I just got back from a five-day trip to the beach in Oceanside, CA, with my book club. It was sunny, warm but still cooler than Tucson, and wonderful!
We originally planned to go to Flagstaff, but the forest fires and resulting smoke and ash all over town made us switch to the beach. It was a six-hour drive mostly on I-8 plus stops for lunch and gas, so not bad at all.
We rented a four-bedroom condo that was right on the beach. Here's the view from our ground-floor patio. It was incredibly relaxing to hear the waves and feel the ocean breeze all day and to have a respite from the sizzling heat in Tucson.
In the morning after breakfast and again after lunch we walked almost a mile to the pier and sometimes beyond. Here we are just leaving ...
... getting closer ...
... and now we're up on the pier looking down at the beach scene.
There were surf lessons, people fishing, dogs being walked, cars cruising with music blasting, Navy recruits doing some harsh training exercises, kids on the playground, adults doing yoga. It was a busy summer week!
Here some of us are up on the pier.
I called us the big hat ladies.
What could be better for little kids than a playground right on the beach!
Every evening, people lined the pier and the shore watching the sun sink down into the ocean.
The sunsets were beautiful!
Every evening we walked another mile and back along Mission Avenue to eat at one of the numerous open-air restaurants in town. The first night was at Odie's Pizza, near the mural. Then it was the Mission Avenue Bar, the Biergarten, and the Flying Pig (my favorite, where I got shrimp and grits).
Here we are at the Flying Pig toasting to our last night in Oceanside.
I loved the inside of the Flying Pig. And Sandy loved her mussels and homemade linguine!
After we left the Flying Pig on our last night, we wandered through a street fair that was packed with people eating all kinds of ethnic foods.
My mission was to find chocolate cake, which I did, but we also shared some baklava. I forgot to get a picture of my cake, but it was amazing!
I had some excellent sweet potato fries another night.
We were surprised by how many Oceanside restaurants featured Cajun dishes. And when we stopped in Yuma for lunch at a gastropub we discovered it also had a Cajun-New Orleans theme!
Besides going to the beach and eating, we played Mahjong. And of course I visited my mom, who was only 20 minutes away. Here she is with Sandy, Beth and me. She's doing really well. In fact, the only time we drove anywhere was to visit her. Otherwise we walked many miles every day.
Every evening after we got back to the condo from dinner, Kristina led us in a special toast. Since I can't drink alcohol my shot was, sadly, water.
It was a great trip with great friends and great memories!!!
Have a colorful day
1 comment:
Sounds like a lovely adventure. For almost 50 years our Book Group has met monthly, but we never took a trip together! I think we are mostly too old now. Good for you.
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