Newport Beach / Wicked

For our family vacation this year we rented a beach house in Newport Beach. I was a happy mom and grandma because everyone was able to join us except one son. We went with our good friends The Fenlons, and my brother even drove down from the Bay Area. Happy Happy.

Right before checking into the beach house I went with Margaret and her sister- in- law Susie to Huntington Beach. We watched the National Surfing Championship from the dock. The crowds were huge. It was like a little city full of tents, vendors and media cameras.

Bethany Hamilton

One high light was watching Bethany Hamilton compete. Bethany is a real inspiration. A few years ago she lost an arm in a shark attack. She hasn't let her accident stop her from surfing.

Susie, Margaret and I walked down to the end of the pier at Huntington Beach and had a wonderful breakfast at "Ruby's"

Sand Sculpture

By Saturday afternoon everyone had driven in from 3 differnt states. We were so happy to be together. We put our umbrella's out and became "beach slugs". We love to sit in our chairs, keep our snacks nearby, read good books and watch the waves. That's pretty much it for the whole week.

By the end of the day we'd ask our selves "Why am I so tired? All we did for the entire day was "sit". Must be the ocean air, or the lull of the tide.

Paul spent quite a bit of time boogie boarding

For weeks all Isaak wanted to talk about was " going to the beach to build sandcastles with Papa". He didn't let Kent out of his sight. They flew "Nemo" kites together, they chased the waves back and forth at least a million times, (no, I'm probably not exaggerating!), and they dug and dug in the sand. I guess Kent didn't get as much "sitting time" as the rest of us, but he sure did have fun with his grandson.

Isaak and Papa

Our Elizabeth

Paul was so good to play with Isaak. We have abbreviated his name from "Uncle Paul" to "Puncle". How many 16 year old boys do you know who carry pictures of their nephew in their wallet?

My son-in-law Dano and Jeremy Fenlon played a lot of "paddle ball". They kept the ball in the air continuously for something like 700 or 800 hits. I'm not sure of the exact number, but I know they beat their record from last year.

Dano

My brother Jed, me, baby Noah, and daughter Amy

Lunch time for Noah

Part of true "beach sitting" involves watching the surfers. Most days the waves were pretty big.

One evening we decided to brave the freeway system and headed to downtown LA to see the musical "Wicked". Wow. I don't have any other words. Amazing? Fabulous? I would tell everyone who has a chance to see it to go. Jeremy and Ali Fenlon had been to New York and experienced the Broadway cast, and they said the LA production was every bit as good.

The Pantages Theatre is right near the famous intersection of "Hollywoood and Vine"

Outside of Pantages Theatre

The inside of the theatre was spectacular. An architectural wonder.

We couldn't take pictures of the production. The costumes, the lighting, the music, everything about "Wicked" was spectacular. I want to go again sometime. Soon.