January 22nd: Enjoying California

Steve's Kindle (Back)

We still had a few days in Encinitas and we made the most of them.





Wendy and I decided to use some of her craft supplies to decorate our Kindles and Fires.

Linda's Fire

Steve's Fire

The library has a great machine that cuts out stencils and stickers. We used some of her vinyl paper to make the stickers. They turned out great.

Steve's Kindle Front

I also used some of her glitter glue to make the dragon and dragon flies.

Wendy on top of  Moonlight Beach Stairs

There just happened to be a super low tide while we were in Encinitas. The low tides are fun because there are tidal pools we can explore. We parked near some stairs that lead down to the beach The top of the stairs offers a great view. Wendy is at the top in the picture on the right.






Wendy and I went to the beach at low, low tide. There were a lot of mussels, anemones, a few hermit crabs and Wendy even spotted a small fish. This structure is usually under water.

On the way back down the beach we saw a beautiful sunset.

Torrey Pines Beach

It is important to time a hike to Torrey Pines State Park because high tide eliminates walking on the beach. It is one of my favorite places to hike so I picked the best day considering the tides.

View of Torrey Pines State Park Cliffs from the beach

When I arrived, the tides were rising and I needed to change my plan. Usually I go up the cliffs on a path that eventually goes in a circle and leads down to the beach, about 1/4 mile away. It's less strenuous that way. I decided to play it safe and go down the beach first and climb up the path, after all I was trying to get some exercise and I didn't want to swim back!

Path leading up from the Beach

The climb up the cliffs is very scenic. The pictures just don't capture the immense size of the cliffs.

If you look closely at the picture on the right you can see people on a trail. There is also a person much farther away standing on top of the cliff overlooking the water.

While we were in California we took the opportunity to visit Craig and Karen Rahn. We met them while boating in Canada and traveled both the Trent and the Rideau Canals with them. We always enjoyed their company and they were great traveling companions.

Unfortunately, they sold their boat so we can no longer boat with them. However, given they are in California close to where our kids live, we can still easily get together.





I included a few pictures from our trips. Very fond memories

Rahn de Vous on the Trent Marine railway

Rahn's boat Rahn de Vous on the Trent Canal

Craig, Karen and Linda on the Rideau Canal

Steve and Craig kayaking on the Trent

We planned to drive a rental car north to Studio City to spend a few days at our daughter Rebecca's house. After the visit we'd fly back to Florida from Burbank airport so we were dropping the car at the airport. It was fortunate that they must have needed cars in L.A. because there was no drop charge. Very unusual. Burbank is a very easy airport to fly from.and close to Rebecca's home. 

When we went to pick up the rental car they said, "We can give you a free upgrade to a Convertible Mustang GT. Would that be okay?" Of course we said yes. When we started the car it sounded like a race car! It was too cold to drive with the top down but it was fun and quite comfortable.

Rebecca has a major renovation going on and we were anxious to see it in person.







When we arrived, the dogs London and Trevi, were very excited to see us. I think they know I always take them for a walk. They play very well together and are entertaining to watch. Also Linda loves laying on the couch with the dogs,








I continued with a project in the garage. When we took out a wall in the garage we opened up a large hole in the room behind the garage. Rebecca and I made a quick trip to home depot, bought a custom cut piece of plywood and installed it to cover up the hole. While we were at Home Depot Rebecca also bought a new faucet so we could replace one that was old and leaking. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of the finished projects but they're not that exciting.

Overall we had very little project work and lots of relaxing. We once again enjoyed Linda's video games on Rebecca's even bigger large screen television and binge watched The Good Place. We were so relaxed we didn't take any pictures. I'll be certain to include pictures of the completed renovations to Rebecca's home when we return in April.