California Dreamin' Part 2

The weather held beautifully - hot and sunny all week. On American Thanksgiving Day (can't believe what a big holiday that is iin the States) we walked and sat on Newport Beach for about 5 hours. It was glorious, and great fun watching the young'uns try to get up on boards.

This picture is at a different beach, and doesn't show how high up we were! We were definitely not taking a step back!
At La Jolla, we saw these sea lions(?)/seals(?) - I think sea lions. No, they are not dead, just enjoying a rest in a quiet cove, safe from the waves which were crashing just outside the sea wall.
Same sea lions, different view.
We met up with a former player/assistant coach/teammate(?) and his girlfriend. He has been posted in Carlsbad for the past two years, and did a great job of showing us the sights. We would have had to make extensive use of the GPS to find the same sights. We got there just in time as he is returning home shortly as the result of a job transfer. He's really excited about coming back just in time for winter!
These shots are in no particular order. This is one of the hot tubs at the hotel. This one seemed to be the best temperature for us.
This pool was not the right temperature! It was very large (this shows only about 1/3) and as far as I could tell, not heated at all. Only my toe went in.
You may have gathered that we loved the area! I guess I retired just a bit too soon, or I would have been able to put a down payment on a cute little summer place on the ocean (not!)
Christmas begins the minute Thanksgiving is over, with Black Friday, supposedly the best shopping day of the year. Santa in one mall here comes complete with a carousel ride and a train ride. Like everything else down here, though, nothing is free, not even the picture of the Big Man himself. Actually, I never did see Santa, as his "house" was completely enclosed, so you had to stand in line to get a glimpse of him.
Volleyball was mentioned before as being popular on the beach, but yes, there were dream courts as well. This one in Laguna Beach is just steps from the ocean. Another we saw on Newport Beach was part of a school playground. I can't imagine having to get kids to come in from recess, when recess means being on courts and playground structures right on the beach!
Now, after Australia, I love lorikeets. In Australia (Cairns and Port Douglas specifically), the lorikeets were known as nature's alarm clocks, because they gathered and flew and made lots of noise at sunrise and sunset. However, I do not like them enough to have them sit on my arms, back, head etc. People at the Wild Animal Park paid for nectar to hold, so that the birds would use them as sitting posts. Not my idea of fun, but I did like to watch.
Very strange to see Thanksgiving decorations on the beach. Pumpkins were very popular. In the heat, maybe they made themselves into pies!
Just one of the many beach pictures. Those of you who know me, know how much I like sand and surf and heat. I was in heaven. The next entry will be just a Smilebox of beach scenes, similar to the one of mountains, so you can skip it if you don't like scenery!

A couple of videos. The first is of flamingoes at the zoo - and I thought my grandchildren were noisy! The second is of one poor little guy who couldn't find mom, and was probably in the wrong place because he didn't look like anyone else on the beach! The others were definitely giving him the cold shoulder.