A day in La Jolla

My sister and I spent our first full day on the west coast by hopping in our rental car for a short drive up the road to lovely La Jolla. Our initial stop was this really fun open aire market held every Sunday morning at a local elementary school parking lot. We enjoyed a drink and light breakfast from a couple different food trucks while perusing the wares of over 100 vendors. 

Then we motored up the coast to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. This is connected to neighboring UCSD, and is perched atop a lovely location overlooking the Pacific. The mother and calf whale sculptures at the entrance were amazing. My sister and I agreed we could have pulled up a comfy chair and spent hours watching the penguin's antics in their habitat.

Our next stop was Torrey Pines State Park. We enjoyed spying the local lifeguards on duty in their stations along this stretch of beach. The assortment of flora all over southern California was amazing. The succulents we have to cultivate in pots here in Texas were thriving in yards as well as wild landscapes. 

Our last destination as we made the return trip south was La Jolla Cove. As we crept along in Sunday afternoon traffic looking for a place to grab a late lunch, we chanced upon a parking spot across the street from a wonderful Baja-Mex restaurant, Puesto. Everything was so fresh and tasty. Afterwards, we walked off some of the delicious calories by heading over to the waterfront to check out the "water doggos". And they did not disappoint.

There was no missing the seal and sea lion show, y'all. You'll notice Jonathon Livingston Seagull was a frequent photo bomber in my pictures. Most of the seals and sea lions were lazily lounging on the rocks, sunning themselves. However, a few were in the water making quite a ruckus. I couldn't tell if they were just goofing around or being territorial. We also saw a group of brave folks in yellow kayaks on a paddling tour, which was pretty cool. I hope they were all in wet suits because that water was C-O-L-D!

Boat shopping on the brain

I hosted a lovely little lunch gathering for my Bible study ladies today. I whipped up chicken tortillas soup, taco salad and fiesta pinwheels, with key lime pie for dessert. Now that I've finished cleaning up, I'm once again checking out pontoon boat websites. This weekend the husband and I are going boat and golf cart shopping. I've ceded the golf cart selection to him because I'm all about the boat. 

We've got a lovely pontoon/tritoon all picked out and plan to place our custom order on Saturday that should be delivered in time for Memorial Day at the lake. We think this floor plan pictured above is ideal with the four captain's chairs. Why do I love pontoons? Let me tell ya! I love how steady pontoons typically are on the water, so much more maneuverable than you'd imagine. They truly are pretty versatile. Want to fish... just cast a line. Interested in skiing or tubing... hook up the tow rope and give 'er some gas. Sunset cruising sound good... hop aboard with your adult beverage of choice. I think pontoons are really just water SUVs. You sit up high with a commanding view of what's happening all around you. Seating for ten is pretty perfect. And with a 250 or 300 horse power engine, you've got the get-up-and-go when you want or need it. Did I mention its shallow draft, so you don't have to worry about getting in and out of the boathouse when water levels fluctuate? I've about decided buying the lake house was really just an excuse for me to get a pontoon boat!

 

San Diego vacay digs

My sister and I had a wonderful time in San Diego for a chunk of her spring break. I booked us into the Hotel Del Coronado for an historic stay on the island. The views from our room at the Del's beach village were magnificent, encompassing the pool, hot tub and waves beyond. Even on a partly cloudy first day, the scenery was still a sight to behold.

As expected, the sunsets were glorious. We didn't partake of a beach bonfire with s'mores because that isn't our thing. But we did enjoy strolling right out of our digs to the paved walkway for some people watching in the late afternoon. Then every morning we'd spy an ongoing parade of folks out jogging or walking, often with dogs in tow. I'd probably exercise more, too, if I could enjoy these sorts of beach views while working up a sweat. We got a giggle out of the fact that the street name where the beach village is located is Dana, my sister's name. So we had to take a pic of her and the street sign because we're nerds.

That first evening we ended up with ringside, nosy old lady seats to a wedding ceremony and cocktail hour from our vantage point in the adjacent restaurant club where we dined. As in we could hear the ceremony, string quartet and even snippets of conversation while getting a gander at folks all dressed up for the event. So much fun, y'all. Below is a hasty pic I snapped of the ceremony site as guests were being seated. That flower arch was big, and so beautiful. We could seriously smell the flowers from our al fresco table where we ate supper. Though we were tempted to be wedding crashers just to get a look at the ballroom for their reception, our travel clothes just wouldn't pass muster with that gussied up crowd. 

