"WON'T YOU COME AND GO..."

I am so slacking on getting this post written. I am up in Santa Rosa dog sitting again. I have been here for twelve days so far. I planned on taking the opportunity to clean a few things out of my diet which I did. I spent the first five days with throbbing in my head (luckily no pain just pressure as if my brain was going to pressure ooze out of my eye sockets), exhaustion, queasiness, and stinky odors. WOW!

What did I cut out? Sugars and all things that turn to sugar including fruits and grains. WOW AGAIN! I feel great now but it took a week and I am not someone that eats a lot of sugar. I do however eat a lot of wheat products while on the road. They are easy to grab on the go. Ritz crackers and their knock offs are my "go to" for snacks not cookies. The bloating has now disappeared. This does not happen to me in Argentina. When I return to the USA with all it's tainted and processed food I gain five pounds almost over night. I won't get onto my GMO or ED (endocrine disruption) soapbox here. Let's just say I was pretty WOWed by the reaction this time. I am really glad I had a whole week of few responsibilities to do this. I am slowly introducing foods back into my diet and yup, seeing the immediate reactions. Knowledge is power. I make my choices... onward >>>

SO....... I stopped in Benicia on my way back up to Santa Rosa. I spent the weekend with my new friend Kathryn. We met a few months ago at a trail head in SLO county and exchanged cards. She and her friends treated me to a weekend of food and wine (wine is sugar by the way). On Friday she took me to a potluck dinner with foodies. It was so much fun. And then on Saturday four of us went to Napa for lunch and wine tasting. It was a perfect last hurrah before my planned dietary restrictions. We went to several vineyards for tastings. It was raining but we all still had fun. Here are some photos...

 

VERN IN RAYMOND'S VERY SPECIAL MEMBER'S ONLY BACK ROOM

CHOCOLATE & WINE PAIRING

Prior to staying with Kathryn I spent two nights a bit off grid with a family north of Paso Robles. On the way to their place I stopped at Sculpterra Winery as I had read about their sculpture gardens. There as no tasting for me as I was driving but I did stop into the tasting room and ended up talking to the owner about art and my environmental art. She gave me her card in case I make it back this way next year.

More art and wine but only briefly because frankly the sculpture gardens at Paradise Ridge Vineyards in Santa Rosa did not float my cask. The modern art there well... I will include just one piece and leave the rest. I won't busy up this post with more shots. Check PR when in the area if you like modern art otherwise pass. Their wine may be good. I don't know. I never taste and drive.

So that's it for now. I just wanted to catch up. Oh I had a birthday on Monday. It was super quiet, cool and rainy but I had the pups nearby and gobs of cheers from across the globe to keep me busy. I have no regrets. I consider this dog sit time a blessing and an opportunity to chill in a good way before the next leg of the journey which will be south then east then north back to Massachusetts. >>>

Cheers to Spring! Although this song is not from the 60/70's the artist sure is. Here is a little springtime diddy from now SIR Van Morrison. Enjoy!

Chau 4 now from me and Mollie (the EWOK) and Quinn (the FLAKATA RUG). The sun is out. Time to put on a sweater and drive to the dog park. I am a NICE pet sitter even if I "come and go". I am supposed to do that pups. Stop with the puppy guilt eyes already! :)

"MOTOR CARS, HANDLE BARS, BICYCLES FOR TWO..."

With all this great home cooking I think I am actually getting in better shape. Seriously. Or maybe I'm finally wearing trousers that fit properly. All I know is that I feel very blessed to have had couchsurfing hosts like Chez Kevin in Huntington Beach. He is a true foodie. Then I went from HB to Corona and once again was fed a brilliant meal. It turns out my host there, Hanan, was once a chef in Denmark. And now I am back in Westlake Village for two nights with Jeanine whose cooking is healthy and divine. I shouldn't get used to this. I am on my way in increments to Santa Rosa to dog sit for two weeks. Starting Sunday I'll be cooking for myself. Maybe I'll go on a salad diet.

A SNIPPET OF ART AT TIO'S TACOS IN RIVERSIDE, CA

Corona was such fun! Hanan, Adora (his 6 year old daughter, model and muse) and I went on "ART OF ADVENTURE" excursions both Saturday and Sunday. Making a point to discover roadside art was how my trip began with Ines back in September. I would look online as to where cool, weird, odd and lovely roadside art could be found and we did our best to add it to our cross country route. After Ines went back east I continued but my trip had changed. The objective became checking out areas in California where I might want to move.This last weekend I got back into ART discovery first with Ricardo Breceda's welded creations in the countryside surrounding Temecula. NOTE: His work is no longer at Vail Lake Resort. It is now 7 miles up Highway 79 on the left. He's in the process of developing a massive area to display his pieces. Go visit and bring your wallet.

I love his story. Several years ago after Ricardo and his six year old daughter went to see Jurassic Park he asked her what she wanted for Christmas. Her reply was a life-size dinosaur made by him. He followed through with the request and has continued to create ever since. Here are just some of the many photos that I shot on Saturday...

THE ARTIST RICARDO BRECEDA AND HANAN

RIGHT CLICK TO OPEN A NEW TAB
WEBSITE: http://ricardoabreceda.com

Sunday was a trip to nearby Riverside to introduce "The Guest" (that would be ME) to Tio's Tacos. What a superb collection of Junk Art AND great fresh Mexican food. Pictures do not give the artwork justice but photos are still better than any words that I can write. You could return every day to Tio's and find something that you didn't notice previously. This place is a "must see" in Riverside.

