Texas Fun

From one little trip to another...

Stace took me to the airport Wednesday afternoon, and I flew off to visit my friend Emily in Dallas, Texas!

She and I became friends in Mom2Mom, and Violet and her son were in the same kindergarten class. They moved back to Dallas that summer, but we stayed in touch, and she's visited us in SClarita several times since. She's always invited me to come out, and knowing I'd have a free week with the girls away, it seemed like a great opportunity.

One of the main things on our list for me to experience was Texas barbecue, and they live near one of the most highly rated places in Dallas. We had a long line, but it was worth the wait! 
 

Emily's neighborhood is lovely - large homes, a clubhouse and pool, tennis courts, playground and pond for the homeowners.

On Thursday night, we went to one of Emily and Brad's favorite date night spots, Three Nations Brewery. Here are Peter, who's Violet's age, and Madeleine, who is seven. Their 13-year-old son decided to stay home. 

I really enjoyed my beer; two of them I'd definitely buy if I could find them locally! 

A storm had rolled in, and it was absolutely pouring while we were there, with thunder and lightning, too. 

On Friday night, we went to a minor league baseball game in Frisco, sporting our Dodgers gear, of course. Emily is as big a fan as I am, and it's one of our big commonalities.

The kids especially enjoyed the fireworks after the game.

On Saturday, the children stayed home with Brad, while Emily and I went into downtown Dallas to explore. We lucked out with the weather! Dallas can be VERY hot and humid, but the storms had tamped down the heat to a lovely 80-something. We walked through this lovely new park, which was hosting a kids' concert.

We then hopped on this sweet old trolley, which offers free (donations accepted) transportation around downtown.

Our car was from Melbourne, Australia, and was nearly 100 years old!

We rode a few blocks and then got off to get a coffee, and then traced the trolley line to make our way back to catch it again.

We'd parked at the Dallas Museum of Art, which we explored for a couple of hours. This huge mosaic mural is outside in the courtyard.

I liked this portrait - the silversmith here looks kindly, I thought.

A beautiful painted screen, hundreds of years old.

The museum had many styles of art, and an antiquities section with ancient Egyptian items, as well.

On our way back, we drove by Dealey Plaza, famed for being the site of JFK's murder.

We rested back at Emily's home for a bit, and then she took me to the airport for my evening flight...where I met up with my girls and my parents! We were able to sit together, and they caught me up on their Florida adventures. More on that, soon!

Central Coast Part II

We stayed two nights in Cayucos, and on Tuesday morning, after checking out, we had to make a stop at the Brown Butter Cookie Company, a local favorite.

We then went to San Luis Obispo, where we got to watch a free nature show in a parking lot. We were pulling in when we noticed a hawk flying low overhead, holding something, that then fell from its talons onto the street. 

Here's the hawk, after it fell, waiting to figure out how to recover what he had dropped.

Then, we saw it fly, and swoop and pick it up, and fly back over the parking lot into a grouping of trees. We then could see that it was a rat, judging by the tail.

Other hawks were nearby, and one flew close, causing the hawk to fly off, and DROP THE RAT again, this time onto a car just a few feet from where I stood. I screamed, naturally!

The drama continued, with three hawks flying around overhead, yelling, but none attempting to fly down and pick up the rat.

Stace and I eventually left to look around the stores...

...and returned an hour later to find the rat on the ground, and the car it had landed on, gone. We could still hear hawks calling. We assumed that they couldn't pick up the rat because of where it was, that they didn't have enough room to "swoop" back upwards with the added weight of the rodent.

So, wanting to help, I got a napkin and picked up the rat by the tail and placed it on a fence post.

We then needed a drink, so we found a brewery and ordered a flight of beer tasters and watched a bit of one of the Euro cup games.

When we returned, the rat was still on the post. Sadly, I don't have an end to report to this story! I hope that a hungry hawk was able to have its meal.

We then went to a sandwich shop for lunch, an old place with sweet old signs for decor.

Later, we returned to Avila Beach. Stace took a quick dip, and we both had coffees from the Kraken Coffee Co., a local gem. I even splurged on a new sweatshirt for myself - I loved the design, and it was nice and thin, perfect for a beach day when it starts cooling off in the evening.
 

Then, we made our way home, a gorgeous drive through hills and oak trees with the ocean visible for a good deal of the way. So thankful for these days away together!

Central Coast Part I

Stace and I took the girls to the airport Saturday morning, before the Dodger game, and on Sunday, we headed up the coast for a little summer getaway.

We drove up to Cayucos, a town we love just north of Morro Bay, not far from San Luis Obispo. We took a walk after dinner and saw these folks on a horseback ride on the beach.

