2/6/12 (Monday) (New Zealand Time!):  It's now 6:30 AM Sunday in Florida, but we just finished Monday's lunch here in New Zealand.  Wiley went fishing with Mark and Hudson this morning on the Seatoun pier.  Heather and I took a long walk along the ridge over Seatoun and had an ice cream in the dairy store before returning home.  This afternoon we're going to the botanic gardens.  We had a great night's sleep (thanks for lending us your room, Austin!) and feel no jet lag effects.  I'll post some New Zealand photos tomorrow, but before that I want to share some photos from our visit to my sister's family in Ojai, California.

 

Jan and Jim's House in Ojai, CA

 Jan and Jim's new house is on top of a hill in Ojai.  They have a stunning view of the
Los Padres National Forest.

 These odd quail with little bobbers hanging over their eyes like the rocky gardens in the neighborhood.

 I hiked a trail into the hills behind their hosue and saw this hawk (?).  Anyone know what kind it is?  It had a very short tail and was light underneath and dark on the back and wings.

 We enjoyed a short sail on their boat.

 My sister has it fixed up really cute inside -- very comfortable.

 We left the walker dockside.

 Jim is teaching Jan how to sail.

 We had a beer in this restaurant in the Ventura harbor for Jan's birthday just before we left.

 We enjoyed a trip to nearby Lake Piru, where Wiley and I spent the winter of 2008/09.  We still knew some of the folks there.  My nephew is considering doing some workamping and was interested to speak with some of the folks there.

 Ojai is a charming small town just north of Ventura.  The avocados and strawberries were being harvested while we were there, and the weather was very similar to what we left in Florida -- warm days and cool nights.

This is a closer shot (although it's a little fuzzy because it's zoomed out so far) of the quail.

This is Ventura Beach.  My nephew's RV is parked here.  There's no electricity, but he has a small generator.  It's a lovely spot!

Here's Wiley enjoying the sun in the marina.

Wish we could have enjoyed a longer visit, but it was great to spend a little time with them.

Next blog:  New Zealand!