RIGHT CLICK TO OPEN A NEW TAB

WEBSITE: http://tiostacos1.com

The three of us did so much over the weekend. Hanan and I both documented the fun. Any photo that you see here on the blog with a black border is owned by Hanan. He has been creating an art project that is truly worth checking out. He has been documenting the life of Adora every day since her birth but more, so much more. Artists from all over the world have made renditions of her. The website contains over 1300 images and it is growing. Artist's works from take-offs of movie posters and historic paintings to watercolors, oils and multimedia pieces. I really don't know why Bored Panda has not picked up on this story. Maybe we all need to petition sites like that to publicize the project. It is phenomenal.

Here are some links where you can view many of the images collected.

RIGHT CLICK TO OPEN A NEW TAB

http://growabrain.tumblr.com/tagged/Adora-Art

https://www.instagram.com/adoralevin/

And... to finish off this post here are some of my favorite snaps of Adora and me. It sure was fun!

So where to next? I am off to a new creative adventure up Highway 101. I am excited!

And the title of this post comes from a song written in 1968 and released in 1970 ... Thank you Sir Paul. Everybody sing a long...

"JUNK"
Motor cars, handle bars, Bicycles for two. Broken hearted jubilee.
Parachutes, army boots, Sleeping bags for two. Sentimental jamboree.
Buy! buy! Says the sign in the shop window.
Why? why? Says the junk in the yard.
Da da ya da da da, Da da da, Da da ya da da, Da da da da da da da.
Candlesticks, building bricks, Something old and new. Memories for you and me. 
Buy! buy! Says the sign in the shop window.
Why? why? Says the junk in the yard.

"ALMOST CUT MY HAIR"

"When I finally get myself together, I'm going to get down in that sunny southern weather. And I'll find a place inside to laugh..."

SUNSET FROM THE BOARDWALK AT AROUND D STREET

I didn't think this would happen but I am falling in love again. Maybe it is a temporary mesmerizing moment but I am happy. I feel great. I feel E-X-P-A-N-S-I-V-E and it is not just the new haircut.

After several decades away I am back in Orange County, CA and loving it. I never thought I would say that but the truth is I AM. Back in October when I drove up from San Diego to Fort Bragg I passed my old highway exits (I used to live in OC in the early 80's) and I said out loud, "Nope. I am not even going to stop to see if anything looks familiar. I know this is not a place that I would want to live in again..." and I kept driving and driving and driving.

VIEW FROM THE SECOND FLOOR

So what's my beef about OC? I am not really sure. I guess I had it in my head that it was too expensive (it is expensive) and that over the years it had gotten too full of traffic, and that the men all dressed like Stephen Ford with Izod shirts and flashed Porsche key chains and voted republican and were basically shallow a-holes. Well that may still be so but this weather is FANTASTIC and things are clean and modern and the traffic on the surface roads is also neat and tidy and orderly. Plus the libraries are blowing my mind.

THIRD FLOOR OUTSIDE MY BEDROOM

I left San Luis Obispo county after 10 additional days in Los Osos at my adoptive family's house and headed to LA county. specifically Westlake Village. My mind made a shift at that point having already ruled out possibly moving anywhere in the southern part of the state. My brain told the rest of my being that I was now just on a vacation with no agenda other than to enjoy myself. Maybe that's it. I got rid of my agenda and OPENed myself up.

MY PERSONAL BATHTUB

In WV I had a wonderful hostess with a nice modern apartment and five rescue dogs and a cat. I was in my sleeping bag on the floor for fours nights and spent my days driving around alone. My hostess was very busy so I was on my own to explore. I had no interest for exploring sites as a solo in LA except for Griffith Park and the observatory. I did email and send a text message to someone that never got back to me to meet up for lunch. It just put another nail in LA county's coffin for me as I had a host connection from Thousand Oaks who also blew me off. I am not a LA kind of gal I guess. I am old school and return calls and messages.

MY BACKPACK FIT RIGHT IN :)

On an up note I did find short yoga pants at TJMAXX. This is a minor miracle. I have a 27" inseam. In SLO I found jeans. Another miracle. I began to buy a few things that I wanted as opposed to needed. I was OPENly deciding I was deserving of nice things. And...the energy OPENed up for nice things to come to me such as my next couchsurf, an 8 MILLION DOLLAR HOUSE on the Newport Beach Peninsula. How many of those are on CS? I had four nights of luxury in a $1000 a night vacation rental. Luckily for me there was some restoration being done in one room off the kitchen so the whole place was not currently rent-able.

That's when I got my hair cut. Not almost cut but cut, into a beach bob. And I LOVE IT! I bought a few new shirts, beauty products and painted my toenails, took jacuzzi baths, bopped around town in shorts (yes the weather in OC is warm enough to wear shorts every day), walked the boardwalk at sunset and became ALIVE again. Even though I have not been actual camping for six months in the contrast I can see that is how I had been "feeling"and I deserve to feel better than that. Don't get me wrong, I love camping but for FUN not as day to day indefinite lifestyle.

A DECADENT BREAKFAST OF CHEESECAKE AND COFFEE

I have spattered this post with some photos of those fours days in Newport Beach. When I left the house I told my host that I felt as if I had been there a week. The four days of calm, peace, my own space and the location on the peninsula left me profoundly renewed. I was and still am revived. Yesterday I arrived to Huntington Beach. I am in a bungalow occupied by three male roommates over 50 (I guess home sharing is how you can afford places here), a cat and a little growling dog. But it too has a good vibe. A few of us watched SPOTLIGHT last night on the big flat screen TV with an awesome sound system. And my host is an excellent cook. I am looking forward to him cooking again tonight for me and another CS couple after we all meet at market day on nearby Main Street.

THE HB BUNGALOW KITTY MITZY

This morning was hazy so I decided to check out the library where I am now instead of walking the beach. I am seriously impressed with the Central Park and library of HB. In fact I am going to get a salad and take a park walk once I get this post published. After all I am on vacation now. ;)

Adelante y Saluti
Happy March!

From 1970....