Santa Barbara

Mission Santa Bárbara was founded 4 December 1786 (10^th in order) by Padre Fermin Francisco de Lasuén. The mission is named for Saint Barbara and carries the nickname “Queen of the Missions” for its beautiful exterior (the Indian name was Taynayan). It is the only mission with two towers. Parts of the water system for the mission are still in use today by the city of Santa Barbara. The church is active. 

 

 

Long Hair rant

Scroll on by if ya don't wanna hear me crab about a subject that bugs the hell outta me.  My intention is not to offend anyone.

This is referring to women with long hair.  I think long hair is beautiful.  Some women wear it better than others.  I'm speaking of long hair that is the right length to pull back and wear in a ponytail.  Thick gorgeous hair that I could never have but have never lusted over because I knew that style was just never me or my fine locks.

Now picture a female, any age really long gorgeous hair.  It's hot out.  I am in line behind this human.  Now this is what bugs me about females with long hair.........................the female in front of me is playing with her hair.  Not just playing, twisting strands, then reaching in her pocket  and pulling out a twisty thing, flips her hair several times, once in my face because the guy behind me is standing so close I cannot move away.   So I step to the side  while in front of me said female flings her hair back and forth to get the right angle I guess for her to contain her long locks. 

I guess it wouldn't have bothered me so much but I had an open tray of food I was holding. Now this was not the only time this type of incident has happened........... more times than I can remember.

Summertime favorite

for many that would be strawberries.  That includes this household.  And we are a lucky household because we happen to be in the very finest growing area for strawberries, well actually berries of all kinds.  This area is great for growing tasty grapes for your wine pleasure.  But strawberry growers from the area feed the USA and some areas of Canada.  

this is what a strawberry should look like red all the way thru

Unfortunately you may notice a price increase this year in a lot of your produce not just berries.  You can blame it on the drought we are having in California.  Just remember we are all paying the price even though most of the berries are grown in our back yard.  Wonder what it's going to do to the wine prices.

We hear this may be an El Niño year but if you read all the quotes you'll see it is not to be a solution to our drought situation.  So..........

The life of an RV'er

I have written more than once about our life in our RV.  It can be quite rewarding .  Think about it.  Your retired without a care in the world traveling around the USA and Canada meeting up with old friends and making new ones.  Aaaaahhhh there's the tiny problem.  Well not a problem really just a difficulty.  Making new friends and then moving on to another area.  But then we do have a bit of Gypsy in our soul.

As we have traveled in our RV we have visited almost every state in the Continental US and several Provinces in Canada.

Have been rewarded with making new friends everywhere we have dropped anchor. We have situated ourselves of late, near family which is such a plus.  My family actually,  as Mr's family is waaaay up in Canada.  Nothing better than talking to my sister and planning a day of meeting up and having lunch and just being together.  

Where we are now it's like a small family.  Occasionally we may enjoy meals together, potluck style. You never know who is gonna come by to share a meal.  Certainly all are welcome. The weather here is a bit cooler in the evenings so a warm meal around a well built fire is quite welcome.  This weekend the weather will still be on the cool side so I'm going to make my posole.  Find the recipe here.  This is a hearty soup stew kinda meal, perfect for this weather.   Someone will surely make cornbread or bring some crusty bread.

This could be a fun summer


 

An abundance of lemons

Well at least there used to be.  In 1875, 3,000 lemon trees were planted in the first commercial lemon orchard planting in California. Goleta's earliest commercial irrigation also took place on the ranch, and you can still visit 'Lake Los Carneros, the pond created by the Stows. Sherman Stow's son, state senator Edgar Whitney Stow, set up a research laboratory at the ranch and developed disease resistant lemon rootstock of great value to local growers.

The Stow House was once the headquarters of Rancho La Patera. In 1871, William Whitney Stow, a legal counsel for Southern Pacific Railroad in San Francisco, purchased 1,043 acres (4.22 km²) costing $28,677 for his son, Sherman P. Stow. Sherman Stow built a Carpenter Gothic Victorian style home on the site and moved into the house with his bride, Ida G. Hollister, in 1873. The family expanded the house in two major renovations in the 1880s and 1910s. The house was occupied by three generations of Stow descendants

The house museum displays family photographs and furniture, with stories of Sherman and Ida Stow and their many descendants.  


This gorgeous,  historic venue is available for daytime (until sunset) events. The property surrounding the home is quite charming.

this photo was copied from http://stowhouse.com/venue-rental/

 If ever in this area stop by this venue as it is well worth the time.

