Rollercoasting through to Mexico
Heading north to Anchorage (for the state fair) and Denali (for some soul-soothing camping) seemed like such a great idea earlier this summer -- after the rains of southeast, the interior is usually a haven of late summer sunshine. But the night before we were supposed to leave, we checked the interior weather only to find a very familiar 54 degrees and rain. Gloom descended on our evening get-together as we pondered with friends our inability to escape the clouds. Then we realized these were free tickets - reward tickets for giving up our seats from Ireland a year ago. And in one of the most extraordinary last-minute flight-plan changes I've ever experienced, we ran a poor Alaska Airlines agent through a gamut of potential scenarios before settling on an escape to sun plan that would take us through Los Angeles to Mexico.
So during the last week of August Jamie and I burned through several layers of skin while enjoying a 90 degree, gloriously bright day at Magic Mountain and a lovely evening watching The Dark Knight (on IMAX!) at the Irvine Spectrum. Not the state fair, but there were roasted ears of corn at MM which we took as friendly sign that our decision was right. Well, the ears of corn and the fact that I've been wanting to ride rollercoasters for several years now =+)
After staying the night in a hotel in Mission Viejo (which for some reason makes me giggle), we drove down to La Fonda on the Baja Coast. A small beach, with nowhere near the number of people we saw in other cities. We got ourselves a room open to the sea and decorated with an oddly Asian flare. In fact the whole place had themed rooms (the proprieter tried to offer us the "Cabin Room" which was actually decorated like many an Alaskan cabin - complete with the tiniest black bear hide I've ever seen on a wall), but we just wanted to be near the ocean. And for three days we slept and read and talked on the beach, played in a fantastic surf, ate lobster and slept at night with an ocean breeze. It was not Denali, but it was good for the soul.
We did not stop to see our family or friends on the way -- a common theme for our travels this month. But I may be leaving J for a little while, and we're both jealous of what little time we get to spend with each other. Unfortunate, but not a real regret.
So...La Fonda...if Rosarito scares you anymore, La Fonda was beautiful
So during the last week of August Jamie and I burned through several layers of skin while enjoying a 90 degree, gloriously bright day at Magic Mountain and a lovely evening watching The Dark Knight (on IMAX!) at the Irvine Spectrum. Not the state fair, but there were roasted ears of corn at MM which we took as friendly sign that our decision was right. Well, the ears of corn and the fact that I've been wanting to ride rollercoasters for several years now =+)
After staying the night in a hotel in Mission Viejo (which for some reason makes me giggle), we drove down to La Fonda on the Baja Coast. A small beach, with nowhere near the number of people we saw in other cities. We got ourselves a room open to the sea and decorated with an oddly Asian flare. In fact the whole place had themed rooms (the proprieter tried to offer us the "Cabin Room" which was actually decorated like many an Alaskan cabin - complete with the tiniest black bear hide I've ever seen on a wall), but we just wanted to be near the ocean. And for three days we slept and read and talked on the beach, played in a fantastic surf, ate lobster and slept at night with an ocean breeze. It was not Denali, but it was good for the soul.
We did not stop to see our family or friends on the way -- a common theme for our travels this month. But I may be leaving J for a little while, and we're both jealous of what little time we get to spend with each other. Unfortunate, but not a real regret.
So...La Fonda...if Rosarito scares you anymore, La Fonda was beautiful