Fall Break: Camping in Carlsbad

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For the second week of Fall Break we went to California. We camped in the same campground as last year, right on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific ocean. Our time there was great. We arrived to on Sunday afternoon, had a great lunch and then rummaged through a local market.

We spent most of the afternoon at the beach and then set up camp. Our actual site was not as nice this year because it was not overlooking the Pacific. Nonetheless, at night I could fall asleep to the crashing waves! Only the first evening we could see a beautiful crimson sunset... the rest of the days it was always cloudy.

We slept in almost every morning and read to the kids or told stories until somebody really, really , really had to go pee... after breakfast I went for my runs and Mike took the kids down to the beach or to do some kind of activity until the morning fog burnt off...

My runs were the best ones I have had in a long time. A lot of times I run from obligation. Sometimes it is dark, or hot and I just push through until I am done. But that week every run was enjoyable... I could see the sea, the surfers and the cloudy weather keeping me away from the beach only helped me run more. Most of the time this week I run to remember. I remembered things of the past that I often try hard to forget but that when I remember them... God's grace becomes so large in my life I feel overwhelmed by joy... and glad to be alive!

After running I always met Mike and the kids at the beach. I love watching the three of them play; Mike is such a great dad to them. He entertains them non-stop, in the sand, in the water, digging, running, throwing a ball or a Frisbee, boogie boarding. And the kids love him so much, they want to shower with him, sit next to him, be near him... My role was very secondary , when he was around. I try to remember not to take it personal and gladly let them bond which gives me time to run, remember and read...

On Wednesday I met an old friend from PA in Balboa Island. I really liked walking around the little town and browsing the shops , we had brunch together and then went back to our families. On Thursday, my step sister and her family came to visit us at the camp, they live in Riverside. We spent the afternoon at the beach, then had Mexican dinner (so good) and after ice cream they left. I had not seen her in 5 years, since she got married up in Nor Cal.

Friday we lifted camp and drove South to Sand Diego. We spent the night at the guest house of one of Mike's patient's , who was also nice enough to let us into SeaWorld without having to pay. The kids loved it and we enjoyed seeing them happy.

I have not read in Spanish in quite a long time... this vacation I read 2 books, one by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and another by Marcela Serrano. The latter was a great book... I enjoyed every bit of it... It was about a woman who having lost a son after a one year battle with a heart condition, goes into a deep depression ... then she is commissioned to write a story about Chiapas, Mexico and the Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional.... the journey was more about finding herself than anything else. She is Chilean and falls in love with the Mexico of her catharsis... I could relate so much to her , to an extent, because I also went to Mexico (in 1999) for catharsis and to find myself... the difference was that she found herself in the awakening of her senses and I found myself in the awakening of my faith.... anyway... I guess I better go now but wanted to post this before it all disappeared from my memory with my laundry.

*** This was an excerpt from a letter written to my friend Melissa about our trip…