Road Trip.

We are back! And we had a fabulous time on our little road trip! Presley did pretty well despite a 1 1/2 hour screaming contest she had (she was the only contestant) that lasted from St. George to Las Vegas (on the first leg of our journey). After that it was pretty smooth sailing. Presley did great sleeping in her port-a-crib and did well without too many naps for the week. Roxy, as always, was a great dog in the car--she mostly slept--and was good about being in so many new places with new dogs and people to meet.

SeaWorld

Wednesday morning we got back in the car for a quick ride to San Diego to visit one of my favorite places--SeaWorld. Many of you know that I have always wanted to be a killer whale trainer so being at SeaWorld helps me feel like I am almost there. Presley loved the park and I was amazed at how intently she watched the animals.

We caught the first killer whale show and sat in the "splash zone" so that we could be close enough for Presley (and me) to actually see the animals. We didn't get wet but this was definitely my favorite part of the day. These animals are sooooo big and so beautiful to watch as they interact with their trainers.

The other shows were fun too. The dolphins are always entertaining with the tricks they can preform and the sea lion/otter show tries to be funny but really all we want to see is the gigantic walrus at the end of the show.

Presley loved the interactive tide pools where you could reach in and touch bat rays and hold bat stars. With the first star I handed to her she brought it right up to her face, looked at it, and then gave it a kiss! It was so sweet. We had a hard time putting all the bat stars down but eventually (with some tears) we were able to move on.

Hopefully we will get to go back to SeaWorld soon--I am still waiting for them to pick me to come participate in the shows (I just might jump in and see what happens).

Huntington Beach

Chris likes the beach and I love it so I thought for sure Presley (being a water lover) would be in heaven at the beach. Well, it was quite the opposite. Presley cried the instant we put her down in the sand and it didn't stop until she was safely back on the towel. She hated the sand, the waves, and pretty much everything about the beach--maybe she will grow into it and enjoy the beach on the next trip.

We also went to the beach one evening for a bonfire and dinner with Chris' friend Brian and his extended family. Presley again would have nothing to do with the sand and didn't move from the safety of her little beach towel.

Presley warmed up a bit with a shovel and pail but still would not budge from that towel! She redeemed herself as a water lover on the trip home--we stopped in Las Vegas again to visit with Chris' friend Mark (and his new wife and baby) where we went swimming at the pool. Presley couldn't stop from splashing, blowing bubbles, and jumping in the water.


Around Town

One of the great parts of this trip was just getting to relax and do what we wanted. We loved taking out the beach cruiser bikes and riding up and down the beach. On Tuesday night Main Street was closed for the weekly farmer's market so we stopped and got dinner and I of course had to buy a big basket of local, fresh, California strawberries (which only took us one sitting to eat).

Chris and Presley made a great pair touring around on the bikes. They even got a few stares--P was in the backpack screaming "wheeeeeeee" as we rode around.

I love how there were so many local shops and places to visit within riding distance--the taco shop (Chronic Tacos) and the Sugar Shack (for a yummy breakfast) were definitely the culinary highlights of our trip. Chris will argue that he loved In and Out but I am still partial to good old Utah local Burger Supreme.


Dog Beach


Finally Roxy got her day in the sun! Huntington has a pretty big section of beach where dogs are allowed and unlike Presley she loved running in the sand and playing with all the other dogs. Roxy however was not to excited about the water--she only ventured far enough to get her little feet wet.

Manhattan Open (AVP)

On Friday we made it to Manhattan Beach for the AVP tournament. We were able to watch the world's best volleyball players in some of their qualifying matches. It is amazing how strong these athletes are. Presley enjoyed the beach from dad's back again (this time in the backpack) and she beat the heat with a Jamba Juice (which she drank most of).

Home Again

The whole family had a great time at the beach--it was a trip that I hope we will make many more times. Thank you to everyone who made it possible (Brian, Mark and Dierdre for the places to crash, Brian's neighbors John and Julie for the bike and trailer).

We made it back without too much trouble. The windshield held up (we got a big rock chip about 20 minutes into the trip) and the flat tire problem never returned. Presley is still talking about Jack (Mark and Deirdre's 5 month old) and Thule Brian's dog. For now we are going to take a few days off and get back into a routine.