California idyll

We had the great good fortune to take off for a week's adventure in cooler climes (Good God you wouldn't believe how hot it is, here in Austin, TX). The people that we love in Southern California are all slated to move within the year (Matt's sisters in San Diego, and my parents in L.A.) so this was kind of a last chance to rumble in to this fabled and fruited land with lots of free lodging and meals and the company of some of the greatest people around. This was La Jolla beach. I thought it was one of the most amazing beaches I've ever been to. Even besides all the amazing things we were able to lay eyes on and experience, there are actually seven underwater caves not far off the shore, one of which, Sunny Jim cave, is actually accessible by land(which I wasn't able to visit, for which I completely blame Matt, because somewhere between my interest in caves and his lack thereof he manages to stand between me and all caves, everywhere we go... grrr)!This was an awesome wall all set-about with abalone shells.
Bruno checking out the penguin-like sea birds (I still don't know what they were... let's just call them penguins for the fun of it). Penguins!!
There were melon-farmin' SEALS!!
And hermit crabs, and tide pools, and caves and wave-sculpted rocks.

Look! I attempted an artistic photo!

Jack the lion-hearted. I was so impressed that there were lots of folks just walking down to the shore in their wet suits and freakin' diving in and swimming away, off to explore underwater caves and kelp beds and meet leopard sharks (which aren't very dangerous), dolphins, sea lions, the works... with their swath of neoprene the only buffer between them and the wild and open sea... I would like to be so brave one day (Matt's sister Jessica told me that someone got chomped in half by a shark out there last year, and though I recently read that shark attacks are much more rare than we think, and that hippos actually claim more lives by far than sharks each year, that piece of info added another 25 years to the 25 years it would already take me to grow the cojones to go out there on my owners... maybe when I'm 86 you'll find me out there frolicking with the dolphins, just maybe...).
Jack, on the other hand, would be out there in a flash if we gave him the go-ahead. The kid ain't afraid of nuthin'.
Not sting rays, nuthin. This is a whole other scene, we went to this WONDERFUL place, Chula Vista Nature Center, and you were actually invited to pet the sting rays and manta rays (though my favorite part by far was the sea turtles)!
Jessica says, "Yes, I am your super nice and laid-back auntie but no you may not climb into the shark tank, Henrietta..."
Later, lounging around in the coziness of Jessica and Sarah's little bungalow (Sarah, not pictured, is represented by the painting she did of Green Tara hanging above Jessica's head). Good times!