I looked out this morning and got an awful fright!! There was water all over the balcony. I looked around frantically to see where it was coming from....
.... the sky!
Well that's it so. No point in staying here when we could be in the rain at home!
So long SoCal.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Food facts!
I've learned a few new food names here. Some of you may be interested if you ever cross the Atlantic...
Arugula - rocket leaves
Cilantro - coriander leaf
Chipotle - smoked pepper (flavour usually)
Cape Capensis - hake!!!!
Mezquite - many of you may know it's a Mexican flavouring for marinades & sauces. Nothing to write home about, ha, ha!
Oh, yes - a fruit called pluot. I imagine it's supposed to be a cross between a plum and an apricot. It comes in various shades of plum and apricot. The yellow ones I bought taste and feel just lke plums. Disappointing.
Gatorade - in this heat it's fantastic for rehydration. It's like Lucozade Sport, but in more flavours. And of course it comes in 3 categories, for use: before, during and after sport. I'm a big fan!
And yesterday we went to Trader Joe's which is a better class of food store (they'd love me for that) where you can buy food that is all natural, including lots of sauces. I bought speculoos spread. It looks like peanut butter, but it's a biscuit based spread. I'm not opening it till I get home. I also bought coffee, ground. I was surprised there wasn't any wholebean. You could get espresso beans coated in dark chocolate, but I didn't bite!
Arugula - rocket leaves
Cilantro - coriander leaf
Chipotle - smoked pepper (flavour usually)
Cape Capensis - hake!!!!
Mezquite - many of you may know it's a Mexican flavouring for marinades & sauces. Nothing to write home about, ha, ha!
Oh, yes - a fruit called pluot. I imagine it's supposed to be a cross between a plum and an apricot. It comes in various shades of plum and apricot. The yellow ones I bought taste and feel just lke plums. Disappointing.
Gatorade - in this heat it's fantastic for rehydration. It's like Lucozade Sport, but in more flavours. And of course it comes in 3 categories, for use: before, during and after sport. I'm a big fan!
And yesterday we went to Trader Joe's which is a better class of food store (they'd love me for that) where you can buy food that is all natural, including lots of sauces. I bought speculoos spread. It looks like peanut butter, but it's a biscuit based spread. I'm not opening it till I get home. I also bought coffee, ground. I was surprised there wasn't any wholebean. You could get espresso beans coated in dark chocolate, but I didn't bite!
'Our' walk.
We walk on Moulton Meadows which is a park and wilderness trail just up the hill from our house. Here are a few pics to give you the idea of the route we take. First, going uphill, we pass some great architectural feats - houses built on stilts to make the most of their land area, which in most cases is a very steep sloping site!
And of course the pepper trees! Yes, they are peppercorns!
The park has a new playground since last year, as well as revamped basketball practice ground, and of course the tennis courts. There are a few BBQ pits, where groups or families can gather for a meal together, lots of space for the kids to play, no worries about preparing the house, and everyone can bring home their own washing up!!
That took a bit of engineering!!
So here are the few plants, as promised. In a place that is so dry it's amazing to see what plants can grow. I especially like the cactus among the dry grass, and that dry purple one we often get in flower arangements!
On our way back I took a few photos of houses and the views on the route downhill:
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| Undergoing restoration. |
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| Front wheels!! |
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| Corvette |
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| This Pontiac seldom moves! |
Then we reach the park. There's a walkway around it, with exercise points, where you can stop and work out, if the mood takes you!
When we have done a circuit of the park we wander out into the wilderness trail, towards a place aptly called Top of the World. The path runs along the top of the ridge between the valleys and the sea, and ends at Top of the World, where a large sign clearly states that you are not welcome any farther on. What a pity that people have to feel they need to exclude hikers. The trail has to go around the back of some of their houses until it meets the road again further on. Anyway, here are a few pics. I'll add some of the vegetation ones at the end.
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Lots of cyclists use the trail.  |
At the top I tried to take a panorama in 3 shots. You'll have to adjust your right eye!!
So here are the few plants, as promised. In a place that is so dry it's amazing to see what plants can grow. I especially like the cactus among the dry grass, and that dry purple one we often get in flower arangements!
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| The fire fighting system is very impressive. |
On our way back I took a few photos of houses and the views on the route downhill:
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| Hat-hair extraordinaire!!! |
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| Our house - see Irish flag? |
Aging Hippies?
