Friends: Part I Hi Pip!

It has been awhile since I wrote a travel log type post. I guess not a whole lot is going on around here, or at least not a ton that I feel is blog worthy. But this past weekend was absolutely jam-packed.

A few months ago my best friend Pip told me that she was coming to California for a family vacation, and that hopefully she would have time to see me. I was beyond excited and I probably screamed a little when I read her e-mail. Pip and I were college roommates for 3 out of the 4 years I was there. Doesn't get much closer than that. I have mentioned her many times on the blog before. Perhaps most notably here. This whole week I have been beside myself, being so freaking excited to see her.

In order to try and but all my excited energy into something productive... I put the finishing touches on this Christmas (I know, I know) present for her. Can you tell what her hobbies are?!



I saw Pip only a couple times, way too briefly, this summer (every visit is brief when you are old roommates), so I was even more excited to be reunited.



We met at a Panera and chatted for a while before finally deciding what to do. That is the great thing about friends. It doesn't matter if you are chatting it up in Panera or traveling the world, the company is what matters! Since we were in the OC, a territory that is still pretty unknown to me, we kind of had to wing it. But we decided to check out Crystal Cove State Park, a territory unknown to all of the parties involved.



We took a walk down to the beach, which was pretty with all the bright flowers.

The sky was pretty ominous, there was about a 50% chance of rain that morning. Ross and I caught some heading down to OC but thankfully that was all. I was in a bit of a panic actually- that when Pip finally comes to California IN THE CERTIFIED DROUGHT, we would have rain to ruin our plans.

But it worked out!

We ended up poking around in the tidepools. It has been awhile! Growing up the tidepools were pretty popular with my family and visiting friends and family, so it was cool to be back, even if in a different location.



As we were looking around a nice older lady stopped us, and stared at us for a moment before asking, "Do you know what you are looking at?" Me, being the daughter of Gary The Science Guy, definitely knew everything. But we chatted with her for a moment and she presented us with these pretty cool little pamphlets about tidepools, tidal zones, and little creature friends. It was geared for younger kids, which meant it was perfect for me. It's a pretty handy little basic guide and is on nice heavy, slick paper so you can cart it along with you. Thanks Crystal Cove Conservancy and rich people with money, you rock!



We all had a pretty fun time and I was impressed with how impressed my friends were. I sometimes forget that I have cool stuff like this right at my fingertips. Pip grew up in Minnesota but has also lived near the sea in Boston and Washington, so it was fun to share a southern California beach with her.



One of my favorite moments was when Pip jokingly said something like, "It exists outside of a touch tank at the museum!"



It was a short visit, because Pip and Andrew had to go pick up family at the airport, but I am so thankful for friends that make time for me in their busy schedules. It was almost surreal to have Pip in my California habitat but so much fun.