After a day in Las Vegas with the Craigs, we headed down to Newport Beach, California, to spend a few days with our friends Joe and Marilyn Bentley. Joe is a retired lawyer and excellent blogger.(Click here for a link.) Marilyn is an amazing pianist and talented painter. The Bentleys had served as the Hosting and Humanitarian service couple in Jerusalem, and they were kind enough to host us as we caught a glimpse of the Pacific ocean. We enjoyed the beaches, cool temperatures, and gracious hospitality immensely.We visited Balboa Island and Little Corona Beach. At Balboa Island we spotted a group of dolphins and watched para-sailers gliding behind a speedboat.
Little Corona has some tide pools and rocky outcroppings.
Look at the interesting creatures we found in this tide pool!
On Thursday we drove north to Malibu to see the Getty Villa, a reconstruction of a Roman Villa destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. 
The kids' exploration room at the Getty Villa featured pots with dry-erase surfaces which the kids could customize.
Here Lisa and Amanda pose with props to make their own tableau.
We also got a glimpse of the Los Angeles temple, and a dose of reality while spending 4 hours in Southern California traffic. Just days earlier, the 70 degree weather and beautiful vistas had caused some in our family to bemoan Brigham Young's decision to go to the Rocky Mountains instead of the California coast. Our L.A. driving experience reminded us of all of the advantages of Utah and had us singing Brigham Young's praises once again.
Enroute to Orem we saw plumes of smoke from one of southern Utah's many wildfires.