Well of course California was the birthplace of the Hippies and yes, they are still here. I often heard the term 'aging hippies', but actually, they aren't as much aging as aged, by now!!!
Laguna Beach was first an artistic community, then a hippie community. And in the words of one local, then it became a yuppie community and now it's a rich community!
But the original hippies are still in evidence, albeit more groomed, nipped and tucked. They still wear jeans, shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, and they are still groovy people! (Most of them are still blonde too ;-).
Every Sunday at the Arts Festival grounds there's a Beatles tribute band playing, and we stepped it out with the grooviest of them to dance in front of the stage!!
They have no hang-ups here about bringing your own picnic to a concert venue. You have to get there early to get a table. Some people go all out, bringing tablecloth, napkins, candles as well as the 'essential' coolbox, often on wheels. We were lucky to get 4 chairs. American Express had reserved a lot of tables - for its valued customers, no doubt ;-)
Oh yeah - I forgot to mention - there was a queue inside the park area when we got there, but we didn't take too much notice of it. About an hour later there were excited screams of young girls! Yes, some famous people were arriving! Well - the cast of Criminal Minds, not sure if it's on Irish TV, but it's a TV show here. They stayed an hour, did some interviews probably, had a photo-shoot and signed autographs for the fans.
And it's good to see that the next generation of hippy-types is going strong too! I thought these two looked cool. They were waiting for the tide to go out a bit so they could go out on the rocks for some reason.
Laguna Beach was first an artistic community, then a hippie community. And in the words of one local, then it became a yuppie community and now it's a rich community!
But the original hippies are still in evidence, albeit more groomed, nipped and tucked. They still wear jeans, shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops, and they are still groovy people! (Most of them are still blonde too ;-).
Every Sunday at the Arts Festival grounds there's a Beatles tribute band playing, and we stepped it out with the grooviest of them to dance in front of the stage!!
They have no hang-ups here about bringing your own picnic to a concert venue. You have to get there early to get a table. Some people go all out, bringing tablecloth, napkins, candles as well as the 'essential' coolbox, often on wheels. We were lucky to get 4 chairs. American Express had reserved a lot of tables - for its valued customers, no doubt ;-)
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| The car is a raffle prize. |
And it's good to see that the next generation of hippy-types is going strong too! I thought these two looked cool. They were waiting for the tide to go out a bit so they could go out on the rocks for some reason.
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| His beard matched his pony-tail! |
Friday, August 17, 2012
Olympic gold in our midst!
Montage Resort
The top hotel in Laguna beach is the Montage Resort. It's a combination of suites, rooms, villas. Have a look at http://www.montagelagunabeach.com/
When it was being developed, the access to the beach had to be preserved for the community, so there are beautifully manicured gardens through which you can walk down to the beach (down being the operative word - it sits on a cliff-top). The great thing about the beach is that it's very sheltered and gentle swimmers can swim there without being disturbed by the surf that is so prevalent along the coast here.
Two of the villas (privately owned) here are for sale on today's paper: $27million plus, each!
Photos taken with phone, so not the highest quality.
When it was being developed, the access to the beach had to be preserved for the community, so there are beautifully manicured gardens through which you can walk down to the beach (down being the operative word - it sits on a cliff-top). The great thing about the beach is that it's very sheltered and gentle swimmers can swim there without being disturbed by the surf that is so prevalent along the coast here.
Two of the villas (privately owned) here are for sale on today's paper: $27million plus, each!
Photos taken with phone, so not the highest quality.
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| Lots of little seating areas overlooking the beach |
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| Watering for man and dog! |
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| Steps from road to garden |
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Undertakers - you have been warned!
In the newspapers here, people write beautiful obituaries for their loved ones, where we would put death notices in the paper. So the death notice includes a brief life-history of the person. Then there are details of the funeral services and often, as we have, options to donate to worthy causes close to the heart of the deceased.
However, the other day, instead of a funeral service, there was a website set up in memory of the deceased! You could go there, from the comfort of your own home and pay tribute to the person who had died!
Can you see that taking on across the water? I certainly can! Undertakers (and churchmen!), you have been warned!
However, the other day, instead of a funeral service, there was a website set up in memory of the deceased! You could go there, from the comfort of your own home and pay tribute to the person who had died!
Can you see that taking on across the water? I certainly can! Undertakers (and churchmen!), you have been warned!
Women's Lib 21st century
We had to pull off the highway for petrol, in Ventura. Just in case you think the USA is leading the world in every aspect of culture, I thought I'd take a shot of this sign outside a Poker Bar:
Wel done lads! I suppose ye think ye can fleece the ladies at the poker tables!
