it's a wrap!

That craziness I mentioned at the end of the last post: NO JOKE!  My last week in the clinic was ridiculous.  My CI and I worked side-by-side, each with a full load of patients, and were unable to see all the patients each day Monday through Thursday.  I can't imagine how stressed she must be right now if it's anywhere near as busy as it was then.  Fortunately, it calmed down a bit on Friday, especially since we had to take the last hour or so for evaluation time.

Even with the hectic schedule, we somehow managed to finish on time (4:30) on Wednesday.  Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, there was enough daylight left for me to head out and skate.  Despite the fact that it was chilly and foggy, I went back to the Silver Strand Bikeway, this time heading north from the free parking I found when I first went to Silver Strand State Beach.  I turned around at the end of the nature preserve on the bay side of Silver Strand State Beach where I walked with Belinda and her parents back in February.  Carrying the board, I wandered through the preserve.  Photos can't show how many rabbits (both Black Tailed Jackrabbits and Cottontails) there were!  I spent 15-20 minutes walking about a quarter of a mile because I was so entertained by over a hundred rabbits - frozen and hoping I wouldn't see them, boldly continuing their grazing, or scampering away behind the bushes.

heading north on the bikeway

there are 7 rabbits visible in the picture, but there were SO many more!!

It got colder and foggier than when I started, but I decided to go check out the Imperial Beach Pier anyway.  I had seen it from the Strand since my first visit, but hadn't seen it up close yet.  I drove into Imperial Beach and parked near the water, not knowing exactly where to find the pier, and found myself just under half a mile away.  The pier was really pretty through the fog, and I got to watch some pelicans diving into the water for food and a couple intrepid surfers hitting the break next to the pier.

"spirit of imperial beach" right next to where i parked

imperial beach pier through the fog

scuplture as i walked back to my car - the white spots are water drops,
the fog was so thick!

It turned out that was my last opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in San Diego - we were at the hospital working until 7 pm on Thursday.  After decompressing a little bit back at the house, I then had to fill out all my evaluation forms - FOUR of them!  I was so beat after that day that I put off all packing until Friday.

A group of therapists went out to lunch to celebrate my last day, then Friday afternoon I passed my evaluation with flying colors.

lunch at taco salsa with andria (PTA/ COTA), michelle (PTA), deyanne (PT, my CI),
alexa (PTA student), blessie (OT), narola (OT), and anne (PT)

gift for deyanne - one of my favorite photos i took of san diego on a canvas tote bag

I headed back to the house to start packing before going to meet Kendra and her daughters for dinner.  We'd seen each other at church 3 or 4 times but the night before I left is when we finally found a chance to hang out.

kendra and me at barnes and noble after dinner at california pizza kitchen

kendra's daughters at barnes and noble

I stayed up till 5 am packing, then was packed up and in the car heading north for my week-long break by 9:45 the next morning.  My first stop was in Carlsbad to catch up with Lemee, a friend I'd met at USASA (snowboard) Nationals in 2010.  I also got to meet her beautiful huskies.  We went to lunch before I continued on my northward trek, ending in Los Angeles at my old roommate Sarah's house.

lemee and me after enjoying a healthy lunch at the naked cafe

I was supposed to have dinner with cousin Queenie that evening but she was unable to make it.  It turned out to be a good thing since I got so tired I was no longer safe driving by the time I got to Sarah and Vince's house.

Sunday morning I visited Newsong in Irvine again, and went out to lunch with John and Keith.  This time we went to the Shake Shack by Crystal Cove State Beach.  Sandwiches were good, sweet potato fries were good, milkshakes were excellent!  All this in the clear sunshine with a view of the ocean.  After leaving our table for the next customers, we lingered a while to watch pelicans diving into the ocean and enjoy the sunshine and view.

keith, me, and john with our tasty lunches

My next destination was Christina and Loc's place - I arranged this since I knew from my last visit to Newsong that Christina and family also attended and didn't live too far from there.  It was fun to catch up for a bit before they headed off to the next appointments on their busy schedules.

christina and me with her youngest

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Venice, wandering the canals.  I'd heard there were canals like in Venice, Italy, just hadn't seen them yet.

just like venice, italy...  but completely different

Before heading back to Sarah and Vince's, I met my classmate Hope in a Starbucks parking lot in Marina Del Rey.  It was fun to hear firsthand (if only for a few minutes) how much she'd enjoyed her time in California - her first clinical was in Oakland.

hope and me in the starbucks parking lot

And I'll finish up here since this post is getting long.  I still have more adventures to report!