Carlsbad Beach Camping

When we were kids staying at the Carlsbad State Beach I don't recall any whale sightings.  Today we saw four whales as soon as we pulled up to the Helton campsite, and that was just the beginning.  They saw more as the weekend continued.  Gray whales are still heading down to San Ignacio Lagoon in Mexico to birth and breed.  Love is in the air.

I didn't have by DSLR camera, but my phone was at least able to capture a spout.

They are going for a Helton record, three nights of beach camping.

We are going to be busy, we have two birthdays to celebrate.

And a double digit birthday at that!

608

According to NPR, Romans celebrated Feb. 13-15 by sacrificing goats and dogs and then whipping their women with the hides of the recently slain animals.

Somewhere along the timeline of human history, men figured out that women prefer flowers.  

Eric made reservations for us at 608 in Oceanside.

This restaurant has been open for about a year and a half but this is our first time eating here.  Although they are a "farm to table" restaurant (and they buy their veggies from Cyclops Farms in Oceanside) the menu just never has been that tantalizing.  But now that they have goat and dog on the menu to celebrate Valentine's Day, we are IN!  

Kidding.  But they did change up the menu again and there were several items that sounded interesting.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We started with fried broccolini and macaroni and cheese.  Both were spectacular, but the broccolini was particularly incredible.  I am not sure how they did it.  You wouldn't even know it was fried except the super thin outer layer of crisp.  I have never had anything like it before.  This is no Japanese restaurant tempura.

The first course was followed by stuffed sweet potato for me and fried chicken, corn bread and jalapeño potato salad for Eric.  It all was divine.

Pistachio cake for dessert, with pieces of honeycomb and a yogurt sauce.  (Eric always surprises me with his willingness to try different things!)

Amazing.

Oceanside and Carlsbad

Typically if we have the girls for a weekend we just hang out locally because there is so much to do in Oceanside.

We ate at Ruby's at the end of the pier.

And at our favorite bagel shop the next morning.

Walking everywhere.

But we mixed it up a little this weekend because I found a great deal on Groupon for four tickets to the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad.  Neither Eric or I have been despite it being so close.

Not only is the museum informative but it is super hands on.  Plus, if you fill out a short survey at the end you get a free ticket to return!  Who does that?

They have concerts as well.  I am still super bummed that I missed the banjo series that had a few years ago!  Maybe there will be a next time.  Their concert series right now is "Floating Strings; the Remarkable History of the Harp Guitar in America."  Which is fascinating as well, but it is no banjo.

Since we were in Carlsbad my aunt joined us.

Ahhh, back to Oceanside for the sunset and pizza at the harbor.

For our last few hours together on Sunday we woke up early for donuts and then went straight to the beach. 

Eric has been dying to try out his new hand board.  It is body surfing taken to the next level.  

It is so much fun.

Elle even got out into the water (sans wetsuit) for a mini surf lesson!

Super Blue Blood Moon in Oceanside

Eric and I enjoyed the super blue blood moon before I rushed off to work this morning.

Super= 14% brighter because the moon is closer to earth.

Blue= second full moon in one month.

Blood= total lunar eclipse makes it appear red.

This is the first blue blood moon since 1866!

It was beatiful.  I wish I wasn't in a rush, but I will take it.  

Beach Cribbage

It is yet another beautiful day in Oceanside, in January (however that happens).

Eric, Marla and I meandered for seven miles in total today.

We parted ways with Eric for a bit to play cribbage at the beach.

My mom taught us to play cribbage at a very young age.  Even though we don't play regularly any more it is like riding a bike.  

Apparently beach cribbage it is not a normal beach time activity.  I caught many surprised glances with smiles as people walked past.  I don't know why more people don't play.  The game combines luck with wit, and wit with luck.  

Ice cream break at Mariposas!  

They have the best homemade ice cream.

And we are back at it.

It is difficult to believe (even for us) that we sat and played for a total of three hours.  Three games just flew by.  It is so much fun. 

A big thank you to Sir John Suckling, an English poet, who created the game in the early 17th century.  

I actually started an I Play Cribbage Club at UCSD.  Unfortunately it didn't ever really catch on, but I did try.  Maybe I should have tried a different name, like the Suckling Club.  

Thanks, Mar!  No need to mention who won...

SubarUs Fifteen: Cedar City to Oceanside

There is a stretch of land at the Utah/Arizona border that is amazingly mountainous and beautiful, rain or shine.

As it turns out, it was mostly rain.

In fact, it rained pretty much the entire drive home, bringing on the cold sweats every once in a while once again, as we lost friction with the road.  It was humorous to us that we had terrible driving weather in the once place we were not expecting it, close to home.

Still beautiful.  

Yikes, that is a lot of water.

We made it home!  

We drove exactly 3,319.3 miles in fifteen days, which is further than the distance from Oceanside to New York.  

What a super fabulous road trip.

I don't think we would have done a thing different.