CARPINTERIA STATE BEACH CAMPGROUND

One of my favorite places in the world. Gorgeous sunny days, warm sand, wide spacious oceanfront, spectacular sunsets and best of all-planned and unplanned grandchildren visits! Wish we could be here the entire time, but CA sadly limits length of stays, can't imagine why😕


We are here for a week, then to a very kid-unfriendly park. It was the only place that had space for this Thanksgiving week. It redeems itself a little with a heated pool and hot tub! Jim and Serena are running a 10k race in Santa Barbara on Thanksgiving morning (I know, it's a thing with them). The afternoon will be spent with the Patterson family. Some of the most gracious, welcoming and warm people on this planet. Dan has known them from his childhood in Holland, MI. Dan and Serena are family to them and we get to be family too for special occasions.

Super moon from Carp Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

FAMOUS AND FABULOUS?

It's no secret that Santa Barbara (SB) is a very wealthy community. Less known Montecito, is even more so. Oprah's  supposedly SB home is actually in the Montecito hills. Carpinteria also has its contingent of rich and famous. Just to mention a few names: Kevin Costner, Brittany Speers, Brad Paisley and Pierce Brosnan have all been spotted around town.

Our car, 2000 Honda CRV, was in desperate need of a wash. There is only one car wash in Carp. Very low key and part of a gas station. Yet, you would be hard pressed to find a rival anywhere in the Chicago area. Six men work on your car at the same time! All done by hand. As we walk to the lovely patio provided for waiting, the car in front of ours come out. It's a brand new, very shiny, very black (are you ready?) Ferrarri! It's owner is already sitting in the patio. He actually smiles and says "hello". Unmistakable, he looks just like his brothers. He's Billy Baldwin, one of the four Baldwin brothers. Serena says they all live in the surrounding area.

We had occasion to be at the SB Cottage Hospital complex. In the lobby, there is a lovely little cafe. It only has about eight small tables. Each table is set with linen tablecloths, heavy silverware and linen napkins! Only in SB!

Campfire at Carpinteria State Beach

CALIFORNIA DREAMING-NOT

When last I left you, we were approaching CA. Our first campground was Lake Casitas State Recreation Area, which is also where we will spend the Dec. - March months. It's about 30 minutes away from Serena. Lovely huge campsites and views. It's high desert, so temps are cooler at night (we expect to have freezing temps some winter mornings) and climb into the 70s most days. Our first weekend, we met lovely weekend neighbors with great conversations about rving, grandchildren and retirement! They all clear out on Sunday and it's blissfully empty during the week!

Caelan handling the soccer ball

Serena and family came to visit. Sage made friends with the neighbor grandchild and they constructed a raccoon trap hoping to catch the resident (only one?) raccoon seen in the vicinity the previous night. This grandma will be happy not to meet him.

STUFF I FORGOT

We've been on a whirlwind. At least it feels like it. We changed everything in our lives. There is no 'old normal' and as yet, no 'new normal'. Hopefully that will change once we settle in in CA. I find myself longing for some kind of normal. I'm not feeling much. I think I have had a lot of change and I need to give grace to myself.

Today we left Pahrump, NV. Six days there at a beautiful Lakeside Resort. In the middle of the desert, this place has a lovely lake with water fowl. It is part of a casino complex as are many of the campgrounds in NV. There is no pressure to gamble and most ,of them are rated very highly. I got out for great morning walks and Jim kept up his running routine.  This is the view during my walks.

And for all our Family Camp friends, we discovered where Jaybird lives! Jaybird St., Pahrump, NV.
Who knew?

The completed crochet project

Beautiful Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam in Paige, AZ

WATER SCULPTURE

Still on the Navaho lands, we moved to Paige, AZ to view the slot canyons. To access them required navigating many flights of open stairs.  By open, I mean the stair treads were grates which you can see right through. Since I'm not a lover of heights, these were a bit of a challenge. Five flights down, through spaces just big enough to handle a set of stairs, we reached the bottom. The path (led by our Navaho Guide) continued in a zigzag. There were a few places where 4-5 people could gather, and some narrow slots too. The rain-carved rock is spectacular! The colors brilliant. They defy description! Again, the pics do not do it justice.

TOWERS AND TERRACES

October 27 finds us in Monument Valley, UT. Stayed in a wonderful campground located in the valley. Each lot was terraced because it was on a slope. This meant everyone had an unobstructed view of the valley. No highway noise, no loud campers gave space for experiencing the peace and serenity of the valley.

View from the campsight

This valley is part of the Navaho lands. The valley is "owned" and administered by the  tribal Government. They consider the valley sacred land. An effort is made too make it somewhat difficult to access the valley. There is only one public hiking trail. There is only one 17 mile road into the valley. You should have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to drive it. It's not paved and is very rough and bumpy.
We did both. The hiking trail is 3.2 mil es long and goes around the West Mitten Butte. A moderate hike until you have to climb up what you went down at the beginning of the hike. Elevation change is well over 500 feet. We missed a trail marker somewhere and ended up (after trying different ways) on a horse trail that was going the right way! It eventually met the original trail, but we added a few more steps onto the 3.2 miles!

Breaking in my new hiking hat and shoes

West Miten Butte

Our 2000 Honda CRV took the drive like a champ! They did not lie, you really did need 4 wheel drive. This put us up close and personal with the buttes. They tower in the vast, wide open space of the valley! The solitary sentinels keeping watch over sacred space around them. We know the God who placed them, created the elements that formed them and holds their space together to bring glory to his name. Sacred space indeed!