A Very Special Visit and a Day by the Sea

Last month, My daughter was in Southern California for a college event.  She had one day free and we were thrilled to spend it with her.  We picked her up and headed to San Diego.  It was a gorgeous day!  It was sunny, the temps were in the 70's, and we were all together.  Perfect!

We had a delicious lunch and went to Seaport Village to walk around the shops and along the water.  This is a view looking back toward downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter...

This restaurant looks so rustic and cute sitting out over the water.

This Seagull looked so peaceful and happy paddling around the marina.  The water was so clear that we could see his feet moving.

We sat by the water and watched the boats go by.  We even saw a seal or sea lion (I'm not sure which because he was far away) playing in the water. 

There are a lot of interesting boats to see down there.  There are military ships, small sailboats, tour boats, kayaks, and much more.  A couple of years ago, we saw a fancy boat/yacht that was so big it even had a helicopter on the top deck!

We later drove north to Encinitas for a walk along the beach.  It was wonderful...the parking lot had plenty of spaces and the beaches were wide open.  In fact, there were times that it seemed we were the only ones there.

Gorgeous!

There's always so much to see with the gorgeous scenery and the surprises along the sand.  This plant that washed ashore is pretty with it's delicate leaves and pretty pink color. 

 We had to be careful where we walked because there were thousands of tiny, blue, jelly fish that had washed ashore.  Some were about the size of a dime.  The larger ones were a couple of inches wide.

These jellyfish have a little sail on the top to propel them across the water.  I just looked them up and it turns out that's their only means of locomotion.  Because of that, they're subject to mass beach stranding.  We've seen them in years past where there were so many of them that the beach looked like it was covered in paper trash.  Their technical name is "Vellella".  If you look closely, the inside, center part has rings (click on the photo to see it larger).  So interesting.  The blue color is pretty too.

Sadly, there are lots of dead bees along the beach.  We've been seeing more and more of them over the years.  I'm not sure if it has to do with whatever is causing so many of them to die or if it's just a natural occurrence.  Either way, I watch where I step so I won't be stung!

We saw quite a few ladybugs that day.  Here's my daughter with one on her hand.

Looks like he posed for a photo!  

This outing was perfect for trying out my new camera.  I'm amazed how I was able to get a photo close up of a seagull flying high above me.  I'm anxious to see what else my big, zoom lens can do!

After our walk on the beach, we headed a little further north for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Las Olas.  And, then, another walk along the beach in Carlsbad to see the sunset.

I spotted a tree on our walk to the beach that had fuzzy, yellow, blossoms.  Aren't they cute?! 

These surfers were pretty far down the beach and I was surprised how well my camera lens did.  I'd like to go back down there with a tripod on a good surf day and see if I can get some good pictures of surfers riding the waves.

I always love seeing sandpipers.  They're so cute!

What a wonderful day we had together!  It couldn't have been more perfect!

Daddy and daughter!

We watched until the sun slipped away. 

We dropped her off that night with lots of hugs, a little sadness to say goodbye, and anticipation of seeing her again very soon.  It's been tough with her living in another state but we cherish every moment we have together even more than we did before.

The Official Start of Summer

Friday was the first official day of summer and we wanted to make it great!

My daughter and I headed down to North San Diego County for some fun.

We started off with a stop at an antique mall in San Marcos.

Then, we picked up my hubby from work whisked him away for a well deserved afternoon off.

We went to lunch, stopped at a few of our favorite stores and headed to the beach in Encinitas.

The three of us took a long leisurely walk along the water.  Ahhhh!

We walked far enough that we had parts of the beach to ourselves.

It's so beautiful down there and the weather was absolutely perfect that day.

Then, we sat on the beach for a while to relax, take in the scenery, and people watch.

It was interesting to watch life guards bring people closer to shore as the rip currents picked up.

After that, we decided to get a bite to eat and then head down to the Oceanside Harbor.

Our favorite blues musician, Nathan James, was performing at the Nautical Bean that night.

He was surprised and happy to see us and his music was great as always.

It seemed like the perfect way to end the first day of summer...the three of us together,

an ocean sunset, great music, and some great coffee.  It was wonderful!  