It's all about the cheese

And we here love cheese. I am especially fond of fresh burrata.  Now burrata has been around for awhile and it seems it is getting quite trendy.  A couple of my favorite eateries  have burrata on their menu.  Fancy, schmancy hamburger joints are putting this cheese on their burgers. Have yet to try that.

My favorite way to eat this delite is to replicate this photo.  Now Mr is somewhat still a bit skeptical of this cheese,  but hey leaves more for me.

 

You will  find the ingredients and directions here

Meredith has some great recipes on her blog so while you are there take a peek around her blog.

Settling in

If you like wine this is the area to visit.

  It takes a bit to settle in when you travel to a new RV place.  We were in Southern Arizona for several months and you tend to get imbedded in to your spot.  So pulling up anchor and moving can be a bit of a chore.  We are now in Southern California , actually in the beautiful area of the Santa Ynez Valley and loving every minute of our visit.  Hoping to be here for awhile.

 For more views of the beautiful vistas.....................

Nice thought

I found the page on Pinterest.  Would be nice if it was colored and hung out on my desktop or maybe yours.

 

 

 

 

 

On the move again

This move will take us to the area of Santa Barbara.  Beautiful wine country and near the ocean.  And I know this is kinda odd to mention but in the area they grow some of the best strawberries known to mankind.

What is quite special is that hopefully we shall be at this location awhile. And working with some of the nicest people we have ever worked with.  Talk about a bonus.  Not everyone can be that fortunate.  

I wrote here how this all started.  In fact I wrote a lot about our impending adventure of trying to get out of the  "blue tarp" state.  

We will be sharing a lot of local information and photos of the area so ...................

A new annoyance

I have a new annoyance.  You know the kind of thing that drives ya crazy but you can deal with.  I have a colic at the crown of my head.

I have had it about a year or so.  Thinking I could handle this I decided to let my hair grow out a bit.  Thinking the longer locks would tame the annoying colic.........NOT dang it!!

So yesterday I got my hair cut short AGAIN..............the hell with the colic.  I'll invest in a lot of product.  My hair and temperament handles shorter hair better most days.  Well except for figuring out how to tame the colic. 

I color my hair only because  I was brought into this world with fine hair  I think that's why hair color was invented for women like me.  But can I say the oddest thing happened when I reached my late 50's maybe early 60's..............my hair developed a curl.  Well not really a curl more like a bend.  Some hairdressers think I have the remnants of an old perm.  I haven't had a perm in lord knows when.  But the slight bend is there and can be helpful in someways however not for this blasted colic.


If you have a solution or a trick let me know I would be quite grateful.

Back to the task at hand

I'm going thru all of these CD's that contain photos from the last ten years.  What a fun and boring job.  Fun in the case where it jogs your memory of favorite people, places or things.  I'm gonna refer you to this post so as not to repeat myself.
But while browsing thru some of these CD's I came upon this photo.  It had a tag that it was taken  in Canada.  I am thinking it was when we first got on the road with our RV and ended up traveling the year and driving 27, 000 miles.  What a trip and tons of memories especially visiting with dear friends in Canada.

Just sorry I didn't save this in a larger format.

 

Ya never know I could find more favorites - so......................................

Well dang it.................

after the dreaded final trip to the dentist I got a birthday gift...............a stomach bug.  Shoot man three days flat on my butt.  And then a couple a days of rather shaky moments of what to eat and don't go too far from the loo  

OK that's over now on to the important stuff.  First off it's St Patrick's Day my first thought was corned beef and cabbage............eeewwww not so much after the past week of stomach rumblings.  Beef stew!!  Perfect for the outside temps of 90 - 95 degrees here in the Southwest.  But hey it's St Patrick's Day.

OK we'll get that out of the way and move on to the real projects at hand.  

We will be leaving this area that we have become so fond of and going to California.  Precisely Buellton which is on the Santa Ynez River in the Santa Ynez Valley, and in 2004 was one of the fastest-growing towns in central Santa Barbara County. It is a common stop for travelers on U.S. Highway 101, being the first town north of Santa Barbara after the scenic and undeveloped stretch of about 25 miles (40 km) through the Gaviota coast.    Did I mention this is yummy wine country.  Oh my the many vineyards and the best area for growing strawberries you have ever tasted.

I digress it's seems it always goes to food.  But there are some pretty tasty eateries in that area.  And some of the best folks ever.  

Needless to say.....................

A good reason

and an apology for not keeping up with my post to this blog.  Busy, busy time for us right now and DENTAL SURGERY FOR ME.................ugggghhhh!!  

So I'll be back in a few days good as new...........

Much needed rain........

taking place in the Golden State of California.  And I am thrilled because we will be traveling there in a few weeks and along the way, if the sun is shinning, there will be wildflowers popping up along our journey.  Norm will hear me pleading.............."Oh wait stop here". I will share any photos I may get along the way. 

