California

Virus

November 30, 2015 Steve 5 Comments California, Family, Travelling

It’s been a bit since the last post. I developed a viral infection about a week ago. Ellen got it a few days later. Not fun, and we’re presumably on the mend, but worry about carrying it with us on the flight. Blakey flew down last Friday. We hung a bit in Lalaland. Saturday we […]

Venice Beach

November 22, 2015November 20, 2015 Steve California, Point of Interest

We were in Venice Beach to drop off pajamas for the Topanga Women’s Circle and decided to take a walk along Venice Beach. Venice Beach, the area of Los Angeles between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey, is part of what is being called “Silicon Beach.” This as opposed to Silicon Valley. Several large tech companies […]

Tinselation

November 17, 2015November 16, 2015 Steve 1 Comment California, The Arts

Since arriving in “Tinseltown,” we’ve had the opportunity to see a few films. Our friend Count, a film critic, was going to take us to the first preview of “The Hateful Eight,” Quentin Tarantino’s new film, but it was cancelled at the last minute. Of the three films we saw, the two taking place during […]

Cousinalia

November 9, 2015November 5, 2015 Steve 1 Comment California, Family

I grew up with two cousins, an uncle, and an aunt. Ellen grew up with infinite cousins, uncles, and aunts. In addition, distance of cousins (first, second, third, removed, etc.) is not much of a consideration in her family. The only exception is going through the common ritual of diagramming the family tree to each other. […]

Post Card from Ellen’s Edge!

November 8, 2015November 9, 2015 Ellen 7 Comments California, Conversation, Family, Friends, Planning, Postcard from Ellen's Edge, Travelling

Carole King and Cat Stevens are singing to me and Steve is tolerating it pretty well. We have made it to the ocean! I keep getting asked what it is like to be on the road together so much,what do we do? How are we getting along? Well, we read a lot, listen to books […]

Land of Medicine Buddha

November 8, 2015November 5, 2015 Steve 1 Comment California, Learning, Point of Interest

Saturday we, as on many days, we wanted to take a hike. After Ellen’s birthday brunch, we headed off to “Land of Medicine Buddha,” a place Blakey had never been. One of the kids at Sunshower Farm goes to daycare here. After a long drive up a narrow and curvy road, we arrived. Land of […]

Santa Cruz Environs

November 7, 2015November 3, 2015 Steve 2 Comments Beach, California, Family, Food, Point of Interest, Travelling

Blakey was a great tour guide, exploring Santa Cruz and its surrounding area with us. We drove up to UC Santa Cruz. I didn’t get photos, but the place seemed like a ski resort without snow. The buildings didn’t look anything like any college I’ve ever seen. It is located on top of a mountain, […]

Surfing in Capitola

November 6, 2015November 3, 2015 Steve Beach, California, Point of Interest

Capitola is a beach town nestled just south of Santa Cruz, California. One of its most notable characteristics is the surfing. Monterey Bay’s north end curls at one end of the town, causing the waves turning into the coast to be good for surfing. The rocky cliffs and narrow beaches, on the other hand, make […]

Blakey’s Tiny House

November 4, 2015November 3, 2015 Steve 1 Comment California, Family, Point of Interest

Tiny houses are hot right now. We even saw one being hauled on a trailer as we were driving through North Dakota. Not to miss out, Blakey is staying at her Uncle Tim’s “Sunshower Farm” estate in a bright yellow tiny house. Her brother Peter suggested that it is much like her second place while […]

Sunshower Farm

November 3, 2015November 3, 2015 Steve California, Family, Food, Friends

We pulled into Sunshower Farm in Soquel, (not to be confused with SoCal), on Thursday afternoon. Amy was there to greet us, Blakey came an hour later. Sunshower Farm is a property that Ellen’s brother Tim and his then wife Sue bought and built about 25 years ago. Molly, their daughter was born and raised […]