Check out the view we had from our table...

It just kept getting better and better as the sun went down.  Gorgeous!

We enjoyed watching birds dive for fish, boats coming and going, and 

seals were diving into the water and swimming around.

We were all up and on the road bright and early Sunday morning to take our daughter

to the Long Beach Airport so she could fly out to a week long harp event.

It was our first time at Long Beach Airport.  It was a surprise to see how small it was 

and that the original Art Deco building that was completed in 1941 is still being used.

That's really something considering how old buildings are so often torn down these days.

Hubby and I explored around the building a bit before we left.

Check out some of the old mosaics on the floors...

Hubby and I wanted to make a whole day out of our long drive to Long Beach.

So, we brought our beach cruisers to go for a ride along the beach and harbor.

I thought this sign was funny.  

There were a few of them posted along the pathway at the dog beach area.

Speaking of dogs...we came across a dog show in a nearby park.

And, not any dog show...it was all terriers!  My favorite!

We fell in love with this little girl.  Isn't she cute!

She's a Welsh Terrier.  She looks just like our dear Salsa but in miniature.

We just may get one of these someday.  The same cuteness as Salsa but in a smaller, calmer package.

We were determined to get over to the other side of the waterway that boats go through
and get to the Queen Mary.  It took lots of circling around and exploring to figure out
where the bike path went over the bridge but we finally found it!
Here we are (Yikes! Beach hair! lol) at the top of the bridge with the Queen Mary behind us...

When we went back over to the harbor side we just had to stop to oooh and aaaah over this boat!

Wow!  Doesn't that look like soooo much fun?!  We saw another one come into the harbor later on.

It was even more impressive and had a gorgeous paint job.  But, I couldn't get a good picture of it.

We rode over 15 miles on our cruisers.  Yes, we enjoyed some flat riding.  But, there were some steep hills...like over the bridge and back and riding up to a little light house.  Then, there was the head wind as we headed back to the car.  So, we actually got a bit of a workout.  But, it was all fun!

We ended our fun day in Long Beach with a visit to Yard House

for some delicious drinks and appetizers by the water.

Our summer is off to a great start.  

Here's hoping it's just the beginning of lots of wonderful times to come!

How's your summer?  Did you do anything special to kick off this wonderful season?

It's a lot of work to carry my big camera around and spending a lot of time getting great shots.
So, I've only had my cell phone with me lately and using it for photos and very few of them.
It's hard sometimes to not have my camera when something great shows up but
not worrying so much about getting a ton of great photos sure is a lot more relaxing!  

Yarnover Truck / Girls Day Out

Yesterday was a girls day out for my friend Judy and I.

We found out that the Yarnover Truck was going to be

in our area and planned a whole day around it.  

Our adventure started out with a 45 minute drive to Escondido and little antique shopping.

Judy got a great little antique table with a bowl/box top.  It's really cute!  

I think it could work great as a knit or crochet project holder next to her favorite stitch spot/chair.

You can see it in her blog post HERE.

Our next stop was lunch.  We found a BBQ restaurant and enjoyed yummy food and chat time.

Then...we were off to visit the Yarnover Truck!

If you haven't heard of it yet, it's a yarn shop on wheels that just opened this year.

They travel all around Southern California and provide yarn shopping fun at various places and events.

They were at two wineries this weekend, Orfila in Escondido on Saturday

and Oak Mountain Winery in Temecula on Sunday.  We went to Orfila Winery.

Here it is...The Yarn Over Truck!...

There were two tables set up outside for Baah Yarn and Ewe Ewe Yarn.

The colors were amazing!  So vibrant and gorgeous!

The truck itself is small and only accommodates a few people at a time.

There was a short line for waiting to go in.  It didn't take long and it was worth the wait.

The side walls of the truck are lined with shelves that are very organized and filled

with beautiful yarn.  Knitted and crocheted items are on display near the yarn 

each one is made from.  And, each one has a tag telling the pattern name, the yarn used, 

and how many skeins are needed for that project.  I love that!

