the Dark Marauder
<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2002
- Messages
- 6,121
The final full day in CA.
Wakeup time: 730am. We had a quick stop at an IHOP as we (me, dad, stepmom, aunt & uncle) headed back from Temecula. Temecula is the city where the Pechanga Reservation and Casino is located. All of my cousins had somesort of activity going on. Three had soccer games, one had a cross-country meet, and the twins had whatever they had going on (they're with their mom this week).
Upon returning to the house, final laundry was done and packing/pre-packing for the flight back home. I don't want to go back, as I enjoyed the time off, but I have to. D'oh. When everyone eventually returned, we got ready for a beach BBQ that would happen later in the afternoon/evening.
First up we (group listed above, plus three non-blood cousins) went to Seal Beach. Seal Beach looks more "rustic" than Huntington. The pier is longer at Seal Beach than Huntington. It was also much windier and colder than Huntington. It was also a quiet beach with very few people there. There was an arts & crafts festival going on, which was nice. Seal Beach is going to be preserved and is not going to become as developed as Huntington. The city wants it this way, which is fine.
We later went to Huntington Beach. It was PACKED for some reason. We were looking for a fire pit, but nearly all of them were taken. My dad & Diane (non-blood cousin) found a fire pit and reserved it for us. A fire pit is a small circle of stone, dug into the beach, close to the road, where you can put wood/coals/what have you into the pit and BBQ on the beach.
We got set up and some of us wandered around the beach, closer to the water. I was watching the sun closely, as I wanted to get some awesome sunset pics, which I did take. You'll see.
From there, it was all about the grilling. Some nearby groups gave us some extra wood, which was quite nice. It took a while, but I was able to get some well cooked hot dogs. We even did s'mores. I tried many times at getting the perfectly golden marshmallow. I got some marshmallows golden on 2/3 of the side, but not all the way around. Arghandcurses. Still, I made some great s'mores for myself. I forgot how yummy s'mores cooked over an open flame are. One of my cousins--Allison--did eventually catch up with us. She said that this was "so Huntington" but she enjoyed it. She is a stereotypical beach girl, but that's okay. We all had fun, and it was a great way to close out the final evening of the vacation. At night, seeing all the fire pits roaring is quite amazing.
Pics that defy...gravity
Wakeup time: 730am. We had a quick stop at an IHOP as we (me, dad, stepmom, aunt & uncle) headed back from Temecula. Temecula is the city where the Pechanga Reservation and Casino is located. All of my cousins had somesort of activity going on. Three had soccer games, one had a cross-country meet, and the twins had whatever they had going on (they're with their mom this week).
Upon returning to the house, final laundry was done and packing/pre-packing for the flight back home. I don't want to go back, as I enjoyed the time off, but I have to. D'oh. When everyone eventually returned, we got ready for a beach BBQ that would happen later in the afternoon/evening.
First up we (group listed above, plus three non-blood cousins) went to Seal Beach. Seal Beach looks more "rustic" than Huntington. The pier is longer at Seal Beach than Huntington. It was also much windier and colder than Huntington. It was also a quiet beach with very few people there. There was an arts & crafts festival going on, which was nice. Seal Beach is going to be preserved and is not going to become as developed as Huntington. The city wants it this way, which is fine.
We later went to Huntington Beach. It was PACKED for some reason. We were looking for a fire pit, but nearly all of them were taken. My dad & Diane (non-blood cousin) found a fire pit and reserved it for us. A fire pit is a small circle of stone, dug into the beach, close to the road, where you can put wood/coals/what have you into the pit and BBQ on the beach.
We got set up and some of us wandered around the beach, closer to the water. I was watching the sun closely, as I wanted to get some awesome sunset pics, which I did take. You'll see.
From there, it was all about the grilling. Some nearby groups gave us some extra wood, which was quite nice. It took a while, but I was able to get some well cooked hot dogs. We even did s'mores. I tried many times at getting the perfectly golden marshmallow. I got some marshmallows golden on 2/3 of the side, but not all the way around. Arghandcurses. Still, I made some great s'mores for myself. I forgot how yummy s'mores cooked over an open flame are. One of my cousins--Allison--did eventually catch up with us. She said that this was "so Huntington" but she enjoyed it. She is a stereotypical beach girl, but that's okay. We all had fun, and it was a great way to close out the final evening of the vacation. At night, seeing all the fire pits roaring is quite amazing.
Pics that defy...gravity
) I hope you don't need a vacation to recover from your vacation 
