Daylight savings may be coming early...but-

Winter is still here for crying out loud! Yep-the powers that be have decided that we need to be deprived of one hour of sleep this coming March 11th and we won't get it back til November 4th.....

And it's still snowing @#!%^#!!!!

No internet connection.....for days!!!!

Today we arrived back home after being gone for several weeks-nice to be home. We had a great time with all our driving from one town to another-visiting friends and family....after we left Santa Barbara we went to Judy and Daves wonderful home and had a short but good visit.
This photo was shot near Santa Maria's wine country.....



Judy and Dave in their morning routine of hot chocolate/coffee and the paper!
We are close to Brookings-where we stopped for the night.....

The next morning we drove to Bandon then went on Hwy 42 to Roseburg......

There was lots of snow........

We had to forgo driving up to Medford on Sunday because Mother Nature decided to dump a whole lot of snow in the Siskyous.....so we drove up 101 to Brookings and then today took Hwy 42 from Bandon to Roseburg where snow abounded even at sea level....our trusty car never slipped nor slid .......here are a few pics from our last days drive......cheers!

Santa Barbara

( hotel mirror shot of the four of us )

We blasted off from Long Beach yesterday at 915am- had to wait for all the @#!%% traffic to die down-although judging from what Russell had to drive through, I am not sure traffic EVER goes away in LA....how do folks do it?
After we got through the traffic and up on Hwy 101 the traffic improved considerably and Russell made short work of the rest of the drive to Bob and Judy's lovely home in Montecito.

Bob and Judy took us to a great little restaurant for lunch on the end of a pier in Santa Barbara- Santa Barbara Shellfish Company- what a find! Russell had steamed mussells, Bob and I had lobster tacos (yummy) and Judy had scrumptious crab cakes. The restaurant is small and just has counter and stools for seating-but that didn't deter anyone.....check it out if you are ever in Santa Barbara!



We had a tour by car of the city and eventually arrived back at their home to enjoy a pleasant evening with the cats Jack and Sam and the two golden retrievers Molly and Bella.



The next morning we headed up to Judy and Dave's home in Los Altos....

A day with Grace

We spent the day in Long Beach with Grace-she took us along the beach promenade to look at all the bike sculptures ( installed for the AMGEN bike race) and to the
Long Beach Art Museum. We always go to this museum as it always has great exhibits.
Check it out.....

http://www.lbma.org/

After lunch at the museums restaurant we went to her apartment-put together a coffee table and ended up in the Belmont area of Long Beach at Taco Surf for dinner-here are a few pics of our very nice day. Of course, there are more on flickr....

Now we're in Long Beach!

Yesterday we got up at 5am-out the door at 540am and arrived in Long Beach at noon....whew....Russell kept the pedal to the metal and drove non-stop except for one gas stop. We had dinner with Grace and she surprised us with her little addition to the family!!!! Here's a cute shot............and there's more on flickr....

A Memorable Lunch with Kitty and Arthur

Kitty, Kathe, Arthur and Charlie!

There is nothing better than time spent with Kitty and Arthur.....I love their home full of visual treats and lunch was a gourmet delight.....add some blow dart activity ...what more could we want? ................thanks Kitty and Arthur

This is a shot of Charlie on HIS couch!

From Santa Rosa to Sausalito

It's been awhile since I could access the web and I had to wait a few days to post my photos.....but we have been having a fun time first in Santa Rosa for one day and now since Thursday we have been visiting Janet and Floyd. Always a treat!
The city is it's usual laid back self and Janet and Floyd are so relaxing to be with.
The first evening we had the ritual Smitty evening with pizza, beer and pool surrounded by Smitty characters!
Yesterday we wandered all over the city and had yet again a savory lunch at Poggios!
Here is a window reflected shot of Russell in downtown
Sausalito......more shots on my flickr.....

Road trip to California- day one

Here's our new vehicle for the next decade or so......2007 Subaru Forester. And we're off to

hopefully sunnier and warmer California!

Before the road trip begins.....

Ewwww....gotta clean beind the old fridge before the new one is delivered.....gross gross...WHO LIVES HERE??? Obviously we don't live behind the fridge....who would?






It's unbelievable how much can be crammed
into a fridge.....especially when it's all over
your counters....

Hello new appliance.....like your magnets?

The design element of the handles looks like lips to me, so I might have to put a moustache on above the lips

plus google eye magnets above the moustache....

Yep- even a reading lamp in the freezer...

Now we are at theSubaru dealership removing our memorized license plates for the new car...

Last photo in front of our faithful wagon...
I'll post the new car tomorrow once we are
really on the road....happy trails to us!



We haven't been on a road trip for a few years and California beckons.....
not to mention all our friends and family beckoning....
so here begins our 2 week adventure.....