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It was a gorgeous day!!  Sky was clear, wind was picking up and the engines were working.  Always a good thing. As you can see the wind was a little lighter when we started and by the time we were heading back to the slip it had picked up. We were able to accomplish our goal - so it was a very good day!!  When we were back in the dock slip we found out small craft warning was expected for later in the day.  So glad we got our work done early. The first photo is of the Pavilion.  I just love taking photos of it.  Ever since high school. If you ever make it to Newport Beach - I think one of the nicest places to walk is around the perimeter of Balboa Island.  You feel like you have the view of a bayfront  house without spending millions.

We had never seen the super bloom before, so this was quite the experience for us.  We left our house extremely early one Saturday morning in hopes of beating the crowd.  Well, has it turned out we did beat the crowd, but we hadn't realized that when we first arrived.  It was crowded but it got a lot more crowed. We arrived before the sun was up.  That's important to know because the poppy aren't open yet.  If you take a close up look at the photo - you can see the parade of people walking on the path in the background. I was fighting a cold at the time and was a little concerned when I saw how steep the first segment was, but then it turned into a gradual up and down through the countryside.  Very Very Beautiful!!!  I enjoy taking photos but there were a lot of people taking selfies all dressed up looking lovely.  Sadly for them it was freezing but they endured for their selfies.  It was fun to see. I have grown up in the Southern C...

Just a perfect day of horseback riding at the Alisal Guest Ranch and Resort.  The Alisal is a fantastic guest ranch that offers a little of everything in the outdoors.  The staff is very knowledgable and kind, which makes for a perfect day of horseback riding, or golfing, or fishing, or swimming. The Guest Ranch is located a few minutes from Solvang. On Wednesdays during the summer the Alisal has a rodeo.  The rodeo allows participation from there guests to sign up and join in.  The rodeo is followed by a fabulous outdoor BBQ. If you are able to visit the Ranch, you too will fall under the Alisal charm.

I was in Buellton last week and had the pleasure of having breakfast twice at Ellen's Restaurant.  I highly recommend the Danish Pancakes.  Well, I actually have enjoyed everything I have ever ordered there. For those of you who may not know where Buellton is, let me fix that.  It is about 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara on the 101 highway. Buellton happens to be surrounded by vineyards and wineries.  Buellton also became a little more well known when it was highlighted in the movie SIDEWAYS. Buellton is also about five minutes from the danish town of Solvang. It is really a delightful place to visit - wine tasting is a must.

Avalon in the winter - WOW!  Just beautiful.  Our family was there just for the day, but what a day.  The sun was out and rather warm for December.  It was very nice.  I love Catalina in the summer it is just a little slice of heaven on earth, but I have to admit it was pretty perfect in December too. I haven't posted in awhile due to a family tragedy, but I intend to be regularly posting about wonderful places in California.

Disneyland - does a fantastic job of decorating for Halloween!!!  Everything is all dressed up in halloween colors.  Disneyland knows how to celebrate. We were there during the daytime, so I can only imagine how enchanting it would look at night. I love Disneyland!!

San Diego just has so much to see.  So, here is a little information on Seaport Village.  The photo is of the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.  An exceptional place to stay.  The Manchester Hyatt is at the edge of Seaport Village and in the downtown area too.  The views are gorgeous from all directions. Seaport Village has a lot of restaurants and shopping opportunities.  Also a wonderful place to walk.  All along the water - perfect. The USS Midway is very close too. The area is a delightful place to eat, walk and shop all adjacent to San Diego Bay. This weekend they had some type of triathlon going on and we found this wonderful signage. I love traveling around Southern California.  San Diego is great!!

This is the sunset cliffs area of San Diego.  Very beautiful location.  This photo is looking back up the coast towards La Jolla.  So much to do in San Diego, but I'm just going to highlight two restaurants we ate at  recently in Ocean Beach.  The first one was Ulivo.  An Italian restaurant. The food was fantastic, the service was  exceptional, the atmosphere was perfect.  I highly recommend it.  Everyone in our party enjoyed their entree.  Ulivo does take reservations.  The second restaurant we went to was Hugo's. This was a charming mexican restaurant.  Loved the food, the service and the atmosphere. If you find yourself in Ocean Beach these are two great restaurants.  You will not go wrong.

As the sign says Roger's Gardens has nursery, patio, landscape, home accents, gifts, and holiday items.  The Farmhouse is a restaurant located within Roger's Gardens.  The restaurant is fantastic.  Reservations are a good idea. The real beauty of the place are the many paths wondering through the nursery. There are so many little gems like the Farmhouse Restaurant in Newport Beach, it is fun to have a blog to show them off.

What is more perfect than a milkshake and the ocean in the background.  Ruby's Shake Shack is on Pacific Coast Highway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.  On a sunny Calif day the view is perfect.  If you are vacationing in the area you must stop by. So if you find yourself driving down the Pacific Coast Highway save room for a milkshake.  Ruby's is the perfect place to stop.

I love Disneyland.  Everyone feels like kid again here.  We were at Disneyland yesterday during the time of the eclipse.  Everyone was either putting on their special glasses to view the event or the were working on seeing the shadow effects.  We didn't have special glasses but a very nice family from Uath let us use their special glasses. The small hole was showing the shadow effect better than the larger hole.  It was fun being in a crowd experiencing the eclipse. I enjoy Disneyland very much always have always will.  Here are some more photos of disneyland yesterday. Not sure if I have already mentioned before in an earlier post, but I love benches.  So of course another photo. More later!

 I went on a fantastic tour of JPL / NASA in La Cañada - Flintridge area.  It was a three hour tour - we covered a lot of territory and hiked a lot of stairs.  My body had a wonderful workout, as well as a mental workout.  The work they are accomplishing at JPL is awe-inspiring.  JPL has scaled models of many of their projects on display for the public.  Impressive!!  I highly recommend scheduling a tour if you haven't already experienced it.  And I count it as a workout.

Laguna Beach is such a charming place.  Today I was able to join three swimming friends of mine for lunch at Las Brisas Restaurant on Cliff Drive.  As the street implies, it is on the cliffs and has a beautiful view.  The food and service was very good and in August the weather is perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the beach.  So a wonderful Sunday to enjoy the California Coast. Tomorrow, I plan to have pictures from my walking path.  After lunch with friends, exercise is next on the calendar.

This photo is a picture of Avalon Harbor, green pier and swim float.  I thought it would be fitting to start my first blog with a picture of water, a beach, a pier,  and palm trees all on a romantic island. I have been lucky enough to go to Avalon every summer since I was 5 years old.  I met my husband in Avalon.  So, first blog picture is of Avalon, Catalina Island. Catalina, is an island off the coast of Southern California, about 27 miles from the mainland. This photo shows the bay from the walk up to the bell tower.  You can see private boats moored with the owners enjoying summer.  I've been told that Avalon resembles the mediterranean seaside towns.  After traveling to the Italian coast last year for the first time, I completely agree. So, this is my first post.