Time has gone quickly since Dave and I returned from our Seychelles trip. After just three weeks we headed back to the U.S. as Dave had a global HR meeting located in none other than Laguna Beach, California. The meetings were being held at the beautiful Montage Resort which sits right on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We saw whales, porpoises, and seals along the coast. Our sisters, Amy and Lisa, were able to join us….ok, they actually joined ME as Dave was busy pretty much every day all day. It’s always nice to have a buddy or two to hang with.
In order to make getting around easier, I booked a rental car - Toyota Camry. It was a perfectly good car, but it just didn’t really fit in with the other cars pulling into the resort for valet parking, which included Bentleys, Mercedes, Lexus’s, Jaquars, Aston Martin, and others that I was SURE were way out of my league. I told the valet drivers time and time again that it was the powder blue BENTLEY, not Camry, but they always brought out my car.
And, we didn’t just see these luxury cars at the resort, but up and down Pacific Coast Highway. Everywhere we turned there was a lavish car. I know the economy is bad in many, many places throughout the U.S., but it wasn’t evident in this area of California.
Before Dave had to begin work on Monday, the four of us golfed at the Aliso Creek Golf Course just minutes from the ocean and our resort. It is a short nine hole golf course carved among the walls of the Aliso Canyon. The canyon takes a dogleg left at the end of the 1st hole, and let me tell you….the wind HOWLS at the convergence of the two canyons. The day was cool and pretty windy, but not enough to stop us from golfing around twice!
Because we were so close to San Diego, the girls and I headed down to Sea World one day. It’s always been one of my favorite places as I'm fascinated with the whales, dolphins, and sea lions. Strangely enough, we also ran across a legless lizard from Europe (not literally). One of the animal handlers had her out in a grassy area. It basically looked like a snake.
I was disappointed because the dolphin and killer whale (Shamu) shows seemed to be more about the acrobats and costumes than it did about the animals. During past visits I always remembered learning lots about the animals; their habits, how they came to be at the park, and other interesting facts. The Clyde and Seamore (sea lion) show was really lame as the animals were NOT cooperating. It was more like watching humans trying to fill air time! Ha ha!
When looking at the park’s website I see that some of these more “informational” shows are seasonal, so I suspect that is the reason. On the other hand, we had perfect weather and absolutely no crowds.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the “Pets Rule show,” which actually had absolutely nothing to do with sea life at all. Instead they were dogs, cats, ostriches, and a pig or two. We were sort of awestruck by the fact that CATS were trained….and they were WELL trained!
One day we just hung by the pool, not far from the ocean. We were even witnesses to a small wedding that was held on the grounds of the resort….all sitting in our lounge chairs. And, of course no trip would be complete without a day of shopping.
After the week in California, Dave and I flew to Reno for a long weekend where we spent time with our four children, son-in-law, grandson, and Dave’s parents. It was a really, really nice weekend. Low stress and lots of time with family. On Mother’s Day we all met at a local park where some of the crowd played a friendly game of volleyball, Duane and Joann cheered on the teams, and Brody and I “roamed” the park, picking up rocks and anything else he could find on the ground. We had a picnic - a VERY rare treat for Dave and I these days. That evening Chap’s parents invited us out to their farm for hot dogs and smores roasted over an open fire, which was fabulous! When we travel people always want to take us to dinner, so a home cooked meal….especially roasted hot dogs….is awesome!!
Just to be clear…we also love eating out as American restaurants are delicious and we are grateful that we have so many friends and family who want to actually eat with us!
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