California Vacation with Great Friends

When planning the trip to take Helper to CCI for advance training in Oceanside, I decided we would go out a week early to visit friends and family. We arrived in California on Thursday August 8th and stayed at the Marriott in Calabasas, California.  The hotel was great with Helper!  The bellman even took Helper for a quick potty break while I checked into the Hotel!   The weather was cool and a great break from the 100 plus degree days in Texas!  Consequently, Helper and I had a nice walk before retiring for the night.

The first person we visited was Marguerite.  She invited Marcia and Donna over for a lovely brunch. Helper loved meeting Marguerite's cats!

Then we went to Marcia house to meet the kittens that she was fostering.  Take a look at the two pictures of Helper and the kittens...she loved them!  The kittens were curious but cautious with Helper.

Marcia let Helper explore her beautiful courtyard.  Here Helper is at the door looking very happy to be outside!

Many thanks to Marguerite for taking these pictures!

Next, we spent the weekend at my good friends Pam and Gene in Los Angeles.  They have three dogs.   Moe and Cece are Pug puppies that are new to their family.  Kylie is their Weimaraner.  Helper had a blast playing with these great dogs!  It was fun to watch!

The top pic is of the Pam, Gene and the dogs.




The pic to the right is of Helper and Moe.  They had a special bond and were always playing with each other

After we left Pam and Gene's house  we headed south to see my friends Jena,  Jett. and their two children.    They have a beautiful home in Coto de Caza, California and had invited us over for a  backyard BBQ.  As I was distracted meeting everyone that was there for dinner, Helper made herself at home by taking a swim in the pool!  I was pretty embarrassed but Jena and Jett were  great sports and did not mind Helper getting in their pool.  Here are two pics taken while she was resting on the tanning ledge.

The day after we visited Jena's house we met up with a good friend from Coca-Cola.  Pat and I enjoyed a fun dinner to catch up and Helper enjoyed a quiet nap under the table.






Finally, we visited my Aunt and Uncle in San Diego for a couple of days.  Helper loved Joe and Rita!  Here is a picture of us enjoying the harbor.  Helper loved looking at the water.  She would do an "up" on the sea wall and take in the sights and smells of the salt water...a very new thing for her!