Back to travelogue, the road to Santa Barbara

From Santa Cruz we headed down the Pacific Highway to Santa Barbara. I got a scant few photographs of this lovely drive, but you get the sense of it from the few I took.

Eventually we turned slightly inland and were able to see the many fruit and vegetable farms that in some cases lie very close to the sea. We drove through orange and lemon and grapefruit groves as well. It's amazing how much food is grown in this area.

We had a date with an Apple MacBook Pro in Santa Barbara and I took this shot to remind me where I'd parked. I felt like my brain was in lockdown by that time! It was a long day.

Finally a cocktail when we got to the hotel. 

We were happy to be in Santa Barbara and ready to explore the campus the next day. 

A job half done...

Done:

Still to go:

When your day off is busier than the days "on"

It's been a busy week and I've been looking forward to today, Friday, because it was the one day on which I had nothing scheduled. A treasure of a day, right here on November Hill.

So I woke up and had coffee and worked on painting porch screens (finally, a dry stretch of days!) even though it was 96 out and I was dripping with sweat. Then I went out and gave Keil Bay his lunch tub and did some mucking and scrubbed troughs and water buckets and made sure all the waters were fresh and clean and cool straight from the well. Keil and Cody really only needed hosing but I decided to give them baths since it was so hot. 

Back inside, showered, ate lunch, and round two on the front porch. Scraped and sanded and then painted the porch rail so the newly-painted screen can go back later tonight.

I'm not sure how my day off has gone by so quickly! 

I need another one so I can get on to the next section of porch. I am hoping to finish this weekend before the rain comes back but we'll see.

Happy weekend!

Sun blaze, Cody

Whirling dervish trip to Asheville

Dear son is back from UCLA and his summer research and beginning his senior year of college today. I'm stopping by my favorite coffee shop before heading home to November Hill.

Feeling a mother's relief that he's back in driving range and the back to school stuff is now complete.