I'm going to Cali in six days to visit my son at Camp Pendleton, who is recovering from an injury. He shattered his leg in a training exercise last October and had two surgeries, plates and screws. His ankle is frozen from months of being immobilized and he needs physical therapy to get motion and strength back. His doc says he should be back to normal by the end of the year. He asked us to come visit him and meet his girl. My hubby can't go because he just started a new job so I'll be going by myself.

The only time I ever left New England was when we went to his graduation at Parris Island a few years ago. And I've NEVER been away from my husband in all our 35 years together! I'm excited and scared at the same time. So in a way this is also an NSV because I would never have considered a trip like this when I was heavy. It's warm in Cali which is something I've always hated as a big person. I'm actually looking forward to being warm - I haven't been warm in months, it seems. I also would never have the confidence to go anywhere alone. I feel up to the challenge of getting my rental car in San Diego and driving to San Clemente (I'm a little afraid of California highways, probably from watching too much TV). I'll be staying alone at my hotel and spending some of my time there alone while my son has duties (even injured marines have work to do). I picked a hotel walking distance to the beach (another thing I never would have done) and it's close to a pedestrian walkway that follows the beaches (I plan to walk it every day!). I'm going to a little exploring on my own. My son, his girl, and I will be going to Laguna Beach, Oceanside, and San Diego to do different things. My son will be taking us to a shooting range (a marine's idea of a good time, LOL) and I just might get my first tattoo there. I've been buying lots of clothes for my trip (sz8!) which has been fun. My hotel room has a fridge so I can buy Protein shakes, yogurt, and other pouch-friendly foods. The hotel has free hot Breakfast every day, also. I think I've planned for everything. It should be fun! I'm ready to go! :-)

You're going to have a great time Terry! San Diego is a great city for tourists - Sea World is terrific and the San Diego zoo is one of the best in the world. Forecast high (in L.A. where I am) for the 24th is 72 with a low of 54. San Diego tends to be just a little cooler. I suspect that should compare favorably with New England.

Please pass along my sincere thanks to your son for his service and my best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Thank you Dave! I will be sure to pass it on! It is heartwarming how supportive people are to military personnel even if they disagree with US military involvement in matters around the word. It's a welcome change over

Almost any weather will be an improvement over New England this week - it's too cold! I just want to be warm again! I'm really looking forward to my trip. I just wish my husband could go too!

Terry, I am a California native, and live about 1 1/2 hours from San Diego. It's a great place to visit, with lots of fun things to do. If you get a chance, go across the bridge to Coronado Island, and see the Del Coronado Hotel, which is right on the beach. You can breakfast, lunch, or dinner there as well...it's stunning! Hope you have a great time in our state!

Thanks for the suggestion! :-)

I asked my son what he has planned for us to do. He said he wants to take me to a shooting range and teach me to shoot. Lol. I was thinking more along the lines of seeing some of the California sights! Oh well, whatever brings us closer together... :-)

I lived in San Diego when I was stationed on the USS Nimitz and you should go visit Coronado island and Balboa park at least and The Gaslamp district if you like a little partying. Hope you have a wonderful trip!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out. No partying for me, though. I was always a lightweight when it can to alcohol but now I get pretty drunk on one glass of wine so I only drink it at home. :-)

A question for the Southern Cali people - how's the weather? Is it warm? T-shirts and jeans warm? Sundresses, Shorts and tank tops warm? Bathing suit on the beach warm? I'm only bringing a carry-on so I don't want to bring unnecessary clothing... :-)

From my weather app it'll be a cool weekend (only near 70 haha) but then 80s starting Monday. And I am along the coast so it's usually warmer inland. So light jacket and mix of shorts/jeans and you're good to go! Swimsuit definitely for the beach! Get your feet wet and sandy!

Forecast highs/lows in L.A. for today through the weekend are 72/55, 73/57, 72/54, 64/54 and 66/55.

For San Diego 68/57, 68/59, 65/56 and 62/56 (rain), 64/58.

Little cool but you should see lots of sun!

I hope u have a fun safe trip! I live about an hour or so from San Diego. I love it out here in Cali. You should def go to SeaWorld, Coronado Island & the gaslamp district! San Diego is one of my favorite places to go. Good luck & praying for a fast full recovery for ur son

I can't wait to be warm! Loll

Well it wasn't exactly warm for the first few days I was there. Nights about 45° and days 58-60°. After that it got into the high sixties and you still needed a jacket at night. Then suddenly, on Tuesday the temp shot up to 97° and Yesterday it was 90°. A lot of good that did me - Tuesday I had to take my son's girl to San Diego Airport, and Wednesday morning I was back at the airport for my flight home. But the strong Santa Anna winds damaged the radar that services our airport and the flights were grounded for hours. When we finally took off at 5pm the winds forced us to use a runway that took us over the city skyline and the mountains behind it so we couldn't carry a full load of fuel if we wanted to clear it. That meant an unscheduled stop in Indiana for fuel to make it to our next stop in Maryland. Maryland was having bad weather and grounding flights but our late takeoff meant the storms were over by our arrival there. I landed in Providence at 3:30am and had to wake my husband to come and get me. I got home at 5am this morning and slept till noon! Longest day ever!

Hats off to the flight crew for trying to make the best of a bad situation. The Captain invited us into the cockpit one by one to take pictures, answer questions, and explain how everything works. When we finally took off all the alcohol was free - a glass of wine helped me sleep through the longest leg of our long flight. The attendants did the best they could to ease tensions, and meet everyone's needs. So glad to be home but it's not exactly warm here! Lol

And I got a tattoo Monday night. My first one! My son paid for it for Mother's Day. It hurt but my Marine son was watching so I took it like a Marine mom should! :-)