I am ever so thankful for what God has given me….
A husband who cleans my car just because, a family that challenges me to always better myself, children to love and nurture each day, friends to laugh with and cry with, a house to protect us from the harshness of our world, and the freedom to love and worship our Lord Jesus Christ!
*LRW*
Bonnie moved to California in June of 2010 and it was because of the her cousins Windus and Kurt. They had space in their home to offer and Bonnie was willing to begin an adventure she never thought she would have. I am so happy for Bonnie to be out their living out this dream. I got the chance to meet Windus and Kurt and their new baby boy, Bradley on Sunday at brunch. Brunch was delicious and I got to eat blue potatoes for the first time. They have a very different flavor but one that I enjoyed.
The restaurant we ate brunch at was right on the beach as you can see behind me in the above picture. Bonnie and I went for a walk on the beach after. Bonnie wanted me to finally put my feet in the cold, cold Pacific Ocean.
Kelp!
There are all these great beach towns all around San Diego and Bonnie had a few she wanted to make sure I saw before I left. We drove up the coast to Carlsbad and stopped at a few “look out” points. The marine fog was covering the sun and with the wind it was a bit chilly but still beautiful!
Before we headed back to her place we stopped off at the “meditation” gardens in Encinitas. The gardens were phenomenal and built right on the cliffs. It was definitely a sight to see.
When we got home you will not believe what I could see from the back porch! HOT AIR BALLOONS!! They were taking off from a field just down from Bonnie’s place. I felt like I was in the movie “The Ugly Truth!”
For dinner that night my dad had told me about this awesome Italian restaurant in the Gas Lamp district of San Diego called de Medici Cucina Italiano. If you know my dad you know he loves food and would not steer us in the wrong direction. The food, the service, and the conversation was just awesome. I wouldn’t have traded that time with Bonnie.
We called it an early night since we had big plans the last day!
My Last Day…
Can’t go to Southern California and not make a stop at the San Diego Zoo! We got there shortly after the zoo opened and hit up the Sea Lion show first. After we just walked around, rode the motorized walk ways, and the sky ride ( I know you are surprised , but I didn’t look down almost the entire time).
Next stop after the zoo was the Coronado Bridge and a drive through Coronado. We jumped onto the freeway and I finally got to see these traffic lights in action since it was Monday and the traffic was heavier. So for those that don’t know this because I surely didn’t they have lights on the freeway to control entry traffic. When the light is red you have to stop of course and when the light turns green only 2 cars are allowed to enter the freeway. It was crazy but it works.
The Coronado Bridge
After our spin through Coronado and seeing the Navy base Bonnie had one last place she wanted me to see before it was airport time. The Pacific Beach Boardwalk! It looked and felt like the boardwalks in all the California movies. We ate dinner in a restaurant on the boardwalk and watched the sunset! It was gorgeous and a beautiful way to spend my last hours in California!
Good Bye Cali! Thanks for a fantastic trip Bonnie!!!
*LRW*
Adam I had such a fun weekend and it is sad that it went so quickly. Friday we had a lazy night and it was perfect after a hectic week back from spring break. Bright and early Saturday the alarm went of so Adam could start weekend #2 of turkey hunting. Turkey season is my favorite hunting Adam does! Well this was definitely Adam’s morning not the gobblers, but I am excited for some mojo fried turkey!
Poor Sadie didn’t know what to think of it all. She kept circling Adam and trying to get close for a sniff to figure it all out.
After I snapped a few pictures I went in side but Sadie stayed for all the clean up action. I would say she stayed close by Adam, because she has souvenir stains on her head. Gross!
