Niece Elise Visits San Diego!
Our niece Elise from Cleveland decided for some reason that late January/early February would be an opportune time to hike a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail in San Diego!
So she packed up her backpack and packed that in her suitcase, booked a cheap flight on Frontier, paid several thousand dollars to check her suitcase and get a seat on the plane and arrived in cool, cloudy, rainy San Diego on Saturday, January 28.
It was great to see Elise and spend some time with her after all these years. We just don't get to Cleveland very often like we used to. We heard it is snowed in for nine months of the year and it's too crowded the other three because of all the people visiting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Here we are at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. The sand has been washed away by the recent storms, the water temp is about 40, and yet Elise felt it necessary to dip her toes in the ocean!
I'm glad she didn't bring a bathing suit because she probably would have gone for a swim, just like the people from Saskatchewan who were here last week. "Balmy" they called it.
Least sand I've seen at Moonlight in all (19!) my years here.
Next stop was the SRF, the Self Realization Meditation Garden, or "Swami's" for short. Actually, "Swami's" can refer to the SRF, the area, the famous surf break, the restaurant, and maybe a few other things.
On Tuesday the weather cleared and it was time for Elise to begin her adventure.
The southern terminus of the PCT is about 30 feet from Mexico in a place called "Campo", 50 miles or so east of downtown San Diego and about 3000 feet higher and 300 degrees colder. I'm pretty sure Campo is short for Campout, as in you gonna Campout all the way to Canada?
Here Elise is smiling because she has not yet donned her 150 pound backpack
And here Lorri and I are smiling because we know we're only going to hike a few hundred yards, then say goodbye to Elise and go have a nice lunch somewhere
This is the border fence looking east from the PCT terminus.
This is looking west. Is it ironic that desperate people walk from, say, Guatemala or Honduras, seeking freedom and opportunity in the US only to confront this wall from the other side while we start here and just for fun head to Canada? Sorry, just read American Dirt.
Time to say good-bye and safe hiking to Elise! (Almost our lunch time!)
Check out the snow-covered peaks on the horizon! That's where she was headed!
And this is where she ended up! After two solid days of hiking and two nights of freezing weather, she finally arrived at the Malt Shop! Saving the hike to Mount Laguna for another time, perhaps when it's not covered in four feet of snow!
We found her at Horseshoe Cove on Lake Morena. Hey! Those aren't hiking boots!
Lake Morena
The long hike back to the car.
After a relaxing evening back in Encinitas we ventured up to Oceanside and the first thing we found was a fancy donut shop! You don't find those on the PCT.
A donut close-up! They were really good donuts!
We walked out to the end of the pier, checking out the surfers, bait shops, fishermen, and pigeons. This is a bait shop.
With surfers and a military ship in the background, a dad takes his kid for a ride
This is a pigeon, and the pier, and Oceanside!
A couple kids at the end of the pier.
Cleveland may have the R&R Hall of Fame but O-side has the Top Gun House! So there.
It's sandwiched now between a couple hotels and it's a pie store now, but it's still cute, right?
Coffee? Tea? Kelly? Tom?
A couple tourists posing in front of the Top Gun House
Looking back at the pier. For those of you from Cleveland, those are palm trees in the foreground.
Next stop: Carlsbad
Elise was too tired from hiking to go all the way down these steps but she made it to the first landing!
And this is the end of our photos from Elise's visit. It was a great week and great to see and reconnect with niece Elise from Cleveland!