Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, CA, March 1-6, 2022

 After our visit with Lynne and Shawn, we drove to Laguna Beach.  We were so lucky to find a great parking spot in an underground parking garage right where the beach walk begins.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  It was a perfect day and I can't even explain how it filled us up completely!

The Montage Resort and Spa (Nancy and I came here a few years ago for a spa day!  It was so special.  We were treated like royalty)!

We walked down to the beach and explored the tide pools.  We saw sea stars, lots of anemones and there was even a little octopus that we couldn't see but there was an expert there who said she saw it!

Sea Glass

Next we drove to my nephew, Seth and his wife Kim's house in Fountain Valley (next to Huntington Beach) where we spent the next two nights.  Their kids, London, Ben, and Beau came out to our car to greet us with big hugs and immediately grabbed our bags and helped us unload our car.  They are seriously some of the nicest kids ever!  We had such a nice time with them all.  They made us feel so welcome and loved.  

London now and London just a few years ago!

Our darling granddaughter, Madison and her husband, Joseph and their little guy, Jaydison, live in Irvine and were heading to London to visit Melecia, Rhett and Cecily on Wednesday, so we met them for dinner on Tuesday evening, March 1, at Ruby's at South Coast Plaza Mall.  It was so fun seeing that cute family that we adore!  Madison is expecting a little baby girl in June!  So excited for them!

Wednesday, we spent at Huntington Beach.  But first, Kim and I went to have our nails done!  That's always a treat!  Then, $1 large cokes from McDonald's drive through! Funny how happy that makes me!  Oh, and I almost forgot that Seth brought us all Acai bowls for breakfast!  They treated us so well!

Check out my pretty toes!

I have a little saying on my nightstand that says, "The Beach is Calling..."  It is so true!  How have we never lived by the ocean when my heart yearns for it so much?  It was another perfect day!  

When we left the beach, we drove past Nancy and Dale's Harwich House!  So many good memories there from when our kids were all growing up!

                                                                               

We went to dinner at a fantastic all you can eat Japanese BBQ restaurant with Seth, Kim, and Sam (his wife stayed home with their new baby, Emi. Sad we missed them.) It was delicious food and so fun to catch up with their lives!

Thursday, March 3, we had an early lunch at one of our favorite places in Huntington Beach (Nancy's favorite Mexican restaurant), Las Barcas.  They have the best flautas ever.  They did not disappoint!

After lunch, we headed to Los Angeles where we spent the next couple of nights with my niece, Valerie and her husband, Daryl, and their four boys.  They are such a wonderful, loving family!  We are truly blessed with some wonderful relatives!  Their boys are thoughtful, considerate and kind!  They made us feel so welcome and loved as well!  We actually spent the night at Kathey and Ulises' home nearby (Val's mom and husband--they were in Chile where they are both from.). We missed seeing them but were glad they could have this trip home.  Val's family kept us busy!  

On Friday, we had a big day of exploring LA!  Daryl took the day off and took us all over!

The shipyards in the LA harbor!  If you are waiting on something to be delivered, it might be in one of these stacks!  It's amazing how many of those cargo boxes are there!

Next, we went to the Korean Bell of Friendship Park!  It was donated in 1976 to the people of Los Angeles by the people of the Republic of Korea to celebrate the bicentennial of the U.S. independence, honor veterans of the Korean War and to consolidate traditional friendship between the two countries. (taken from an article on SanPedro.com)

Next we went to lunch at Philippe's, known for having the original French Dip sandwich which of course is what I had.  Mike tried the Lamb Dip and thought it was pretty tasty too!

On to the Griffith Conservatory!  Synjin and I were the only ones that got to go inside to have a look around.  You have to have proof of having the Covid Vaccinations and we were the only ones with proof.

On Saturday, we got up, packed up, and head a yummy breakfast with Val's family and then headed back to St. George.  We loved our trip to California so much.  The things we did were amazing, but honestly the best part was spending time with wonderful family members!  We are truly blessed!

I love this picture!

We stopped at Kathy Kinney's home in St. George and had dinner with her and a couple of her grandkids.  They made us a delicious chicken alfredo bar.  It was so yummy.  They got the sauce from a local italian restaurant and it was seriously the best!  After dinner, we played Rummikub with them.  It was a lot of fun.  Then, Mike and I said good night and good-bye and headed to Jo and Jim's house where we spent the night (they weren't there).  We headed home on Sunday morning and got back in time for choir practice! I would say this road trip to get out of the cold weather was perfect and we came back ready to face the rest of the winter with a great hope for certain Spring!