California, here we come.

Kind of right back where we started from? I feel like every other post here is one that pertains to California. I guess that sums up our relationship with the state. California is truly one of my favorite things in the entire world. I love it more than hot bubble baths. More than the perfect cup of coffee. As a state, it encapsulates and gives access to a long list of things I enjoy. For me, as typical as it may sound, California isn't just a state in the physical sense, but a state of mind. A state of endless Summer. Our hope is that someday we'll get to hold onto that feeling for longer than a couple days at a time, but for now, we go bottle it and bring it home with us every chance we get.

This trip was different. More of an adventure. We finally decided to branch out from our California home of Oceanside and become better acquainted with Encinitas and its surrounding areas. As I told Brian, and as it came true, I think we've avoided doing so in the past because we were fearful of falling head over heels for the city. All the things we had heard and loved about it from a distance were experienced first hand. Though the newness contributed to the adventure, like Yvon Chouinard says in 180° South, "when everything goes wrong, that's when adventure starts." The adventure came in the form of rain. It was the rainiest weekend we've ever experienced in California. Due to run off, we weren't able to play in the waves and had to find other ways to keep ourselves happy. The adventure came in the form of a dead car battery and a lack of souls who wished to give us a jump. Hope for humanity lost. Then the luck of meeting a kind, happy-to-help, surfer who had been cleaning the beach on his own time. Hope for humanity renewed. So while we didn't get to laze about the beach as long as we usually do, we did get to see new places, check out some tide pools, find a couple dozen shells, and take advantage of some of our traditions in a different light. Our love for Cal wasn't spoiled to the slightest degree. It remains, rain or shine.

[Sidenote: In case you didn't notice, I decided to jump forward and keep up the present posts. I'll be weaving some backtracked ones throughout!]


Moonlight Beach


Swami's


Oceanside Pier


Torrey Pines