Imperial Beach

 Imperial Beach was sublime in its simplicity.  I am sad to be home.  We drove down on Friday, since the kids didn't have school.  We left at 2:47 AM, 27 minutes behind schedule because I didn't wake up until 2:00.  No worries, we had all day.  Breakfast in St. George came soon enough, then on to the high desert.  Our destination was Poway, since we didn't have the condo until Saturday.  We decided we would rather do the whole drive Friday and have an extra day at the beach, rather than stay somewhere along the way.  Vegas is so not our scene, and there really isn't anything else.  Poway is in that valley before you get to the coast, where is is so beautiful.  We had a good time there.  Afternoon at Pacific Beach, wandering the beachside shops, then dinner poolside at the Springhill Suites, courtesy of Trader Joe's.  Later, we walked to Wendy's for frosties.  I would definitely stay there again.

 Saturday, Golda flew in with Coco and Bill, rented a car and met us in I.B.  We always try to squeeze in extra time at the condo by showing up early and letting the housekeepers know that we're there, but that there is no hurry.  We grab the garage door opener and hang out at the beach until the condo is ready, which is usually earlier than check-in.  The housekeepers are awesome.  We love them.

And then for the next week, there is nothing to report.  We get so lazy, our blood probably pumps slower.  The weather was fantastic, if a bit on the cold side.  I long ago stopped worrying about what the temps might be, and just go with whatever we're given.  The key is to dress warm and snuggle up.  The kids were in the ocean, so it can't have been that cold!  And the sun was shining.  No fog, few clouds, too much wind, and lots of sun.  Not bad compared to the snow Utah was getting in our absence!

 Our first day at I.B., we went to order our favorite pizza and were told that our fave, chicken bacon garlic ranch, doesn't come in giant size.  The guy said, "Sometimes we do it, but then the people come back and want it again and we can't afford it.  It costs too much for the ranch sauce."  I said, "WE are those people!  We're back!"  He wouldn't do it, but we did get a couple of smaller sizes during the week, just to have those delicious toppings.  We also added "tomato-artichoke heart-feta" to our favorites list, and they DO make that in a giant!

 We watched the sunset every night.  Bill looked it up online and knew the exact moment it would happen.  Usually, we timed it so we had our Seacoast Pizza and were all upstairs in the condo for the big moment.

 These sunsets are not something you want to miss!  Each one was extraordinary.

 Trajan came for a few days on his way to Rome!  I'm so glad he could make the detour and hang out with us.  Bill drove 5 hours round trip to pick up Trajan and his friend in Long Beach so I wouldn't have to.  Dad, you're a hero!  And then he took them to the airport to leave for Rome at 4 am.  Oh man!  Thanks, Dad!

 Yep, we love I.B.  Sewage and all.  The surfers will still go out, even if there is a water warning.

 The estuary.  We walk down the beach every year and end up here, at the edge of town, right in front of the "southwesterlymost house in the U.S."  We can see Tijuana and could probably walk there, on the beach or through the marshes of the estuary.  Except the area is heavily patrolled by helicopters and I think we're good on our side of the border anyway.  Did you know you need a passport now to go into Tijuana?  I didn't.  If I went to Mexico, I'd want to venture much further afield than the tourist zone of Tijuana.

Our friend on the pier, who said her name was Mama Kim.  She pressed an orange into Xanthe's hands and said, "I can tell you good girl."  She was very sweet whenever we saw her, and we remembered her from years past.  I hope she didn't have a quota on her fishing, because she spends far more time heckling passers-by than fishing! ;)

                 
 The first Sunday we were there, we were excited about a visit from Tim and Courtney and their family.  Tim and Courtney, along with Scott and me, made up the group known as "The Doppnips" (Dopp and Atnip) when we went to China.  We got Abby and Xanthe on the same day.  I remember Abby clinging to her new mommy and daddy.  She had thick, shiny hair.  When Courtney handed her to me for a moment, she clung tightly to me.  Those babies were so scared.  The Doppnips had a lot of adventures in China, (drag-racing taxis, anyone?)  and we were happy to add another chapter to our friendship, sealed with - what else! - a Seacoast pizza and a day at the beach.  Tim and Courtney blended in effortlessly with Ryan and Jennie's family and Coco and Bill.  We were sad to see them go.  The kids just had a blast!  And we finally got to meet their baby, Paisley.  She was Courtney's 40th birthday present!  ;)  Yes, we have stories to tell with the Atnips.  Sadly, I didn't get enough pics.  Next time!

 We love to walk to the pier.  Cow-a-Bunga is the best for popsicles and ice cream.  Jennie called ahead this time, to let Nellie know to order plenty of popsicles for the Dopp clan.  We always walk down there a couple of times a day.  The owners are French, so we make Freestone talk to them in French, which he hates.  But he loves the popsicles.  My favorite is coconut.

 Solo shark pic from my walk to Cow-a-Bunga with Ptolemy.

 Look at that attitude!

The gyro place next to Seacoast Pizza, Seaside Gyros, is awesome.  I thoroughly enjoyed THIS moment!  I think most of the family was at the border outlets.  Ah, solitude, fave food, blue sky and the ocean waves.  No wonder I was so content.

  I love this street sign:  Descanso means rest.  We certainly rested.  We were getting really good at it.

I love my dancers.

 These three girls are so much fun.

 At the Friday farmers market at the pier, we dined on fish tacos.  The guy fried up the fish right there.  Hands down the best fish tacos I have ever had.  The farmers market is so much fun, but sad because it means our week is drawing to a close.

 Ha ha.  Yes, we were very close to Mexico!

