Pining for the Fjords

Did you read Part 1 ? Bea (and her giant nose) say hi! When last we blogged, we'd made it to San Mateo Campground within San Onofre Beach State Park , and Chris, Zoe, Bea, and I were settling into the spot where we'd be working for the next week (well, Chris and I would - these girls don't do sh*t).  We woke up on Sunday morning, ready to enjoy a non-travel, non-work day in the area, and we started it out by strolling the girlies around the campground, then making breakfast and watching the Australian Grand Prix F1 race. Time for adventure breakfast! "Hey, I want to finish watching Danny Ricc win the race!" (I didn't have the heart to tell her...) Snuggling on the couch with everyone Post-race, Chris went for a short hike out to Trestles Beach (from our campsite, it was about 1.8 miles one way, and while the trail had a few ups and downs, it was easy to find and a nice stroll); for our part, the puppers and I did yoga and watched the most recent episode of Ru

Family selfie time! Like most of the world when the pandemic hit in 2020, both of our jobs went fully remote.  My position at the University of Phoenix was already work from home two days each week, so it was an easy transition; after overwhelming employee response, the company allowed us all to keep working remotely, full-time, even once everyone was vaccinated and whatnot, which is an amazing benefit.  Chris also recently transitioned into a commitment at Gore that allows for full-time telework, a great fit for him as well.  Since we could both work from pretty much anywhere (in the USA, at least), and we own a mobile spot from which to do so (Zelda the travel trailer), we decided to try it out!   In early October of last year, we reserved a campsite for a week at the San Mateo Campground , part of San Onofre State Beach in the city of San Clemente, CA.  Our friends from Tucson, Bryan and Jen Spencer, grabbed the spot next to us for the latter half of the week, so we'd have budd

Don't forget to read Part 1 ! Meet the newest Olsen family member - Bea! (she's the black and white kiddo on the right) When I'd initially corresponded with Lori at California Paws Rescue , we'd planned to meet Bea (that's what we've decided to call her - I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of yelling "BEANS!" in a crowded dog park) around 2pm on Monday, but once we added Zoe into the mix, we figured an earlier time of 11am was a better idea.  Since the drive from Jumbo Rocks Campground to the rescue site took an hour and a half (it's not that far as the crow flies, but there aren't that many major roads in Joshua Tree National Park , so you have to drive allll the way around it), we spent some time enjoying our morning together, making biscuits, heating up breakfast casserole, and strolling Zoe around the amphitheater next to our campsite.   This child loves her sleep Figuring Miss Zoe might need a bit more exercise, we drove north ou