winter in Seattle

Saturday, 10 May 2014

Sailing the Abaco Sound

I am looking out at the San Jacinto Mountains, breathing in the dry hot desert air, and taking a moment to reflect since boarding our catamaran Caprise in March Harbour with special friends and I am loving looking back at 5 glorious days sailing (or was it camping at sea?) in the Abaco Sound.

We had big lumpy seas, moody skies, clear crisp evenings, stars, perfectly calm seas, sun, swimming, turtles, snorkeling, raising sails, lowering sails, walking beaches, starfish, journaling, navigating, early morning coffee brewing, pottering in the dingy, washing down the decks, bird watching, finding seashells, fabulous food, cocktails and wine, endless views, quirky small towns, laughter, story-telling, new friendships, old friendships, provisioning, shopping and just sitting and noticing….

….and each day we were in total awe of the cerulean sea, its ever changing hues from dark blue to turquoise to impossible greens.

…how true is this sign we saw on Man-O-War Cay.

Friday, 9 May 2014

A greasy spoon and James Dean

Moving on from the Big Sur we headed inland from Paso Robles and stopped at Jack's Ranch for a typical greasy spoon American breakfast - or at least Fred did, pancakes, syrup, crispy bacon, eggs sunny side up, mountain of fried potatoes...

What I did not realize that we were driving Hwy 46 and the infamous accident that killed James Dean in 1955 was on the intersection of the Hwy 46 and 41. The spot is just down the road from Jack's.

Thursday, 8 May 2014

Driving Big Sur, California

Our walk this morning along the coastal trail was invigorating, flowers glorious, what a magnificent place to be.

Wild flowers of the coastal meadows of the Big Sur

We saw a whale out to sea, pelicans doing flybys, vast numbers of seabirds, picked out Pigeon Guillemots, Pelagic Cormorants, California Sea Otters, Elephant Seals molting and flipping sands over their bodies to keep cool, a hare, Song Sparrows calling in the meadows….remarkable place to walk.

Some views of the Big Sur, hard to capture the scale and majesty of these vistas.

Fred taking a break from all the driving, almost 400 miles to date!

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

Remarkable Hearst Castle

William Randal Hearst writing to his mother Phoebe in 1917:

I love the sea and I love the mountains and the hollows in the hills and the shady places in the creeks and the fine old oaks and even the hot brushy hillsides - full of quail - and the canyons full of deer. Its a wonderful place. I would rather spend a month here than any other place in the world.

I agree with his sentiment, the setting of Hearst Castle is breath taking.

A fascinating slice of Americana history.

Tuesday, 6 May 2014

A day that ticks all the boxes

Small circle days evolved traveling in a campervan in New Zealand a few years ago. They were days spent quietly in a beautiful place, savoring, noticing, walking, learning and keeping the mileage down.

So my first California small circle day started in a town self-styled the happiest place in the US, San Luis Obispo.

Its a picturesque town near the Pacific coast, north of LA. Rolling volcanic hills, fertile soils, fabulous fresh produce and loads of history and art. Quirky interesting shops, loved this particular little store….

Any small circle day has to start with finding the right foodie place and my research led us to Big Sky Cafe for breakfast. Many mugs of good coffee while I savored the homemade ginger coffee cake and delish 'killer corncakes'. I loved the way my poached eggs were served in a ramekin with fresh food on the side, neat idea, a keeper.

A good small circle day involves discovery. The serene Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa in downtown SLO, was the fifth California mission founded by Father Junipeo Serra in 1772. A quiet sit in the church listening to music, a garden in flower, bells steeped in history, a well structured museum.

The day continued to tick all my boxes, superb olive oil tasting at Pasolivo and buying my first punchy intense California evo oil. Could not resist pesto, olive jam, and jalapeño mustard. Yum.

The Vineyard Road near Paso Robles was as beautiful as our winelands in the Cape. An avenue lined with huge oaks with Spanish Moss dripping from the branches.

Outstanding wine tasting at the organic vinery - Tablas, grape varietals were completely new to me like tannat and moudvedre. Day seemed to get even more languid after all the wine.

My first lifer for the US trip, Yellow-billed Magpie, a bird of the west coast here in California, handsome and gregarious! Also saw the Acorn Woodpecker - picking acorns.

Finally a walk.

We braved the wind and took in the spectacular rock formation at the harbor in Morro Bay.

To make sure the day suited Fred as well, finished with a wholesome burger.

I feel that I am finding place…. over 300 miles to date, only 2.5 miles walking...

Sunday, 4 May 2014

The USA road trip starts, quietly from Los Angeles up Hwy 1

Shock to the system; the transition from the warmth, humidity, sun, colors of the intimate cays of the Abaco's where we used a golf cart to potter around, to landing in LA, a vast sprawling urban jungle, with dry brown tones and chaotic highways.

Holed up in my hotel room getting the courage to head out on hwy 1to Malibu, Santa Monica and Santa Barbara. It is a sunday and sky is blue and the drive should be a good way to get started….