We returned to the Cayucos Sunset Inn, a bed-and-breakfast we stayed at on our honeymoon. The breakfast was amazing, and our room was so comfy. 

We then drove down to Morro Bay and walked on a nature trail from a park to the town, by the big rock and the otters in the bay.

It was a perfect day! We shared lunch overlooking the harbor and did some shopping in the waterfront stores.

In the harbor were a few more sea otters, two with babies. We didn't have our "good" camera, so Stace improvised with his phone and binoculars. Look at this mama and baby!! So sweet. She kept turning the baby over and changing its position on her chest. 

This is me, admiring the sea otters. Morro Rock in the distance.

We then drove a little further down the coast, stopping at lovely Avila Beach and then Pismo Beach. At Pismo, we got dinner and ate it on the beach as the sun set. It was stunning!

 

Blue Heaven on Earth!

For the first time in a a couple of years, I got to cheer on my Dodgers in person! Stace was given his work's tickets for Saturday's game, and JT and Jim were able to join us. 

My World Champions beat the Chicago Cubs in most-exciting fashion, with a walk-off win via a Cody Bellinger home run! (Walk-off wins are when you win in the bottom of the inning with the go-ahead runs, and can basically "walk off" the field because the game is then over.)

These are our "We Won" smiles, while Randy Newman's "I Love L.A." song finished playing.

Our state "reopened" June 15, with removing nearly all the state-level mandates regarding Covid-19, including capacity restrictions at outdoor sporting events. 

Dodger Stadium has undergone a big facelift in the year since fans were allowed in, with a new concourse behind the outfield pavilions. We enjoyed looking at the new eateries, bars, seating and shops, along with the sweet photo opps.

Stace's work's seats are great...other than the warm sun on this particular day and time. We had a bit of shade in the beginning, and then the sun moved. We stuck it out for a while, and then took breaks up in the concourse, which mercifully was much cooler.
 

I'm not a "film every moment" kind of person, but I started videoing at the crucial moment right before Belli hit his game-winning home run. It was a 3-1 count, great for the hitter, and I just had a feeling it would be a great time for him to do something big. Boy, did he! I was so thrilled to have been able to capture the moment for myself! Hope you enjoy. 

Week (Plus) in Review

We got home from Sequoia on Tuesday night, and after relaxing Wednesday and Thursday, we went to Newport Beach on Friday with friends. A cove near an RV resort featured this blowup obstacle course, with big slides, bouncy things and climbing wall. (You can see it behind the kids in the water.)

They had a great time, and it was nice and cool, not like back at home!

We then had dinner with our friends; Violet entertained herself with darts, and managed to throw one into the head of the screw!

On Saturday, Liana and Cora's friend Violet came over, and the girls all painted their D&D figures.

What a joy, to have friends who enjoy your new hobby!

Sunday was Father's Day, and this was Stace's face as he read the card Cora picked out for him.

It said, "It isn't always easy to be a father, and that's especially true when the kids are someone else's."

It's for a step dad, but when Cora saw it in the store, she cracked up at the thought of giving it to Stace. I thought it was hysterical, too. 

Stace eventually saw the humor himself (and Cora did have a NORMAL card for him, too).

We ended our Father's Day with the pool, and another Three Howard Tower.

Our neighbors a couple of doors down are moving, and they were VERY committed to taking their backyard shed with them. Definitely something you DON'T see every day!

Violet and Liana participated in their final week of VBS - next year, they can be helpers, if they so choose. They both enjoyed the day they got to plant flowers/plants at the church.

Also this week, Cora filled out paperwork for a summer job she'll be doing later in July! Big steps! She'll be working for the county parks system through a youth job-training program.
 

Sequoia Part III

We headed back into the park Tuesday to see a few more highlights before making the drive home. This time, we stopped at the visitor center in Sequoia, where Vi posed near another big sequoia. We waited in line to get into the gift shop, and bought a few things to take home. 

We then drove up to Crescent Meadow, where on our way to the meadow we drove through a fallen tree. Talk about a tree tunnel!

It's truly hard to believe how huge these sequoias are.

We walked around the meadow, and Vi was anxious to get on the road home. But I knew we all really wanted her to be able to see a bear! This seemed like our last chance. 

And then, a little ways up ahead, another family was pointing and whispering and showed us what they'd spotted!

We'd forgotten our camera and phones, so they later texted me this pic.

The bear was going in a direction that neared the big parking lot, so Stace ran back to the car to grab Violet's good camera. When he got back, he got these photos.

It's hard to know the perspective, but this really wasn't a big bear. It seemed like a teenager to me, maybe the size of a Great Dane.

What a blessing, right at the end of the trip, as I'd been praying the whole few days!

Then, we began making our way home. Thanks for the memories, Sequoia!