Mom and Keri were down at the San Clemente timeshare from the last week in October and ending the first weekend of November. I was able to make it down there for one day - that being November 1st. One of the things I do love about living in SoCal is we can have a beautiful warm sunny day like we did that day. I could not have asked for more perfect weather!
I headed down about 9am to this gorgeous-ness:
I proceeded to do absolutely nothing. I love it. The only thing I usually do is grab lunch and/or happy hour at Fisherman's Wharf on the pier. I always order oysters and/or a bucket of muscles and a glass of wine. This year was no different.
As mom and I were on the balcony we noticed a bunch of pelicans diving and diving. This went on for hours! I have never seen anything like it! We decided to walk down to the beach and check it out. A man had swam up to see and they were coming up with huge fish in their mouths. A school of fish must have been hanging out and these birds had hit the jackpot! It was super cool to watch! I attempted a video so you can see for yourself!
After we watched the birds we started walking along the surf. I just love the ocean. Mom and I collected a few smooth rocks because I've been thinking of painting them. There were also super trippy lines in the sand from the water! It was a beautiful perfect walk.
I headed home around 8pm. As much as I wish I could have got to stay down there for a few days, I was so glad to get down for a beautiful Friday!
The next day was Noches de Altares in downtown Santa Ana. I usually try to get to this every year. This year I was able to get down there early to help T set up the altar at Bistro 400. I especially wanted to be there because we were dedicating the main portion of the altar to our dear friend Stephen. At the celebration of his life we held, people wrote little notes to him that we included in the altar.
I arrived just after noon and stood by and handed T whatever she needed. This is her thing and I was there for help and moral support. I also ended up being moral support for Robert as well! Sometimes I think I've inherited my mom's calming nature and can help people out when they are a little strung out. Makes me glad I can do something! Anywhoo. Altar got finished about 2 and it looked gorgeous.
The boys reserved us a table we had for part of the day and we proceeded to go ahead an Muertos ourselves up right there!
The Aztec dancers came by and blessed the altars with sage:
Katarina came by in the evening and lit the 1st candle of each altar. Unfortunately she didn't get to ours but she looked awesome!
Sonja popped by and showed us her Peacock theme!
T and I wandered around before dusk and checked out the vendors. She bought an amazing piece and I got a couple of little figuerines I loved. One is a little cat called Furry Bones. It looks sort of like the Skelanimals. I also got a Muertos Lucy and Desi dancing from I Love Lucy! One more piece I couldn't resist was a Muertos cameo necklace. So rad!
We then came back and chilled until some of T's friends/family arrived and we hit the altars. It was really crowded by this point and we promptly got separated but I didn't mind. Here are the shots I took. I didn't take as many as I used to because I was finding myself engrossed in the altars instead. They are truly so beautiful and intricate and detailed. I know it's a day of celebration but I found myself crying and sad often. It was tough this year, but so very beautiful and meaningful as always!
Afterwards we came back and had dinner at Bistro. Around 9:30pm they start breaking it all down. We lost track of time and when we saw the Bistro turning into a pretty rowdy after party we stepped to it and rapidly broke down our altar. I got home about 1am exhausted but so glad I spent the whole day and night there this year. It's such a beautiful event. I'm sure plenty of spirits from the after life were partying with us in downtown Santa Ana Saturday night!
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