My first TRUE beach weekend

The temps out here in Southern Cali officially hit in the high 90s close to an even 100 degrees this past weekend. As I was toiling thru another workout on the eliptical at the gym on Friday, all the weather people kept saying was "well it looks like Beach weather, might want to get there early." Of course, where else would a good S. California resident go (especially if they live inland) to cool off than the beach?! So I mention this to Doug in an email Friday morning. And our official "beach weekend" was kicked off. 

As I was walking out of work,  my cell rang to U2's 'The Sweetest thing" (Doug's ringtone.and our song..awww :D). He was calling to say he wanted to stop by a surf shop in Orange (by Anaheim) and grab a body board. A part of me laughed..but asked him if I could just come get him and we could go together.

I laughed, not to make fun of Doug, but because of some of the reasons why I knew he wanted a board. My hubby grew up in Northern and Southern California as a kid, and did his fair share of surfing, "boogie boarding" (what body boarding was called back then), and skateboarding. So I laughed, because I knew maybe part of him was trying to capture the excitement of being in the water that young Doug had as a kid. But I shook my head at the thought of getting a board for myself. That would be a HUGE waste of money for a land locked Native of Colorado, who is EXTREMELY fearful of open water like an ocean right? How could I hold my own against waves? What if I drowned?

We got to Ron John's surf shop only for me to find that a body board for myself really wasn't that expensive. I figured if I hated it, or sucked miserably, I was only out a few dollars..right?

Our plans were to get up early enough, get the beach, find a place to park, and stake our claim to our piece of sand early. We had made a trip to the beach before (down by Laguna) and realized how busy they could get by 3pm. I told Doug if we could get up super early (around 6am) we could be down there by 7:30 or 8, wait a bit for it to warm up..and ba'am, hit the water.

And that is EXACTLY what we did, Saturday morning. Heading down there with excitement, we made it down with NO traffic (ah the power of planning a drive in California always works so m much better). We waited a bit, stepping into the water for the first time around 10:30 or 11. I have NEVER felt water so cold BRRRRR. But my theory, as it has been the whole time we have been in California, make the most of it and REALLY allow yourself to experience your time here. Roll with it.

So, with this theory, I embraced my new little body board (a Cool Local Motion one, in a cute purple color, complete with a surfer hula girl on it) and set about "riding my first wave". It didn't look hard..but as I realized, it is ALL about timing. If you set off to catch it, you have to get enough power in your legs moving, and then let it ride you into the shore. I didn't quite get a chance to embrace this yesterday, but caught a couple of decent ones. All in all we left around 2pm from Huntington Beach, very satisfied.

Turns out for Doug even more so than I thought. After heading back into town (where temps had jumped up into the high 90s range), and after splurging on a new little grill so we can begin eating healthier and not out so often, he asked me "why don't we go back tomorrow?" I honestly couldn't think of a better way for us to cool off if we stayed in town (today was forecast to be just as hot). So AGAIN, early this morning we were off. Huntington Beach, calling our names. Today it got hotter much quicker. But to add to the mix, I brought my running shoes today, to test out my first run on the shore (not barefoot, but in packed down sand). Only about a 1/2mile to a mile run, but definitely felt great with the waves crashing to my left and right (going and coming back they changed sides obviously). No need for an ipod with music to carry me. Definitely something I want to keep doing, as I felt I got in a small, but decent work out. The wave noise was enough to push me thru.

But after that, in the water we went. And today..I accomplished my ultimate goal. Grabbing and gliding on my first really awesome wave!

Doug and I had headed out a bit off of shore. The great thing about going to Huntington for a beginner like me is that the walk out from the shore is still really shallow for a ways. Thus making it easier for me to be in what "seems like" deeper waters, but still being able to stand up and not be freaked out. Where we had a tendancy to catch most waves today the water was never higher than my waist. The best wave I caught today, just gradually built momentum. Churning faster and faster till it was to the left of me. Doug looked over..checking to see if I would catch it. And before he knew it...blaaam I was gone. I caught it at the right time...rode it up a bit (almost like floating on the crest top of the wave for a few seconds, before dropping back into the wave letting its momentum carry me in and closer to shore. By that point, I realized if I lifted my board up just a tiny bit, I could "float" on the wave, and then turn a bit if I lifted to the right and left. All and all..I had a blast. Of course this wave, led me to the worst wave that rocked me hard, immediately after. After riding my "best wave", I think I was in a bit of shock and proud of myself. Still on my board..I floated a bit waiting for the wave immediately after mine to carry me even more (at that point, there was an awesome set, waves hitting one right after the other. The second wave did carry me a bit...and I found myself almost playing super man for a bit...flying OVER my board (my chest and belly actually lifting above the board for a few inches). When I landed back on it (less than a few seconds later), I landed wrong and the wave, now breaking right on top of me..knocked me off...leading to me getting "smacked upside the head". But hey, at that point you take the good with the bad..and as long as I can snap back up to try again (which I DEFINITELY did), it was worth it.