Please pass this on

I have been following this woman and her blog for awhile now.  She is a terrific writer full of humor and good sense.  But her latest writing is especially good and something we all need to stop and think about.


http://laugh-lines.net/be-kind-somewhere-a-cat-will-thank-you#comment-45975

Taos, New Mexico

Many, many years ago my dear Sister and I went on a fun road trip from Los Angeles to Taos, New Mexico.  This writing is not about that trip but you can read about it here.
This post is to share some photos taken and short blurb about Mr Doodles and I when we visited the area.

One of my very favorite stops was  El Santuario de Chimayo.    The area is stunning in a very simple way and terrific for taking photos.  Remember when you go be reverent as this is a very sacred spot.

http://www.elsantuariodechimayo.us/

Then we wandered over to the very famous Taos Pueblo.  Just remember when/if you go please be courteous and ask for permission to take photos because it's the right thing to do.  Actually a couple of my photos ended up in a travel magazine back then.

http://www.restauranteur.com/gabriels/

Now if you have read my blog before you will know there is always FOOD involved.  Yep this is one of the very best restaurant we have eaten in in a very long time. It sits on the Northern edge of Santa Fe not all that far from Taos.  Oh and surrounded by three, yep three Indian gaming establishments.  We stayed at a decent RV park for three or four days. I say decent because it was American Indian Tribal owned and they are never fancy at all  just the basics........ oh and quite reasonable.

Caesar Chavez

While spending time in the Bakersfield area one Spring we took a day trip.  We had heard there was a memorial to Caesar Chavez.  One of the most recognized leaders of the Latin community.  What a moving time in history.  We lived in California at that time and I remember how hard  Mr Chavez worked for his people.  It was the first time I ever heard the word activist.  Caesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta were the leaders of the movement which was called the National Farm Workers Association.  The sacrifices theses people made for their cause was amazing.  There was also a movie made about Mr Chavez and the movement.  I believe it was last year.  If you get a chance watch it if you can.

I believe the small community of Keene California is the location the this memorial.

Of course cactus and California Poppies set the scene at the entrance to the memorial.

Now if you wanna see something interesting and if you enjoy trains the Tehachapi Loop is the thing to view

Moab Utah...........something for everyone

We spent a summer in Gunnison, Colorado a couple of years ago and when we left in the Fall we took our time to head South to Southern California.  On the way we stopped in Moab, Utah.  What a great place for just about anyone.  If you like to take photos this is the place for you.  Some shopping can be done after enjoying some fine dinning.  We found a terrific RV resort where we parked for a few days.  

Now I have always wanted to get in one of those Jeeps and do some exploring.  You realize now I must do this with a guide because my dearly beloved sweetheart of a husband is absolutely scared to death of heights.  So getting in a jeep and climbing all over Arches National Park    was NOT something husband was going to do.  Knowing how much I wanted to do this all he said was "be careful and have fun".

I went late in the day so we would have a Sunset view.  WOW!!!!  But I must admit riding in a jeep at dusk is just a bit uncertain.  I did a couple a white knuckles clutches while coming down at dusk to the flat lands.  All in all I would do it again in a flash.  I hope you get a chance someday.
 

This is the Jeep and the guy that knew what he was doing

 

The views were amazing.

During our travels

We drove by a lot of animals.  For some reason cows took  the prize for taking photos the most time.  They just have some terrific expressions.  And some of these massive beefy four footed creatures are so colorful.

I think we were in Colorado but don't quote me.  This is one pair of bovine we come upon...............I hollered  "Oh my heavens Oreo cookie cows"!!

 

Oh Boy.................

I am about to enter into a huge time involved project.  

You see I have a new HP laptop, new laptops do not have CD drive capability, at least mine does not. I cannot tell you how many CD"s I have.  They all have photos, memories of our trips we have taken since we have retired. 

Now mind you that was only eight years ago.  We left the warm state of Florida with 5th wheel RV, truck and cat.  Oh and a brand new Canon Rebel camera.  Husband was quite accommodating when I would yell "oh could we stop here for some photos" PLEASE!!  I'm sure my dearly beloved was getting tired of pulling over.  Especially dragging a 5th wheel trailer that he has never driven before.  He was surely hoping the newness was going to wear off. 

I will share some of my favorite photos here for the next oh I don't know few weeks because that is how long this project is gonna take.  Here's hoping the external hard drive I bought has enough bytes.

Now what to do with those CD's once I have transferred the photos.  Any suggestions?

Winslow,AZ is an odd little town with a ton a history.