A winter getaway to southern California was perfect

Clip Art - I couldn't resist posting this because palm trees are EVERYWHERE!

Okay, I know there are different places all over this country that some people prefer over other places, for whatever reason.  That’s great because as humans we’re all different and that makes life so much more interesting.

But tell me where you can get 78-80 degree temperatures with the doors open in January, unless it’s maybe Hawaii?  I love this place.

I lived in southern California for twenty-five years before moving to the desert nine-and-a-half years ago.  It’s such a nice place that I wonder why I ever moved, even though I know the answer to that.  There’s a lot of traffic there and lots of illegal’s, as well as other facts, things like higher expenses for about everything.  Nevertheless, it will always be one of my favorite places.  I would still be living there now probably if it weren’t for my husband’s pushing to move.

Naturally, this trip came at the perfect time because it’s been so cold here.  We’ve been setting records.  I was more than ready to get away to that California sunshine.  Don’t get me wrong because it is sunny much of the time here, just way too cold.

 The famous Beverly Hills sign.  This has been here forever.

We visited friends in Beverly Hills first.  It was fun to see the old Beverly Hills sign again.  It brought back old memories from my first time there when I was sixteen.  My grandmother lived there at the time.  I swore to myself back then that I was moving to California one day and I eventually did many years later, via a detour of two other states first.

The Hollywood sign was too far away to capture with my camera, but it was there on the hill gleaming white in the sun.

I did capture this Christmas decoration on Wilshire Blvd.

 Mall we visited on Santa Monica Blvd.  They had trees and flowers spread out everywhere.

 

 This is a shot of the mall from the second floor.  They had coffee shops and lots of outdoor seating areas with fire pits.

Our next stop was north San Diego County where we used to live.  We stayed with a friend there and visited other friends the rest of the trip.  Of course, we had to drive by the old neighborhoods and hangouts too.  Some things have changed, but many are the same.

 This is the new hospital from my friend's house.

I was able to get a few pics from the hill our friend lives on.  She has a view of the big new hospital they’ve built and the surrounding hills.  And of course, we loved her adorable animals, a dog and three cats.  We felt right at home and all the cats eventually warmed up to us.  The little one was very friendly and played his heart out until he would collapse on the floor to catch his breath.  He’s only eight-months-old and a male Ragdoll.  We wanted to smuggle him home, ha!

This is Fiero, the Ragdoll kitten

 This is Domani (it means tomorrow in Italian)

 This is Garage Key - a rescued stray

This is Bubba

Naturally, we ate Mexican food and let our hair down drinking wine while watching football playoffs.  But that was a lot better than politics that’s usually always on at my house.  The wine drinking ended up in my friend breaking her toe on a chair leg one night.  It was no big deal to her.  She told us it’s happened before.  Ouch!  I’m not sure how she got up early to attend a seminar the entire next day.  Once home, she went out to water plants on the hill behind her house afterwards, and then we went to eat out.  Her toe was black and blue, but she said she was okay.  I guess she’s stronger than I am.

We had so much fun laughing and talking.  I hated to see the trip end.  I also didn’t get to see all my friends this time, so I phoned them instead.  I promised my husband I wouldn’t write the schedule as tight as I did when we visited there last May.  I wore him out running around.  However, he’s usually ready to quit by nine PM and I’m the night owl.

This is me and my friend, Kara.  We met for breakfast.

This is Scott - my husband's old business partner

 Of course, we looked at property in different places and saw some open houses to get an idea if moving back there is even in our price range anymore.

The worst part of the whole trip was the six-and-a-half hours through miles and miles of desert.  That’s not to say the white-knuckle time driving through LA isn’t nerve racking and a close second.  But it keeps you on your toes.  When the scenery is boring, that’s when I tend to fall asleep.  There’s nothing to see but sand, Joshua trees, and sagebrush.  If we do move that way again, my husband is not crazy about me driving because when we were moving here, I ran over curbs and off the road and didn’t even know it.  I guess we’ll have to stop more often for coffee next time.

This is what much of the six-and-a-half-hour drive looks like.

The next trip will be to Texas to check that out.  It’s not as if I don’t know what that’s like, but he wants to be at least an hour from my family because all of us talk too much.  We’ll need to check prices there on many things and see how affordable that is.  I’m not sure yet when this trip will happen.  Actually the sooner the better because it makes me anxious not knowing where we’re going and what size house we’ll end up in.  That might make getting rid of things easier.

So at the moment that’s our two options, southern California or south Texas.

A Vivid Memory

That’s today’s prompt. Naturally, something flashed in my mind right away, so I’ll write about that. I can’t believe this is the last post in the May challenge. Somehow, I’ve managed to post to this blog almost every day for two months.


This vivid memory has to be my trip to Hawaii from Alaska. I was living in the last frontier at the time and had never been to Hawaii. The thought of going there in February was very exciting. Who wouldn’t want to get away from the gray skies everywhere you looked? When I say gray, I mean you can’t distinguish the ground from the sky, more like whiteout conditions. Everything was frozen and had been for months. I was tired of falling down on the ice every time I stepped out the door. Plus, I’d never seen Hawaii before in person. I only visited there through reading and TV shows.

From Diamond Head - Oahu Hawaii

If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget stepping off that plane.

Beach in Hawaii

This was a jaw-dropping moment when it was my turn to disembark. The bluest sky I had seen in years greeted me. Everywhere I looked was green. Palm tree fronds floated on the breeze, which brought the scent of flowers to my nostrils. I had landed in Heaven!

Hibiscus is everywhere in lots of colors

This is a Woodrose

Hawaiian Red Ginger

Bird of Paradise

Plumeria - this is also in many colors.  The yellow is generally used in lei's.

I was in disbelief that I was actually in such a nice place. Warm ocean breezes caressed me. The variety of flowers in every color everywhere was overwhelming. As we made our way to the airport, people were there to greet us with a big smile. Then they slipped gorgeous lei’s around our necks. OMG! Can life get any better than this?

Plumeria Flower Lei

We soon were on our way to Kauai after spending the night in Oahu. The next ten days were spent sailing, lying on the beach where I got the worst sunburn of my life, eating at sidewalk cafes, and visiting all the tourist attractions.

Wailua River Kauai Hawaii

Fern Grotto Kauai Hawaii

We took a boat to the Fern Grotto. A group of Hawaiian singers serenaded us on our trip down the Wailua River. You would think that you landed in the land of the jolly green giant. The ferns and philodendrons that are growing wild there are huge. It was like navigating through a jungle once we got on the narrow winding trail to the grotto.

Philodendron

When you order food in Hawaii, they actually serve it with orchids on your plate. This goes for casual eating as well as fine dining. How is that for ambiance?

Orchids

One day, we went sailing on a catamaran. That was great fun; although it had its moments, as it tilted in the water, because I’d never been on one before. The skipper was easy on the eyes, well built, tanned all over, and wearing tiny shorts.

Catamaran Sailing

Sunset on Kauai's North Shore

This trip flew by so fast. Soon it was time to return to that frozen tundra that was home. I was going back to 20 degrees from a balmy 85 and I hated the thought of it. Dragging me to the plane, kicking, and screaming, by my lei is the only way I can describe it. There was no way I wanted to go back, but we did.

Alaska Snow

It was a very long flight and we drank the plane dry. In those days, I drank a lot of vodka. There are more bars in Alaska than anywhere else that I’ve ever lived. Then, who didn’t want to forget you were returning to the wilderness in the winter?