A state so nice, we went there twice

We decided we needed another vacation, so Scott invited us to go sailing on Argan and Gloria's boat in Southern California, and invited Argan to sail us around on said boat. Luckily for us, our nice friends generously agreed to this. We met Argan in Long Beach and had some time to kill before the boat was ready. He asked if we wanted to see a spectacle. Answer: yes, always, yes. Destination: Venice Beach.

(Venice Beach - a.k.a. Muscle Beach)

Muscle Beach proves adults don't outgrow the delight of using playground equipment.

Next thing we knew, Scott was mixing with the locals.

These two beefy strangers were sweet as pie. They seemed not to mind when we interrupted their Sunday workout and asked them to pose for photos, or the fact that we weren't tan.

It was an unusually grey day in LA, which for rhyming purposes is great.

... not so much for swimming in the ocean.

I think skateboarding was born somewhere around here. 

I say this with affection, Venice Beach is weird. 

This isn't necessary related, but there happened to be a Hare Krishna festival happening the morning we were there, which included an incredible parade.

The peaceful, colorful Hare Krishnas were followed by a group of protestors with megaphones, who were followed by the police. I also spotted a one-eared dog. What a place, what a country, these United States.

At one point we noticed a man rinsing himself and a ladder in one of the beach showers. Huh, wonder what the ladder's for.

We saw him again a while later. Turns out, THIS, this is what the ladder's for. To elevate his snake handling show! I think the snakes were rubber, but everything else was for real.

The next day we sailed. Scott was Argan's deck hand. He learned all kinds of knots and sailing terms, which as it turns out, there are a lot of both to learn.

We went from Long Beach to Newport. Here are the morning views from where we stayed between Newport Beach and Balboa Island.

That's a little sailing school parade, off to race in small circles. Ahoy there!

We took the dinghy to Balboa Island for breakfast. Balboa Island is all nautical charm and summertime ease.

California is good at flowers.

And blue skies.

I think these guys were refreshing the mooring balls. I don't know for sure, because so much about sailing and the industry of the sea is a mystery to me.

Scott, bless him. He fished for days. He caught a small junk fish the first time he dropped his hook in the water, and nothing else the whole rest of the time. 

Argan and Scott fiddled with the gennaker sail. I don't know anything except it made for beautiful picture time.

He accidentally let go of the end. Fly free, sail!

I realize I may often be guilty of exaggerating whimsy in the context of my photos, but this is true. Our neighbor in Newport was a seal, who lived one boat over. He lay on the stern most of the day and night, and occasionally barked at other seals. We motored the dinghy close so I could get a picture, after which he bared his teeth at us without opening an eye.

Below are junior life guards on the last day of camp.

They all got to jump off the pier and swim to shore.

When we got back to Long Beach, we toured the Queen Mary, which is a retired cruise ship permanently docked in the bay. She is a grand old ship. During World War II, they painted her grey and used her to transport soldiers across the Atlantic.

I learned that on the audio tour.

We also took the paranormal tour, and learned the Queen Mary is haunted with ghosts galore!

That's all I have as far as photos from my big camera. I am forever behind in uploading my phone photos, so there may be more to come. Argan and Gloria are the nicest for indulging our vacation wishes. It was all so nice.  

going to california

Songs have been written about this great state, so many songs. Queue some up in your mind now, and view these overdue pictures from our trip in May with Natalie and Kahlil. We flew to San Francisco a few days before a wedding, rented a car and drove down the coast to Santa Cruz.

We pulled off the roadside whenever the notion struck and gazed in wonder at the West Coast. 

What a sight for sore eyes, the ocean always is. 

We took a bathroom break in a grand seaside hotel. Scott disappeared. We followed the music to find him tickling the ivories in a conference hall. I'm sure the Association of Union Constructors would have retained his entertainment services if they could have, but we had places to be.

We did a U-turn to get back to this stately old landmark and take a closer look. It's also a youth hostel!

These two are delightful travel companions, not to mention in love.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, was that really the name? Every scene straight out of a painting.

Natalie and I paused to praise the California flora, especially the succulents, frequently and profusely.

