundry. Packing is always a hassel when your going home. But we took off at 10:30 pm and didn't get home until the following day at 10:00 am. The time change is a little dificult to get used to. Our flight back was nice but we were both really tired. It's good to be back to see family and friends, but we miss the West! We are actually getting pictures up today hopfully of our trip! Check back soon for the pics, Aaron took some really good ones.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
July 6th Blessed Sleep!
July 6th Blessed Sleep!
Sleeping in is one of my favorite things to do in life. It is glorious especially when you didn’t get a lot of sleep the day before and did a really strenuous activity. We slept in until around ten today. It was great. The final Wimbledon match was on t.v. today and it was a really good match between Federer and Nadal (don’t ask for first names-I’d never even heard of them until today). Nadal won and we took off to the beaches. Phil drove us around to Laguna Beach, Newport (which should be called “People with sinful amounts of money Beach”) and San Clemente. These beaches were gorgeous. They have the rocky cliffs with the sand and incredible water. The houses are gorgeous too and the whole area looks lush with beautiful flowers and greenery. We watched some really good surfers from the beach and right before left we saw dolphins swimming down the coast right in front of us. They were so close to the shore, it looked like we could swim out to them and play. Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. It has been a once in a life time trip.
Sleeping in is one of my favorite things to do in life. It is glorious especially when you didn’t get a lot of sleep the day before and did a really strenuous activity. We slept in until around ten today. It was great. The final Wimbledon match was on t.v. today and it was a really good match between Federer and Nadal (don’t ask for first names-I’d never even heard of them until today). Nadal won and we took off to the beaches. Phil drove us around to Laguna Beach, Newport (which should be called “People with sinful amounts of money Beach”) and San Clemente. These beaches were gorgeous. They have the rocky cliffs with the sand and incredible water. The houses are gorgeous too and the whole area looks lush with beautiful flowers and greenery. We watched some really good surfers from the beach and right before left we saw dolphins swimming down the coast right in front of us. They were so close to the shore, it looked like we could swim out to them and play. Tomorrow is our last day of vacation. It has been a once in a life time trip.
July 5th Kayaking in the Channel Islands
July 5th Kayaking in the Channel Islands
Today we went kayaking on the coast of one of the Channel Islands. We signed up with a place that will take you out to the island where you kayak and eat lunch. We awoke at 5:00 in the morning to get to this place by seven. Our boat ended up leaving around nine and the journey took an hour. We were already tired and the day hadn’t even begun at that point. The kayaks were not the best to use but we made it work. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but after that we were awesome. My arms were very sore at the end of the day. The water there is blue but not Caribbean blue. The boat ride was fun and we saw lots of dolphins and seals (or sea lions?). We had a seal come up above the water at one point and watch us paddle by. There were some really cool rock formations and we got to paddle underneath an arch a few times. There were a ton of starfish on the rocks and that was very cool to see. We’ve never seen any in the wild. The water here is really cold, so when it splashed up on you, you froze. Despite the cool water, the day was perfect: sunny, no smoke, no sunburn. When we got home, I took a really hot shower for my sore muscles. My arms don’t hurt at all but my shoulders do. We ate at a really yummy Italian place for dinner and watched a movie that we all fell asleep to. It was wonderful. We are really enjoying these last few days of our trip.
Today we went kayaking on the coast of one of the Channel Islands. We signed up with a place that will take you out to the island where you kayak and eat lunch. We awoke at 5:00 in the morning to get to this place by seven. Our boat ended up leaving around nine and the journey took an hour. We were already tired and the day hadn’t even begun at that point. The kayaks were not the best to use but we made it work. It took me a little while to get the hang of it, but after that we were awesome. My arms were very sore at the end of the day. The water there is blue but not Caribbean blue. The boat ride was fun and we saw lots of dolphins and seals (or sea lions?). We had a seal come up above the water at one point and watch us paddle by. There were some really cool rock formations and we got to paddle underneath an arch a few times. There were a ton of starfish on the rocks and that was very cool to see. We’ve never seen any in the wild. The water here is really cold, so when it splashed up on you, you froze. Despite the cool water, the day was perfect: sunny, no smoke, no sunburn. When we got home, I took a really hot shower for my sore muscles. My arms don’t hurt at all but my shoulders do. We ate at a really yummy Italian place for dinner and watched a movie that we all fell asleep to. It was wonderful. We are really enjoying these last few days of our trip.
July 4th Happy Birthday America!
July 4th Happy Birthday America!
Let’s just say that people here on the beach are like college freshman with tons of money. People are everywhere and drunk. The beach is a fun place, but not today. We drove around downtown today which was cool. We saw a lot of homeless people. The buildings here are pretty cool because they different designs. We went to the Griffin observatory in the Hollywood Hills and that was amazing. They had all sorts of science exhibits and it overlooks the entire city of L.A. We drove around Beverly Hills and went to Rodeo drive. No celebrity sighting yet unfortunately. The day ended with the sound of fireworks and good conversation. We enjoyed a very laid back 4th of July.
