Beaches, Babies, & Bonfires

Jason and Jaime were the next to showcase their hosting skills, but I must give Jaxson the MVP for giving up his nice big bed for Kent and I to sleep in. Parker gets partial credit because he also vacated the room for the two of us. He was a top runner for the full award, especially with his uncanny ability to spit up on cue, but the screaming set him back a few points.

San Diego also offered us some beautiful weather, with a day by the pool and another on the beach. Jason even patched up his $10 surfboard so Kent could give it a try. I thought at some point I would try it myself, but those waves were much stronger than I had expected and I could barely make it out far enough. On our first full day there, we were treated to a bonfire on the beach. That was a first for most of us, and a lot of fun. It took the Boy Scouts a little while to get it going, but once lit, it was on! These older guys drove up with a truck full of wood palettes and left them piled up for everyone to use as firewood. Let me just say that wood palettes burn big and bright. On the way back from the beach, Kent and I drove by the San Diego temple, which looks just like a fairytale castle. It is definitely different from all the other temples I have seen.

We also traveled into the city to watch the Red Bull Air Race. Which, sadly I must admit, sounds more interesting than it really is. Or maybe if they had bleachers to sit on instead of everyone standing crowded together on a flat, grassy plot of land, trying to watch racing planes maneuver through a race course with a row of trees in front of us. Not to mention it happened to be one of the hottest days yet, with not much of a breeze to offer relief. I think my favorite thing was that at the "refreshment" stand your options were bottled water, Red Bull, or beer. Hmmm...which would I choose? I get that it's a sponsored event, but they can't partner up with, say, Coke? We watched for a while, and then Jaxson and Parker seemed to agree that enough was enough. I mean, once you saw each of the 12 pilots go once, was it really worth standing there to watch them go another round? It would be cool one day to watch the Red Bull Flugtag (or so I think it's called), where people build their own flying machines and roll off the end of a pier to see if they can fly. That's entertainment! Not to worry, Kent still got to stop by the ballpark to establish his presence.
On this trip to California we definitely had our fill of sun, windblown hair, sand, spit up, and hospitable friends. We also had a decent helping of BBQ ribs, which I hadn't realized were so popular in California. Oh, and LAX. If I never see the inside of that airport again, I'll be happy. California won me over, so this just means that we'll always have to fly in somewhere else...While California has a lot to offer L.A. was not dressed to impress.

Now I'm just going to put in a shameless plug for Jaime's blogging talents. Especially now that I have written this pathetic attempt. She always seems to be able to perfectly express herself and sound totally cool at the same time. Not only is she an awesome writer, she is also an impeccable hostess, and yes Jason, I'm giving your wife most of the credit here. She made us dinners, packed us lunches for the beach, and even made us pancakes for breakfast. Amazing! And I won't just tell you which link goes to her blog...you'll have to figure it out for yourself and maybe meet a few of our other friends/family along the way.