A hundred million selfies were taken. All the photos in this post are from my big clunky DSLR, but I have a whole slew on my iPhone and Scott's too, and I'll post some of those soon! Don't worry. There are so many more. Lucky for us all. Practically every moment was commemorated in photo.

Who doesn't consider leaving it all behind to live in a lighthouse?

We didn't quite realize it yet, but we were reaching a stage of giddy travel exhaustion, that made all the world a stage. Especially when confronted with objects from another time. Like lighthouses. And phone booths. 

California. Stop it with the vistas. They are hurting my heart at this point. It is too much at once.

We came upon part of an old ship's porthole, propped up on a trail near the beach. I told them to pose for a portrait, and here is what happened. Gosh, I love these three. 

We rented a little cottage in Santa Cruz, a couple blocks from the beach. It was just right, and not an exaggeration to say there were rainbows and unicorns. 

After settling in, we strolled down the street to watch the Californians ride waves in the setting sun.

The one in the victory stance was howling in joy, yes. 

Scott and I took a walk at dawn to see the sun come up.

Scott, by the by, was the first one up every morning to the increasing chagrin of all once we started to adjust to Pacific Coast Time. I'm sure not one of us will forget waking up to the Lion King's opening theme song one particular day. But I will say, he wouldn't let us waste any daylight, bless his heart. 

And bless you, beautiful Santa Cruz. 

The flowers, you guys. Sweet and plentiful and dripping like honey. Natalie says the immaculate yards we exclaimed upon in Santa Cruz were likely the work of hired gardeners. Good work, gardeners!

Madrone Avenue: where we stayed! 

It's a little hard to see, but that rock was covered in barking seal lions. We saw sea otters too, floating on their backs, unconcerned amongst the surfers. It occurred to me that East Coasters taking photos of sea lions is similar to Europeans taking pictures of squirrels in Central Park. 

Natalie was made for a beach lifestyle. This is what she was doing when we came back from our morning exploring. Yoga in the salty sea air. 

And she is at one with the big trees. Actually, here she was impersonating a Cape Cod blue blood. She and Scott were similarly attired in button down shirts under pullovers. They told a gas station attendant they were visiting from Massachusetts when we rode into the forest our second day to visit Big Basin Redwoods State Park. 

In Big Basin, Natalie and Kahlil went on a run in one direction and Scott and I another. For those of you who are regulars to this blog, you should not be surprised that Scott and I got lost in the woods. But we kept running and didn't despair (for very long), and eventually made it back to our meeting point. Scott made a series of videos chronicling our adventure, which he will show you if you ask. Above is a burl, a kind of tree deformity, but highly prized for making bowls and other things useful to humans. Poachers lately have been chopping the trees down to get to the burls! What is the world coming to. 

The big trees are ancient and magical. That's me and the Father of the Forest, circumference at ground 66 ft. 9 inches, height 250 feet. What a life. Carry on, good sir.

Back in Santa Cruz, Scott and Kahlil jumped a barrier to continue their California exploration and walk on this peninsula. They are pals for life. 

I spied some sand art on this little beach. 

And some land art: Natural Bridges State Park.

That lifeguard stand looks like a bug to me. 

Our time in Santa Cruz was short. We had a wedding to get to! So it was back up the coast to Tiburon. We stopped at Twin Peaks Park for a photo op on the way through San Francisco. 

What a view up there. Like sitting on edge of the sky.

SPEAKING OF VIEWS!

On the day of the wedding we had a little time to kill and went to see Point Reyes National Seashore. It was awe inspiring. At one point we were writing Eric's vows, we were so in touch with all the love on planet Earth, drinking in these views. Luckily he paid no mind to any messages we may have left with suggestions. Do you see the little speck that is Scott running on that trail? The wind was screaming and cold here! 

We had to run to stay warm. And we had to run because we were young and exhilarated.

Seals, yonder on that beach. 

Anyway, I brought my phone to take pictures at the wedding, and this is the end of the ones on my big camera, except for our last minute visit to the Golden Gate Bridge right before flying home. There are about twelve more photos of Scott and I here, all different poses. This is just a small sample:

You get the picture. 

It's neat because there's a fort right under the bridge!

We even saw a helicopter fly under the bridge (not pictured, but true!). Just to summarize, this was a good trip.