3/11/08 (Tuesday): Spring has sprung here at beautiful Lake Piru! We've been enjoying some beautiful weather, new friends, fun trips and a plethora of wildflowers.
We've had three new Workamper couples start in the last couple of weeks. We've become especially close to John, who's originally from Scotland. We love to listen to him talk! John arrived in a very small motor home. He knew when he came here that he wanted to buy something bigger, but he wasn't sure what. We had him over for dinner, and he fell in love with our 5th wheel. He decided he wanted one laid out exactly like ours, and we went out with him and found one! We also helped him negotiate a very good price. He's now moved in to his new home and loving it.
We took Sunday off (I've been putting in a lot of hours in the office--loving it, but needed a break). We took the Metro to Long Beach (the south end of Los Angeles) and went on a whale watch.
Didn't see any whales, but had a great time anyhow. We saw four lighthouses, lots of sailboats, big container ships, and working fishing boats.
It took me about 20 tries to catch the light flashing in the Point Vicentes Light at Redondo Beach, where we turned and headed back to the Long Beach Harbor, whaleless, sunburned, and thoroughly contented!
I especially enjoyed seeing the Queen Mary, which is now permanently docked at Long Beach Harbor. My father shipped to Europe during WWII when this great cruise ship temporarily became a troop ship.
We also enjoyed the view of the L.A. skyline, the docks and the busy working harbor where lots of container ships (many from China) unload their cargo.
Today we took a short hike up Piru Canyon after I finished at work.
The wildflowers are just spectacular. The first shot in the blog was taken in a field overlooking Lake Piru. (And yes, those are lupine! We saw them in Maine and Florida and now they cover the hillsides in California. The yellow/orange flowers in the first shot in the blog are poppies.)
Julie's been having severe back pain and probably won't be able to come for a visit as she had planned.
So, Julie, these shots are for you! I hope everyone enjoyed their wildflower "walk."
We're happy campers here, but we're also beginning to be excited about our coming departure. We've made reservations for a trip to the Grand Canyon on an antique steam train. We'll stay overnight in an old depot hotel, have a guided tour of the Grand Canyon, and on our return we'll stay one more night in a KOA nearby. Then we'll head East, stopping (we hope) at Painted Desert and Petrified Forest among other things. We'll spend several days in FL with Wiley's family, and then head for Boone, NC, where we're expected on 4/25. It's only about 12 hours between Orlando and Boone.
Tune in again soon, and keep those comments coming!
(This one isn't a flower, but I couldn't resist showing you my favorite rock. I call him "Bozo.")
Wiley and I met my sister and her husband in Santa Barbara on Saturday. What a gorgeous city! On the way up, we saw acres and acres of avacado trees. No wonder they only cost a quarter apiece here! (And they taste wonderful!)
We wandered around the city a little. There are lots of little pedestrian only streets (called paseos) with interesting shops. The one we walked on had many interesting sculptures. They looked like real people! Ben and I had a fascinating conversation (but I think his mind was wandering and he was concentrating on something else sometimes).
After a lovely picnic lunch on the lawn of the Santa Barbara Mission, we went to the museum of natural history. I was fascinated by the Chumash baskets. They were beautifully and artistically woven, and were so tight that they could be used for boiling food. Wiley enjoyed the fossil exhibit, including the fossilized skeleton of a pygmy mammoth that was found at the La Brea Tar Pits.
We drove back along the Pacific Coast Highway, admiring the Pacific and the hillsides covered with wildflowers. Do we have great weekends, or what?!
