Fast trip to California

Sorry for the silence, dear readers! I just returned from a fast trip to Southern California to visit my parents.

This trip was paid for courtesy of Younger Daughter. She had some leave from her European duty station. For the last few years, every time she asks if she should visit us, I encourage her to visit her grandparents instead, since they won't be around forever. This time she talked me into meeting her down in California and even paid for my ticket. How could I refuse?

It was a lot of hopping from flight to flight to get to my destination. Here we're landing in Seattle.

Unfortunately I have no way of knowing what lake this is. It's in California somewhere, that's all I know.

Sunset over the ocean.

Well as you can imagine, seeing my family was wonderful. My youngest brother picked me up at the airport. My oldest brother was visiting my dad. My middle brother called at one point, and we were able to catch up over the phone.

I wondered if my mom (who is now in a nursing home) would recognize me since I haven't seen her since last April. And she did! She lit up and started crying with happiness when she caught sight of me. It was lovely.

Younger Daughter arrived about 36 hours after I did. Needless to say, she had severe jet lag. Nonetheless, we took ourselves off to the beach to see the sights.

The snowy plover nesting season was over, though we found what we presumed was a plover egg shell.

All the birds were actively foraging on the shore.

Younger Daughter is fascinated by kelp.

With good reason. It's fascinating stuff.

As we walked back to the car, I noticed this graffiti spraypainted on the back of the beach signs.

Except for the beach expedition, the rest of the time was spent visiting my mom and helping my dad, including some medical appointments. On my final evening, my youngest brother (who is an excellent cook) brought dinner and we had something of a party.

Then I said my goodbyes, my youngest brother brought me back to his house, and early yesterday morning I caught the first of three flights to come home again.

Volcanic mountains dot the Cascades in Oregon. This is two of the Three Sisters.

I think this is Mt. Jefferson, but I'm not sure.

And, since we were approaching Portland, I'm assuming this is Mt. Hood.

On the second leg of the trip, I had an aisle seat, so no photos. The third leg passed over some rugged landscapes in central Idaho.

After landing, it was another 2.5 hour drive from the airport to home, so a total of 12 hours of traveling. Whew, I'm wiped! Nonetheless, it was a wonderful trip.

And that, dear readers, explains my silence.