just wanted to share a few photos from a quick work trip to cali that i took with colista [my boss at the time] in early december… the majority of the pics are from the beach, because i was so very happy to be on the sand with the waves crashing around me rather than at home, where we were facing a bitterly cold spell. in fact, we almost didn’t make it to california at all because our flight was cancelled due to an ice storm in dallas. when we finally arrived, the surf and sand never looked better, even if i didn’t think it was quite warm enough to swim.
i’m actually headed back to california [northern CA though – not southern CA] tomorrow [actually for the same conference that i went to a year ago] and i’ll admit – the climate in cali is looking just as appealing compared to texas as it was last december. why can’t all weather be california weather? :)
{we stayed one night at the hilton bayfront in san diego.}
{i was on the 13th floor with a pool + bay view!}
{view of the pool by night and by day.}
{driving around the area… i wish we could have stayed longer! i love san diego.}
{this building was all lit up for christmas!}
{driving down “avocado highway” [it’s called this because of all the avocado groves on the mountainsides] and headed to the avocado capital of the world!}
{our purpose for coming to california was to speak at a couple GAP workshops for avocado growers, and workshop #1 was at a beautiful event center in the fall brook – pretty much paradise.}
{a life-sized sand castle? and we had lunch at the gambling cowboy in temecula after the workshop.}
{on the way, we stopped at paul walker’s crash site [he had passed away just a few weeks before]. according to ken, the guy we were with who had actually driven by the crash site a week ago, the whole area had been covered in a mountain of flowers, but everything had been cleared by the time we go there and all that was left were some candles and a box of donuts or something. it was so sad and such a strange place for the crash to take place, i thought.}
{colista and i fell in love with we olive and tasted a bunch of olive oils! [and ended up taking some home too!]}
{on our second night, we stayed at the embassy suites at mandalay beach in oxnard. these photos are from my patio – i could walk right out to the beach. also, my “room” had a living room and two bathrooms. for me and me only!}
{i took a little walk on the beach as the sun was setting. every time i’m on a beach at sunset or at night, i realize that i’ve forgotten just how magical it is. there’s really nothing like it.}
{i’m so used to our work trips being jam-packed with tours and meetings and dinners and events from morning until night, but this trip was really nice because we had some down time, especially in oxnard. we had arrived in late afternoon [and of course it was getting dark pretty early at that time of year] and everyone opted to do their own thing that evening, so i got settled, went on my evening walk on the beach, then went inside and ordered room service. i literally ate my salad in bed and then chilled out/got some work done/read before going to bed. and we didn’t have to be ready to go until late the next morning, so i had time to have breakfast at the hotel, explore the grounds, and take a walk on the beach before packing up. it was AWESOME.}
{pictures of the ocean for days…}
xoxo