my brother had a race in california and wanted someone to come along with him. i being the generous, loving big sister that i am, took one for the team and reluctantly tagged along.
ok, just kidding. san diego is one of my favorite spots in the country and i was thrilled that i got to be the one to escort him to his race. it was such a fun trip just the two of us, hanging out and exploring! i loved spending all that quality time with him and it was good for both of us to compromise on what we each wanted to do on the trip(we both tend to be a wee bit stubborn) 🙂
another reason i was SO excited about this trip is one of my best friends lives out in the gorgeous area of la jolla, so we got to stay with her for a couple of days and see her california girl existence in person 🙂
we started out the trip in pala, ca. we stayed at a casino resort in the desert on an indian reservation, which was by far the nicest hotel weve ever stayed at for an mx race!
this was the view from our room…
and this was the view from my seat by the pool…
everywhere you looked there were mountains. it was so pretty!
i couldnt help but book an appointment at the spa while i was there. i had an amazing massage outside on a private deck and i was pretty much in heaven. but the best part of the spa experience was when i opened my locker and this is how they spelled my name…
…yeah, for those of you who dont know how to spell my name…thats NOT it. it made me laugh so hard i had to take a picture and send it to husby. 🙂
i also snuck a picture of the inside of the spa, its blurry, but it was so pretty! there was an awesome jacuzzi tub and then another private deck where you could sit in the shade and relax. i want my house to have one of those someday 🙂
across from the hotel were some cute little buildings…
the taco shop, where we ate lunch…
and the fruit stand where we met casper the dog, and bought orange, mangoes and beef jerky 🙂
on saturday, the day of the race, the view was a little different when we woke up…
there was just a smidge of fog…but thankfully later that morning it cleared up and we had perfect race weather! i loved the scenery at this track, i thought it was gorgeous!
one of the best things about this racetrack was the california pizza kitchen carts! way better lunch that what we usually have at the track!
ricky rode great and i loved being his cheerleader!
stayed tuned for the coastal section of our trip coming up next 🙂
from the desk of tara hope... 
Oh, I am sooooooo using that as your new name…I think I will now have to call y’all the “Mac-sell-a-says” hehehehe!
HAHAHAHA first of all: i cracked up when i saw how your name was spelled! I’m used to this – because as you know my last name is now a vowel parade, with dots – but McCleskey is generally straight forward. I have a membership card here that says Nicole Kneeblbook. Second of all, you’re allergic to mangoes. don’t buy them at sketchy fruit stands.
actually people have a hard time with mccleskey, but usually they put mcckluskey or mcclesky, never once have they butchered it so horribly! 🙂 and the mangoes were for ricky. and the fruit stand was not sketchy! it was AWESOME!
If your brother comes to Seattle let me know! We will go cheer for him.