Mission San Luis Rey

The missions were originally situated about a day’s horseback ride (roughly 30 miles) from each other, so there’s one in San Diego, Oceanside, San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, etc.  San Juan Capistrano, of course, is right up the road but the one in Oceanside isn’t too far from us either.

It’s kind of funny putting this together six months later; I’d forgotten how picturesque this place really was.
Quick comparison of San Luis Rey (SLR) vs. San Juan Capistrano (SJC): 
           SLR—the church is still intact, SJC had that pesky eartquake
           SJC—you can view more of the gardens, SLR is a Franciscan retreat center so certain portions are reserved

      
There’s also an active cemetery here.  That first picture is of the entrance to the cemetery grounds; the second shot is just another angle on the mission church front.

                       
No one fell in the fountain this time.  Hooray!

                           
The second picture seems like it might be slightly sacrilegious but she asked me to take it and I couldn’t come up with a good reason not to.








What we did get to see of the gardens was pretty spectacular.










  
Which brings us to the interior of the church.  Someday when I get oodles of spare time (I figure that will be at least a decade from now.  Maybe.), I’m going to make a concentrated study of religious architecture; I find it continuously fascinating.

Fun lighting inside too.

Love this shot.

Back outside, we explore the lavanderia.  That’s right, the laundry.

                          
Uncle Jonathan was trying to get a decent picture of us, but then someone started acting silly :)

                
                                                 
A few details from the cemetery and it’s time to call it a day!  At this point in our visiting day, it was time to head home for a nap.  At this point in my current day, it’s also time for some sleep.  Goodnight!

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Blue WHALE

The aquarium was a nice warm-up but there are some things that even the best aquariums in the world can’t manage.  So off we head toward the open ocean.

First to greet us are the sea lions.

  Singing a duet, perhaps?

Out of the harbor.  Do you see anything yet?

 
Actually, we don’t have to get too far from shore.  There it is, the biggest animal on Earth.  Zoomed in, you can see that it’s actually a good shot of the blowholes.  According to National Geographic, each one of those blowholes is large enough for a toddler to crawl in and the spray from them (which we saw numerous times) will shoot up about 30 feet.

This friendly giant headed towards the boat!  What we’re looking at here is, I think, much further down its back with its dorsal fin showing up on the left side. There are also the remnants of the spray still visible, although you might have to squint.
 The kids snuggle for warmth while waiting for the whale to surface again.

I’m certainly not an expert, but based on the bit of research I’ve done, this looks to me like the back of the whale’s head with the blowhole showing up as a dark spot there between the head and the back, where you can make out the crest of the spine.  If I’m right, then the distance between what you see here and what you saw in the picture that showed the dorsal fin is roughly equal to the length of a (40ft) school bus.  (Again, according to National Geographic.  If you’re curious, you can check here: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/blue-whale-interactive/)
  While the whale made its way up the coast, it was time for us to head back to the harbor, passing through a small pod of ever-playful dolphins on the way.

        
The kids always seem to like the dolphins best.

Stay tuned!

Here We Go Again

You never thought you’d see this day, did you?  Well, here I am again.  I WILL catch up this time. (Provided I can do so in the next five-ish months before Pumpkin arrives.  Ha!)

     
Fittingly, we mark the end of Jake’s deployment by backtracking to the un-official start of Jake’s absence from family life.  Sure he didn’t technically deploy until October, but starting in July he was gone more than he was home.  Hence, we have paper chain #1, created to mark his time in Bridgeport, CA.

Meanwhile, Jonathan (Yep, we’re still looking at his visit.  His FIRST visit.  He’s come and gone again since then.  Just in case you needed yet another reminder of how behind I am.) picked up some light reading.  He borrowed the rest of the series when he left and, at this point, still hasn’t finished them :)

Not that we left him a lot of time to sit and read.  There are places to explore!  I’d heard the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach was the best in the area, so of course we had to check it out.


Okay, so it’s still not our beloved Chura-umi with its massive wall of whale sharks, but it wasn’t bad ;)

                         
And they get bonus points for multiple friendly staff interactions.  Logan is trying out a streamlined sea turtle shell.

                
This was cool; they cut a window in the shark’s egg case so you can actually look inside and see the un-hatched baby.

          
Touch tanks!  There was a pool with small sharks and (pretty good-sized) rays.  The dark shadow under Naomi is a cooperative ray.  Later, there was a tank where you could touch jellyfish similar to the ones you in the second picture.  I was too busy petting the jellies myself to get a picture of that tank, so you’ll have to use your imagination.

         
More bonus points for their water mammal variety.

Obviously not a real blue whale, but it wouldn’t be long before we saw one of those too . . . !