But it's a Dry Heat...

So, you may have heard about the soaring triple digit temperatures in California this week. I managed to pick the hottest weekend of the year (high temps ranging from 106-110 degrees), to visit my sister and brother-in-law in their new home in L.A.. Needless to say, most of the activities we had potentially planned were scrapped, as our options became limited to indoors/with high functioning a/c. Even though it ended up being a fairly low-key trip--lots of lounging around the house, watching DVDs, etc.--I still had a wonderful time spending time with Cindy and Don and their two animated weiner dogs, Cordy and Seumas.

Cindy and I did escape to the Santa Monica beach on Saturday--an inviting respite from the heat, as the temperatures were much cooler than in the valley. It was wonderful to walk along the coast, waves splashing our legs. The breeze along the water's edge was actually cool--not the oven-baked air that hovered around us everywhere else we went. Very refreshing. Of course, it was a holiday weekend, so the beach was packed--I'd never seen so many people concentrated in one spot on a beach. Definitely a different sight than I am used to seeing along the Oregon Coast. At this point I still find the Oregon Coast to be much more picturesque, but we only saw a limited snapshot of the California Coast, so the jury is still out. You can read more about our weekend on Cindy's Blog, and even see some photos of our adventures, if you are interested.

I'm in the Burbank airport now, preparing to return to life in Columbus. My new boss starts tomorrow, and my second week of classes is underway. Should be an interesting and busy week!