California: Day 11 (Wed)...Into Every Vacation, A Bit of Rain Must Fall

Today was a bit cooler than the other days so far, and a bit overcast for a chunk of the day.  This afternoon it even drizzled a bit off and on, for about an hour.  I imagine that this is how a typical rainy day must be in San Diego area - it gets so very little rain throughout the year that this little drizzle is probably all that happens on a rainy day. Must be nice!

This morning was a bit on the lazy side again, which was great - we hung around talking, making breakfast, swimming, trying (ineffectually!) to make decisions about how to spend the rest of the day!

Here's my dad out on the deck, looking more relaxed than I'm accustomed to seeing him...I took this picture on the sly:

In the end, we went to an outlet/discount mall nearby, to do some shopping, and that turned out to be a great decision.  For considerably less money than I would have spent at home, I bought Matthew his next fall/winter wardrobe, and a few things for summer - the summer stuff was harder to find because it's technically winter here.  In addition, I bought myself a few pairs of Merrell sandals for next summer (at home I've seen the same shoes for $110; I paid $49 for each of them today).  We all gathered again for a late lunch in a little diner, which I mention only because I tried my first ever fish tacos!  Anyone else ever tried these little gems?  I'd heard of them for years, and figured that this would be a good place to try them; and they were delicious...fresh fish pieces, lots of cabbage, cilantro, diced tomatoes, and guacamole, all wrapped up in a soft tortilla shell.

In the afternoon, we headed to nearby La Jolla Beach (pronounced "La Hoy'-a"), which is an ocean cove carved into the rock in the upscale beach town of La Jolla.  It was beautiful, despite the overcast skies.  Best of all, as we walked along, we began to hear the distinctive barking sound that could mean only one thing: sea lions.  Sure enough, as we walked closer, we could see the sea lions snoozing on the rocks just feet from the shoreline or playing in the water nearby; also, sitting on neighbouring rocks, or flying inches overtop of the waves hunting for fish, we saw dozens of birds that, to my eye, looked like some kind of pelican with the big pouch under their beaks.  We climbed down onto sea-etched layers of rock formations to get a better view.

Climbing amongst the rocks proved such slippery business that, after almost sliding into a shallow tidal pool (filled with tiny crabs and fish), I took my shoes off and walked barefoot on the cold stone; at least that provided a bit of grip.  I loved taking a few photos of Matthew and Geoff; here are a couple of my favourites:

This evening, most of us went to The Cheesecake Factory in S.Diego for dinner - anyone else ever been to one?  I've been once before, in Minneapolis (Minn.) and this time was as good as the last time; the Santa Fe salad is the king of all salads, let me tell you.

As usual, it often seems, I'm the last to bed, despite my tiredness.  My brother and nephews have just gone off to bed and that leaves me to struggle with the insomnia that takes no vacation.  It is quiet and peaceful, though, and it is nice to enjoy a moment or two on my own after a day busy with people and activities.  I bought some dark, organic chocolate yesterday at a lovely little health food store; maybe I'll end my day by breaking off a little square of that heaven yet.  Good night everyone!