Happy Blogiversary to Me! :)

Sea Lions at San Simeon - California Coast

Well, today was my 2nd year blogiversary. . . . my how time flies!  (How many times have we heard/said that?)  But, dang, it is so true!  This is just a quick post to acknowledge the milestone (and get a quick birthday wish in here)!

Big Sur Coast - California

It sure doesn't seem like it has been that long!  And, I am still not posting very regularly, but I am ok with that!  There are far too many things to take care of to worry about that!  I very much appreciate all of you who have been following along!  Thank you!  And, welcome to my newest followers! ! !

Golden Gate Bridge - San Francisco, California

I am planning a few posts to chronicle the trip I took up the California, Oregon and Washington coasts right on up to Vancouver Island, Canada.  What a gorgeous drive!  I can HIGHLY recommend doing this if you ever get the chance and to do it right, try to take a minimum of 3 weeks (more if you can do it!).  It was a few years back, but I think you might enjoy the pics!  Stay tuned!  (These pics are a little teaser from that trip!)

Northern California Coastline

Also, it is that time of year to wish a happy birthday to D!  Another year older!  Happy Birthday! ! !   Stay outta the strip clubs and bars this time around!  ;)   . . . oh, and I suppose I should put in a little reminder to NOT go scuba diving again.  LOL!  :D

Oregon Coast Sand Dunes

I was hoping to get a peach pie all baked up tonight to celebrate and share with you here, but . . . things got away from me and as it turns out, this is about as much as I am going to get done tonight!  It's getting late and I'm tired!  I have the filling all mixed up and the pie dough resting in the fridge, but I don't have quite enough steam to roll it out and wait for it to bake tonight before I want to hit the sack . . . so-o-o-o-o-o-o, I have fresh peach pie to look forward to tomorrow!  I'll eat 2 pieces to make up for it!  OK?  ;)  One for my blogiversary and one in honor of D's birthday!  YUMMM!  I think I still have some vanilla ice cream to go with it!  Yay!  I can't wait!  Deb's recipe looks fantastic and I can't wait to try it!  NONE of her recipes that I have tried have failed to delight!  Look through her site for kitchen inspiration any time you need it!  I can't wait for her cookbook to come out!

Butchart Gardens - Vancouver Island, Canada

Ok, that's it from me for now!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, D! ! !  Grab a fork!  ;D

Capilano Suspension Bridge - Vancouver, Canada

Easter at the Little Corona Tide Pools

Soooo . . . this is where I spent my Easter!

It was a gorgeous day.   Nice and warm . . .

Looks like there was a private party out on the rocks that I didn't get an invite to . . .  Oh, well, I didn't happen to be wearing my brown pelican suit anyway, and it looks like that was the required dress code . . .

I was hoping to see several starfish, but alas . . . just this one brightly colored guy turned up.  He was quite large, maybe 10 inches across or more.

There were pretty flowers and  . . . .

. . . brightly covered rocks . . .  I should have taken a pic of my sister's favorite rock.  It left quite an "impression" on her as I recall!  Do you remember, sis?  ;)

And seaweed and sea grasses swaying with the tides . . .

Somehow I missed getting any pics of the anemones, and all the different types of little fishies in there.  But, I did get some pics of the pretty purple sea urchins!

And, there were lots of crabs in there.  The main part of their bodies was about 2-3 inches across, just to give you an idea of how big they were.  Here's one who was afraid I was going to take his dinner away from him!  If I got too close he would drop back down into the water.  I think he was trying to drag his prize to the surface where he could take his time dining.  He wanted a private dinner and I was apparently interfering with that.  I left him alone after this shot.  I just have a little point and shoot camera and can't do macro shots so I tried to isolate just the little guy through the wonders of Photoshop . . . so the quality of the photo is a little pixelated . . .  oooops!  :)

There are four in this pic . . . can you find them all?  Hint:  the two on the closest rock are blending with the coloration on the rock . . .

Another little bit of a close up . . .  pixelations and all!

So, that's it for now!  Just a quick little peek in with you today!  Hope you had a great Easter and have a great week to come!  See you soon!

Huntington Beach Kite Party

First things first, I would really like to extend a very warm welcome to Joanna (from the US) and Susy (all the way from Italy - benvenuto!).  I'm so glad to have you join me and I really hope you'll enjoy following along!

I am soooo very behind in getting this posted!  The Huntington Beach Kite Party was held Saturday, March 12th (the same day I went to see Wicked, which I blogged about in my last post) and also on Sunday, March 13th. 

I went on Saturday morning, which started out overcast and gray.  I was uncertain if they would still be holding the kite party because of the tsunami dangers from the horrible and devastating earthquake in Japan the day before.  But, I decided to go ahead and head on down to check it out anyway.  I was a little nervous about being on the beach, but I think the warnings had already expired, so I thought it should be safe.  And as it turns out, it was, but I did keep a wary eye on the surf throughout my stay!

When I got to the beach, I found a spot on the sand to plant my towel and then started snapping some pics.  Some of those kites are huge!  In the photo above you can see a man standing next to the kites as they are trying to get them in the air so you can see just how large they are!  You certainly cannot always tell how big they are in the other photos when they are flying high, as you have nothing with which to compare them!

