California roadtrip

Oh geez, I guess it took quite some time to get around posting again. Well, anyhow. The short swedes recently came over for their yearly visit, and a great time was had by all. We usually go somewhere special for a week during their time here, and this time was no exception. This time we went on a road trip all the way from San Diego back up to Portland.

We started visiting Amelia's parents for a couple of days. After that, we went on to L.A. where we visited Damina and Jason. Next, we went to Santa Barbara and the aquarium in Monterey. Finally, we visited the redwoods, and then drove back. The high point for me was our stay in a funky motel in Orick, CA (population 5, or so) where a little bored kid tried to get us to play on his musical game stick, and get in the pool with him and his brother.

Culinary wise, we also had some fantastic experiences. The low-brow being pizza in Monterey (awesome) and Eugene (with pears!), and the high-brow being a delicious meal at Millenium. Oh, the joy.

More pictures here

Meanwhile, outside.

 

 

 

Of course the big star of our visit was the weather. Yay california sun. We took many a walk.

White elephant

 

 

 

We also met at the grandpas assisted living, and had a white elephant gift exhange with the extended family. Beth snagged moisturizing socks. We also learned that trucks are still a big hit with the younger set. Who would have known?

Christmases

 

 

 

We celebrated several different Christmases in order to get the job done well. Amelia made a terrarium for the grandpa, and we even had surprise visitors on Christmas eve.

Kids with guns

 

 

 

For some reason the gentle Puffins ended up at the shooting range this visit, and it was really fun. It was really scary, but also exhilerating. Noone got hurt, but emotions ran high enough that we had to go to Oceanside afterwards and climb a carob tree to harvest seedpods as a calming aftermath.

A new year

 

 

 

Well, here we are! A new year has come, and we spent the last part of it in San Diego to rest up and have some Christmas fun. Beth and Bobby graciously hosted us for a long ten day, and we loved it. We missed a giant snowstorm in Portland, and had no desire to be anywhere else than in a really sunny California. The weather has been crazy lately!

Tara's missing picture

 

The forbidden picture is back.

My favourite SD pastime

 

 

 

Here I am, doing what I do best when I am on vacation. Seriously.

The beach

 

 

 

 

Even though it was almost december, the people of San Diego was busy beaching it up. You can't blame them, really.

More random images from SD

 

 

 

 

Trillia

 

 

 

 

Amelia's sister lives in San Diego since a few years back, and she seems to be doing great there.

Thanksgiving in San Diego

 

 

 

 

We took a quick trip to San Diego to catch up with the California branch of Amelia's family. It is always great to go there, and this time was no exception. We ate tofurky and lounged, and soaked up a little sun.