Our original itinerary had us driving back down to San Diego today to go to the zoo and the natural history museum. But after the marathon drive to get here on Wednesday, the gridlock traffic we encountered after SeaWorld yesterday, and the thought of the long drive back to Utah tomorrow, Kevin, Malia and I were all in agreement that we wanted to stay a bit closer to home base today. Google gave us some entertainment options closer to the hotel, and we settled on a 10-minute drive to visit Mission San Capistrano, an old Spanish mission that was established in the 1700’s and still exists as a museum, gardens, and operating church today. The historic nature of the mission made it just the kind of thing I really enjoy. The buildings, which were built over a span of several hundred years, were fascinating. The gardens are absolutely spectacular, and we spent far longer wandering the grounds than I had originally anticipated. It was a photographer’s paradise and Malia and Kev took full advantage of that. While the pictures don’t do justice to the brilliant colors of the garden, they do show the diversity of the plant life and the variation in the architecture. I think we all enjoyed taking things at a slower pace and enjoying something a bit less hectic than the amusement parks.
One of Malia’s must dos for this trip was to watch the sunset from the beach. So, after a mellow afternoon hanging out and napping at the hotel, we headed to Laguna Beach to find a good spot. I’m not hugely familiar with southern California and while I have definitely heard of Laguna Beach, I had no idea that it is a wildly popular beach which means…more traffic. We had factored in some extra time for driving and lucked out finding a parking place, so we didn’t have too many issues and arrived with a bit of time to spare.
We started off walking right down to the beach, but because of the exact spot we were in, there would have been an outcropping blocking our view of the sunset. In addition, because she has grown up in a landlocked desert, Malia has had very little exposure to the ocean, and she is appropriately cautious where the beach is concerned. That meant that as the tide began to come in and crept closer to the rock we were standing on, she started to get nervous. With two strikes against us, we opted to walk back up to street level where there is a paved walkway/park area all the way along the beach. We found a great spot and settled in (with about 60 gazillion other folks) to watch the sunset.
For those who have never seen a sunset from a beach in a sunny locale (think California, Hawaii, etc.), there is a huge difference between what we see from our little valley and what you see when you are right on the water. I knew Malia had never seen such a sunset, but I didn’t realize that Kevin hadn’t either. With all the traveling I did with my folks as a kid, I saw many such sunsets so although it has been years, I knew just what an amazing display we were in for. For me, half the fun was seeing the wonder in Malia’s eyes and watching her get all excited about something that I suspect many people take for granted. It was a beautiful sunset. And just in case you’ve never seen a beach sunset, it really is worth your time.
We head home tomorrow, but I think this little whirlwind of a vacation has been great. The family dynamic is different when it is just the three of us, and it is going to be just our little trio more and more often over the next few years. Although I’m sure she thinks we are old and boring sometimes (or many times), I do love that Malia is not opposed to hanging out with her parents.
