how are things on the west coast? (take 2)

our trusty little navy jetta for the drive up the pacific coast highway, aka 'pac coast' or 'hwy 1'. we flew into san diego to start our adventure from south to north. san francisco or bust!

the weather was just as i always remembered. sunny and warm with a nice coastal breeze and the slightest salty smell in the air.

(my family used to vacation in orange county every year to visit my relatives. i have been in love with california ever since i can remember)

first stop, laguna beach.

holy cow! gaw! this is the only thing i don't mind about nyc. i don't have have to pay for gas anymore, let alone at these prices! here, take my arm and both my legs, sheesh.

the most gargantuan succulents i've ever seen!

money meters for the homeless. luke remembered seeing these in denver, too.

this is not a dolphin. you can barely see the distinctive gills on the side, but this is a gold shark necklace that my dad bought for me when i was little. perfect accessory for the trip. thanks dad!

how could i resist?

***since blogger was having some issues for the last 24 hours, I lost a lot of hard work that I had done for my recent trip to CA (see disgruntled post below) :(
HOWEVER! dear, sweet Summer of athena in the middle, was SO kind to send me my pictures and snippets that she had saved from google reader.
thank you so much, Summer!!!
(check out her blog! she was recently accepted to the FCI, or French Culinary Institute of NYC and I am super excited to see her progress and hear all about the things she experiences and learns :)

and thanks blogger, for getting back to normal. even though we had a fight, i forgive you and i understand that you offer me a FREE place to store my pictures and musings. i know that sometimes you have to close down for maintenance so i get the best service possible. THANKS!

stay tuned for more posts this weekend. finally!