San Diego Sunshine

Dear Amanda,

J says that someone who loves a place as much as I love La Jolla should definitely live there. As if...That's not to say the wheels didn't turn, or that I didn't consider that teachers in California and teachers in Connecticut are paid about the same, but loving the San Diego area (especially La Jolla) and living there are two different things. Would I love year round sun (well...yes) and no seasons (probably not at Christmas)? Would I take its beauty for granted and not take advantage of climate when in the routine of work? That is, do I love it so much because when I'm there I'm on vacation? It’s a favorite vacation destination, but could it be home? I guess the jury is still out…

I assume you can see that what all that means is I had a great time in San Diego! I even cried when I had to come home. J and I really had an awesome time as, honestly, we had not the last time I visited. We laughed a lot, and did fun things.

My first day we spent sitting by the pool; it was glorious. That night we went out for Mexican with her husband, and when we got home joined her neighbors, who were sitting outside, for a couple more margaritas. The next day we went to the beach for a little while (we couldn’t handle much more than an hour of that pure sunshine after our day at the pool) and then out for fish tacos (yum). It was an unseasonable 101 degrees that day, so once we weren’t at the shore with the beautiful breeze, it was a bit too hot to sit out, so we went shopping instead. The next day she and I drove up to Manhattan Beach to see L and J, et. al., who were vacationing with my cousin J at her house. My cousin L (her twin) came over with her children and we had a great family day—lots of laughs and food and fun for all. Wednesday we went to La Jolla and had lunch at George’s on the Cove on the ocean deck. It is seriously one of my favorite places on earth. When we got to the ocean deck I said, I don’t remember dying. While I was eating my burger with Maytag blue cheese and sweet onion marmalade as I looked out on the ocean I said, if I were a cat I’d be purring. We did some shopping/browsing, and walked around so I could take pictures and take it all in. On my last day, J took me to a vineyard in Escondido. We did a tasting and sat outside with a glass of wine, avoiding the fact that it was my last day. That afternoon we stopped for groceries so I could put together an antipasto platter. We sipped mimosas and picked at meats and cheeses on her patio so I could enjoy the view one last time.

In between those things we had other moments that were less touristy but no less memorable…J cooked a nice salmon dinner one night when her step daughter (16) and BFF came over, and I cooked one night to show J my TJs go-to recipes. I got to help J pick out colors for her house (she loves the way it came out) that she had someone paint on Friday after I left. We started every other day with mimosas and ended every night hanging out with her husband in the living room.

Five years ago the energy was much different. ( I think that could be its own entry.) This time around I remember being best friends all those years and how fun it was, which is probably why we were attached at the hip. I needed to reconnect with J as much as I needed the San Diego sunshine, and I did.

Lucky for me, I brought the nice weather home with me. Today and tomorrow are supposed to be 80 and sunny, and I want to get out and enjoy it so I need to get some things done.

I hope all is well with you, and can’t wait to catch up on your week. (I see you took a vacation from our blog, too.)

Love you! Barb