Sunday, December 20, 2015

Oldtown San Diego

Well I have been home since Thursday, but its been a busy few days.  I still wanted to post about the rest of our trip though, especially the part when we went to Oldtown San Diego.
Tuesday morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. After we check out, we headed towards Oldtown. Emily really wanted to drop in at a local Crossfit, so we dropped her off so she could do a class. While she worked out, Carolyn and I went to Oldtown.  Its a beautiful part of San Diego; it is quiet, and pretty with lots of Mexican flair. We went to a shop to get some souveneirs, walked around enjoying the sun, and then went back to pick up Emily. I thought she'd like Oldtown (which she did) so we went back.  We enjoyed looking at many handmade items, beautiful wall murals, various cacti (I really liked those), and even bought some churros.  We heard a live band, and enjoyed some more sun!
Eventually we hit the road and headed back to Pheonix.
Wednesday we went hiking for a few hours in the morning, climbed up a very small mountain, and saw more cacti.  After we finished there we stopped by Paige's apartment for lunch then headed to another part of the city to tour the Grand Canyon University, which Carolyn was interested in possible attending.  I enjoyed that quite a bit as I had never toured a college before (I've seen colleges, but not on a specific 'tour'.)  After we finished there we headed downtown.  Pheonix has a beautiful downtown. If you are ever visiting Pheonix, go downtown.  We only had about half an hour so really we didn't walk around much.  After we left we headed back to pick Paige up from work, spent a few more hours with her, and headed to the airport to catch our 1:28 am flight back to O'hare.
It really was a good trip.  I loved visiting Paige and Melinda, seeing some many new sights, and experiencing different cultures.


















Tuesday, December 15, 2015

San Diego Adventure

Monday morning we got up early, and picked up a rental car at 7 am.  We then hit the road headed to California.  Driving through the desert took several hours.  Miles and miles of sand, scrub brush and cacti.  When we drove into California we went through a border check but actually didn't have to stop.  (I think it was a check for produce and plants.)  A little while later we had another checkpoint, this time it was for drugs. There was a dog and all. We didn't have to stop for that one either.  We drove through mountains for quite some time, and then arrived at San Diego.   When we arrived headed to Chula Vista, where we found our hotel, and then headed to the beach. The beach we went to was at Point Loma. Cabrillo National Monument is located there. The ocean was beautiful; the view of the San Diego skyline was also amazing. We toured a lighthouse that was furnished with antiques, and no longer in service. The ocean was very rocky, and lined with small cliffs.  It was cold, so we opted against climbing down. The view was gorgeous though.  We took several photos of the sun setting on the city. We then headed back to Chula Vista; we hit some rush hour traffic-not my favorite to be sure.  We arrived safely though, and checked into our hotel, then ordered and picked up some supper.  I had chicken enchiladas from a delicious Mexican restaurant just a few blocks away. A long but good day full of adventures.
I will post about Tuesday in the next post..


I love seeing all the cacti everywhere!



The view from the lighthouse front door



San Diego skyline during golden hour was stunning.

Sunday, December 13, 2015

Grand Canyon, South Rim

Early Saturday morning my dad dropped me and Emily off at the airport.  We flew in to Phoenix, AZ, where Paige picked us up.  She did not know I was coming...Surprise!!!  A few hours later Carolyn joined us.
We spent a few hours hanging out, then headed to Flagstaff, and on to a hotel near the Grand Canyon.  We got up this morning, and after breakfast headed over to see it.  I have never seen the Grand Canyon before, so I was very excited!  It really is an amazing and beautiful sight!  God's creation is so awesome.  Here are a few pictures for you to see a glimpse of what we saw.