Tag Archives: California

Mom and Daughter Day

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surf shot

Good afternoon! I planned to post this last evening, but was so tired from all of the fresh air and walking, it had to wait until today.

Early last week, my mom and I decided to make Monday a mom and daughter day, so I headed out early yesterday morning for Seal Beach, where Mom lives. It is about a forty minute drive from our house, if the freeway co-operates, and it did. The weather was gorgeous and a perfect day for a trip to the ocean. Above is the amazing view from the Seal Beach pier. You can see we were not the only ones enjoying the view.

Two pigeons

fan shop

Main Street, Seal Beach is delightfully lined with colorful little shops and restaurants. There are just so many interesting places to browse and shop. We were enticed by the constant aroma drifting from a cinnamon roll bakery, but didn’t give in to temptation. Today, I am thinking perhaps we should have.

One of my favorite stores, that is a must see, is the California Sea Shell Co. at 125 Main Street. It has every kind of shell you can imagine and many other wonderful items.

shell shop

Our last stop was to a small nursery, also on Main Street. Walking around the many plants and flowers, I was reminded of a recent trip to Carmel,California. I loved exploring while Mom made her choice and purchased a few flowering plants to take home to her garden.

It really was amazing to see all that was available on that wonderful little street that is the heart of Seal Beach.

nursery 2

It was a perfect day, and we promised each other we would do it again, soon.  Who knows, maybe the next time we will dip our toes in the Pacific.

 

 

 

Revisiting Los Laureles Lodge in Carmel Valley, California

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los lauralesLos Laureles

My husband, Martin and I celebrated our wedding anniversary while away on vacation. It wasn’t planned that way, but it so happened we were in Carmel, California on August 1st. We thought it would be fun to drive to the Carmel Valley and look for Los Laureles Lodge where we’d spent part of our honeymoon 44 years ago. We didn’t know if it still existed. Well, it does and it’s thriving. It has several more buildings now, including a restaurant and wedding chapel. We met a couple who were newly married and holding their reception at the lodge. It was a wonderful day and although Los Laureles Lodge has changed, it brought back many happy memories of a wonderful honeymoon spent in Carmel Valley 44 years ago.

Camping in Santa Maria, California

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Grounds of Fess Parker Winery

 

 

It has been a great day filled with gorgeous views of mountains and ocean. We left early this morning and arrived in Santa Maria just before noon. Even the Los Angeles traffic co-operated with our plans and was fairly light.
We had an enjoyable drive north and are now set up in a beautiful camp site. But even when everything goes smoothly, the  first day of camping can be tiring.  I could not resist taking this photo of my husband, Martin and Annika relaxing after dinner.

It is lovely and cool in Santa Maria, but I hear it was very hot at home today. I hope our house sitter remembers to water my outdoor plants before going to bed. As you can tell, my thoughts are never very far from home.martin and Annika resting