It’s been a glorious day here is California. It’s also been a spectacularly wonderful day too.

DM and I are struggling to get off UK time and onto PST so have been wide awake at the crack of sparrows…..well, we would have been if they had sparrows here (I suppose they may have but I’ve not seen one since being here so I’m assuming not).

Breakfast was underway when there was a tap at the door and Cheryl and John popped in for coffee before heading back off to their home. What a fabulous experience it was yesterday seeing so many of the people we’ve come to feel as though we know and yet we’d never clapped eyes on before. We had a huge bonus because the pbasers we knew we’d love (and were proven right about that) but we also got to meet the newly wed Jen (Larry’s wife), John (Cheryl’s hubby) and Cathi (Todd’s wife) – all of whom were complete gems so we had a bonus bonanza that we weren’t expecting. I was in the garden enjoying the sun and I looked up, saw the steps and persuaded the rest of our merry band to pose for me on them.

Today’s excitement was a trip down the coast to get a lentil sandwich at Santa Cruz’s premier lunch spot ‘The Falafel House’, with a number of stops on route.

One of the stops was a spot where we were watching waves break over a huge rock that we’d spotted from the road. We stopped for a ‘photo op’ and I found myself a dog to hug that was quite a bit like Tobes. The owners were a friendly couple who asked if we were enjoying photographing the seals…….’seals, what seals’ we asked, ‘well those ones in front of you’ they said! Talk about not seeing what’s in front of you. In front of the rock we were photographing was a pile of seals sunning themselves on the rocks. We’d not even noticed them!!! So we snapped them too.

On to Santa Cruz for a yummy lunch, a stroll around the shops and a coffee at Peet’s (see Jeanne’s pic). Then on to watch the surfers catching the waves. Very cool indeed.

Home now for a quiet night in (much needed) and it’s just about beer o’clock now isn’t that convenient!!!! I’ll post more shots of the trip when we get home but for now, I can only cope with a diary shot.

Mum and Margaret – Happy Mother’s Day – sorry the cards wouldn’t fit in the box – note to self, don’t try to post cards with ‘bits on’ at the airport. (After all that forward planning too!)

Tomorrow I get to complete two years at this…….phew!

Last year, just back from our big adventure I was trying to catch up with my story!!!