Our Second Vacation

This last trip was two trips in one, really. After our fun day at Universal Studios, we headed southwest to the beach. Crystal Cove State Park to be exact. And it was glorious!

We arrived to a beautiful campground right on the coast. The campground consists of three loops over six tiers, so everyone has a gorgeous ocean view. The sites were big and there was plenty of vegetation to provide privacy. We loved it!

After we got set up, we took a walk to explore. The campground and beach are separated by PCH, but the bluff takes away any road noise.

We drove down the bluff to the parking area at the bottom, went through a tunnel under PCH, and then we spent some time at the beach. Though chilly, the kids had a good time in the sand already. Matthew got a metal detector for Christmas, but we didn't find any treasure.

We did enjoy a beautiful sunset, and the kids even created sandcastles.

By the time we got back to our Airstream, the view looked like this:

The next day we knew would probably be our only sunny day at the beach, so we took advantage of the weather and stayed outside as much as possible. Brian and Elizabeth took their mountain bikes because there are hiking and biking trails behind the campground that go through the backcountry hills. However, due to recent rains, all the trails were closed so we couldn't use them. Thankfully, there is a paved trail along the bluff that goes the length of the state park beach--about three miles. So after Matthew and I set off on foot and scooter, Brian and Elizabeth caught up with us shortly. They were bummed, but we made it work. They'd go ahead and double back. It wasn't a bad way to spend a morning.

Matthew and I took our time and caught all the sights. We took lots of pictures, even of all the signs. He and I can butt heads sometimes because we are so similar, but we had a nice time together exploring here. This time was one of the best parts of the vacation for me.

The photo below looks like Matthew is about to merge onto PCH. hahaha

We came upon the Historic District at Crystal Cove. This place is really cool. There are lots of old cottages you can rent out and a swanky eatery called the Beachcomber Cafe is right on the beach. We stopped for a peek. It was a neat little village.

Never saw a Christmas tree right on the beach before.

We left the Historic District and headed back to camp.

When we got there, we were in for a big surprise. Matthew's buddy from third grade was camping in the site right next to us! Kaedan and his mom flew in to stay in her best friend's Airstream with her for a few days. What are the odds?

Though it was sunny, the air was still cool so we warmed up with some ramen noodles for lunch and then hung around outside for the afternoon.

Elizabeth and I tried to find the sea glass jewelry making class in the Historic District, but I guess the guy who manages that was under the weather that day. We still had a nice walk through another tunnel to get to that part of the beach. This one was decorated with all kinds of ocean-themed art.

Late in the afternoon, we went to Pelican Point to see some tidal pools at low tide. Crystal Cove has quite a few good places for tidal pool viewing, but a ranger said this place would be the best. I think she was right. I thought we'd be freezing and uncomfortable, but the excitement of seeing anemones and hilariously walking hermit crabs (and the possibility of spotting something super cool) warmed us up, I think. We accessed the beach via a boardwalk and then a steep hike down the bluff.

When the tide recedes, tons of rocks show up and sea creatures sometimes are safely stuck for a while between them.

We spotted a sea lion or otter or something out on that rock. It's hard to see in the photo, but he was moving all around like he was waving at us.

Matthew doing some karate kid moves.

Wednesday was a really cool day at the beach!

Overnight the rains came, and in the morning they were still falling. It got pretty wet. Even the Airstream was soaking up some water. Nothing was dripping, but some water was seeping in through the seams. Luckily, we were able to lap it up with towels easily, but we do need to figure out how to fix that leak.

Since the weather wasn't really beach weather, we took our time eating breakfast and then decided to drive to Long Beach to tour the famous and historic ocean liner, the Queen Mary. You can't just go on it an look around; you have to buy some sort of tour package. So we got the passports that let you board the ship, do a self-paced audio tour, take a guided tour, and watch a ten-minute movie in their 4D theater. Though pricey, it was a good rainy day activity, especially since the rain stopped when we were outside on the decks. The audio tour was decent, but the guided tour was more interesting. Our guide was very passionate about the Queen Mary and also, quite possibly, an actor of some sort so he was very animated.

The Queen Mary is docked in the harbor. It's very close to the port so we followed lots of trucks in and out of the area. Many ships were being loaded and unloaded, and that's probably what it's like every day there.

The audio tour took us to all kinds of places, even a viewing area to see one of the propellers.

All in all, we had a fun vacation to California. It was hard to leave on the morning of such a beautiful day at the beach, but we had a 7-hour drive ahead of us so we managed to get out of there by 10:30 am. Sad to go, but we look forward to going back sometime.