Yeah, I know. Too many posts for one story. A bloggy no-no. But I wanted to put up more pictures because I love them so much. So, here are just a few more...Not only were we biking and munching street taquitos on Saturday afternoon, but what San Diego beach experience would be complete without a bit of beach volleyball? Just a little friendly passing--no killer smack-downs. There's a cute photo of Mike and Rachel cruising along, then one of Tom over on the ocean side.
The reason San Diego was chosen as the place to spend the weekend together, was to attend a farewell dinner Saturday night in honor of Craig and Karen Knudsen. Craig's been the pastor of our former church in El Cajon, Community Covenant, for the last sixteen years, or so (and we've known him for more like 28) and has stepped down from that position. So, there was a big party.
Our kids know Craig and Karen well, though they haven't seen them or other church folks for few years. But this would be a totally new set of folks for Emi and Mike. It spoke volumes to us that they so willingly and graciously agreed to come along with us. The party was in full swing, that is, all 200+ sitting down eating, when we arrived. Turns out, there had been a last-minute memo we didn't get about an earlier starting time. So much for quietly blending in.
I don't have any photos of the party. The program's tone went from the usual sublime to the ridiculous and back again. It was wonderful to see everyone (though a bit overwhelming, as well), including several folks from the early years of the church. Mike and Emi (I heard later) handled all the good-natured, but intense attention with great aplomb. Big points.
Next morning, after we checked out of the house, we met Dad and Jean for an early lunch at a California Pizza Kitchen in La Jolla. It had been awhile since Dylan and Rachel had been able to visit with them, plus they got to meet Emi and Mike. More big points.
It worked out that Dad and Jean offered to take Rachel and Mike (both going to Chi) to the airport to catch an early-afternoon flight. That allowed the rest of us to go north to Encinitas for a couple of hours before hopping our plane. Emi's older brother had tragically passed away in San Diego about 7 years ago. In Encinitas, there's a beautiful memorial garden where there's a special bench provided in his honor that has a magnificent view of the ocean and the surfers below. He loved the water. So we spent a little time there. The large bonsai tree is one lovely feature of the garden.
Then we drove back to the airport and flew back to SFO. Tom and I arrived home around 9:30pm.
I can't think of a single thing that didn't work out just right, start to finish. OK, the house had a little musty odor upstairs due to leaks from the storms the previous weekend. And part of the bullnose edge of the granite kitchen counter just fell off while we were out biking. Oh, and the promised internet connection was non-existent. Trifles. I'm a lucky girl. It was the best possible gift. I'm so grateful especially for the generosity of time. It was over the top.
