Beach Daze

As my previous post alluded to, this month is crazy!!! Every weekend is jam-packed with places to go and people to see, and the past weekend was definitely no exception! In fact, we began our weekend early to fit it all in! On Wednesday morning, we drove out on the 10- such a boring, desert highway, to get to our beachy destination, San Clemente, CA. We had planned on going to San Diego as a last hurrah (a babymoon- some say) before it gets far more complicated to travel (so I'm told) with the coming baby. However, in the midst of our planning, John's brother- Matthew invited us out to Camp Pendleton (just north of San Diego) for his graduation from Scout Sniper school with the Marine Corps. It was important to John, so we rearranged our plans and made it a combine family visit/vacation trip!
We got there around noon on Wednesday, just in time to enjoy our packed picnic on the beach and take a leisurely stroll along the shoreline. We had to chuckle along the way as we were noticing all the beachfront houses and many of their foundations were exposed due to the receding land line and the efforts taken to maintain solid ground under them. It reminds me of a Casting Crowns song which lyrics state "I'd take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand" referring to a persons foundation being in Jesus (the rock) over material things (like sand) that will eventually cause instability as these houses are quickly learning. It's a point of annoyance for John and I, as we see these homes built on cliffs without thought of what will happen with the house falls into the ocean since it will be up to us (the tax payers) to buy them another million dollar house on probably another doomed yet scenic cliff. Oh well... Such is life.
Thursday was the graduation which was quite short and sweet. Matthew is now equipped among the best of the best in the Marines! We had another beach day, this one with the rest of the family and friends, and afterwards headed down to San Diego where we stayed at my cousin's vacant house. Friday was our Sea World day and we roamed the park from show to show to catch all the marine life and their tricks. It definitely makes me wonder what I was thinking when I chose my major and why I didn't get into something like being a dolphin trainer... Sure, that's every kids dream but seriously- I love animals almost to a detriment. You see, I believe that I can pretty much pet any animal because surely they will be able to detect that I am an animal person and I mean them no harm. Quick story: I knew someone who basically owned their own zoo, equipped with monkeys, wolves, lions... the works! Well, one day they had to sedate the wolves to separate the babies (now grown) from the momma and I recall cautiously and respectfully reaching out to pet the pacing male wolf... and by the way, he didn't snap at me and he did at others! John, on the other hand... He gets pecked at by birds and snarled at by dogs and I think it's because they can sense a person's heart for animals (John's not so much an animal lover). So because of my love for animals plus I've always had a fascination with water, I'd be perfect for the job. Well too late for that, but we enjoyed watching the training of the killer whales and dolphins. Alison and Matthew (John's brother and wife) fed the seals and sea lions and after a bit, they, too headed back to the LA area leaving John and I to our own devices! We finished out our day at Sea World then retreated back to the house to take a COLD shower (it was a very hot and sunny day in San Diego) and relax before dinner. We pulled up stakes Saturday morning to head back to Phoenix to make it to a friend's wedding (will post next).