 

Trailer travails

The husband and I are prepping to travel to the lake house again once he gets past the next board meeting. For this trip we've hired a local moving company to haul the rest of our stuff up there. The weekend we closed on the lake house, I could barely wiggle after unloading/unboxing two trailers full of essentials. The husband was in about the same shape. Oh sure, after a couple days we were feeling back to normal. But I am definitely not pulling the trailer again anytime soon with my new towing PTSD, and you're about to understand why.

When we made the six hour drive with trailers in tow for closing, me with the smaller one attached to my SUV and the husband hauling the larger one with his truck, I was a bit nervous. But honestly, the husband makes it look easy and so I decided to take it all in stride. When the husband hauled the big trailer back home and I stayed behind with the dogs for several days to wait for a few furniture deliveries, I decided I could probably tow the smaller trailer home. I've watched the husband hitch it up many times and figured I could do the same. How hard could it be, right?! 

I rolled out of bed that Friday morning, backed up my SUV and attached the trailer like I'd seen him do so many times. Which undoubtedly gave me some misplaced confidence. I sent these pics above to the husband and he noted that I didn't put down the hitch latch. With everything else APPEARING to pass muster, I put down the latch and loaded up the doggos. We exited our community and I took the route up to the divided four lane highway to kick off our journey. All was well until I hit a big pothole on the longer bridge across the lake. Then all hell broke loose... or maybe just the trailer. That big bump caused the trailer hitch to pop off the ball and the trailer's tongue began dragging on the road, this awful metal on asphalt sound. Thank heavens for the safety chains that kept it from totally breaking free.

Y'all, I about had a heart attack when all this went down. I immediately knew I was in trouble when I checked my rearview mirror and realized the two vehicles behind me had hit their brakes because they could see the mess I was in. So there I was with my hazard lights flashing, at a standstill in the right lane of traffic, halfway across the bridge, the dogs just a barking, and me in a total panic. 

I immediately called 911 to request they send someone from the sheriff's department to direct traffic around me until I could get the trailer re-attached. After I ended that call and went to exit my vehicle, little white dog Finn made a break for the door and almost landed in the traffic that was whizzing by. Lord have mercy, I was fit to be tied and teary eyed at this point. A dead dog would have been the cherry on top of this hellacious sundae.

About that time, the Lord sent a few good Samaritans in the form of an older couple and LP gas truck driver. I had started waving traffic around this mess I inadvertently created on the road when they pulled over to offer help. The three of us were able to get the trailer hitched up again. The kind older gentleman asked me about the pin to hold the hitch latch in place and I told him I didn't have one. I knew my husband never used one. Tsk-tsk. He told me there was an auto parts store a few miles down the road that should have hitch pins. In the meantime, the LP guy found a coat hanger in the cab of his truck and secured the latch as best he could for the short drive there. 

Paranoid now, I crept along well under the speed limit to get to the auto parts store. Once there, I generously tipped the nice employee to come look at the hitch, sell me what I needed and then go out again to be sure the hitch was secure and pin in place for the drive home. I was now overflowing with ZERO confidence in my trailer attaching skills, as you can imagine. Every time I hit a bump for the ensuing five plus hour drive, I'd white knuckle grip the steering wheel, wince and check the rearview mirror to make sure the trailer was still back there.

I called the husband about thirty miles down the road after this whole pee-my-pants scenario played out and I could breathe normally again. He initially thought I was joking when I told him the trailer detached. Once he understood what happened, he mentioned to me that the hitch latch could be "fiddly" and I probably should have bounced the trailer tongue up and down a few times just to be sure it was attached to the ball and the latch properly secured. Evidence, yet again, that hindsight is 20/20 and the devil is in the details. The details that would have been handy to know BACK AT THE HOUSE when I was hitching up the trailer.

