Surf Dog

When Mama heard there was a surf dog competition in Coronado,

we knew how we were going to spend our first weekend in California.

Turned out that the competition was on Imperial Beach.

The weather was great.  Very warm.  Little B was hot on the beach, which was packed with spectators - human and canine.

CJ loved these little barking dogs that greeted us after we parked.

There was a nice little play area on the beach:

And an impressive sand castle being constructed for the event:

Here's some of the action:

CJ had a blast playing in the water and made some new friends on the beach.  Eventually she put on her suit and started to play in the sand.

Pismo

Our goal for Day 2 was to make it to Pismo Beach.  We did it, but got in too late to see the beach.

This morning Daddy had some work to do before we shoved off, so the girls headed to the beach.  

There was a very long staircase down, but we made it.

CJ looked tiny compared to the rocks.

She started her newest shell collection.

The hills behind the hotel didn't look very coastal.

We didn't have time for the beautiful pool - darn.

Here's CJ overlooking the coast line.

This was the view outside our room. 

Yes, we had a pet, but seriously?

If you went outside and really tried,

you could see the water.

Walnut Creek

Still making our way south, we stopped for a bite in Walnut Creek.  It was in the high 80's so very warm for us - especially Little B.  We had a parking lot picnic and hit the road.  Still a ways to go.

Shasta

Here are some pictures we took of Shasta as we headed south to California:

Mama's Solo Journey

After a late night, Mama got up extra early for a quick trip down south to check out some houses.

She also saw lots of palm trees:

Some views:

Beautiful wood and glass:

Orange trees (lemon, too!):

Banana trees (unfortunately this one was in the flight path of the airport):

And several different hibiscus plants:

Sunset Flight

Mama had picked our flight home from San Diego to be the most direct, 

getting us home just after CJ's bedtime.

No one had planned on a light malfunction that the pilots would notice 

just as they backed the plane out of the gate.

So our full flight pulled back in to the gate and we spent the next hour in our seats

(in the very last row of the plane).

Which meant we got home pretty late.

But we did get to see a nice sunset in the air.

So Cal Beaches

Sunset Cliffs:

Ocean Beach:

Dog Beach at Ocean Beach:

(we know some dogs that would have loved this, back in their puppy days)

Children's Park and Promenade

After walking to breakfast, we walked down by the waterfront and checked out the Children's Park and the walkway.  CJ was excited to finally have a chance to play and she loved looking at the trains as they passed.  We even found a farmer's market on our way back to the hotel.

Mouseka Breakfast

We found a yummy place for breakfast in San Diego, guess it is award-winning.  Even made a free Mickey Mouse pancake for CJ.  Totally worth the 20 minute wait.

CIty Views

CJ was only allowed on the roof of the hotel when the bar up there was not open.  So we went up Sunday morning, but the clouds hadn't parted for sun yet.  Still a great view of Petco Park before the game started (we'll have to do that some day - the San Diego weather is perfect for a baseball game).

San Diego Searching

We spent the day looking around San Diego.  Had breakfast at a nice cafe, across the street from a park.  Drove around the city and checked out the different neighborhoods.  Went around Balboa Park several times.  Someday we'll come back and stop to visit the zoo.  CJ was worn out and even fell asleep in the car a couple of times.  Hopefully we'll get to do something fun tomorrow before we head home.

Seasoned Traveler

We left the rain in Portland behind and headed down to meet Daddy in sunny San Diego.

CJ is an old pro at traveling now:

So is Truffle, who joined us for the trip:

Queenstown, NZ Gondola View

Heading Home

CJ took this picture of all the things she wanted in the airport gift shop

(Mama and Daddy were only in the gift shop because the Super Bowl wasn't on in the terminal)

But the game was on during the flight - Awesome.

Plus there were buffalo wing pretzels to celebrate the day - our own Super Bowl Party.

CJ watched the Puppy Bowl!

Bohemian Bike Rack

CJ found this bike rack in an area of San Diego that some describe as "Bohemian". We had a good dinner there. It felt like we could have been back in Portland...

The OC

We stopped at this beach during our drive down to San Diego from Long Beach. It was really beautiful.