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Aug. 8, 2008
California Here We Come ( if only for a short while)
 God blessed us again, this time with the opportunity to go see cousins Eric and Eleanor. One weekend we all piled into the van and headed off to San Diego, California to see Eric and Eleanor in their new home. It finally sunk in how far west Phoenix actually is when you realize it is only a short 5-hour drive to San Diego. It was amazing how much the scenery varied along the way in such a short period of time.  There were desert scenes that looked like we were in the Sahara, then rolling green hills and even huge man-made windmills. I had never seen windmills up close before. They truly are enormous.  The final touch was arriving at Eleanor's at sunset and seeing hot air balloons up in the sky. We definitely were not in Kansas any more.
The next day we took the kids to see the Pacific Ocean. The beautiful coastline wasn’t anything like what we see on the East Coast. There was even a mama seal and her baby were swimming nearby. The kids had the opportunity to experience the cold Pacific seawater as opposed to the Gulf Stream back home. My sneakers still smell of the salt water since I wasn't paying attention to the waves. Sigh! We ate delicious Wahoo fish tacos, an apparently San Diego classic.
Later we were lucky enough to spend the evening with Eric’s brother Kyle, who lives in Irvine, Ca. He drove down with his family and his mom and her grandson, who were both visiting from NY. We hadn’t seen any of them since the family reunion in PA last year. Kyle, his wife, Robyn, and Titi Ramona whipped up a gourmet masterpiece while Eleanor and I just sat at the counter and watched the masters at work. It was like watching a cooking show on TV. It was quite educating and entertaining and filling. The food was wonderful.  In the meantime, the cousins, all eight of them, had fun running around the house playing 'Sardines'.
The next day Eric and Eleanor took us to the famous San Diego Zoo. Eric even took the day off from work to be with us (a miracle!) I had visited the zoo when I was thirteen years old with my family on vacation and here I was (years later!) with my own 13-year-old daughter. The zoo is still huge and remarkable. All of us had sore feet and big smiles. We saw animal after animal after animal. Kristin took some great pictures!   
It occurred to me that since we started on this traveling adventure, our family has gone to more science museums, art museums, history museums, botanical gardens, national parks, state parks and zoos than I ever thought possible. What a way to experience science and culture while seeing our vast country!
 Speaking of museums, the next day before we left, Eleanor managed to take us to Balboa Park where we went to the Fleet Science Museum and the San Diego Natural History Museum before making the trip back to Phoenix. Here’s a photo of Dan the Shipbuilder.
 One more notable point was when Eric took us to his latest place of employment, an exclusive hotel in the San Diego area where many wealthy and famous people stay. We saw a high-end suite of rooms that are rented out for thousands of dollars per night. The cost to furbish this suite was over 3 million dollars. Could you imagine? Eric took us to eat at the premier Japanese restaurant in San Diego, which was quite an experience. Dish after dish was brought out. So this is what it felt like to feast like kings and queens. Why is it that whenever we are with this side of the family, food has such a primary focus? It is always exceptional with them. For us though, the best part was just being with Eric and Eleanor. Having fellowship with them no matter where they are at in life is always sweet. Being able to come alongside them in prayer is what matters most. 
San Diego was certainly one of the prettier towns we have visited. I’m sorry it was such a short visit. We hope to come back for a longer stay and get to see the relatives from the other side of the family who are living here as well. So much to do so little time.
Here we are at the San Diego Zoo!! 
"He alone stretches out the heavens and treads on the waves of the sea."Job 9:8
(another photo by Kristin)
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