Christmas in San Diego

Although we had a nasty leak in our house, we still managed to have a nice Christmas with my family in San Diego. How can you NOT have a wondrous time with beautiful sunny weather where it's warm enough to wear shorts??? My mom really enjoyed that, and it was nice to them to NOT have to wear 5 layers of clothing INSIDE the house to stay warm. :)

On the 23rd, Dave and I took my parents on short tour going from the coast and then inland.

We started off going to Torrey Pines for our favorite hike from beach, up to the cliffs, and then along the cliffs. I was hoping that Dave would be able to spot some dolphins for my parents, but the surf was unusually high and rough. Dave thought there was a swell of some sort. Man, the waves were high, and there were some impressive surfers out there!

So here are some pictures along the hike:

Dad, Mom, and me along some funky wood...
Dad straying from the path to pick a Torrey Pine cone for my mom. They are really beautiful pine cones. Very large and different from the small ones you see out in the Northeast.
Mom and Dad along the cliff
Mom and Dad and pine trees
Walking
Torrey Pines

Cactus attacking Dad
Mom
Cactus amongst the pine trees. Bizarro....
View of the marsh--so wet with all the recent rains!
Monstrous cacti

Mom and Dad with beach and marsh behind them
We then drove them up towards Rancho Santa Fe and then to Escondido to show them potential future living areas. :)

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Christmas Eve-- Dave and I took my parents and my brother to Tom Ham's Lighthouse on Harbor Island for an awesome champagne brunch with fantastic views of the water.

View of San Diego from the Lighthouse.

The Huang family
The Lius and Huangs (hee hee)

Ah, I wish I took some picture of all the food we ate! Omelets made to order, raw oysters (mmm, they were GOOOOD), awesome crab legs, waffles with fresh strawberries and cream (one of my favorites), and all sorts of other goodies, including champagne and fresh squeezed orange juice (which I used to make tasty mimosas!)... Yum yum yum!

We then drove out to Mt. Soledad and then to La Jolla to show my parents the seals and the beautiful walkway. Our other favorite strolling place...

And we saw flocks of pelicans flying all over La Jolla--
These are some pretty cool pictures....