laguna beach

Recalling a fabulous weekend

Our house feels much emptier today, now that my sister and niece have gone back to Portland. I miss them already, so to extend their visit (at least in my own mind), I thought I’d post a few photos from our weekend adventures.

First stop: the San Diego Zoo!



A koala, doing what koalas do best. 

A polar bear contemplates global climate change.

Gorgeous ginger blossoms!



Mama panda nuzzles her playful cub.

A gaggle of gossiping flamingos



Hippo bottomus


Next on our list: a blissful respite at the spa, followed by a raucous evening at the Orange County Fair.

Seems as if fair food gets more outlandish every year, doesn’t it? But Templeton my husband was in Hog Heaven! I had BBQ’d chicken and roasted corn. Again. Which, by the way, was delicious. For dessert, I had sugar-free Dippin’ Dots. (My dinner menu seems a bit self-righteous boring, I confess, now that I’ve typed it up for public consumption.)

Peep show! The animal exhibits are my favorite part of the fair, followed closely by arts and craft displays. Congratulations to my friend Stace Dumoski, who had TWO photos accepted for exhibition this year!



My heart ached for this beautiful giant, who was forced to ferry passengers around the perimeter of a miniscule enclosure.

Of course, no SoCal visit is complete without at least one trip to the beach. So after wandering around a Farmer’s Market in Long Beach, we took a stroll along the boardwalk in Laguna.

A lifeguard station on a quiet stretch of sand. But bleh, don’t look too close: that lifeguard’s performing (what should be) a private search-and-rescue operation. :/

The marine layer moved onshore a little earlier than usual, and since our visitors hail from the Pacific Northwest, they were amused by our comments about "overcast" skies.

Toby’s crashed out on my husband’s keyboard this morning, completely exhausted by all the activity. But I’m ready and eager to go at it again, so hurry back, Mei-Ling and Arielle! xoxo

Site Meter

Laguna Beach: on the wings of love

I took these photos in Laguna Beach today, just before my voice lesson. It was such a beautiful day–sunbeams danced in the azure waves, and hummingbirds darted across the endless blue skies.

*happy sighs*

I am so gone on these creatures! Take a peek…I’ll bet your heart goes pitty-pat, too. 

Oh heavenly day!

A friend asked yesterday if I believe in the concept of Heaven. I absolutely do, although perhaps more in the metaphorical than the traditional sense. I was raised to believe that Heaven’s a magnificent home in the sky, a place where God welcomes His faithful believers when their physical bodies die. I can’t speak with 100% clarity–who can? But I’ve come to believe that if we walk in grace, striving always toward our better angels, we can see glimpses of Heaven all around us.    

Witness:

After talking with him on LJ for nearly two years, I finally met up with Java_fiend in person. We had lunch at P.J.’s  Abbey in the Historic District of Old Towne Orange. The restaurant itself is a converted Baptist church. Originally built in 1891, this restored Gothic Victorian is resplendent with the original stained glass windows, church pews that serve as dining benches, and a grand piano that graces the area in front of the original altar. 

 
Kevin’s a great listener (good thing, yes?); and even better, he speaks passionately about his own life. His enthusiasm is infectious and his smile contageous…we laughed and talked for almost three hours! What a blessing, to savor a delicious meal in such beautiful surroundings, and to also enjoy a leisurely conversation with a special friend.

Next, I devoted some time to my writing. I worked until late afternoon, and lo, I was satisfied with my progress. Smile

My husband and I ate dinner in Laguna, and afterward, we took a sunset stroll along the beach. We watched as the sun kissed the ocean goodnight….

…and palm trees reached for the moon’s embrace.

 
From dawn to dusk, yea verily, it was a heavenly day.

Site Meter

Down to the sea, again

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

Sea Fever, by John Masefield

Our south coast beaches are among my favorite places to commune with nature; or, in the height of tourist season, to commingle with the madding crowd. Yesterday, we did a little of both. The sun was shrouded, and PCH was crowded, but we took our picnic dinner down the water anyway.

Sad to say, these photographs don’t do their subjects much justice. But they call me back to a wonderful evening, so they’re treasures to me, nonetheless.

Thankful Thursday: “See” Fever edition

 

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.

–excerpt from Sea Fever, by John Masefield

 

 

My friend Karen and I are taking some of the same field trips I remember from my childhood—the Mission at San Juan Capistrano, the county fair, tide pools along the Pacific Ocean. What I like best about these child’s-eye views of Orange County: They’re raw and real, not spoiled by the media’s distorted lens. 

 



I spy, with my little blue eyes…


tide-pool treasures, spilled from…


Mother Nature’s pocketbook!

Scene and Heard

Last night, I took a time-out from packing for New York to march in an anti-escalation peace rally in Laguna Beach.

What’s the appropriate attire for a peace demonstration, anyway? I wasn’t entirely sure. I’m too young to have any hold-over hippie clothes hanging in my closet, so I had to forego the prototypical tie-dyed T-shirt, peace pendant, and daisy-embroidered jeans. Since it was an after-dark gathering by the water, I figured I’d wear something California Casual and warm. I pulled on a hoodie, jeans and leather jacket, and stopped for a non-fat, sugar-free vanilla latte – extra hot – to warm up my hands. Peace Now, new-millennium style.

Here, a quick run-down of some of the sights and sounds of our rally, before I finish my packing:

*A line-up of about 150 candle- and placard-carrying protesters, waving at people who drove past on Pacific Coast Highway. In front of us, a steady stream of cars; behind us, this lifeguard station and the reassuring sounds of ocean waves lapping against the shore.

*Honking horns — a frequent automotive “amen.” Toyota Prius drivers seemed most likely to bleat their horns in support. But — big surprise! — a Hummer limo also blared its approval as it passed.

*A silver-haired lady listening to Neil Young’s War Song on her iPod.

*Dogs as billboards…for instance, a dachshund wearing a leopard-spotted coat covered with End the Occupation stickers, and an obese Labrador who sported a T-shirt covered with anti-war slogans.

*A potential trophy wife, auburn hair extensions blowing in the breeze, dressed for activism in stiletto-heeled suede boots, Lucky jeans and a calf-length cardigan coat.

*A scruffy middle-aged man, carrying a large American flag, standing sentry behind our line-up.

*Ubiquitous tea candles in plastic cups, flames flickering in the wind…and the miner’s flashlight, shining brightly from a Birkenstock-wearing woman’s forehead.

*A seventy-year-old man (or so I’m guessing), pacing and punching the air with an uplifted fist, shouting, “No.More.War!”

*A photographer stepping out into traffic to get a panoramic picture; a woman approaching him to ask in a nervous whisper, “Are you sending that to Homeland Security?”

*Code Pink activists carrying pink peace signs and, in one case, a slogan-covered pink umbrella. 

Sadly, while our group of activists (and nearly 500 similar groups across the country) availed ourselves of our Constitutional right to express our opinions, 300 soldiers’ voices were actively suppressed. From the Washington Post:

“To ensure that there would be no discordant notes [at Fort Benning during President Bush’s visit], Maj. Gen. Walter Wojdakowski, the base commander, prohibited the 300 soldiers who had lunch with the president from talking with reporters. If any of them harbored doubts about heading back to Iraq, many for the third time, they were kept silent.”


Totally unrelated: If scandalous or happy news breaks while I’m away, leave me a message, will ya? You already know how much I like to stay “in the know”!