Newport Beach

 We had a lovely little getaway to Newport Beach, CA in mid-January  We met the other Hitchcocks (Jeremy, Ann, Evie, Libby, Gideon, and Emmy) there for some fun, food, and beach!

The first morning we were there we had a tsunami warning because a volcano erupted in Tonga!  The water was cleared of most of the surfers, and we ended up seeing dolphins playin in the waves just off shore.  It was amazing!

Z is our water boy.  Has been from the very beginning.  I told him on this trip that it was kind of ironic, because the first time I gave him a bath I nearly drowned him.  It seems to have gotten the water into his blood.

We went on a whale watch but saw absolutely nothing.  Sadness.

Well, we did see a lot of smiling faces.  But no whales.

No visit to California is complete without eating at In 'N Out.

Our last night we saw a beautiful sunset on the beach.

Before we caught our plane we went to Laguna Beach, which was just lovely.

Debater!

 We have a debater in our midst!  Z is on the debate team at Lincoln high school, which seems appropriate since he's constantly debating with Nathan and me.  At his second tournament, which was a week ago, he went 4-1 that day and was awarded (according to a point system), the semi-finalist trophy.  Not bad!!  (And he now has a suit so he can impress the judges with his brains AND his looks.)

Halloween

 Z went to a party with friends for Halloween, and did not dress up.  This is the first year that he has not dressed up at all!

Eden went trick-or-treating with Lydia again and this year she was a huntress of Artemis, Percy Jackson style.  Much candy was collected.

Concerts!

 Z and Eden both had band concerts last week, and Eden had an orchestra concert as well.  Eden is still at the beginning stages, but it's amazing how far they come between 5th grade and 9th grade!

Happy Birthday, Dear Yaya!

 

St. John

 This summer Nathan and I had the wonderful pleasure of going back to St. John.  It was busier than we're used to, given the boost in travel during the summer pandemic lull, and we ran into a couple of problems we've never had before -- Brown Bay had sargassum in it, which made me very, very sad, and our car got towed and we had to bribe someone to get it back, which was a major bummer, and we were stuck in the St. Thomas airport for about 11 extra hours when our flight home was delayed -- but in many respects, it was still our lovely little island paradise.

Waiting for the ferry.

There's a new pizza place in Coral Bay which was yummy!

Our new beach this year was Oppenheimer Beach.  Absolutely gorgeous.

Old plantation ruins.

New hiking trail with beautiful little inlets.

And gorgeous views.

Supper at the Lime Inn is always a favorite.  We got lobster (of course!).

Tiny lizard in our bathroom.

Stuck in the airport!

We tried to stay cheerful.  We've never had a smooth leaving of St. John.