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!