Missions and La Playa

Missions • Long overdue on my to-do list was stepping into California's founding history via its remarkable Missions. Walking through their well-landscaped inner courtyards, their frescoed inner sanctums and churches, their impressive museums filled with noteworthy paintings, sculptures, and both Spanish and Native American artifacts; I marveled at this important period in the state's history. The small towns where they are located still vibrate with a calming gentle pace of days gone by - some catering to the tourist throngs, some moving more slowly as though on hold from today's brisk pace.

Ojai • Ventura • Carpinteria • Los Olivos • Pismo Beach • San Luis Obispo • Santa Barbara

- Let me take you on a detour -

• Mission Santa Barbara •

 • Mission Santa Ines • 

 • Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa •

 • Mission San Buenaventura •

Playas • I am not much a beach person. I do not usually linger there. I was smitten this time. Shorelines went on forever. The soft hues of the light made geometric patterns in soft shades of pale creams and faded grays and soft taupes; each pattern caressed by the slow moving ripples of the surf. The morning fog had wrapped the sky as the palm trees stood proud against it. 

• Pismo Beach •

• Carpinteria State Beach •

• Central Valley Twilight •

    Heading back north, the evening sky twirled and twirled away - it was out of this world.

I have been plotting in my mind the next time I go south - most likely a return along the Pacific Highway via Carmel, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Morro Bay, Big Sur, Cambria... 

For now, I stayed a bit closer to home - stay tuned for my latest weekend up the coast to Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley - in our turbulent world, these getaways are simply so good for the soul.

Enjoy as always ~ Adeline

Big Sur and beyond ~ light on the California Coast

Living in Northern California is a true blessing. It was on that same splendid trip visiting the iconic Hearst Castle, that I continue my journey around the Central Coast. To my delight, for that whole trip, I was extra blessed with the ideal companion. 

There is something about the California Coast that just rivets me. Its miles and miles of  sun-kissed rugged coastline are coated in breathtaking beauty. There are hidden coves, remote bluffs and bays, tucked away beaches, protected parks, wildlife sanctuaries, towering sand dunes and tide pools aplenty, and of course grand panoramic vistas as far as the eye can see.

Stay high above the ridges, or come down close to water's edge, or step on a bluff-top boardwalk, and you will quickly feel the cool breath of the Pacific Ocean caressing you and the coast's verdant craggy hillsides; all the while the deep blue sea beyond mirrors back at you.

I love how the painterly elements of Mother Nature come together in this next photo: the moody sky, the choppy seas, and the rough edged rocks. Stepping onto a bluff, we witnessed bold white and blue ocean waves crashing, molding the coastline, and assuredly eroding it without a care in the world.

The Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary in Pacific Grove opened its doors for us to catch the last glimpse of the butterflies before they migrate back thousands of miles to Mexico. Actually it's the fifth generation of them that reaches Mexico! After the obligatory gallery stroll though cute-as-a-button Carmel-by-the-Sea, we continued with another quintessential touristy moment; lazily winding through the world famous 17-mile-drive in Pebble Beach, with its frail but regally located Lone Cypress tree.  Later that day, the legendary Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur beckoned us for a refreshing apéritif on its terrace. 

    

I loved how we took a random turn-off off Highway 1 to discover a small windswept cove with purple and golden sands wiping our ankles. Perhaps a morning venture would have given us a moment to sit and make drawings in the sand, but not on that blistery afternoon!

    

   

We wrapped it all up with lounging elephant seals basking in the late afternoon light on the San Simeon Bay sands, before the perfect finale a little further south in that very laid-back beach town of Cambria with its mile-long Moonstone Beach Boardwalk meandering along the coastline for the perfect ocean-front stroll. Not to mention a stop at Cambria Glassworks in town, to see Ted Emrick's fantastic art (see my blog on his work). 

Another beautiful sunset was in store. Heading home we headed inland to sample local wines and native olive oils from the sloping hillsides of Paso Robles~ another picturesque area to come back to and explore at length.

On this getaway, the beautiful expanse of the Pacific Ocean was at our fingertips at every turn. We were in awe. We lingered. We admired. We breathed in the air. We dreamed. We savored. We smiled.

As always, I realized one thing, the same exquisite thing ~

… how good this is good for the soul

Enjoy, Adeline

Mendocino Coast

Today is the day after Thanksgiving. I could have been be dashing off to mega-stores, rushing and crushing against the masses, eagerly seeking the ultimate gift. 

Instead, I choose to gift myself with the many moods of the Mendocino coastline. Each time I am within its reach, I am transported in a swirl of peace, in a gift of thankfulness for this amazing area where I live. 

Down by the shoreline of the Pacific Ocean, I edge close to tide pools; I wrap myself in the cooling morning mist, the fog slowly lifting in small parcels across the sky. I climb into it, then over it. I smile.

Recent online reviews of the area mention how one simply must stop at the newly refurbished and family-owned Stewart's Point General Store - first opened in 1868. I am tempted. 

To my delight I discover that their small displays tucked here and there in the store are just like the vignettes of style and design that I treasure. I smile. I leave sandwich in hand and head seven miles inland to the ridge-top vistas of Annapolis Winery, another gem of a find!

Soon after Stewart's Point, the Sea Ranch beckons. Each time, I am drawn to its tranquility. There is a dreamy secret about it. The ocean in its endless vastness leaves me in awe every single time. I will not reveal too much. It is too precious.

The setting evening light after a long drive over the rugged ridge to Anderson Valley brings me full circle to Point Arena, in time for a relaxing twilight dinner with all the beauty that envelops the area.

I shall indeed give thanks… for witnessing the beauty and the life that revives my spirit every time I sense a tension in my being.

I do believe you will agree. It is good for the soul…