Pure Hedonism

 On Jan. 5th, the 5th year anniversary of my retirement, I got up early to take a plane to Los Angeles. I was happy to leave from the HHH terminal thinking it was easier than the main terminal. The line for TSA was so long I had to take 4 moving sidewalks to find the end and I was across the bridge over the street in the parking garage. Fifteen minute estimated wait my foot. It was a 45 minute wait. I made it to my plane on time but no time to fill my  water bottle. We landed LAX and I used the airport WiFi to read emails and to look at the news. I took the cruise bus to the port and boarded the Princess Joy. I checked my backpack and had a Caesar salad for lunch. I explored the ship. My stateroom is on the 8th floor. My room was not available until 4 p.m. but my luggage had not arrived yet. I watched the sunset on the ocean from the pool deck on the 17th floor. People were drinking and dancing. Pure hedonism. After a dinner of baked ziti and fresh fruit I returned to my room. After an hour I used my Tile tracking device and discovered my backpack was outside my door. I took a hot shower to rid myself of the airplane germs. Exhausted I was asleep by 7 which was 9 p.m. in Minneapolis. I met my room steward. His name is Moon and he is from Indonesia. He is a very nice guy. Food and most drinks are free. Expensive items are Internet access and alcohol. A woman named Ginny warned me to put my pone on airplane mode when sailing. She didn't do that on her last cruise and she had to pay dearly for every message she received from family and friends. 

Joshua Tree National Park

 

Today Offspring #2 and I drove to Joshua Tree National Park which was about a 2 hour drive from Oceanside. We drove 3 hours through the park although we did stop for lunch on a rock in the shade. Then we had a 3 hour drive back to Los Angeles.

The haze is smog from Los Angeles.

A Joshua tree is really a shrub, a yucca plant, that grew tall like a tree in these specific upland conditions. Temperatures in the park today ranged from 89 to 109 degrees. The upper regions were cooler and had a nice breeze. The hottest temps were on the floor of the valley.

We also saw chollo cactus and other plants. We didn't see any wildlife other than insects and squirrels.

Temecula

Today, on the advice of the matron of honor who went to college in southern California and who's husband is from this area, we went to Temecula which was inland from Oceanside. Our group included me and three millennials. Our first stop was the Lumiere Winery which is a small, family run operation. The lady, the mother of the manager, knew much about wines. We enjoyed sharing samples of three white and three red wines.

Then we literally went across the rural road to Akash Winery which is a bigger operation with many more employees. Again we samples 3 white wines, one rose, and two red wines. We also ate a small pizza.

After that we drove to old town Temecula which is very touristy. We walked around the old town at the shops and stores. We had dinner before heading home. All in all we had a great day. The road between Oceanside and Temecula is scenic with hills and valleys dotted by large white boulders.

 

Wedding

Yesterday we went to a wedding. The groom's uncle paid for a Mariachi band to play before the ceremony.

The wedding took place at a hotel balcony across the street from the Oceanside Pier beach. The setting was lovely.

This is my view from my seat at the table. I was seated with the bride's father's friends from his college days at the University of Illinois. The flowers were lovely and the food was good too.

The bride and her father did a choreographed dance that was super cool.

The wedding cake had little foxes on top!

 

Waves Pound The Shore

Here is my view from the balcony where I sit and drink coffee and listen to the waves pound the shore. Already, at 7 a.m., swimmers are out there enjoying themselves.

 

Oceanside

This morning we flew to Los Angeles, rented a car, and drove an  hour south to Oceanside, California. Here we are up on the pier after walking the beach. Sections of the beach are cordoned off for swimmers followed by sections for surfers. Lifeguards wearing red suits and holding life jacket belts run up and down the beach from their huts just like on Baywatch. We saw several brown pelicans, Pacific cormorants and a few gulls. This beach  has very few shells and very few weeds.

To be on the beach again is a real treat.