The Beverly Hillbillies go to the Beach and a few S'Mores at the Del

 I could not resist taking some photos of the trek from the condo to the beach.  Our condo is next to the beach and we store all of our beach stuff in the garage so you just have to pull it along the street adjacent to the beach.  But remember Ya-Ya is one of the people who go to the beach and has Ya-Ya ever traveled light?  No way.  So we drag a wagon full of our umbrellas, chairs, beach towels, shovels, food, cooler.......

The old man and the sea.....

This is a view of our typical camp site each day we go to the beach.  Not exactly a decorators dream.

The boys were posing for Ya-Ya.  I think I captured some very cool moments.

The kids made some new friends while they were building their mountain, torpedo, slide and lake.

Hard at work on the sand creation.

New friend.

Like Father, Like Son..............

The boys hamming it up before we made our hot dogs and S'Mores at the Del firepits.

Almost the end of a great day...............

I many times think we look like the Beverly Hillbillies with all of our junk.  We did not, however, hit gold in our backyard.....But remember the song, we all knew it by heart.  Have a great day and love up those kids,

Ballad of Jed Clampett by Flatt and Scruggs................
"Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed
Poor mountaineer barely kept his family fed
Then one day he was shooting for some food,
And up through the ground come a bubbling crude
(Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea)

Well the first thing you know old Jed's a millionaire
Kin folk said Jed move away from there
Said California is the place you oughta be
So they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly
(Hills that is, swimming pools, movie stars)"
Coming Soon:

• A last look at Coronado
• The Birthday Club
• Internet shopping on the cheap
• A Halloween Project completed
• Return to Reality
• Ya-Ya goes back to class

Love, Ya-Ya

Hotel Del Coronado, aka Dorothy's House

I look at the Hotel Del Coronado everyday when I am on my beach retreat.  It is a remarkable place. There have been many changes over the past few years as ownership has changed and some of my favorites are no longer part of the new culture.  It is still a sight to behold and has many things I love.

So today we are touring the "Del".  I call it "Dorothy's House" with the G kids because of the Wizard of Oz writer, L. Frank Baum, who lived at the Del while he was writing the book.  A couple of years ago was a big Wizard of Oz celebration and the characters from the WOO were all over the island. The kids were visiting at this time and they saw Dorothy and Toto and The Good Witch, Glinda numerous times.  This is how we started calling the Del "Dorothy's House".  My G daughters  were looking for Dorothy this year and were a little disappointed that they didn't see her.  I told them that she does not always hang out here but they continued to look for her.

Beach side- the sand man is usually out making a fabulous creation.  He works for tips and there is usually a crowd watching him.  I just read an article about him and he said it is easier to remove the sand than to try to rebuild.  So start with a lot of wet sand and then take the sand away to build your structure.  Now you can't say that you never learned anything on my blog.

The sandman at work.

Last summer he did The Hotel Del Coronado.

Chairs to rent.

The beach right in front of the Del is crowded with hotel guests.  You can rent a cabana or a chair if you want to sit about one inch from the next person.

Bikes for rent

You can rent a bike right on the boardwalk by the Del, by the week, by the day or by the hour.

My favorite restaurant is Enos, they have wood fired pizza from an outdoor oven, you sit outdoors and they have a fabulous pear salad.  It is a wine bar so my wine friends also love it,

Sheerwater is the dining spot on the patio. My favorite item is the lump crab, fresh and delicious. Yesterday we shared a Caesar salad and the lump crab.  It was a perfect lunch on the patio with the ocean in our sight line.  They do not show the lump crab on the menu, just as part of some jumbo seafood tower,  but ask for it and you can get just the lump crab.

The Sun Deck is casual dining with a great view of the ocean.  In the old days they had live bands on the Sun Deck.  No more.  Sad---- we have to go down the street to hear our favorite band.  It is a beautiful spot for lunch but a very limited menu and no more Del dogs....Am I whining now?

