The skies I'm under

I know I will get a lot of rub-it-in-will-ya responses to this post, but I can't have a blog about California without talking about the weather. I apologize in advance to those of you currently wearing three pairs of socks or scraping ice off your car windows. I have been there before.

The sun, oh the sun. It's fall so our bodies are prepared for cooler temperatures. Every day, I expect it to be cold, and the sun catches me by surprise. It's the perfect kind of heat, too. A cozy, sleepy warmth like a caress on your skin. It's not uncomfortable or sticky or searing. I know that will change in the summer and I'll be begging for air conditioning. For now, I have an urge to lie down in every sunny patch of grass I see and take a nap.

Most restaurants here have some kind of outdoor seating because of the weather. A Mexican restaurant we tried the other night didn't even have a front wall. Even though it was a little chilly out, the combination of indoor heating and the outdoor breeze was delightful.

We have gone al fresco at home, too. Pat and I left our dining room table in Missouri and it was our plan to buy one after arriving. Let's be honest, we don't have kids and we like watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine while we eat, so we hadn't had a reason to go table shopping just yet.

But, we do hope to have guests from time to time, and I just can't bring myself to ask them to eat with us on the couch.

As we talked about buying a table, we thought, wouldn't it be nice to have outdoor dining, too? We couldn't afford two tables, so the decision was made to buy a patio set first. Only in California would you buy a patio table before a dining room table. We plan to eat outside as much as we can, and the social aspect of it is fun, too. What could be better than letting our guests share a cup of morning coffee, play a board game or eat dinner – all outside? We're so excited to make the most of our large porch and the temperate weather. No offense, Midwest, but it's nice to sit outside without contending with mosquitoes, poisonous spiders and 100% humidity.

The climate here also means lots of fresh produce. We can pick our own grapefruit, oranges, lemons and passion fruit at home. And the Orange farmers market has become our favorite Saturday morning tradition. Strawberries in November!

Outdoor activities are pretty different here, too, of course. One day a co-worker asked me what my weekend plans were. I told her that we hoped to go hiking, but I should check the weather first. She gave me the most quizzical look. Check the weather? But ... why? I forgot that you can pretty much count on good weather here, at least at this time of year. The chances of a storm or a cold front ruining our plans were slim.

We made our hiking debut at Crystal Cove. Due to a parking mishap, we had to walk about 3 miles round-trip to the actual trails, so we chose the shortest hike – about 3 miles through the mountainous backcountry of Laguna Beach. The first part was relatively flat, but around the halfway point, we found ourselves practically climbing straight up the side of a mountain. As we topped the crest at around 800 feet, we could see the blue Pacific waters glittering in the distance. I've never had a hiking experience like this before.

Afterward, we made our way to the Beachcomber Cafè, a very popular but quaint restaurant in Crystal Cove's historic district. The wait is almost always an hour or more, but the guests don't mind, because you can sit on the beach while you wait. We ordered a piña colada, kicked off our shoes and buried our tired feet in the sand. Then we stuffed ourselves with the most delicious lunch – me, a tuna salad melt with freshly caught tuna, and Pat, a Kobe beef cheeseburger with locally sourced bacon. Then we headed home and quite literally crashed into bed for a serious nap. Pat and I dubbed it The Best Day Since We Moved Here.

This weekend, Pat's brother Kelly returns to the United States after living in China for over a year, and his first stop is California! We're so excited to have our first house guest. More to come on our adventures with Kelly.

Title lyrics – Hopeless Wanderer, Mumford & Sons