I fell in love with a lacy crochet shawl.  It's very different from the ones I've been making

and exactly what I've been searching for.  It required two skeins of "Spud & Chloe" fine 

sock yarn.  I had no trouble deciding on a color.  My eyes went straight to this beautiful

pale turquoise...a color I've been wanting to make a shawl with.  In fact, I don't

even remember what other colors were available.  This color was it! 

It's superwash Merino and silk.  It's so soft and pretty!

There was a little check stand in the front of the truck to purchase yarn.

They even wrote the pattern name down for me so I can purchase it on Ravelry.

Judy bought a skein of yarn that was dyed specifically for the Yarn Over Truck.

It's called "Keep on Truckin'".  It's blue and teal and beautiful.

You can see it on her blog post.

The weather was spectacular yesterday and so was the scenery.

A perfect day and place to kick back, relax, and enjoy!

The winery was small and really nice.

I'd definitely like to go back there again someday.

We walked around and enjoyed the views and took a few pictures.

We had fun looking at the nearby houses and picking out our favorites.

Some of them were huge!

After the winery and yarn truck, we decided to head to the beach town of Encinitas.

It was only about 20 minutes away.  We visited two yarn shops that Judy had never been to, 

Common Threads and Black Sheep.  After walking through town, we took a walk on the 

beach and gathered some rocks to decorate with crochet...like the one in my "Rockin'" post.

We headed back home around six and the hour drive gave us more chat time.

What a fun day!  And, now we have more yarn and rocks to create with!

Happy Birthday, Part II

My 50th birthday celebration got a little bigger. It started out last week with a wonderful day of skiing with my husband and daughter. We continued the party on Sunday by spending a day in San Diego. We did a little shopping, dining, and even enjoyed a concert.

It was a sunny day and I enjoyed the hour drive down there and the chance to relax and crochet the whole way. We grabbed some yummy coffee drinks and spent a couple of hours at Ikea looking at their great stuff and being inspired. I love Ikea! We stayed for lunch and enjoyed their delicious Swedish meatball platters. Yum!

Next, we went to a bead and jewelery store/outlet that I heard about years ago and had been wanting to check out. They had so much stuff that it was a little overwhelming. But, I did find a little something that I wanted. A beautiful silver rose. It's about 2 1/4" wide with a pin on the back that works great as a shawl pin (I wore it with one of my shawls right after we left the store). It also has a loop that I plan to string a ribbon through and wear as a necklace. It's so pretty! I love it!


From there, we drove north to the town of Encinitas. It's one of our favorite places in San Diego and we spend a lot of time there. It's a beautiful little town with gorgeous beaches, beautiful weather and a great vibe. It's hard to explain. We just feel really good when we're there.

We walked around some little shops and had dinner at a fancy little Italian restaurant (I didn't notice the name). It was good! I had potato dumplings filled with spinach and ricotta and it was covered with a sage cream sauce. Yum! Hubby had butternut squash gnoccis with scallops, shrimp and some kind of tomato/cream sauce. It was really tasty! My daughter had penne with artichoke hearts and prosciutto. We enjoyed some delicious wines as well. It was a small, pretty restaurant with dim lighting and a comfortable feel. There was even a doggy laying on the floor next to one of the customers with his own little bowl of food. So cute.

One of the little treasures in town is the La Paloma Theatre. It's been around since 1928 and keeps on going. That's pretty special these days. It doesn't seem to have been remodeled or modernized. How it looks now seems to be how it's always been. It's like stepping back in time. It's a bit magical. We love to see shows there!

For years we've seen on the marque that George Winston performs there every January. We've talked about going but never got around to checking into it. This year, my husband surprised me with tickets. He bought them in November for my birthday. What a sweetheart! We were pretty lucky to get tickets because we heard it sold out pretty quickly.


We have some George Winston CD's that I love. I especially love listening to them when we go camping. His music is so happy, relaxing, and uplifting all at the same time. We were excited to see the man behind the sound. It turns out that he's a VERY quiet man...a man of very few words. But, he sure is talented. He even plays the guitar and the harmonica...verrry well!

We all had a very nice day! Turning 50 has been a little emotional but it's actually starting out pretty well! :-)