Touring S.D.

One of the things I appreciate about Steve's and my relationship is that we try to take advantage of the fun things to do in San Diego. We spend the last few weekends of summer doing fun stuff with friends around town.

After Oregon, I paid for Steve and I to see the musical "Wicked" while it was in San Diego at the Civic Theater, and we went with our friends Chris and Tiff (Steve didn't want to go to a musical without another guy there). It was amazing -- totally worth it.
We also decided to go to the horse races at Del Mar with Chris and Tiff, and my friend Amy. Amy and I dressed up, as is traditional, and I finally got to wear my big hat (which I bought last summer specifically for the races but never got to wear it). I actually did great on my betting -- over the course of the day I placed about twelve $2 bets and ended up making about $35. Out of the five of us Tiff was the only other person that won any money, and she only won on the last race, so they all kind of hated me for it.
After the races, Steve, Tiff, Chris and I used our Wild Animal Park passes to ride the tram and see the animals for the last hour it was open. We saw lions, giraffes, rhinos, zebras and all kinds of antelope things. So much fun.

Where does everyone summah?

About a week and a half after getting engaged, Steve and I met my mom's side of the family in Brookings, Ore., for a week-long vacation at a beach house. We were celebrating my grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary, and since Grandma's from Medford, she wanted us all to spend some time near her hometown. The photo above is the view from the house, and the photo below is some of us on our (almost) private beach.

We saw all kinds of wildlife this trip. The water was freezing, and the beach was very rocky, which was kind of painful to walk on, but eventually your feet got numb (from the temperature or the pain) and then it was OK.

One day we all went on a six-hour riverboat tour up the Rogue River. It was amazing... definitely recommend it. On that trip we saw a harbor seal, bald eagles, ospreys, river otters, a black bear and deer. We went over rapids and got soaked, and then we had a quick dinner on an outdoor patio at a restaurant along the river. This is cousin Timmy and I right before we went on the trip (and before my hair got put in a ponytail from being so gosh darn wet and windblown... those boats are fast).
Another day trip took us to the lighthouse at Crescent City in the very northwest corner of California. The lighthouse is on this little island that is only accessible at low tide. We just barely made it back across the rocks before the tide came in.
On the way back from Crescent City, we stopped in Fort Dick to pick some blackberries. Charlie and Timmy were amused by the name.
Toward the end of the week, we went to the redwood forest -- this is in Jedediah Smith, where part of "Return of the Jedi" was filmed. We went on a hike for maybe a mile, but turned around because we were really hungry.
The last night, we went to the nearby state park to watch the sunset. It was chilly but beautiful. Andrew brought that hat back from Ireland to give Stevo.
After the sunset, we had cake and champagne to celebrate Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary. We also spelled out "Happy 60th" on the beach using driftwood.
Grandma and I posed with the sailor dude outside our incredible rental house right before we left for the airport. It was an incredible week of quality time with the fam. I'm glad Steve and I were both able to take the time off work to take a week-long vacation.