Six Days in Paradise

The Great Father above has shown His power by

making the stars of the heavens; and brightness of

the lights in the  sky is wonderful.  His voice is the

voice of all nature, and His wisdom show even in

the darkness of the night.  The whole earth is filled

with the melody of God.  In the days of creation

He sent forth the great sun shining like the face of

a lover, and His strength warms all the world. The

law of the Great Father can do all good things

and His words bring wisdom to simple souls.

from: Native American Interpretation of Psalms 19

 THis is the day we decided to head South- to the beaches of Oceanside.  It was familiar to me..for we have had some family reunions there years ago.   The longest pier in California is located in Oceanside. We strolled out the end of it. There are lots of fishermen and tourists and gift shops and even a restaurant out at the end.  Jude and I enjoyed watching a pair of swimmers, who turned out to be a pair of women our age, swimming the length of it. People shouted down their encouragements as they rounded the end and were heading back to shore. It was an impressive feat..for the water is cold and they didnt wear  wetsuits!! One woman was swimming the traditional crawl stroke, the other was doing the whole distance on her back.  Did I say impressive!!!??
After another nice long walk down the beach, again looking for shells, which were again nonexistent, we decided to go and check  out the Oceanside Harbor. We were hungry!!  It was lunch time and we wanted sea food!!  We found it at the Harbor. Yummy fish and chips!!  While we were enjoying our meal on the patio..we could hear seals "oorking" away out in the harbor.  Over our Pepsi's we decided it would be fun to rent an paddle boat and go out to investigate what the seals saw to croak about....or more accurately, to see what we could see.
We only had an hour, for that is all we could afford, but boy oh boy did we see seals. All shapes and sizes..most of them not at all excited about anything.  Most seemed a bit perturbed that we would disturb them during their afternoon siesta. How dare we come so close and click away with our cameras!!

 This little one seemed to be as curious about us as we were about him. He came right up to our boat and challenged us to a staring contest.  So cute!! We paddled our little feet in our little boat past yachts and sailboats of all makes and sizes.  I think we each picked one that we would love to take a cruise aboard. Maybe in our next life.
It was a magnificent afternoon.
Next we did some necessary shopping at a local Walmart and Target...
then QUICKLY went back into vacation mode.
We decided to "shop" (lust or dream is more accurate) in downtown historic/ expensive Del Mar Ave in San Clemente.  We could afford nothing.  The boutiques are for the rich and famous.  I found it to be both an enjoyable and painful experience. To look was fun. To not be able to buy was painful for me.  I know that money doesnt buy happiness...but it sure can pave the way!!! Or...as I told my Sunday School class the other day..."I dont like money actually, but it calms my nerves."  Sigh.
So many beautiful thing to had in this world.

But honestly, the most beautiful thing of this day was absolutely  FREE!! The sunset over the ocean...it took my breath away! It was fun to sit on the lawn with a group of like minded people, with our cameras, watching the sun go down for the day.  

Spectacular

Calming

Peaceful

Fulfillment

ALL FREE!!

I had to remind myself a LOT this day, to just be happy and grateful that I was in California, enjoying a good time away from Utah, vacationing by the sea!!  I needed to remember that I didnt need all the beautiful clothes I saw and the art and jewelry that I coveted that day...I just need to be grateful for what I did have. 

For I have a LOT.

And I am grateful.

Peace my Friends