Life's Better at the Beach

I haven’t had much time for writing my blog lately – I’ve been too busy traveling!
April hasĀ been a fun month for me. My fiancee spent three weeks in California for work, which definitely bummed me out, but I spent my evenings hanging out with friends and with my brother, which made me very happy. And the nice thing about Bill’s employer (my former one) is that they let him fly a visitor down to LA to see him for one of the weekends he was gone!
I admit, in the past I’ve kinda turned up my nose at the LA area. I never cared much for the city, finding it overwhelming and crowded. I got to see another side of the area when I went to visit Bill, though. He was staying in Redondo Beach, and we spent quite a bit of time by the pier in Hermosa Beach. It was a very low-key, down to earth beach town, and to me it felt quite similar to Edmonds. We really enjoyed people-watching and checking out some of the local restaurants. My parents even drove down while I was there to have lunch with us!
Bill and I like being able to get out and take a drive, and the Southern California coastline is perfect for that. We explored Palos Verdes and stumbled upon the house where Victor Strand lives in Fear the Walking Dead, and drove up the coast past Malibu and into Oxnard.

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Me on the beach in Malibu


I really enjoyed my LA weekend, and flew home just in time to get ready to leave a few days later with Bill for the trip I’d planned to Maui for his birthday. It was an absolutely perfect vacation. We had a ton of adventures – we attended a luau, hiked to Nakalele Blowhole, enjoyed a couple’s massage at our hotel – and still had plenty of time for relaxing on the beach.
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Enjoying a sunset walk on the beach in Maui


We returned home refreshed and ready to get back to a normal routine. Seattle was kind to us, and for our first few days back we were treated to unseasonably warm, sunny weather. Even though we’re back to rainy skies now, I’m happy that summer is just around the corner and that I’ll be able to enjoy sunshine on the beach right in my own town of Edmonds.