Loma Linda, California

On the last leg of our R&R, we flew from Seattle to California.

Flying over Mt. Saint Helens.








The rental place gave us a sporty red car, which I was sure was going to be a cop magnet. When we arrived at my aunt Treva's place in Loma Linda, we were met by our two nurse cousins.
Georgianna was getting ready to leave for her night shift at the infant ICU ward.




Stephanie just passed her medical boards.

On Wednesday my honey & I went over to Santa Monica to enjoy some sand and surf, and walk out on the pier.
On a recommendation from Kevin, we went to Venice beach to see all the characters. The oddest sight was the group of men working out at the outdoor gym on the beach, wearing practically nothing!

On Thursday, four of us went to Disneyland. Contrary to what I remembered as a kid, Disney is fun for adults too. We had a blast, and best of all, there were practically no lines at all. I guess everyone was in school.

Space Mountain was so much fun, my wife wanted to ride it three times.

Stephanie enjoyed trying on hats at the hat shop.

The beginning of a laser gun interactive ride.

The wild safari boat ride.







On Friday, we went to do some provisioning before going back to Chile, and enjoyed the grilled cheese burgers at In-N-Out Burger, a chain in California. They serve the tastiest and freshest fast food.

On Friday afternoon we watched a video together, then went to visit Jim & Faith. They have lost so much weight on their Jenny Craig diet that at first I did not recognize them, and thought I was at the wrong home. They showed us around their beautiful back yard, and then to aunt Hazel's home, which set up as a museum to the family. She left the home in her will to be a guest house for relatives to stay at for up to two weeks when they come to visit southern California. Prominently displayed in the den are two urns, containing Hazel & JB's ashes.

Sunset from Aunt Treva's back yard.

On Saturday we attended the Loma Linda University church, a very large, multi-cultural church. I was reminded of a recent feature in National Geographic magazine about 3 little geographic regions in the world where people live the longest and healthiest lives in the world. The three regions are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; and Loma Linda, California. In Loma Linda, California, the researchers studied the Seventh-day Adventists, who rank among America's longevity all-stars.

And before we knew it, our R&R was over.