We had so much to do!  Eat cookies, walk to the pier, get popsicles, browse Bibbey's, order pizza, eat pizza, hot tub, beach, rinse, repeat.

 We were so glad Coco and Bill could come!  They had the condo next door to us and Ryan and Jennie were down a floor.  It was fun to lounge about together, cross paths on the pier, dig in the sand together, and gather for Seacoast Pizza.  We were a laid-back bunch.  Rule number one is that everyone can do whatever they want.  No pressure at all!

 This is literally how I felt all week.

The beach club gardener is amazing.  The grounds are immaculate and beautiful.  I just marvel.  The gardener's name is Robert, and he brings his nephew with him to work.  He works practically around the clock, at the beach club and other homes in the area.  He told me that he has four sons, and that two of them died at ages 26 and 30.  He has told me that two years in a row.  His heart must be broken.  I wish my Spanish were better, so that I could ask him more about it.

 The famous Mike Bibbey of Bibbey's.  Freestone has to buy his shell on the very last day, so that's what we did.

 Another trip to Cow-a-Bunga!

 Marcy owns a cute little shop downstairs from the condo complex.  On our last day, the kids all picked out a 50 cent expired Disney pin from her shop.  (Dopps are big spenders!)  The pins are the lamest:  they say "Iowa" or "Ichabod Crane" or "February 2002."  But the kids loved them!  And then Marcy told us to come back later, and had a little gift bag for each kid.  She was so nice!  We ended up buying a bunch of drinks for the road from her place.  We hope she is there next time!

 This is the flower Ptolemy gave me.  He held it out and said, "I wanted to give you this flower, Mom, because I really love you, and it's not broken or dirty or ANYthing!"  He is such a lovable little guy.  Walking along the street one day, on our way to Bibbey's, he said, "I'm just happy to be alive!"  Me too.

 Of all the heavenly days of our trip, the last one at the beach was the best.  We decided to only drive 90 minutes Saturday, and stay in a hotel in Corona instead of breaking the drive up and losing a day at the beach.  So we had all day, and nowhere to be.  We didn't hurry. We definitely did not want to leave our paradise, and Golda, Coco and Bill didn't fly out until 6, so they had no agenda either. We packed up the condo and just spent the day walking around, and sitting in the sun.  Patricia, the housekeeping head honcho, let us keep the chairs and umbrellas out until right before the new people checked in.  I love having everything we need at the condo.  We left our beach umbrellas there years ago, and this time, we left our wetsuits for Carol and all the guests.  If they're there next time, great.  I'm sure they will be.

We got our last Seacoast, and talked to the owner, Rose Talya.  We love her and appreciate her family and their hard work.  They are ALWAYS working that pizza joint.  Always standing in front of those hot ovens, the beach steps away, but not to be enjoyed.  Rose gave us a free two-liter of Coke on several occasions during the week.  She said to us, "You're good people."  But I think she's the good one.

Finally, after doing everything for one more "last" time, we said good-bye one more time to the beach.  Standing there in the late afternoon light, we saw other people emerge from "our" condo, standing on "our" balcony, squinting at the sun.  I wanted to yell up, "Sunset is at 7:08!  Do you have your pizza?  You should be ordering it soon!"  But of course, I didn't yell anything.  I just got in the car.

 We were so reluctant, we stopped 15 minutes later, in San Diego.  What the heck!?  We didn't have to be anywhere!  Ryan and Jennie had said the Mormon Battalion site was fun, so we went to Old Town.  I will tell you, the Mormons have all the good parking!  All over Old Town, people were paying 10 bucks to park, if they could find a spot.  At the Mormon Battalion, parking was free and plentiful.  (At Indiana University, where freshmen can't even buy a parking spot, I parked a block away form campus, at the LDS Institute, for free.  And it was a block from my house, too!)  Anyway, if you go to Old Town, drive up the hill and park with the Mormons.  And while you're there, take the tour.  We were the only people there on a Saturday night, so we had a private tour from two sister missionaries, one brand new and from West Haven.  She and I knew a lot of the same people.  The tour was totally cool.  The story of the battalion is really neat.  Freestone got to dress up in battalion clothing, and all the kids got to pan for gold.  That usually costs a lot of money!  Here, they each got to keep two pieces of "gold."  Freestone's comment:  "It's obvious that it's pyrite, but it's still cool."

 The missionaries at the Mormon Battalion gave us coupons for a restaurant down the street, and since we were having serious problems ending our vacation, we went, Ptolemy clutching the coupon in his tired little hand.  The place was great!  We loved, loved, loved the ambiance.  The ceiling was lined with pinatas and lights.  Freestone opened his menu and said, "I will have a peach margarita, small, please."  When we laughed, he said, "Wait.  What IS that!?"  In typical Dopp style, we ordered a few meals to share.  When the waitress brought our food, she set down an extra plate heaped with rice and chicken, and said, "Someone ordered the wrong thing, so I brought it to you."  She looked at me, and an understanding passed between us.  She was a mother, making sure we had enough food.  Nobody ordered that heaping plate of food.  I was so grateful for her kind spirit.  Of course, we had plenty of food!  It was a Mexican restaurant, after all, and that food seems to just expand on the plate, the more you eat!  Scott and I stuffed ourselves; the last thing we wanted to do was to seem ungrateful for our waitress's thoughtfulness by leaving food on our plates!  Fortunately, the food was good.  The littles were fading fast, though, and at 10:00, we called the hotel to tell them we were on our way, and pointed our car east.  An easy 90 minute drive later, and we were all crashed in comfy beds, still in our swimsuits.  Sometimes it just happens that way, and it's completely worth it.

 Sunday, we drove all day, enjoying our last few hours of freedom, happy and sun-drenched, feeling lucky.