A Very Special Visit and a Day by the Sea

Last month, My daughter was in Southern California for a college event.  She had one day free and we were thrilled to spend it with her.  We picked her up and headed to San Diego.  It was a gorgeous day!  It was sunny, the temps were in the 70's, and we were all together.  Perfect!

We had a delicious lunch and went to Seaport Village to walk around the shops and along the water.  This is a view looking back toward downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp Quarter...

This restaurant looks so rustic and cute sitting out over the water.

This Seagull looked so peaceful and happy paddling around the marina.  The water was so clear that we could see his feet moving.

We sat by the water and watched the boats go by.  We even saw a seal or sea lion (I'm not sure which because he was far away) playing in the water. 

There are a lot of interesting boats to see down there.  There are military ships, small sailboats, tour boats, kayaks, and much more.  A couple of years ago, we saw a fancy boat/yacht that was so big it even had a helicopter on the top deck!

We later drove north to Encinitas for a walk along the beach.  It was wonderful...the parking lot had plenty of spaces and the beaches were wide open.  In fact, there were times that it seemed we were the only ones there.

Gorgeous!

There's always so much to see with the gorgeous scenery and the surprises along the sand.  This plant that washed ashore is pretty with it's delicate leaves and pretty pink color. 

 We had to be careful where we walked because there were thousands of tiny, blue, jelly fish that had washed ashore.  Some were about the size of a dime.  The larger ones were a couple of inches wide.

These jellyfish have a little sail on the top to propel them across the water.  I just looked them up and it turns out that's their only means of locomotion.  Because of that, they're subject to mass beach stranding.  We've seen them in years past where there were so many of them that the beach looked like it was covered in paper trash.  Their technical name is "Vellella".  If you look closely, the inside, center part has rings (click on the photo to see it larger).  So interesting.  The blue color is pretty too.

Sadly, there are lots of dead bees along the beach.  We've been seeing more and more of them over the years.  I'm not sure if it has to do with whatever is causing so many of them to die or if it's just a natural occurrence.  Either way, I watch where I step so I won't be stung!

We saw quite a few ladybugs that day.  Here's my daughter with one on her hand.

Looks like he posed for a photo!  

This outing was perfect for trying out my new camera.  I'm amazed how I was able to get a photo close up of a seagull flying high above me.  I'm anxious to see what else my big, zoom lens can do!

After our walk on the beach, we headed a little further north for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Las Olas.  And, then, another walk along the beach in Carlsbad to see the sunset.

I spotted a tree on our walk to the beach that had fuzzy, yellow, blossoms.  Aren't they cute?! 

These surfers were pretty far down the beach and I was surprised how well my camera lens did.  I'd like to go back down there with a tripod on a good surf day and see if I can get some good pictures of surfers riding the waves.

I always love seeing sandpipers.  They're so cute!

What a wonderful day we had together!  It couldn't have been more perfect!

Daddy and daughter!

We watched until the sun slipped away. 

We dropped her off that night with lots of hugs, a little sadness to say goodbye, and anticipation of seeing her again very soon.  It's been tough with her living in another state but we cherish every moment we have together even more than we did before.