Some were just colorful . . .

And others were just whimsical . . .

I really liked this caterpillar, but I had to work to get him.  He had a bit of a difficult time getting air!

There were a couple of these intricate looking white kites.  They kind of looked a little like snowflakes to me.

This cute little rainbow was actually 7 kites locked together, moving in tandem.

Here was another with several kites joined together with their tails looking like confetti dancing in the sky.

Tinkerbell and her new pet dragon were flying high!

A bleeding heart contrasted nicely with the pretty blue sky!

Kite dancing!  Who knew?  They played music on the loud speakers and the kite handlers manipulated their charges to the beat.  It was fun to watch.  Sometimes they had several kites all dancing together.  I tried to film some of it, but my camera doesn't do great video and I was too far away to get great images, and you can't really hear the music very well (you can almost hear a bit of it here and there - Stairway to Heaven) . . . but, here is a little taste of what they were doing so you can get a little idea of what they can do with kites these days!

Something about watching kites takes me back to long, lazy summers, lying on my back in carpets of soft, fragrant, green grass, watching kites and clouds in the bright, blue sky.  Back to the days when I had nothing more to worry about than which combination of sodas to order at the local hangout.  Makes me want to go fly a kite myself!  

I will be anxious for the next Seal Beach Kite festival in October.  It is billed as the largest kite festival on the west coast.  If I get a chance to go, I'll be sure to share!


Well,  I guess that is just about it for now!  I hope you enjoyed this little excursion! Until next time!  Baci per i miei amici!

Hueneme Beach Festival & Sand Sculptures

The ocean is so therapeutic, I think everyone should have one in their backyard and visit it regularly!  I went to the Hueneme Beach Festival today.  I woke up with the urge to go on a little road trip to somewhere I hadn't been before, but wasn't too far away, so I went online and came up with this.  Truthfully, I was lured by the promise of the Sand Sculpture Contest.

Another thing I have always wanted to do is to see some really amazing sand sculptures up close and personal, rather than just in pictures, so I grabbed my camera and off I went.  I've also decided that I need to get there early to watch them being created!  Traffic getting up there and back was a nightmare, and I had to park way down the beach from the festival, but it was a gorgeous day, so I didn't mind the walk, but my feet are not happy with me right now.  The sandals I wore were not exactly the thing to wear for a long hike!  LOL!

The first thing I saw was these very large kites.  I thought they were very pretty against the sky.  

I really enjoyed the sand sculptures I found, but as you can see here, there weren't very many to peruse, but I did enjoy them anyway!  I got there a little late in the afternoon (took me twice as long to get there as I had expected!), and am not sure if there may have been a couple more that got destroyed before I got there, or if these were, in fact, the only ones!

After I snapped these pics I wandered over to the booths to see if there was anything there I couldn't live without and sure enough, they had some things there I simply had to have.  I picked up some scented salts to freshen up the house and some Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar which the vendor assured me would taste heavenly over some vanilla ice cream.  Good thing tomorrow is market day and I can pick some up to go with the vinegar!  Mmmmm, doesn't that sound tasty?  Ice cream and vinegar? Yum, yum!  . . . we'll see . . .  I got to taste test some other flavors and really enjoyed them, but they were a bit too pricey to stock up!

And, I got another little item that I will have to share with you later!  I got some for my mommy, too, and don't want to spoil the surprise for her!  Shhhhhhhh!  But, I can tell you it is sooooo unusual, I HAD to get it!  I was amazed by and have never seen anything like it before.  The vendor told me to go ahead and touch them and I was blown away.  I will share photos and a description in a later post!  I'll just give you a little hint for now, . . . it would be a great thing for a halloween party, but that is not what it was meant for!  ;-)

There were all kinds of vendors there and I was tempted by a few other items, but managed to resist . . . mainly because I hadn't stocked up on funds before I went!  :-)  I will share some of the other things I saw there!

I thought these peacock yard ornaments were really cute!  They rocked back and forth from their hips in the wind.

I almost got a set of these coasters.  I especially liked the ones with the seashells!

I thought these marionette puppets were adorable!

There was a 70s theme to the festival and this disco band was really fun!  Very entertaining!  And . . . get a load of that hair!  "I believe in miracles . . . where you from, you sexy thing . . ."  I kept hearing that song all the way back to my car!  It put a little extra bounce in my step.

On the way back, I walked out on the pier to snap a couple of videos to share with you.  Unfortunately, somehow I ended up losing my hat!   :-(   One minute I had it and the next it was gone!  I think I had taken it off while filming and thought I had put it in my bag, but apparently, I missed!  It must have blown off the pier in all that wind.  Good thing it wasn't one I was particularly attached to!  Guess I'll just have to go shopping again!  ;-)

Anyway, I'll leave you with the ocean breeze and waves to help you feel like you were right there with me having a nice relaxing day.  But, next weekend, I really must pretend to be a grownup and stay home and take care of a few things there!  So, get rested up, get your duster and vacuum ready and your gardening gloves on.  ;-)

For maximum enjoyment, make sure you have your speakers on!