SANTA CRUZ July 8 - 10, 2013

Once we left San Luis we were back on our Niece and Nephew Trail, headed to Correlitos near Santa Cruz and a visit with our niece, Denise and her husband John Colosi. She has 4 beautiful children; Julie, Anna, and twin boys Paul and Luke. Julia was home from her first year at UCLA so we had 3 days with the whole family.  With such a busy family we were pretty lucky to be able to spend time with all of them, I know that's rare.

 John loves to cook and it was fun to see all the kids in the kitchen helping and just having fun as dinner was in the making. Such a happy household!

 I had found a cute little county park only five miles from their home, Pinto Lake County Park.  It was perfect to be so close.  Our only glitch was trying to find the park as we drove up that afternoon.  I had the wrong address on our GPS and we turned just a street or two too early.  That little road took us down toward the lake, alright, but with a hill we could never have made.  So, for the first time in these two years of traveling we had to unhook the car, and car dolly, back up the motorhome and give it another try.  That little diversion added an hour to our trip all while we were only 5 minutes away from the campground.

 Once we got set up we had such a great site.  Views of the lake and dock and a nice grassy lawn outside for Foster.

 Denise's husband, John, is a devoted surfer as well as professor at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. So we went out the next morning to watch he and Luke surf along the Santa Cruz beaches.

 Foster loved the walk as we went from beach to beach looking for two surfers.

                               Anna and Mom Denise

After surfing we met up with everyone and had a wonderful lunch at Aldo's on the pier.  Hot and sunny in Santa Cruz, too good to be true!

 Later that afternoon Paul took the boys back to our campsite to get the tandem bike we had brought from Arizona for Denise.

 While they were gone, Dee and I had a glass of wine under the grape arbor and caught up on so many things.

 Once the guys were back, it was time to check out the bike and give it a try.

 Luke and Paul took off with a little trepidation but within a half hour or so they had mastered the balance and teamwork the bike requires.  So fun to watch them figure it all out.

On Wednesday everyone around the Colosi household had appointments, classes, jobs, etc. so Paul and I took the day to make a quick trip up to San Francisco to spend a little time with Neevie.  She's spending her first full summer in the city and will be starting her senior year at USF's nursing program.  We started with a great lunch at Cha Cha Cha, near her apartment then went down to the marina to check out the racing boats and the Americas Cup. Sure wish we could have seen a race or two...this is the first time it's being held so close to shore where you can see and feel the excitement. 

 It was an off day, no racing on the bay but we did have a chance to see some of the set up.

Neevie had to pick up a friend at the airport that afternoon so our afternoon was short,  we hugged good bye and we drove back south on Highway 1, getting back to Dee's in time an evening dinner of John's terrific mac and cheese and time to sit around the fire pit.

 Anna was leaving in a couple of days for a special Music Camp in So Cal. and was so excited. Everyone was off to different things before school would be back in session, Anna as a senior and the boys starting their sophomore year at the high school where Dee teaches. We loved getting to know all of Dee's kids and spend some wonderful days with them. Can't wait to be back in the midst of all of them again.

THREE WEEKS, HOME AGAIN, SAN LUIS OBISPO June 17- July 7, 2013

Coming home to San Luis Obispo is part of every summer and it always begins with my Summer Sisters...11 wonderful friends who have spent a week together for the last 20 summers.  Like sisters, we share love and laughter, and tears when life dishes out the harder stuff. Our group was formed so many years ago when we all taught together at Los Ranchos Elementary School. Our friendship has remained such a strong bond of love that I would never think of missing these days with them.  No matter where Paul and I may be traveling, when it's time for my Summer Sisters Getaway, I'm back in San Luis!  So this year was no different.  Katie flies down from Washington state, Maria drives down from Pacific Grove and then we all car pool our way to the vacation rental we have in Santa Ynez Valley.  The house is a lovely renovated ranch style home with 6 bedrooms and at least 4 bathrooms, maybe 5.  We have a fabulous kitchen to cook in and a pool with this beautiful view of the Santa Ynez Valley. Plus it's only an hour's drive south and in the middle of a vineyard. 

We laugh and catch up on everything especially since now only 3 of the group are still working and only 2 still at Los Ranchos.  That also means we don't have as much "school talk" as we used to, more about our own lives and adventures. Such a fantastic time we have together; walks every morning, afternoons in the pool or jacuzzi, celebrations at dinner and lots of chatter in between.

