Take a little trip

Grant and I got away for the weekend, just up the coast about two hours, to Pismo Beach.  It was wonderful to relax and enjoy a couple of days without work or other obligations intruding into our time together.  By coincidence, a good friend of Grant's and his wife were also celebrating their anniversary by weekending in Pismo and we got together several times, which was fun.  It was overcast on the way up, perfect for driving, and rained hard Friday evening, night, and Saturday morning, but then the weather was perfect. 

Cottage Inn by the Sea

Our room had two king beds!  We had a peek-a-boo view of this:

This pic of Pismo Beach Pier above was taken from the lovely garden at the foot of the Inn's property.

The succulent garden was gorgeous!

Someday I'd like to do my frontyard over like this.  After breakfast we drove the mile or so to downtown Pismo.

We were at about the point of the last palm tree on the left, going to the boardwalk and pier, when a familiar looking woman passed in front of me...it was my Aunt Peggy-- followed by her husband Tommy-- who had driven to the coast for the day from the San Joaquin Valley.  Another 30 seconds and we would have missed each other--amazing coincidence!  We visited for a short while and then they took off to go do their real errand, visiting a vintage guitar shop.

The hotels line the bluff between the coast and the 101 highway.  There is a wide beach that extends for miles southward, ending in dunes that are popular with the ATV riding crowd.

Mr. Pelican agreed to be background in this photo.  We traded portraits with a trio of pier walkers.  It was really windy and the lady caught me trying to keep my hair out of my mouth! 

I loved the little white birds and their reflections in this shot.

Segways for rent!  Pretty entertaining to watch people try these out.  Grant accompanied me to a quilt shop where the only thing bought was a quilter's tattoo.  We did some shopping, eating, and people watching in town, before heading back to the hotel for some lazing about. Grant put the tattoo on my ankle, took a photo and we tried to fake out the girls that I actually got one, which was a bit of fun (though they rightly didn't believe it!).  I was on the hunt for a quilt book so took myself up to Morro Bay--20 minute or so drive north--to The Cotton Ball quilt shop.  Some fabric jumped in my arms and I also found the book I was looking for, Kim Bracket's Scrap Basket Surprises.  Love that book!

The drive back brought gorgeous vistas like this.

This is Bishop Peak, I think.  It's north of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and I remember there are cross country races that take place nearby.  The hills were so green and velvety, it made me wonder if that is what Ireland looks like.

While we were enjoying the fading sunlight in the garden, some wild bunnies came out to play, but didn't wait to get their photos taken.  So we had to take one of ourselves!

Sunday morning we had to pack up and leave, too soon, but before we went there was one more adventure.  The sea was pretty brown and churned up but lacy with foam.

 

We descended  this steep staircase to the beach.

And watched the waves crash for a while.

We headed back down south with plenty of memories from our short weekend getaway. On our way home, we left the 101 for the back road to Santa Barbara, Hwy 154, passing through Solvang, a Danish themed town.

  More gorgeous vistas greeted us on the highway.  Californians savor the short months of green hills--too often they are brown, brown, brown!

A little snow on the peaks of one of the ranges.

A peek at a piece of Lake Cachuma from a fast-moving car.

This beautiful sight from the far end of the valley as we climbed the mountain to San Marcos Pass, above Santa Barbara.

Coming down the other side, our beloved Channel Islands appear off the coast.  Oops, I got in this photo too!  It was a wonderful trip and we enjoyed every minute of it.  We promised ourselves we wouldn't wait another five years to do this again!