Once all cleaned up we headed to open day of baseball for our nephew’s first T-ball game. Boy were they cute. It was like a clip in Funniest Home Video’s! The children just watched the baseball roll past them and they looked up and proceed to wave to their families like they had just done something by watching the ball roll past them. HA! Our nephew Warren was so cute in his uniform. I can’t remember the last time I watched a T-ball game but I was afraid they were going to make these little tykes play more than one inning. Each time up bat each children gets a chance at bat. They first get pitched to and then hit it off the Tee if they can hit the pitched ball. The children hardly even know where to run to when they hit the ball. I love the picture of Warren where his coach is next to him pointing to where he needs to run. So cute! The “purple'” team they were playing was all girls and I love the picture of the girls in the outfield playing in the dirt, talking and accessorizing their head with their pink mitt. It was fun to go out and support this little guy for his first game. The baseball field was the place for Mrs. Whitehurst' to be. I say 7 of my students and many of Mrs. Inman’s student playing in their games. It was fun to hug them and wish them luck or get a quick wave from the field. Adam said I am NOT suppose to wave at the children when they are playing in the field. Oh well I couldn’t help it.
We had a relaxing afternoon checking out the watermelon field and hanging around the house in anticipation of the gator basketball game.
Last Sunday…
This Saturday…
The watermelon sure are growing and I can’t wait to taste them come May! What was tasty is the delicious pork loin my man cooked us for dinner. I had to take a but before I could even get a picture. Yum!
The gator game wasn’t what we had hoped for but it didn’t put a damper on this gorgeous spring evening!
Sunday after church we head to Gainesville to pick up our friends Chris and Lesley to head to Susan and Andy’s wedding. The destination…Orange Park and we took the most out of the way route to get there but at least we laughed the entire way. Lesley and I went to through the UF Proteach program with Susan. Susan and I have been through the emotional rollercoaster teaching causes you to experience and I was so happy to be a witness to their beautiful marriage.
The ceremony was beautiful with scriptures read about Christian marriage. May God be the third cord in your marriage to keep it strong…Amen to that! We had such a great time talking, singing, dance, eating and laughing. On the way out of the reception we stopped to have a photo montage as our final good by to Orange Park! These pictures crack me up! It was a great weekend and one I will cherish. My hope is you had a blessed weekend with your family too.
*LRW*
SO CAL AKA Southern California…listen to me with my West coast lingo! Can I just say this trip was amazing and I would go back again but next time with Adam. He would have loved to see the things I got to experience out there. I am so so thankful to my amazing parents who got me my plane ticket and to the School Board of Levy County for feeling bad about taking our yearly raise steps away and giving us a bonus check in November I held on to.
Leading up to the trip I was excited and nervous all at the same time because I am not a great flyer. I am scared of heights which in turn makes flying less enjoyable for me. As long as we stay out of ROUGH AIR as they call it I am fine, but that rarely ever happens. The flight was suppose to fly out of Tampa at 6:55 last Thursday but we didn’t get in the air until about 8:05 which got me to Atlanta around 9:25 with my next flight departing at 9:50. Do you see the closeness in time? The poor young soul sitting next to me kept telling me don’t worry you will make it. I tried to believe him but when I got off the plane and saw we were in concourse A and I had to get to concorse T! I was a “just” a little panicked. So panicked I never noticed they have a tram and ran and I mean ran the entire way. Picture Home Alone times 3! I made it but I walked up to a gate with only the ticket checker everyone else was on the plane. The people who had to sit next to me probably were pinching their noses to not have to smell my sweaty self. I finally made it to San Diego around midnight their time, 3 AM our time. I was tired but so so excited to see my best friend Bonnie waiting for me!!!
Kindly remember my body thinks it is 3 AM…Ha!
We got to her place and talked and snacked and finally head for bed since she had a jam packed few days for us. I woke up to this gorgeous view on her back porch. The vegetation out there is so completely different than what we have here on the east coast. It is shrubby and has a ton of amazing flowering plants. The land is mountainous and hilly unlike our normally flat Florida land. I was in awe and took lots of pictures…I was the crazy paparazzi tourist!
Gorgeous! I would sit out here all the time if I lived here!
