so cal

in february, i flew to la to meet up with courtney, laurel, and liz--my best friends from high school. laurel is living down there now--so it seemed like a fun place to meet up and enjoy a long weekend together. we spent a little time in la, but most of our time was based out of a beach house in oxnard--just a few steps away from the beach.

some of the highlights are captured below.

 we went on a whaling trip. the channel islands are right off the coast from oxnard. we thought about going to one of the islands but opted for the whaling trip instead. we were so happy to see a nice big whale. funny, now i can't remember what kind it was. but we followed it around for about 45 minutes.

 i never got a great picture of it, but you can see it out there.

 

 the pointing helps you see where it's at.

 liz and laurel. the warmth and sun of so cal felt so nice, but on the boat it did get a little chilly.

 we also saw tons of dolphins--including bottle nose dolphins, which i guess are rarer to see.

 it was fun watching them jump and chase the boat.

 we saw sea lions. 

 so cute! look at those faces.

 then a nice man took a few pictures of us as we were getting back into the harbor.

 we also went on a hike in the mountains nearby. i had laurel take this one of me because i couldn't believe how tall the yucca staffs were. if you can see, the staff is well taller than i am. imagine having that kind of yucca in your yard.

 the views.

 pemandangan!

 and another yucca. i knew b would enjoy those shots.

 laurel up at the top.

 court was the least enthusiastic about the hike, but she was a trooper. we all made it.

 you can't see them really, but the channel islands are out past us the pacific.

 we went to a fun greek restaurant for dinner one night. it was a wild good time. the servers also doubled as dancers. and they were good--being able to do super high kicks.

once the professionals were done, the dance floor opened up to whoever--so lize and laurel went to show off their moves.

 we spent an afternoon/evening in ventura. we went to the mission there and looked around. i always love a good mission and cathedral.

 i did find that as i thought really hard, i was able to think of more spanish words while i was there. it was still a struggle for me (since studying indonesian, my spanish has lapsed in a big way). but it was good to be able to recall some spanish words that i know i know.

 a beautiful flower. look at the design inside it.

 i wish i could have seen the actual statue of st gertrude. i loves statues like this. look at her expression--it's intense. 

 the inside of the cathedral was cool. i always love seeing the iconography.

 and seeing how gruesome jesus (or other saints) often look in catholic places of worship.

 la virgen. this doesn't capture it well, but this was a really lovely image of her.

 of spanish tiles! i love them.

 me with a batida de zaptoe. i thought it was neat that they added cinnamon on top (i've never had that before), but it was lacking in rich zapote flavor. after having this batida and others outside of the dominican republic, i've decided that getting a batida de zapote outside of the dr isn't really worth it. they are awful outside the dr, but they aren't anywhere as amazing either. 

we had a great time together in cali. i'm looking forward to doing this again with laurel, liz, and courtney. next time, though, maybe it will be in oregon, washington, or utah. all such wonderful places. what a blessing that we all live in such cool places.