The ice cream parlor is always busy and we usually will not wait in line, we  just go on to the candy shop next door.  The have great sea salt caramels, sometimes.  I like the milk chocolate sea salt caramels the best.

Babcock and Story is the original bar and has live music most nights.  Usually a guitar player that sings my playlist.  The other night I seriously thought he had my playlist.  I did not request a single song and it was The Beatles, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel.  It was almost scary.  They serve bar food but you can also ask for other stuff and they will usually get it for you, like the lump crab or a regular hamburger.

My favorite shop is also called Babcock and Story and it is just adjacent to the bar.  They have home decor items, cool dishware and candles.  Also candy- if they are out of my favorite caramels in the candy shop sometimes they have them at B and S.

There is a children's shop.

A toy shop.

A bath shop.

Upstairs is the signature shop, with all things with a Hotel Del signature.  Also the Dorothy shop, really called the 1888 shop.  This shop has mementos of "The Wizard of Oz", "Some Like it Hot" and also some really nice signs and vintage looking jewelry.

This is a quick look at my favorites and it is just a touch of the Hotel Del.  If you have not visited you need to come sometime.  A piece of history.

 The Boys Of Summer"

"Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer's out of reach
Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I'm driving by your house
Though I know you're not home

But I can see you-
Your brown skin shinin' in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your sunglasses on, baby
And I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone"

"The Boys of Summer"- Don Henley

Coming Soon:

• View from a bike
• Ferry Landing
• The Bucket List
• The costume project

Love, Ya-Ya

Observations from the Beach

When we arrived Marty said there are so many old people.  I said we are the old people.  He said no we are the youngest people here.

July in California is family time.  August in California starts to slow down as the Arizona kids go back to school.  That makes it really nice for getting into restaurants and attractions.  I really don't care about attractions but I do care about restaurants.

If you read my blog you know that I do not cook.  But it is on my list to learn.  My kids are laughing out loud right now because they have seen me ruin almost every cooking project that I have attempted.  I really do need some lessons.  I have been known to take a shortcut on a recipe and then have the cookies end up in one big lump dripping over the sides of Marty's cool,  flat cookie sheets into the oven.  I think I went to the bakery to deliver cookies for some school event after the cookie massacre.

Some of my kids are arriving soon.  They want to go to the Zoo, the Beach, see the sand castle man....and on and on.  They have a cool thing on the beach that I saw last night.  You reserve a firepit, They get the fire started and supply the beach chairs.  Then you roast hot dogs, s'mores, and I don't know what else.  This is all coordinated through the hotel concierge and you do not have to be a hotel guest(we are not!).  So stay tuned for more pics of my beautiful Grandchildren.

I think way too much, especially when I am trying to get to sleep.  I have had many thoughts about if I should blog, is it worth the time, does anybody really care?  Today I got two notes from friends, one about a dear Mother that she was remembering through the song I listed.  This woman was a dear and I am sure is remembered fondly. We are honoring our loved ones who join us in spirit.  I know My Mom and Dad seem to make it to every family party.  The G kids know many stories about Great Ya-Ya and Papou doing fun, crazy stuff.

My other friend was reminded of some college memories.  She also chose two of my favorite albums in her Top Five.  She wanted more than 5- Don't we all???  It makes me smile to know that she is remembering the fun times that we shared and the laughs and hugs.

Hearing that I have jogged your memory just a little, made you smile, or cry.  Makes me smile and cry.

It is a beautiful day and I am headed outside to actually achieve one of my August wishes, walking or bike riding at least 30 minutes a day.  I hope I can get to my bike.

"The West coast has the sunshine
And the girls all get so tanned
I dig a french bikini on Hawaii island
Dolls by a palm tree in the sand

I been all around this great big world
And I seen all kinds of girls
Yeah, but I couldn't wait to get back in the states
Back to the cutest girls in the world" California Girls by The Beach Boys

Coming Soon:
The Birthday Club
The Surfer Birthday Party
Zoo Mania