Weekend Fun

Nick brought Ellie over for a couple of hours Friday, and she helped me make a new recipe for healthier peanut butter cups. 

 

Pretty tasty! And nice knowing the ingredients are all decent.

In the evening, Stace went to Pocock Brewery for a coworker's goodbye gathering, while I went to Hart High School to watch the musical Little Shop of Horrors, as I knew several of the kids in it.

Also this week, I had my final meeting of the West Ranch Parent Advisory Council, as the group held elections and replaced me on the board. 

I processed our pumpkins and used some of the puree to make my own pumpkin spice protein latte, with vanilla protein powder. Yummy, and so good for me.

Stace and I went to a theatre performance at the church I grew up going to on Saturday night, and it was great! Very high quality production of an entertaining story, set in the late 1940s in New York City. One of the leads (in the top hat) is a radio talk show host I like listening to, so it was fun to see him in a different element.

It rained all day, and Violet and Stace drove around admiring our rivers. Meanwhile, Cora had a daylong tech rehearsal for her college play.

On Sunday, Stace and I celebrated our anniversary a bit late, with a steak dinner at a local favorite. We'd waited because of Stace's dental work. 

A real date!

Oh, it was delicious. Twice-baked potato, 14 ounce ribeye steak, and coconut shrimp to start.

We shared everything, and still brought a bit home.

We made sure to save enough room for dessert - a shared slice of mudpie.

This was a special meal; thanks to Sue and Gord for the money!

We finished the day with a family rewatching of The Princess Bride; it was kind of a perfect day for me.

Anniversary Beach Trip

 Sunday was our 22nd anniversary, and we "celebrated" with a beach trip with Colleen, Rigo and their kids. We'd realized we hadn't had a true beach day this summer, and the weather was going to be perfect, and we had a free day.

So, after church and a trip to Havana Savannah for anniversary coffee, we got ready for a beach adventure.

Thankfully, our dear friends happened to be free as well, as Liana and Violet spent nearly the entire afternoon bodyboarding. We went to Rincon, Violet's favorite beach.

Colleen and I took a very long walk.

Cora had a Fright Fest orientation to attend, so she wasn't able to come with us. She found out she'll be a SIREN in an area in the front of the park known as Devil's Triangle, with pirates.

After the sunset, we had dinner together at In-n-Out. 

A nice anniversary steak dinner will have to wait until Stace's mouth heals anyway. He's in the middle of the root canal process.

Saturday Fun

On Saturday, we went to a fundraiser for Finally Family Homes, and sat with Colleen and Rigo. We enjoyed a lovely bruch, Southern Gospel music, and auction, all supporting our friend Christina's charity.

Later, we went to Ventura, to celebrate Melanie and Nick's 10th anniversary. As a wedding industry veteran, Melanie planned a lovely beachfront vow renewal ceremony.

Afterwards, we had yummy food and drinks at a tiki bar/restaurant near Ventura's downtown. We then explored downtown a little before Cora drove us home. We're increasing her freeway practice...

 On Sunday, my parents came over and brought Eloise, while Mel and Nick had a few days away for their anniversary. We played in the pool, and Stace made smash burgers on our new Blackstone griddle.

Violet completed these lovely oil paintings in recent weeks. 

Anniversary Adventure

 Twenty-one years! 

Stace and I celebrated our anniversary with a quick trip to the mountains - quicker than we'd planned! More on that in a minute...
Our preferred beach hotels were sold out, so I thought going up to Lake Arrowhead would be a different way to get out of town and, hopefully, out of the heat.

We booked a cabin, and Stace came home early Friday so we could get packed and get on the road.

We went up the "back way," through the Antelope and Victor valleys, and when we came around to the front side of the mountain, saw a huge plume of smoke. We pulled in, with lots of other drivers, to take photos of active flames. We learned that the fire was in Highland, more than 10 miles away.

We got in touch with the cabin owner, who told us about an app we could download to monitor all updates about the fire, just in case.

The cabin was cute! Two bedrooms downstairs, and the living area upstairs.

Cora would have loved these old bottles on display in the bathroom.

We got settled in and then went into town to get dinner.

On Saturday morning, we awoke to the smell of smoke outside, and ash on the car. The fire was still far, though. We had breakfast, took a walk, and then went back into town for some lunch and shoppin.

The lake is mainly for boating and fishing for residents. We could see these large fish near the main village, which was busy on a warm Saturday.

Look at that smoke cloud!

We drove to Crestline, to Lake Gregory, so we could get nearer to the water. We spent a couple of relaxing hours with a drink and the newspaper.

Then we stopped for a Mexican meal at Hortencias at the Cliffhanger, a nearly 100-year-old landmark building that overlooks San Bernardino.  

On this particular night, it offered a striking view of the fire, too.

We went back to the cabin and relaxed, and as I hung up the phone with the girls, we got the notification that an evacuation warning had been issued for the area. 

So, we packed up and headed out! At 10:45 at night... it was an easy drive, but a very late night. We got home shortly before 1 a.m. 

Thankfully, the fire never reached Arrowhead, and the "warning" didn't progress to an "order." But of course it was better to be safe than sorry, not that we would have been able to sleep Saturday night! And I can only guess that all businesses would have been closed Sunday with the warning in place.

Cheers to 21 years, and an anniversary we won't soon forget!

San Juan Capistrano Mission

We hadn't visited the San Juan Capistrano Mission in many years, and I was interested in having another look. It's a great day out - history, museum, gardens, shop.

The mission was founded in 1776, the seventh of 21 missions in the state. This large church collapsed in a big earthquake in 1812.

So many beautiful vantage points.

The mission is famous for the swallows that returned each spring for many years, though they now nest in other places in the same town.

The museum told of the history of the mission and its inhabitants, including the Spanish missionaries and the native Californians.

This chapel is the last one still standing where Father Junipero Serra, now sainted, celebrated Mass.

Stace and I enjoyed our afternoon at the mission.

20th Anniversary Getaway

 Stace took Thursday (our actual anniversary) and Friday off so we could get away for a couple of days and a night. We woke up to this lovely message from Gregorny!

We headed south to Long Beach, and once near the ocean, took the coast road further, into Orange County. We stopped in Newport Beach and Laguna Beach before reaching our destination, Dana Point. 

We stayed at a sweet Best Western, seen behind us with the blue trim, behind the lifeguard tower. Yes, we were right across from the beach!

Our lovely room - because it was a slower Thursday in September, we got upgraded to a third-floor ocean view room.

View from our room! 

We went to Salt Creek Grille for dinner, where we used a gift card we'd "won" in a charity auction a few months ago.

Fancy dinner and drinks - but we also caught Happy Hour! It was a very enjoyable night.

We walked back to the beach after dinner and watched the sun set.

The next day, we walked down to the Dana Point Wharf, where we looked around the shops and had a bit of lunch.

Near the beach, this old bit of wall from the 1920s was interesting.

Later, we went a few miles inland to San Juan Capistrano to the tour the mission. (See next post.)

After, we were ready for coffee and a snack, so we treated ourselves to gelato.

Then, we went back to the coast - Laguna, to be specific - to soak up a little more beach time.

Another gorgeous OC beach sunset.

We waited until after dark to drive home, so we didn't face crazy traffic. 

It was a perfect full, two-day trip away, so great to celebrate our blessed life together.