SEA WORLD!

This week I am on night shift, meaning that my work hours are from 9:30PM-7:30AM. Each of the girls on my shift rotate through this, so I am usually on nights every 5 weeks or so. The shift basically consists of hanging out in a room with security monitors and making sure the girls aren't doing anything they aren't supposed to. We usually have to do "bed checks" 4-ish times a night, but the rest of the time, I get to sleep and get paid for it! And the best part is...I have the whole day free afterwards!

So...this gave me the opportunity to meet up with an old friend of mine to go to Sea World in San Diego yesterday. Mike is a friend of mine who I met a few years ago when I worked at Frontier Ranch camp in Santa Cruz for the summer. He is now working at a church in Santa Barbara, a few hours north of San Diego. It was really great to spend some time with someone out here who I have known for more than just 5 months!

Speaking of spending time with people who I have known for a long time...my parents are coming out here the end of February!!! I can't wait to show them all over California and spend some time with them!!!

i love sundays

Sundays are becoming one of my favorite days here in California. I have settled into a routine of sleeping in, then exploring a new place somewhere in San Diego during the afternoon, spending a few hours reading or journaling somewhere, and then going to church at The Rock in San Diego (http://www.therocksandiego.org) at night. Its a really cool church full of young people and energy. And the Pastor, Miles McPherson, is an amazing teacher with tons of energy and passion. (Not to mention, he's also an ex San Diego Chargers player!) And after church, I usually stop by my favorite health food store, Trader Joe's, for a few groceries to get me through my next 2 days off from work. 

This past Sunday I was able to check another place off my list of places to visit in San Diego, Balboa Park. Its a huge park in the middle of San Diego. It has tons of mueseums, mostly free, gardens, a greenhouse, and is filled with interesting people. And although i have never been to Europe myself, it sort of has the feel of what I would expect a little town in Europe, maybe Spain, to feel like. I didn't spend as much time there yesterday as I would like, so I plan on going back and exploring more sometime soon. 

another place to add to my ever growing list of favorite places....la jolla.

Even before I came out here, I heard from a few people that I just HAD to check out La Jolla when I got a chance, and I finally got a chance to do that last weekend and immediatley fell in love with it! La Jolla is a very relaxing and peaceful place. There is a beautiful little cove in la jolla with seals and cliffs, tide pools full of little fish and sea creatures, jogging trails through a park right on the water, and beautiful palm trees and tropical flowers. There are also surfers and kayakers all over the place. basically, its perfect.