Christmas in California ... a trip to the beach

Well, I obviously took a break from my laptop over the past couple of weeks. Cannot apologize for it, because it would not be heartfelt.  I spent the last two weeks at home in California, and am so glad that I had requested this particular time off when I negotiated my contract.  Was the fix I needed after my first 2 and a half months in Abu Dhabi.  Not that Abu Dhabi isn't proving to be a very good experience ... but as you know from reading some of my blog posts, I miss home.

Tim and I had a great couple of weeks. We intentionally didn't pack every day with activities. We didn't want the two weeks to fly by in a blur, and we had the leisurely pace we hoped for.

When I got home, Tim had the Christmas tree and garland up, which was so nice to come home to.  Picking me up at the airport, Tim brought the pups with him. There was an initial "yippee you're home" greeting, and then that excitement was over. Suki and Taicho did stick pretty close to me while I was home, though.  Great fur therapy.

It was fun for me to experience cool and rainy weather.  Rumor has it that it rains about 20 minutes a year (yes, a year) in Abu Dhabi. And it was about two weeks into my arrival in Abu Dhabi before I saw a cloud.  (Nope, no exaggeration.)  Now, at this time of year, there are clouds and cooler breezes.

On this trip hope, on one of the non-rainy days, Tim and I took Suki and Taicho down to Laguna Beach. They enjoy walking and running on the beach and don't mind getting hit by waves.  Here is Taicho doing his mountain goat imitation ... Suki chose not to climb up as high:

And a little live action (30 seconds worth, if you need to measure out your time here):

What I don't have video or photo of, is me getting caught by a wave while walking with Taicho. Once my shoes and pants were soaked through, we just stayed in the waves for the fun of it. Taicho likes checking out the tidal pools, usually captivated by any little crabs crawling about. Only saw sea urchins that day though, so he and Suki focused on the smaller birds.  Have to be careful, because if they really want to chase after one, you've got to hold on tight to their leashes and be braced so you don't literally get dragged along.