Do Work, Son - Part 4

But what about Part 3?

Sandy, happy maniacs at the Del Mar dog beach

We woke up on Friday to a slightly different plan than the rest of our week at San Mateo Campground.

Look at that sunrise!

While I still had to work (UoPX used to give us a half day on Good Friday, but they changed that a few years back to give us 8 full hours of a floating holiday to use whenever we wanted), Chris was off; after cooking bacon and cinnamon rolls for breakfast, he hopped in the truck with the girls, and they caravanned with Jen, Bryan, and their puppers south to Del Mar dog beach.  While we already knew Zoe was a great swimmer, she'd never been to a off-leash beach before, and this was Bea's first time near water at all (as far as we knew).  According to Chris, they had fun overall, but it was exhausting for everyone.

Apparently, this nutso scaled a rocky wall to get to Bryan and Jen,

interrupting their attempt to enjoy time with their dogs

Once they made it back to camp, I was happy to take the girls off Chris' hands during my lunch break, and to enjoy some alone time, he drove into town to fill up the truck at the gas station and find tacos (errands = parent alone time).

Mmmm...tacos.  These were really good.

Never underestimate a SoCal taco stand.

Work kicked us off a bit early (much appreciated!), and we spent the rest of the afternoon with Bryan and Jen at their campsite, hanging out with all of our kiddos, eating, and enjoying our time together.

She's kind of a lot.

Bronx and Bogey outside their new camper -

they just acquired a Grand Design Imagine XLS as well,

just a bit smaller than our version.

Chilling in the shade!

When dinnertime rolled around, we cooked blackened barramundi and broccoli on the flat-top, and for dessert, we all enjoyed Jen's homemade, gluten-free cheesecake with fresh berries.  As darkness fell, we again sat around the firepit, sharing stories and laughing a lot.  Such a great time with good friends!

On Saturday morning, I woke up to my 6am alarm - even though it was the weekend, I wanted to get in my own hike to Trestles Beach, and since we wanted to break camp and head out by 10am, that meant leaving early.  Chris was originally going to accompany me part of the way with the girls, but a late night kerfuffle with our automatic trash cans put an end to that plan (the trash cans are motion sensor ones, and a water bottle I set on top of them kept triggering them for most of the night - we couldn't hear it, but Zoe sure could, and by 1am, it had driven her crazy - it took 30 minutes for Chris to find the source of the weird noise, turn off the cans, and calm Zoe down enough for us all to sleep again).  Undaunted, I had some tea and toast, then hit the trail.

The wildflowers were out in force

Sunrise over the campground

Looking toward the west coast, where the moon was setting

You know how you sometimes see tennis shoes thrown over power lines?

Not near Camp Pendleton!

This is an area sacred to the local Native tribe - they were having a celebration

complete with drum circles and singing the day after we arrived.

After passing under the 5 freeway, I crossed the bike path I'd ridden on Thursday...

...and found the entrance to Trestles Beach!

Thanks, Granddad!

The railroad track - the trestle - that gives the beach its name.

You can see the letters carved into the supports

Give me an E!

Posing with the Pacific

The hike from our campsite to Trestles was just under 4 miles total, and it took me right around an hour with picture taking and whatnot.  I made it back to the camper just before 8am, to find Chris and the girls up and moving about and starting breakfast, having already gone for a stroll.

Zoe: "Where's Mom?"

Bea: "Is she in these bushes?"

Zoe: (heavy sigh)

Terrier side-eye is a real thing

We'd already started packing up a few things the night before, but we finished this up, said bye to Bryan and Jen (for their part, they were taking their doggos to the dog beach down in Coronado for the day), got cleaned up, and hit the road, stopping at the dump station on site on our way out (a $10 fee, card only, for anyone who needs to know).

Look at this great picture!

This needs to be the Spencer family holiday card this year.

Keeping an eye on Dad at the dump station

When we planned this trip, we knew we'd be checking out of our campsite on Saturday, April 8th.  It dawned on me after making these reservations that April 8th is not only Dad's birthday, but this year, it was an extra special one - his 70th!  We asked Dad and Risa if we could crash their peaceful home and spend the night with them to celebrate, and they graciously agreed.  It was just about an hour's drive between the campsite and their home in Villa Park, and once we arrived, it took all four of us humans (no dog assistance was requested, although plenty was offered) to get the camper up into their parking area.  Unfortunately, it was a bit too uneven there for us to stay in the camper overnight, so we had to crash in their lovely home instead (shucks!).

It might be hard to tell from this shot, but this thing was tilted quite a bit.

After ensuring the doggos were empty, we secured them in the spare bedroom and headed off to lunch at Brewery X in Anaheim, a great spot.  We enjoyed visiting with one another while drinking tasty beer and noshing on Latin-inspired fare from the visiting food truck.

Risa and Dad at Brewery X.

This patio is seriously huge!

Post-lunch, we headed back to the house where we hung out with the puppers on the front patio.

Before too long, it was time to get ready for Dad's birthday dinner!  He'd chosen Top of the V, a restaurant on the top floor of the Hotel Viv in nearby Anaheim.  We had a great time eating their delicious tapas/Spanish-inspired offerings, drinking amazing wine, and visiting with one another.

Cheers to another trip around the sun!

Art in the ladies' bathroom - it's not wrong!

We'd spent awhile at dinner, so after getting back to the house and taking the kiddos out for a potty break, we were all pretty tuckered, and we headed to bed.  The next morning was Easter Sunday, and we celebrated by making a fancier version of the patented Olsen Adventure Breakfast, a yummy frittata compiled of all of the random bits and bops we found in our two fridges (Dad and Risa's and ours from the camper).  By 9am, we were underway, after thanking Dad and Risa (as always) for their hospitality; the girls quickly sacked out, like normal:

We stopped a few times on the way home - a rest area break at Whitewater again, then at the gas station in Ehrenberg to refuel and eat lunch - making it home around 3:30 or so (traffic was extremely good, probably due to it being Easter and all).  Jen and I were corresponding as we went, and they made it home to Tucson safely as well - she'd taken Bronx on a trail run down to Trestles that morning:

"Mom, you taste salty!  I love it!"

Overall, we had a great trip!  We enjoyed the lovely SoCal weather, had an awesome time visiting with friends and family, and learned a few things we'll put into place the next time we work from the trailer.

Later!

Amy