California Trip Recap (finally!)

We had a really nice trip to California. This was our first time traveling at Christmas since we've been a family (over 8 years now!). Since we made the effort to get all the way to L.A., my mom came down from the Bay Area and we had a big family Christmas. Here are some highlights...

Christmas Eve:

My mom and her husband went to South Coast Plaza, while my grandma, D, H, and I went to Seal Beach to look at the shops and have lunch out on the pier. It was sunny and warm (sigh, as I sit here under a blanket). We spent a few hours down there and it was really nice. That night we went out for Mexican food and drank margaritas. 

Christmas Day:

Package-opening extravaganza in the morning, then that night we went to my Aunt & Uncle's house for dinner- there were almost 20 people there- big change from our usual trio at home! D had fun with my cousins (age 13-20) and their cousin (age 8). 

Day Trips:

We took a day trip to Santa Barbara, where we ate Thai food, visited the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and hung around Stearn's Wharf and State Street. We drove back to L.A. after dark, hoping the traffic would clear. It wasn't bad, but still took us about two hours and 15 minutes to get back (it took less than two hours to get up there in the morning).

We also took a day trip to San Diego, where we visited my good friend A and her cats, ate at our favorite Mexican place in O.B., and even saw H's friend from Boston who was visiting family there, too. We didn't get back to my grandma's house until 10pm, but I was impressed with my excellent driving time of less than two hours form Chula Vista!

Other highlights:

We ate lunch at Rubio's (oh, how I miss that place), saw the Water Horse (very good), got to hear my cousin play the organ (he's VERY good), and eat out way too much. I think I consumed about 5 whole avocados while I was in CA- I LOVE them.

ETA: For more photos, see Flickr.