This week in sunny San Diego...

We've spent a week relaxing in Santee Lakes Recreation Area on the northeast side of San Diego. We took a long walk on Mission Trail, walked at a city park, took the dogs to a city dog park, and went to the San Diego Zoo. We had been here when Dan and Gwen were young, and were excited to go back. What a beautiful zoo! We posted a few of our pictures.

Our last day in Santee, we took the dogs to Ocean Beach to the "dog beach". Dogs are not allowed on public beaches in California except for designated dog beaches. We had a blast...Gracie played frisbee on the beach and in the water, and Max ran and played with all the other dogs. Gracie didn't like getting sand in her mouth, so after she picked up the frisbee she would carry it into the water to wash it off. We took some pictures; you can check them out in our web albums.

After lunch we left the dogs in the trailer and went to La Jolla to the Birch Aquarium at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. It was really a cool aquarium specializing in the aquatic life of the Pacific coast from the northwest down to Baja. There were many wonderful, interesting exhibits and tanks. One of our favorites was an interactive table with facts about different species of whales found in the Pacific, and you could listen to the sounds that they make. The aquarium is in the hills above the north end of La Jolla cove. The view from their observation deck alone was worth the price of admission. We wandered around La Jolla for a little while later in the afternoon. It's one of the most beautiful and unique towns I've ever seen.

Tomorrow we head north a short distance to near Santa Barbara. Rain is in the forecast for the first time on our trip.