The Excitement of Travel

So in addition to going on all sorts of hikes, gnome-led and not, Jacelyn and I have been rather busy this past summer. It is too bad it is past, because I would have very much liked to have crammed more into it. We got a late start after all, in not really knowing that summer was here, what with all the rain and cold, but when it came we used it passably well. Next year will be better!

One of the ways we used summer exceedingly well was in our travels. Most notably our quick trip down to visit my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephews in very southern California. Two days drive down and we arrived, sans air-conditioning, in a nice inland-of-San-Diego heat wave. We rejoiced at the milder temperatures indoors, and settled in to play in the kiddie pool and relax inside. Needless to say the boys kept us quite busy through the days and so our relaxation was relegated to the evenings.

We enjoyed ourselves immensely throughout our stay, but for me one of the highlights was our trip to Legoland with Tristan. At 5 years old he was just big enough to handle most all of the rides, and was generally in awe of everything he saw. I'm sure his favorite things about the park changed at least half a dozen times (as many times as we asked him) that day, and probably as many times in the days following.

I also enjoyed everything I saw, from the massive displays of cityscapes and landmarks, to life-sized characters from Star Wars, giant dragons, and every bit of detail within the rides themselves. Of course this is all only possible with a full crew of master builders on site for big projects, which turn out to be half art, half science, but completely impressive. It was a very worthwhile endeavour.

Another of  the highlights for me was trying out fish tacos for the first time. I admit, it doesn't sound too tasty from the start, but when everyone kept describing it to me my mouth started to water and nothing would stop my foodie curiosity. They are fantastic! I am sure though that you can only get really good ones that close to the Baja Peninsula, and I am afraid to try them anywhere here. I think we will attempt to make them ourselves, with the consolation if they turn out poorly that we didn't pay too much for them. We have found a particular brand of tempura mix that cooks up perfectly crisp and light, and we had a very enjoyable meal of fried red snapper and chips the other day, which I think might translate into a nice start towards a good fish taco.

Fun while it lasted, but we are glad to be home.