Very Merry

A Christmas Mission

I love old missions.  Our original plan yesterday was to ride the Coaster train into Old Town San Diego, but we decided instead to drive to Mission San Juan Capistrano.  (That's a hot link, so click to get the history.)

That mission, dating back to the 1770's,  has to be one of the oldest structures to visit in Southern California.  Somewhere I have a photo of my mother taken in the 1930's sitting on the edge of the fountain in the central courtyard with swallows.  We didn't see a single swallow yesterday, but the trip didn't disappoint.  My camera seems to be malfunctioning, but I managed to salvage some photos from the trip.

Beautiful nativity.  The mission was decked out for the holiday season.

The grounds inside the mission are beautifully groomed and filled with coastal plants. The fountain in the central courtyard of the mission contains koi.

This pretty cat sat at a cottage several blocks away, but I'm sure he would love to play with those fishy fishies!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Tis' the Season!

Actually, it's a little nippy at the beach.  There's a chill in the air and Christmas decorations are everywhere.

 

This snow woman wears a beach hat and bare ta ta's.

Cottage doors up and down the road dress in Christmas finery.

 

A snowman lurks in a dinghy in the harbor.

  

A tot dressed to see Santa runs down the beach.

More beach cottages wearing the colors of Christmas.

 As the boat says -- Seas The Moment!  Tis' the Season!

California Dreamin'

Yesterday was rainy and windy, but since we were finally at the beach, we didn't care!  This morning dawned beautiful and the trend continued.  What a gorgeous day!

Yesterday's storms brought big waves to the coast.  I spotted this surfer through the palms in front of our room.

The beach joggers were out early!

Nearby Crystal Pier has a Christmas tree out on the end.

Christmas wreaths on the pier.

 Planter boxes on the cottages at Crystal Pier.

 

Pigeons instead of seagulls?

Before heading north to Oceanside, we stopped in Ocean Beach to shop the antique stores.  Love this Christmas tree on the beach there!  No clue how these lights became animated!

Christmas decorations on Newport Ave, the main drag in Ocean Beach.

Polar Bear Club?  There's a reason surfers wear wetsuits!  Brrrrrrr.

Cool surfer dude bench.

These pelicans were real posers.

We ended our day with another beach/pier walk in our new location.  Stay tuned!

Christmas Surprise!

It's a cooler beach, but we're here!  Stay tuned!