Bonnie took me around Encinitas the actual town she lives in (20 minutes out side of San Diego). The first stop was the San Diego County Sherriff’s Department so that I remember not to get to crazy because Bonnie informed me as she did her roommate that she does not bail people out of jail…HAHA! Well actually she had to get her registration sticker checked off because she forgot to replace it and she got pulled over. In California they have super strict driving laws and really expensive tickets. If you run a red light or if you get caught driving while talking/texting with a cell phone in your hand you get a $400 ticket. Crazy right but she said that California is bankrupt so they get their revenue this way.
On our way out of the Sheriff's office I spotted my first California wildlife the desert lizard. Way different than our lizards here, right?
She took me by Moonlight Beach which is the beach she usually goes to when she is need of a little sun and solitude. It was a little hazy, she said the the marine fog has to burn off each morning. The waves were also intense because of the earthquake in Japan.
Next stop Encinitas downtown!
I got to see the store, GROUNDED she has been working at and met her employer Julie who I continued to thank for her allowing Bonnie the time off to hang out with me. We walked through all the cute stores and then took a rest at Starbucks for some banana bread and a white chocolate mocha. While sitting on the porch just like nothing Shaun White the professional snowboard AKA the Flying Tomato walked by us on the side walk. I in excitement turned to Bonnie and whisper screamed, “That is Shaun White!” Bonnie’s immediate response, “Don’t freak out!” At that comment I slowly pulled my phone from my purse and nonchalantly walked closer to snap a few shots. I think I did it gracefully he never knew, but all the other people on the porch did! Ha!
After all that excitement we head back to her apartment to hangout and relax. I snapped a few more pictures of the flowers and plants around her home.
Around sunset we headed out to her favorite local hangout KRAKEN (the a in long). Her cousin Windus found it on her way home from work and it has been their place to go and have a drink every now and then. It was hilariously interesting because the people who go there are in their 50’s and up and are local beach bums. We had the best time and we even met our very own Ommpa Loompa…
A little unnerving, right?
At this point we still couldn’t believe I was in Cali!
After a drink we head out to the favorite local pizza place which was ironically called Blue Ribbon. Adam and I’s favorite pizza place at home is Blue Highway. It was delicious but I really enjoyed this appetizer I can’t even remember the name of it now but I snapped a picture of how yummy it looked!
On Saturday La Jolla, a Spanish mission. and a going away party were on the agenda. I woke up ready to get it all done!
Our first stop was La Jolla, a high end town but with something really cool to offer. Their beach had seals living on it. The teacher in me came out and I took picture after picture and many videos so I could share this with my students. They are going to freak out when I show them what I got to see!
The west coast is just insanely beautiful. The cliffs, the ocean, the vegetation, the animals, the structures built on the cliffs just blows my mind. I was just trying to soak it all up. Did you notice the picture of the beach with people on it? You can swim in the same water as the seals you just are asked to enter the water slowly and quietly so to not scare the seals. So neat!
After the seals we went searching for a sandwich shop to pick up some lunch and find a park near the Presidio Mission to eat lunch at. We ate and laid in the sun. Bonnie felt compelled to do some gymnastics on the gorgeous green lawn.
The Presidio Mission was the first of the Spanish mission to be built. The missions are all along the California coast. This particular mission had the history of San Diego which actually started as a pueblo village around 1837.
This picture is of the typical Bonnie! (Insert British accent ) “Here she is in her natural habitat!”
Check out these sandals to the right. Could you imagine walking in these to get water 20 times a day?
Here I am scared on top floor of the mission but check out the view. Bonnie took this picture for me. Thanks!
We then went home relaxed until her friend Ricardo’s going away party. He was moving back to Italy on Tuesday. I also finally got to meet her roommate and a few of Bonnie's other friends.
Bonnie and Ricardo
Bonnie, Me, and her friend Alfredo
It was a crazy busy first 2 days but they will be memories I will never forget.
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