More driving & flowers . . .

For the few minutes it took to pass through the Pismo Beach area, we had a view of the beach towns and the ocean.  But then the road veered inland and we drove through grassy fields and rolling hills.  Here the land began to look a little dryer than it had farther north.   After an hour the hills got higher and rockier and we eventually broke out onto the coast again with the Pacific right on our right hand side and the coastal mountains rising dramatically on our left.  This is the thirty-mile run into Santa Barbara that I always enjoy and we soon learned that yesterday’s flower show was just a preamble for the show the ocean’s added moisture was to provide.  Traffic began to pick up and soon we were in heavier urban freeway traffic.

            South of Santa Barbara, the highway again runs close to the beach either down near the water level or higher up on cuts in the adjacent hills.  From the higher vantage, we looked down on the old Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), which is lined with the aging RVs of a beach loving cult.  And here too was the mustard’s piece de resistance – whole hillsides painted yellow by the flowers.  It was truly amazing.

Note: “If the scenery was so beautiful, why don’t we have pictures of it?”  Well, we’re sort of new at this whole blog thing and we have traveled this route several times and we weren’t expecting the flower show we saw.

            Soon we were in Ventura and then LA proper with the expected traffic gridlock.  But then . . . we were at Megan & Zack’s house.

 

            The Sterngolds . . .

            It’s always so great to get to Hermosa Beach and be greeted by the girls (Maya, about to be 8 & Lila, about to be 5).  They were dressed in “fancy dresses and shoes” and had created a red carpet out of various blankets, shawls, etc. for us to walk across upon our arrival.  Dominating the dining area table was the second of the two Little Libraries ® I had made, nearly ready to be installed.  A quick trip to Home Depot and a stop at the Kioskis, M & Z’s besties, provided us with the materials and tools to affect the installation.

            After a series of discussions about whether we would eat at Nick & Emalee’s (Kioski), we ate here and they there, and we watched the UNC Tarheels earn their way into the NCAA National Basketball Championship game.  Connie and I fell asleep with smiles on our faces on the queen size airbed in the garage.  Go Heels!

            Sunday started with an early breakfast/photo shoot at the Kioskis.  Emalee is starting her own Speech and Language Pathology practice and wanted pictures of frolicking kids.  Shots were taken in their former dining room, which has been converted into a padded cell/rumpus room.

            Afterwards, the Sterngolds and Connie & I headed out to Mystic Canyon Ranch in Palos Verdes where Maya and, now, Lila take riding lessons.  Lila, who is usually reluctant to try anything new, was brilliant at her first time riding and between the miniature horse, the tiny saddle and Lila, there was a danger of, as Megan said, “cuteness overload”.  After helping Lila brush down Princess (what else?) and put away the tack, Maya began her lesson.  For being so new at it, she looked comfortable with the horses and a natural in the saddle.

            Zack, Lila and I left early while Megan, Maya & Connie went to a local horse show.  After a short rest, I installed the Little Library ® and had so much fun watching how excited Megan and the girls were filling it up with books.  After dinner here with (yup, you guessed it) the Kioskis to celebrate once again Connie’s 39th birthday, and confirming that the Warriors won, we all went to bed.

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