Ruby's Birthday Celebration

While I was away for those 5 days, Paul stayed in San Luis. One of the best gifts we have when we come back to SLO is parking our RV at Jim and Carolyn Parks' orange grove space. We love our time here with them! Our first night back we had one of Carolyn's yummy dinners and fantastic berry pie. So fun to catch up and laugh again together. We brought with us one of Monique's family wines and decided this would be a great time to share it.

  Our San Luis time is full of time with friends, walks, lunches out and just time to hang out with those I love so much. Carolyn and I, Anne, Linda, Annette always connect and this year we did the beautiful bluff hike at the Ferrini Ranch near Cambria. A crisp morning walk and then a lovely lunch at Robin's in the village. 

And since being home means being near the beach, Paul and I tried to catch as many sunsets down at Grover Beach as we could. it's the one thing I miss so much once we leave the coast.

We took a day's ride up Highway 1 getting one of the most beautiful days we could have wished for! Warm, clear skies and a stunning view of the ocean, top down on the car and music keeping us company.

We checked on the progress of the tunnel being built along the route where the mountain slides almost every year. It's going to be amazing when it's finished. Our destination was an over night with Frank and Maria in Pacific Grove but first we stopped in Carmel for a little beach time for Foster, and us.  It's such a dog friendly town!

We enjoyed another wonderful 2 days with Maria and Frank...delicious dinner and an evening of talking and laughing.  The next morning Paul and Frank did a little repair work on the deck...while Maria and I

took our favorite walk out to Spanish Bay Resort along the sand covered boardwalk.

Before leaving that afternoon Maria packed up another wonderful meal and we headed down to a beach on the 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. Such a treat!

Time for photos and then sitting down to this lovely table. Always in style when dining with the Penners.  I don't think it gets any better than this!

The warm days of late June turned to really HOT DAYS as the temperature spiked up into the 100s in San Luis.  The only place we could think of to cool off was to head to the beach but the closer we got to the beach the higher the temperature rose.  I took this photo in our car as we passed the Avila Beach exit going south on Saturday, June 29th.  Crazy!!! And the beach was even crazier! People everywhere, a flash back to days we'd spent at LA beaches years ago.

This also happened to be the week that we were to be the care takers of Jim and Carolyn's vegetable and flower gardens and her flock of chickens while they enjoyed a week at a  Montana Dude Ranch to celebrate Jim's 80th birthday with their children and grandchildren.

The sun was bright and inviting early each morning and the heat was back by 8:30 or 9 so the best time to get everything watered was that beautiful time of sunrise. I loved it!!! Watering someone else's garden and collecting eggs from the chickens every day...a real farmer's life!

Sheri and I had a wonderful morning breakfast Tuesday on the deck of Spyglass Restaurant in Shell Beach and a leisurely walk along the cliffs almost to Pirates Cove. The warm pretty days were continuing and no fog at the beach, absolutely perfect!

Wednesday was a fun adventure for 8 of us, a trolley ride and tour of the Point San Luis Lighthouse out past Avila.

The Light Station is the only surviving Prairie Victorian model lighthouse that remains in existence on the west coat of the United States.  It was something I'd been wanting to do for such a long time, fun to share the day with friends and learn a little more local history!

Paul's sister came down for a few days to enjoy the cooler temps in SLO once our heat wave had broken and things were back to normal. MarLyn and Randy drove down from Copperopolis and brought their sweet grand daughter, MacKenzie.  

To catch the fun of fireworks without having to go to Pismo and the crowds we went to our local Blues Baseball Game on the 3rd of July with a super fireworks show after the game.

The garden was still doing well, thank goodness, and Carolyn's giant pumpkins were really growing!

MarLyn and Randy took off Friday morning but what a fun couple of days we'd had together. They are heading off soon on their own big adventure, moving to Lake Chapala, Mexico, so it may be a while before we see them again. It was exciting to hear all about their plans.

As our days in San Luis were dwindling down, I caught as much friend time and beach time as I could.

We'd had so many wonderful days and evenings shared with friends--dinner with the Jankays and Borlands, Taco Tuesday with Burt and Diane, dinner with Marcy and Bob, breakfast at The Custom House with Laura and Eli...always so much fun but then come the hardest part, saying good bye.  Our plans for the next two months is to drive the coast and spend August in British Columbia. But I know we will be back in San Luis before too long, it's home.