The Happiest Day

What a couple of months! I feel like I've barely looked up since I started work in August. I haven't really. It's going very well and I've really benefited from throwing myself into it, but I now need to get a bit of balance back. Last weekend, we went to the wedding of some dear friends. It was just the jolt I needed to start to bring everything into equilibrium once more. The bride and groom simply effervesced with love for each other, as did every guest for them. We all laughed and danced (and cried) and had a simply wonderful time together. Plus, they had a steel band, so who can beat that? Hooray for Luke & Gem. 

Soul Cal

So much for 'I left my heart in San Francisco', I think I left little bits of mine dotted all the way down the west coast. On leaving Shell Beach, we broke from Highway 1 for the first time since Santa Cruz and cut across to the 101; a very different, but equally beautiful road. In place of the continuous coastline are miles of undulating fields; growing everything from corn to strawberries. We stopped briefly in the lovely little village of Los Olivos, where we mooched through the sleepy and roastingly-hot streets, pottered around beautiful shops and drank iced tea in the shade. That night we stayed in a canvas, safari tent near a canyon. It was magical. We spent the evening barbequeing over a fire pit (expertly built and lit by the Ginge) and chatting away as darkness fell over the camp. It was a welcome return to nature and wildness, which I had missed earlier in the trip and gave me a great opportunity to teach the Ginge how to make smores. Needless to say, he is now a total convert! 

I love Shell Beach

It's not often that I fall in love with somewhere so entirely, so quickly, but Shell Beach is pretty special. We actually only stayed there for one night, albeit on the vehement recommendation of some friends, but I did in fact cry on leaving. What a loser! We stayed in the most perfect little hotel, run by the loveliest people who made us feel as though we were at home (so welcome after nearly two weeks on the road) and did nothing but swim in the pool, walk along the coast in the sunset and then have dinner at the most beautiful restaurant that was pretty much all window, overlooking the ocean. It was a dream. It also introduced me to an amazing flavour combination - homemade tortillas with cinnamon butter. Oh my, so good. One day, we will go back and stay longer. We will, we will. 

The Rugged Coast of Big Sur

I'm a bit of a sucker for getting emotional over beauty (the Ginge will laugh when he reads that as he'd say I get emotional over pretty much anything and he'd be right). The natural beauty of the outdoors just does something to me. Open fields cry out to be run through, cliffs to be scrambled on, mountains to be climbed, seas to be swum in. The coast of big sur is one big heart-swelling sweet-shop of beauty. All along route 1, the road drops down on one side to the bluest of seas, cut by cliffs tumbling with bright flowers and succulents. I wish we had had time to go exploring around one of the little coves, but it was enough just to breathe it all in from the top. As they say in Local Hero 'You can't eat scenery', but it definitely makes it more delicious, so we stopped at Nepenthe - without question the most picturesque burger I have ever eaten and utterly scrumptious.

On the Boardwalk

California is not new to me. In fact, it is a very beautiful part of the way I grew up. Thanks to a chance meeting of like-minded people on a train to Florence, almost thirty years ago, we have friends as good as family in the Golden State. Many of my childhood summers were spent road-tripping around and falling deeply in love with the wonderful country, so this summer was all about finding my California again and showing it to my boy. The warmth of the ground, the cool dampness of the pacific breeze, the smell of warm pine needles and that fragrant sweetness, which I can't quite put my finger on, the taste of cinnamon; all making me feel at home in my memories. This is Santa Cruz: home of the Beach Boardwalk, where you can half imagine you're a giggly girl of the 1950s, wearing a starched swing dress and peering nonchalantly at your strapping young date from behind a puff of candyfloss. Here we did things properly. We stayed at a Super 8 motel, rode the 1925 rollercoaster, strolled on the beach, dipped our toes in the pacific, caught the old train up to the redwoods,  went to the bowling alley, saw Berlin performing 'Take my Breath Away', walked along the coast to Natural Bridges, ate corndogs and churros and chilled out with a coffee and a book at Mr Toot's Coffee House in colourful Capitola. Definitely a place to lose yourself in imagination, which I feel we did to great effect. 

Over the Bridge

Something that you may or may not know about me is that I love bikes! I've already said that I think the best way to explore a city is on foot, but I also think it's pretty awesome on a bike. Whizzing along with the wind cooling your face whilst beautiful views arise and undulate in front of your eyes isn't half bad for a day-out. Plus, you get a nice bit of free exercise (and a sore bottom, but we'll ignore that for now). On our penultimate day in the city, we cycled all the way along the Embarcadero, along the San Francisco Bay Trail, across the Golden Gate Bridge and down to a little town called Sausalito. It was a beautiful and varied ride with wonderful views and was a lovely way to escape the bustle of the city for a change of pace. It was pretty hectic on the bridge itself, but once we arrived on the other side, things calmed down again. Aside from the cycling, a particular highlight was catching the ferry back to the city. Its slow speed allowed us to savour the glorious low evening light as we headed towards the city skyline. We packed a delicious lunch of local produce from the Ferry Building and its farmers' market, ate ice creams as big as a man's fist at Lappert's and rounded off the day with a tasty burger back at the Ferry Building. We definitely replaced any calories we burned, but it was so worth it. 

Green & Red with a White Fur Trim

A new dress, a borrowed robe, a sea of funny hats, applause-numbed hands, big grins, lip trembles. Strong family, the best of friends. Pride, joy, relief, sadness, anticipation. All in one afternoon. A whispered question as we arrived home, 'did you have a good day?'. The answer: 'the best'. I graduated.