Santas
So many towns are named after saints here, because of the strong monastic tradition. There was a camino or pilgrimage route from San Fransisco (I think) to somewhere in Mexico... So it's San for the males and Santa for the female saints, mostly... yesterday we passed a road sign for Santa Claus!
Santa Barbara
On Tuesday we took the 3 hour drive north to Santa Barbara.It was intended to be a base for touring as far as Big Sur, but we underestimated the distance involved, so we decided to enjoy Sta Barbara and forget about stressing ourselves with more driving, especially as we'd be turning around almost immediately and driving back in the dark! Big Sur, got its name from the Mexicans who called it El Sur Grande which means the Big South, or probably more poetically the 'magnificent South' (of San Fran). Some other time! It isn't going anywhere - unless there's an earthquake!
Our hotel in Sta Barbara was the Mason Beach Inn, 5 minutes walk from the beach, very comfortable with all we needed for a one night stopover:
Here are a few photos of the beach. As you can see it's sheltered by the mountains behind, so it's a very peaceful cove - no surf, for a change.
Later, as the sun was going down, we walked out to the end of Stearns Wharf. Not as glitzy as Santa Monica etc, but all the better for that:
As we walked along in the evening, I took a few more photos, just to give you a feel for the place. It was so laid-back and friendly. All the buildings were low, and the gardens were beautifully set out. The ubiquitous palm trees just added to that California feeling!
Later we explored the main street, State St, which has all the usual high end label shops as well as a few interesting bars, O'Malley's & the James Joyce among them. The Old King's Rd had an unusual street number and door sign!
Took the next one just because of the name:
There's a fair bit of Union Jackery around, because of the Olympics, and the tourists of course! But, we haven't been in a town yet (anywhere) that doesn't have an Irish pub!
Later, we went for a meal at Brophy Brothers down on the marina. It was recommended by Kevin & Cathy and didn't disappoint. www.brophybros.com This place is a victim of its own success - we had a 45 minute wait for a table, but that's to be expected by all accounts. The food was delish! Aidan had giant scampi and I opted for crab cakes. There was a choice of salad, chowder, chips or rice as sides (2 of) and the menu was huge - you'll have to look at the website for more info, because the battery died in the camera (again!) (no wonder!!) The only downside of the place was that it was packed, like sardines (pardon the pun) and so noisy!
After that, we wandered back to State St, for a look at the night life. Some of the bars were jumpin'. We saw the seedier side of the place though as we walked north, with a few approaches for cigarette, money etc, before we turned back. And finally, in the Blue Agave, www.blueagavesb.com we saw how bartender and locals put themselves out to care for a young girl who had obviously had too much to drink and had been robbed of her bag and phone and lost her friends. All in all, a very positive exerience in Santa Barbara!
Our hotel in Sta Barbara was the Mason Beach Inn, 5 minutes walk from the beach, very comfortable with all we needed for a one night stopover:
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| Evening at the Mason Beach!
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| The mountains kep the clouds out! |
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| The pier is called Stearns Wharf |
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| The marina |
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| Paddleboarding s the new surfing! |
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| Fish n chips on the wharf! |
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| I love these timber buildings! |
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| Yes, it's breezy!!! |
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| End of the pier! |
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| A bit scary - but obiously not for one Foxy sticker poster! |
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| I loved the village feel. |
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| Mostly food stalls.
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Later, we went for a meal at Brophy Brothers down on the marina. It was recommended by Kevin & Cathy and didn't disappoint. www.brophybros.com This place is a victim of its own success - we had a 45 minute wait for a table, but that's to be expected by all accounts. The food was delish! Aidan had giant scampi and I opted for crab cakes. There was a choice of salad, chowder, chips or rice as sides (2 of) and the menu was huge - you'll have to look at the website for more info, because the battery died in the camera (again!) (no wonder!!) The only downside of the place was that it was packed, like sardines (pardon the pun) and so noisy!
After that, we wandered back to State St, for a look at the night life. Some of the bars were jumpin'. We saw the seedier side of the place though as we walked north, with a few approaches for cigarette, money etc, before we turned back. And finally, in the Blue Agave, www.blueagavesb.com we saw how bartender and locals put themselves out to care for a young girl who had obviously had too much to drink and had been robbed of her bag and phone and lost her friends. All in all, a very positive exerience in Santa Barbara!
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