Southbound, so far

Enjoying the sunshine in San Diego!

Up until we reached San Diego, this year’s trip south has been very pleasant.

The southbound migration has begun!

We began with a short jaunt to one of our favorite places: Pacific City, OR. It wasn’t really on the way but we hadn’t been to the beach in a while and it isn’t all that far out of the way so we went for it. It turned out to be a good choice. The weather was perfect and we were able to have lunch AND dinner at the Pelican Pub. Deee-licious!

 

Southern California beaches are the best.

The next day we made our regular stop in Sutherlin, OR to visit my daughter’s family. Grandson, Anthony, had a football game scheduled for that evening but it was cancelled at the last minute. We’d have enjoyed watching the game but it did allow us more time to visit. Anthony just turned 12 and his growth spurt over the summer has him now standing a full head above his mother.

Volleyball courts on Huntington Beach.

After an overnight stop in Red Bluff, CA (where it was warm enough to wear shorts) we were off to Pismo Beach to visit relatives and do a little beach walking. From there it was just a short run to Huntington Beach (“Surf City USA”) to see my sister who recently moved there. I’d never been to this particular beach before and it was a wonderful treat. The beach itself is long and flat and, as with several California beach towns, a pier extends quite a distance out over the water. We walked all the way to the end where we stood in the warm sunshine watching the surfers and fisherpersons for a while. Just across the street from the pier is a very cute, boutique-y shopping area and several excellent restaurants. We picked a brew pub with outdoor seating and great sandwiches and beer.  We are looking forward to making more visits here. I think we’ll stay longer next time.

Surfers waiting for the perfect wave in Huntington Beach.

Just before we arrived in San Diego one of my teeth began to let me know it was unhappy. I really prefer my teeth to be effective and q-u-i-e-t but as we got closer to San Diego this darn tooth just kept getting louder. By the time we got settled here I was pretty miserable and had no intention of leaving until the problem was diagnosed and corrected. A dentist was recommended by some friends who live here and he discovered the tooth had a crack that was apparently all the way to the nerve. He referred me to an Endodontist ($$$) for a root canal who, during the course of his exam, discovered that the tooth next to it had a problem as well. So…two root canals later I was back at the original dentist’s office for “onlays” which are kind of like mini-crowns. I must say, it was fascinating to watch as he “built” these two new teeth for me. He has a CAD program on his computer where he creates a custom fit cap for the tooth and then hits “OK” and the computer actually BUILDS the new crown while you wait. And, they are quite beautiful!

The owners have as much fun as the dogs.

San Diego's original dog beach.

In between all the dental work we’ve managed to do a few fun things. We have made several trips to the boat candy stores…we took Abby to the dog beach…we went to see the new Tom Hanks film…we visited several friends…and we got a lot of reading done. The nice thing about San Diego is that even being “stuck” here was a pleasure because the sun was shining and the temperature was warm.

Abby: "DUDE! Do you realize you are IN the water?!"

 

So…thus far it has been an “interesting” (and very expensive) trip south. Today we are off to Borrego Springs, CA to visit friends and check out all the metal sculptures in the desert. Watch for pictures in the next post!