I figure I'm proof our Heavenly Father watches over babies and fools. Seriously, lesson learned, y'all. Number one - Don't assume I'm capable just because someone else makes a thing look easy. Number 2,3,4 - Pay close attention, ask lots of questions and consider all possibilities. Number 5 - Check, and re-check. Then check again one more time, just for good measure. And finally, trust that Jesus will continue to ride shotgun with me down life's highway, ready to take the wheel when I'm in need.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Deuteronomy 31:6

Lake miscellany

I've been working on lake house minutiae today. Boring but necessary things like figuring out what inserts will fit in my kitchen drawers... a spice holder, silverware, etc. I hope the next time we're up at the lake that we don't have another thunderstorm sweep through the area. There were no tornado sirens going off, but the wind was a whippin'. Below is a little video I took of the lake while standing in the living room looking across our back porch to the water. The other video is the next day when we still had waves with white caps.

One thing I love about this lake house is the new Speed Queen washer and dryer set I had delivered a couple days after we closed. I'm talking old school agitator, with basic knobs and none of those fancy sensors that break at the drop of a hat. It only took six loads to get all of the new towels washed, dried and put away. 

One thing that kept me busy at the lake house after the husband left was unpacking. I was able to decorate shelves in the jack and jill guest rooms with items from the old lake and river houses. I also put together six of the twelve dining room chairs, which took almost three hours and earned me a set of sore fingers afterwards. It's not that this was difficult, but rather time consuming because the pre-drilled holes aren't always straight or smooth. But I persevered and got them done before the table was delivered.

The dogs were a bit bewildered at first with this new locale. But I can vouch for them thoroughly enjoying daily strolls through the neighborhood. We walked to "the point" several times, which is one street over where local pet owners gather in the mornings/evenings with their doggos. It's also where they stage the annual fireworks display, which will give us a fabulous viewing spot from our backyard come July.

As you can see above, sweet old Pepper needed a nap after her daily strolls. Of course, part of that is because she always does her best impression of a husky trying to pull a packed sleigh through the snow when we take her walking. So much enthusiasm, y'all, but such short legs and a generally sedentary lifestyle otherwise.

It's a good thing I purchased a mop, bucket and vacuum on one of my initial trips to Walmart because the hardwoods were filthy. As in black feet at the end of the day dirty. I cleaned them at least four times. However, once was because my first mop was cotton and it left little specks of lint on the darker-than-I-like floors. Which resulted in me hightailing it down to the nearest Brookshire Bros to get a microfiber mop so I wouldn't lose my mind. Grubby floors are definitely a pet peeve, and so I ordered two pretty rugs from Pottery Barn to cover up a big expanse of the thirty foot long entryway that's a magnet for every little speck of dirt or dust tracked in the front door.

 

Marvelous milk glass

I took a little vacation from lake house plotting to visit San Diego with my sister, but now I'm home and back at it. One thing I got finished on our closing weekend was my river house inspiration piece. I decided to replicate the blue bookshelves decorated with my white milk glass collection at the new place. The blue of these new shelves is a bit more subdued, but it still provides a lovely backdrop for the pop of vintage milk glass I love.

I unpacked all of my milk glass from the river house we had stored in the barn. Then I sacrificed a toothbrush to get it all scrubbed clean of dust to place on the shelves once the bookcases were delivered. I had a bit of a panic when I realized they put the shelves together on different levels and they were all screwed tightly in place. Ever handy and seldom stymied, I popped into the garage to scratch through the husband's tools to find a Philip's screwdriver to adjust the shelves. And voila - one lovely bit of decor in place at the lake so I can spend my brainpower on the fifty other things I need to do when we're up that way again soon. 

California dreamin' & well pump updating

My sister and I are ditching this popsicle stand tomorrow, headed to San Diego for a bit of sightseeing to kick off her spring break. I'm looking forward to some pretty ocean vistas at our hotel, watching the Pacific Ocean swallow up the sun every evening from the beachside bar at the Hotel Del Coronado. I hear it's pupping season out there, so we'll definitely be driving up the coastal highway to do a bit of hiking in search of seal and sea lion moms with their babies.

This piece of equipment above is the latest addition to our five acre homesite in the Texas hill country. I noticed Tuesday afternoon that our water pressure was a trickle. First thing I did was check our storage tank to be sure it was pulling water out of the ground since we're on a well, and it was full. Then I snooped around in the well house where I discovered the booster pump wasn't running. Turns out the booster pump was fine, but the pressure tank's reading was super low. I dialed up one of our local well service companies and sure enough, the pressure tank was shot. Wonk-wonk. Instead of investing in a new one, we opted for a DAB pump. Now the husband and I are enjoying lots of excellent water pressure.