San Diego

Last week I had the opportunity to go to California for a work conference.  Last year when I went to Seattle it was my first trip to the west coast, but this trip was my first chance to actually stick my toe in the Pacific Ocean instead of just seeing it.  It was cold.  San Diego, however, was exactly as advertised- the perfect climate.  The trip was really fun, probably more fun than a "work" trip should be, thanks mainly to my hilarious coworker companions this time- Sydney and Ryan.

We were fortunate to arrive a day before the conference started which gave us time to be tourists.  We rode the ferry over to Coronado Island, met lots of interesting people because the extroverts I was traveling with chatted up everyone we encountered, and ate lots of tasty food.

While the weather was amazing- sunny, warm, low humidity... I don't think I would want to live in California.  San Diego was lovely, but only because of the ridiculous amount of irrigation they're likely pumping in to support their palm trees and few patches of grass.  I decided I need more natural vegetation and greenery to be happy.  It is raining here a lot this week, but I'm thankful for it.  It serves a purpose to support all those plants and trees and keeps our state from catching fire.

I'm on a boat!

Yoga on the astro turf lawn in front of the Hotel del Coronado- how Californian

On our last night we went on a group outing to Sea World for dinner with the penguins!  It was fun to be at the park at night after hours, they already had Christmas lights up everywhere and the beluga whales were being especially active and playful.  They were splashing around so much that none of my pictures turned out due to their constant motion- it reminded me of trying to get a picture of Kate and Luke.

Speaking of my sweet kiddos, while I won't lie- it was glorious to wake up alone in a king sized bed when my alarm went off instead of in the middle of the night because someone needs their blanket tucked in or wants to start the day at 4:30 a.m, I was really excited to get home Friday night and see them.  They had a great week, Matt is, as always, a super Dad and sent me lots of pictures to keep me from getting too homesick until I could get back and hug them myself.

It was a good trip, I learned a lot and enjoyed exploring a new place, but it also made me appreciate how much I love being at home.