Let’s just say that people here on the beach are like college freshman with tons of money. People are everywhere and drunk. The beach is a fun place, but not today. We drove around downtown today which was cool. We saw a lot of homeless people. The buildings here are pretty cool because they different designs. We went to the Griffin observatory in the Hollywood Hills and that was amazing. They had all sorts of science exhibits and it overlooks the entire city of L.A. We drove around Beverly Hills and went to Rodeo drive. No celebrity sighting yet unfortunately. The day ended with the sound of fireworks and good conversation. We enjoyed a very laid back 4th of July.
July 3rd The Beach!!
July 3rd The Beach!!
So it was a long day of driving, but we are finally here! It took us two hours once we got into L.A. to get to our cousin Phil’s house. I won’t go into the driving, it was really boring. We did see Big Sur and the surrounding areas. Big Sur was this beautiful vacation spot on the coast and it is being destroyed by fire. The road was blocked from going into the town and you could see the fires on the hillside. We didn’t know the road was closed until we got there and had to turn around. That section of highway one is some of the most beautiful coastline in CA. So, we did get to see some of it. Once we were in L.A., I took a really long, desperately needed shower. It is great to take a shower that is longer than six minutes and that you don’t have to pay three dollars in quarters for. We ate at this really great Mexican restaurant. Of course, EVERY restaurant on these beaches is really good. We walked around Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan beaches and then drove up to hillside and looked out on to the coast. It was a beautiful site.
So it was a long day of driving, but we are finally here! It took us two hours once we got into L.A. to get to our cousin Phil’s house. I won’t go into the driving, it was really boring. We did see Big Sur and the surrounding areas. Big Sur was this beautiful vacation spot on the coast and it is being destroyed by fire. The road was blocked from going into the town and you could see the fires on the hillside. We didn’t know the road was closed until we got there and had to turn around. That section of highway one is some of the most beautiful coastline in CA. So, we did get to see some of it. Once we were in L.A., I took a really long, desperately needed shower. It is great to take a shower that is longer than six minutes and that you don’t have to pay three dollars in quarters for. We ate at this really great Mexican restaurant. Of course, EVERY restaurant on these beaches is really good. We walked around Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan beaches and then drove up to hillside and looked out on to the coast. It was a beautiful site.
July 2nd Napa Valley
July 2nd Napa Valley
Napa valley is so beautiful. It is different than what I thought it was going to be. The rolling hills are golden (well, it looks like dead grass, but it apparently when it rains, the grass turns green) with smallish trees. It looks like how I think Tuscany looks like. We stopped at Frances Ford Coppola’s vineyard and ate pizza. That place is awesome! There was a waiter/wine person there talking about his vineyard. He said that Mr. Coppola’s movies once paid for his wines, now his wines pay for his movies. The whole place was very cool. After we left there, we drove to San Francisco and ate dinner there. The city is so cool. We drove down Lombard street which is the street that switches back and forth at an extreme angle. Aaron had a lot of fun driving on all the crazy streets. Now, we are just trying to get to L.A. we are finally tired of driving and it is only another day to our final destination.
Napa valley is so beautiful. It is different than what I thought it was going to be. The rolling hills are golden (well, it looks like dead grass, but it apparently when it rains, the grass turns green) with smallish trees. It looks like how I think Tuscany looks like. We stopped at Frances Ford Coppola’s vineyard and ate pizza. That place is awesome! There was a waiter/wine person there talking about his vineyard. He said that Mr. Coppola’s movies once paid for his wines, now his wines pay for his movies. The whole place was very cool. After we left there, we drove to San Francisco and ate dinner there. The city is so cool. We drove down Lombard street which is the street that switches back and forth at an extreme angle. Aaron had a lot of fun driving on all the crazy streets. Now, we are just trying to get to L.A. we are finally tired of driving and it is only another day to our final destination.
July 1st The Redwood Forest
July 1st The Redwood Forest
YEA! We can see the coast! Everything looks so beautiful here. I think it is because of the wind from the sea that we can see clearly. The coast is rocky and cold and there are a lot of old seaside towns that are really cool to see. One thing that we are seeing a lot of is million dollar homes on the coast (which doesn’t surprise anyone!) We drove thru the redwood forest which was so amazing. The trees are SO tall and the forest is so pretty. We didn’t stay too long there, but we did walk around a little. not a whole lot to talk about on a road trip when your just driving. We will put up our pictures when we get to L.A.
YEA! We can see the coast! Everything looks so beautiful here. I think it is because of the wind from the sea that we can see clearly. The coast is rocky and cold and there are a lot of old seaside towns that are really cool to see. One thing that we are seeing a lot of is million dollar homes on the coast (which doesn’t surprise anyone!) We drove thru the redwood forest which was so amazing. The trees are SO tall and the forest is so pretty. We didn’t stay too long there, but we did walk around a little. not a whole lot to talk about on a road trip when your just driving. We will put up our pictures when we get to L.A.
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