All in all a GREAT way to beat the inland heat. I am SO excited I didn't let fear stop me from trying out the fun of body boarding. On the way home, I told Doug I am definitely hooked. I could see the glimmer of excitement in his eyes too (my boy caught some REALLY great rides..and looked awesome out there. I think he succeeded in finding young surfer Doug again). So no doubt, we will definitely be beach bums more this summer, the hotter it gets. 

And I can't wait. Sand, sun and Surf. The 3 new s factors in my world now. 

So much to see..so long to drive

Another weekend is in the record books. And with the gloomy past two days behind us, I can officially say we didn't do much other than relax this weekend. And that is perfectly ok with me.

I remember before we moved here thinking that moving to California meant this whole new world we could see. So many places in Southern California that I had never been to. Before I knew it we would be within 2 hrs of 6 or 7 different beaches, mountains, and some of my favorite wineries. We would have endless amounts of places to go camping, hiking, biking. We would just almost never be home!

But the reality of living in California has been hitting a little bit harder lately. Nothing is as close as it seems. Need I dread to mention that T word I hate to utter. Traffic.

Yup, it is that, that has Doug and I staying a bit closer to home as of late. One description of our drive last Saturday and you can understand why.

Last Saturday, Doug found a little place called Gorman we needed to head up to at the early wee hours. He wanted to get up there as early as he could so we could capture some great wildflower shots early in the morning when the shadows, and sun was shinning just so. So trek we did, out to Gorman.

After that, rather than head back to our side of the world again, we got adventurous. Lets keep on driving he said. Soon we were in Ojai (a cute town if I do say so myself). From there it was a drive up to Santa Barbara, and before we knew it, in Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, WINE Country! :) Of course we indulged in a bit of wine..and then made our whirlwind trip back home, heading down the 101. 

That is when the reality hit me. What on paper, and thru Google maps can over and over again say only takes 2 hours always depends on traffic. Our ride home that night, as we cruised with every other Southern Californian and visitor down to the 101 took almost 3 1/2-4. Fun times and reminder that rush hour coming home from wine country, the beach, LA, always is more interesting if you don't plan correctly. A constant reminder for a kid who back home in Colorado knew that if I needed to head to my mom's from our house in Northern Colorado bar anything other than maybe snow it ALWAYS even in traffic, took about an hour and 1/2. Driving wise things out here operate on an -ish. As in I'll get there at 5ish.

Needless to say after that long in the car last week, while we had intentions of maybe heading to Joshua Tree for camping this weekend, laziness and a desire to NOT be in the car that long won out. As I told Doug earlier today, we have plenty of time to explore, no need to always have to drive 2 hours every weekend to find it. I would like to think we are storing up our miles anyway as we will have yet another whirlwind drive hitting us soon..we are heading to Northern California to visit one of my dearest friends and some more wine, for Memorial Day weekend! Until then, for me, not driving two hours to check something else off of my "visit while in California" list is perfectly ok. 

No kitty...that's a bad kitty....nightime is for SLEEPING

Those that know me well know my cat is a little bit like a kid for me. I think because Doug and I don't have kids yet, I have been known to get a little bit goofy with our cats. Personifying them, talking to them. Who knew adopting this little furball would turn me into the crazy cat lady? (even now, as I type, Sienna is making me multi-task and play with her and her little feather toy)

So much to my dismay, at the beginning of our California adventure, Sienna almost flew into the litter box in the sky before her time. Somehow, through the mysteries of stress and unfamiliar territory, my cat decided to scare me and force a quick trip to the vet. She got severely dehydrated and required fluids for a day and monitoring. Not fun for a cat who in the past 5 years has a) had most of her teeth pulled cause of infection, b) been diagnosed with kidney failure and c) had a few colds, and acne (YES cats can get pimples JUST LIKE US..who knew?!). So she put in a good scare to me 3 weeks into our California 'dreaming.' The good news is that I found an awesome clinic I trust out here (How can I not, cause I am there what feels like every other week), as well as keeping one of our vets back at home at an email away (Sienna's house vet, Dr. Melora was a God-send!). 

So it stands without reason that now that the punk with an attitude (even if she has no "bite to back it up") is now back in rare form, and thus, the title of the blog.is a bad kitty. Since her near jump to the dark side, Sienna is ornerier than ever. This has created havoc for Doug and I in the form of loud cries, a few 'laps around the condo' (I Like to think it is Sienna's way of being a trainer to Joey, our other cat), and massive amounts of things tossed off of our night stands (unfortunately Doug seems to get the brunt of things dropped) at all hours of the night. She's much better (and much worse) than any store alarm clock.

So in an effort to remind the girls that nighttime is for sleeping, Doug and I have taken to the last two days of being cat nap watchers. This is easier said than done if you know how often a cat can sleep in the daytime (they don't call them 'cat naps' for nothing people!) But it is funny to scream "UM..NO..you are NOT sleeping!" every time one eye gets a little bit heavy on their furry heads.

So far the last few nights it has worked, much to Sienna's dismay. Who knew that cat's could give nasty looks if necessary? Thus the toy I was playing with earlier. All in an effort to tire the girl out and remind her that after 10:30, lights out means bed time! Lets hope we go 3 for 3 tonight, otherwise I might be at the gym at 3:00...AM!