Images of a Lovely Trip

Last night I returned from a too-quick trip to visit my daughter Meghan and her boyfriend Mark (and their dogs Apple and Calvin, and cat Chief) in Long Beach, California, as I've written about in the past few blogs.  I hadn't seen them since the very end of December when they packed all they owned in a mini-van (including their pets) and left for the west coast.  They arrived in Long Beach after just four days, in time for New Year's Eve.  It's been over five months since so I was very happy to see them. 

Rather than write more about the trip, in this posting I'm sharing our visit in pictures.  It was a wonderful time, and I miss my kid, so much, already.  She and Mark were such great hosts, showing me their new city and the beautiful beaches nearby.   I can't wait to go back again.  Rather than go on and on about how much I loved the whole thing, here are photos to tell the story:

Long Beach at Night

 Meghan's North Star

The Courtyard

Calvin and Apple, Fetching at Huntington Beach

 Mark and the Queen Mary

 Lunch at the Board Walk

Cute Little Tug Boat

The Aquarium of the Pacific

 Mark and Meghan

 "This was no boating accident!"

 M&M

 Star Fish!

 Sea Lions

 At Parker's Lighthouse

The Queen Mary from our Table at Parker's Light House

 Parker's Key Lime Pie (or is it a tower?)...Delicious!

(This IS a food blog, after all!)

 View from the Plane, Headed Home

Photos by Jeannie, Mark, and Meghan
Post card image: http://www.learncalifornia.org/GoDocUserFiles/2048.97-10-01.jpg

Long Beach Royalty

Yesterday afternoon, while Meghan was at work, Mark and I visited the Queen Mary, now a luxury hotel permanently docked in Long Beach.  It's a beautiful ship with art-deco decor and elegant woodwork throughout.  One of the attractions on the ship is a Ghosts and Legends show (very Disney-esque in a Haunted Mansion kind of way) that revisits past tragedies that occurred on the ship. Special effects mimicked psychic phenomena and scared some of the spectators, though Mark and I were more amused than frightened by the dramatics.  The view of Long Beach from the deck of the Queen Mary is spectacular and Mark and I were both snapping photos from many vantage points.

Later Mark and I stopped by to see Meghan at the restaurant, and then we walked down the boardwalk and stopped for a slice of pizza.  We sat outside under an umbrella. and talked for a long time.  I so enjoyed the conversation, taking in the view of the marina and the city from our table.

We decided to eat in again last night, saving dinner out for tonight, my last night here (frown).   We grilled chicken and salmon fillets to top our big salads of romaine, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, and sliced red onion.  Along side our salad we had home-made croutons of grilled slices of sourdough bread that had been brushed with olive oil on both sides and sprinkled with a little salt and pepper. 

It's been such a great visit so far.  This afternoon we're taking the dogs to the beach.  For dinner tonight, we'll sit outside on the deck of Parker's Lighthouse, overlooking the lights of the Queen Mary across the harbor.  There's something about dinner outside, twinkling white lights, and a beautiful view that makes for a memorable evening.  Add great seafood and time with Meghan and Mark, and this will be a dinner that I'll remember for a long time.

Dog Day at the Beach

Yesterday Meghan and I took a 20-minute ride south of Long Beach to Huntington Beach where there's a special stretch devoted just to dogs and their owners.  It was amazing, really.  I've never seen so many dogs in one place, and they all got along beautifully.  There were dogs of every breed and many mixes, and all were so well-behaved!  Calvin (Chocolate Lab) and Apple (little Black Lab mix) were so happy to be there.

We had stopped at Whole Foods to pick up a couple of sandwiches and root beers to go, and were ready for our ocean-side picnic on a quilt that was once Meghan's blanket as a child.  To see it completely worn and battered made me smile.  It has been well-loved and now it is her beach blanket.  Its nautical stars on a navy-blue background somehow seemed fitting as we had lunch on the sandy beach.

Sunday proved to be a very popular day at the dog beach, and Calvin and Apple knew we were near before we even arrived.  We had to wait in line to park, and once out of the car, Calvin pulled Meghan in energetic enthusiasm to get down to the water.  We climbed down a rocky path and settled ourselves in a cove where the rising tide made it obvious we had to move or we'd be stuck in there on the rocks!  Further down the beach we found a wide-open space with lots of people and dogs.  Meghan had a "Chuck It," one of those tennis-ball-flinging wands that send the ball a good distance out into the ocean.  Calvin spent the entire two hours there retrieving his ball, often flipping over in the waves and searching in the foam for his ball.  Apple was happy to play defense but never actually went into the waves to get the ball.  She's nine now and is happy with a little less exertion. 

We had a really great day.  Before the beach excursion, Meghan and I walked all around downtown Long Beach, going in and out of shops and just having fun seeing the sights.  She said she hadn't yet discovered so much of Long Beach, and it was good to take a walking tour of her new town.  She and Mark moved here just before the new year.

We ended the day with a barbeque of grilled shimp kabobs (with red peppers, fresh pineapple, baby red onions, and grape tomatoes), a confetti rice and broccoli.  We had dinner out on the courtyard.  Love it.

Mark and I are off to see the Queen Mary while Meghan is working the lunch shift at Parker's Lighthouse.  It's going to be another beautiful day in Long Beach.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today I am traveling to the west coast to visit my daughter Meghan and her boyfriend Mark.  I haven't seen them since just after Christmas so I am very much looking forward to this trip.  The fact that they are in Long Beach, California is just a bonus! 

Getting ready to go away, in itself, makes one deserving of a vacation!  All week at work I slowly eliminated tasks and items from my desk so that by the time I left yesterday, anyone can sit at my now-anonymous desk and tell themself, "Wow, what an orderly desk this woman has!" I don't mind if people have the wrong impression of me!  There's something about an empty desk that invites me back to work with so much more hospitality than a desk piled high.  So, desk and work-related tasks, done.  After leaving work yesterday I took time to enjoy my great-neice Alexis's first birthday party.  She is adorable, my sister Patsy's little granddaughter, her feminine energy so new and welcome after Patsy and her husband Britt happily raised three sons and also have two grandsons.  Alexis is just walking, has a crop of light brown  hair, and a smile that knocks your socks off. 

Katie, Henry, and I stayed at the party but made an early exit -- I had baking to accomplish.  Henry could have stayed all night.  He loved the bouncy-bounce house and, little aquatic child that he is, the pool. 

But there was work to do.  My friend Judy's little granddaughter Adeley is being baptised this weekend, and I promised her a cake with my "old recipe" cake before I left on my trip.  She wanted a simple cake without a lot of color, and I think she'll be happy with it.  It's a black-and-white marble cake with buttercream frosting.  I don't usually eat my own cakes, but this combination is one that calls my name!

So now, I'm getting ready to pack my little back with not-too-much stuff (I tend toward over-packing).  I'll jump in the shower, and at 12:45, I'll be westward-bound to spend a few days with Meghan.  After getting ready to go, I'm looking forward to doing nothing but read on the plane.  Once there, I'm not sure whether I'll be blogging or not.   I'd love to see the Queen Mary, the Aquarium of the Pacific, and whatever else Long Beach has to offer during my short stay, so I may be out and about.  It doesn't matter what we do.  As long as I get to spend time with my kid, I'm happy!