Spring Break: Earthquakes, Boat Rides, Laguna Beach and Big Bear.

Spring Break in the US has quite a reputation for being a week full of partying. My break wasn't quite like that, but it was very exciting nonetheless. On the Friday night after finishing for the week we went to see some friends who major in music perform in their concerto. Their flute performances were amazing, and the night was made even more memorable by experiencing my first earthquake. We were in the concert hall at the time and the whole building seemed to shake and it felt like it lasted for such a long time. I had thought Americans would know what to do in that situation but they all just looked confused, so looking to them to figure out what to do wasn't much help! I was surprisingly very calm throughout and I actually thought it was quite the adrenaline rush!

The next day we went on my friend Tori's boat around the Naples area of Long Beach. We had great weather and it was very relaxing cruising around the canals between the houses. I even steered for a minute!

On the Sunday we took a trip to Laguna Beach which, as one of the most upscale places I've seen here was very nice! It was a lovely day and we had lunch by the beach and explored the town a little. It'd be great to go back there and see some more!

Interesting little sign:

A mural:

A nice little passageway with some shops:

This is what it looked like from inside:

That night we watched the sunset at Huntington Beach and then went for a drive down to Newport Beach and walked around Balboa Island. The next morning, on Monday, eight of us were leaving to go to Big Bear Lake where we had rented a cabin for 3 nights. It was very cold there and snow was even forecast. When we got there we had a great lunch in the village at a restaurant called the Peppercorn Grille and then moved into the cabin. It appeared to be exactly like something out of a horror film! We decided we would all be sleeping upstairs in the attic room as no one wanted to sleep on the creepy first floor. We made pasta for dinner and then with the help of some alcohol, Trivial Pursuit and Game of Life the night turned very entertaining. We ended up dancing around the living room to 90s classics.

Big Bear:

Our cabin:

House rules:

It had snowed overnight when we woke up on Tuesday morning although it was not the deep snow that had been forecast. We had prepared to be snowed in all day drinking hot chocolate but we actually went on a hike up a mountain which had some breathtaking views.

Snow:

 Amazing views:

The lake:

We had some lunch in the freezing cold weather next to the lake and then headed back to the cabin to relax and begin the task of making a roast dinner. After months of no English food we were eager to try to recreate what we were missing. Three hours later we started eating and I was especially proud of the Yorkshire Puddings I made from scratch!

The rest of the trip consisted of playing poker next to the fire, roasting marshmallows, going to the village to look around the shops, more alcohol and packing up to go back to Long Beach. On the way home we stopped at Lake Arrowhead for breakfast which had the best waffles ever!

Before leaving the cabin (photo courtesy of Vicky):

Lake Arrowhead:

Although not the stereotypical Spring Break full of massive parties I had such a great week as I saw new places, had new experiences, good food, and a lot of laughs!

Thanks for reading!

Until next time!

March 22/23: Venice Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano.

Time. That word is constantly on my mind. I don't have much of it left here in the USA, I have to make every second of it count, and I have to fit in as many exciting things as possible. The past seven weeks have been so hectic that I have struggled to do blog entries, and so here I am attempting to catch up again! I promised myself that I would complete this blog, and so I intend to do so no matter how late it happens. I hope you have enjoyed reading my past entries and continue to do so with these next few. I still have more adventures to come, and here are some that have happened since March, this is the first of four catch-up entries.

After going to watch our basketball team play in the Big West tournament at the Honda Center, and also celebrating 3 birthdays in the previous week, on March 22nd we finally made the trip to Venice Beach, which certainly did not disappoint. It has a reputation for its cool and relaxed vibe and its weird and wacky street shows. It is definitely different to anywhere I have ever experienced before and is worth a visit. I'd really like to go back again. The boardwalk fulfilled expectations with its crazy atmosphere and this included not being able to escape the smell of weed, but I think that just became a part of the Venice experience! It was also very cool to see the world-famous Muscle Beach. It was just like the image created by its reputation, shirtless men everywhere!

I had read in my guidebook that there were men on rollerblades who went up and down the boardwalk playing electric guitars. I was excited to actually see one and take a photo. His quirkiness sums up Venice Beach! Another funny musical highlight from the day was repeatedly seeing a man who was playing baby reggae music, which he was trying to sell, walking up and down. It wasn't a mixture of songs, it was just reggae "Incy Wincy Spider" on repeat. We must have seen him about ten times that day, and that song remained stuck in my head for the rest of the day!

One of the things I loved most about Venice was the murals. Being very interested in art I always like to see new street art, and Venice certainly provided an abundance, variety and a lot of colour as shown in these photos below.

One of the street vendors' work:

Another highlight was seeing some dancers called the LA Breakers, they were pretty amazing at what they do and seemed to make a substantial amount of money from the crowd!

The next day I met up with family from Seattle who were down in California for Spring Break. Firstly, we went to Huntington Beach where there was a Beach Cruiser car show which was really interesting as you got to see cars as old as the first Fords. Here's a photo of a very beachy Volkswagen which had a straw roof, very Huntington Beach!

We looked around and spotted some local wildlife such as this bird, and then hung around on the beach for a while before heading to lunch.

After lunch we headed down the coast along Pacific Coast Highway to Mission San Juan Capistrano, which founded in 1776, has some of the oldest buildings in California and the oldest buildings I've seen since I got here! Missions were initially used to encourage Native Americans to practise Christianity and were the first real attempt by Europeans to colonise the region on the west coast. I loved finally seeing some history, it was very beautiful.

I love the not very enthusiastic slogan "Worth a Visit," but it definitely is:

The ruins of the "Great Stone Church," which was devastated by an earthquake in 1812:

The bells of the mission:

The mission is famous for its annual "Return of the Swallows." It is said that the swallows flock to San Juan Capistrano on March 19th every year.

The "Sacred Garden":

The Baroque altar of the Serra Chapel, which is the oldest building in California still in use:

That weekend was one to remember; I saw two completely opposite sides of California, one modern and crazy, the other traditional and with religious elements. It was great to spend it both with friends and family, and I'm grateful I got to see such interesting places.

Hope you enjoyed reading, 3 more catch up blog entries to follow! Next up Spring Break!

Jen