Santa Barbara County Camping

The three of us went camping in Santa Barbara County over the weekend and had a great time. This was a new campground to us, but not far from Paradise, where we've been before. It was a small campground but the spaces were large and the neighbors were quiet. Very peaceful.

We also had some nature shows! This great blue heron was hunting lizards, and then we noticed he had a gopher! Oh my!

We also had hawks in the trees overhead, being loud and eating prey, as well.

For the first time, we went to Lake Cachuma, which had a lot to offer - a nature center and garden, marina and restaurant/bar with live music, camp store, amphitheater, campsites and restrooms. 

Violet was excited to try fishing again, or, casting, as the case may be. Not much catching going on. 

We then went into Solvang, where we found a bakery to get desserts and a coffee.

After Solvang, we drove around Santa Ynez before returning to our campground to make dinner.

And a lovely dinner it was! Salad, hamburger, grilled onions and mushrooms.

Breakfast the next morning was just as nice.

On our way home, we stopped at Cold Spring Tavern, which was a restaurant on the stagecoach route in the late 1800s. It was very popular on a Sunday afternoon with motorcyclists and families. 

We then stopped at Chumash Painted Cave, which we learned about at the Lake Cachuma visitor center. 

It was out of the way and very interesting.

Near the painted cave was this lovely stream.

Then, it was time to head south. We made one more stop, in Carpinteria to put our feet in the sand, before heading home. 

Tidbits

We enjoyed Monday with Aunt Patty and Uncle Bill, before they left Tuesday to see their other family south of here. 

On Wednesday, the girls played D&D again here, and on Thursday, Violet and I went to Elsmere Canyon for a walk with her school hiking club.

(That's Violet, under the oak canopy, down the trail a bit.) 

She found a rock she believes will be perfect for making into a petroglyph for an art project.

There were so many types of wildflowers to admire!

Unfortunately, Vi wasn't feeling well on our way home, and was sick. She ended up missing her in-person classes.

Ellie came over for a few hours, and I took her to the newly refurbished Old Orchard Park. She loved it! Here, she's sliding down the created hill on cardboard; this is like part of the playground at the Santa Barbara Zoo our girls used to love.

The park has a lot of interesting interactive elements, like this thing that spins as you run on it. Really great for working on your balance!

This is an art piece commemorating the Oak of the Golden Dream in Placerita Canyon.

Random pic here: Uncle Bill pulled out our stove to see if he could fix our faulty burner. Underneath, we found all of Winston's missing pipe cleaner "toys," and a couple of glitter pompom balls. This guy!

Family Time and Milestone Birthdays

 My Dad is turning 70 this weekend! To celebrate, we're having a small party on Sunday, and Uncle Bill and Aunt Patty have come down to attend. With our new Murphy bed, they're staying with us! 

On Friday, we had charge of Ellie, and it was warm enough to enjoy the pool (though the water wasn't heated, so it was *very* "refreshing"). 

Here, Ellie is leading Aunt Patty in a water ballet dance. 

Stace and Cora did a bit of soccer in the yard, and then they started hitting the punching bag, with Uncle Bill. 

We bought this beautiful tomahawk steak, which Aunt Patty handled masterfully on Saturday.

Also Saturday, Liana and Sofia came over to play D&D in a campaign with Violet that Cora is DMing (being the Dungeon Master, or game leader).

THIS was a dinner worth savoring!

We enjoyed dinner and the evening outside, talking and thinking about a possible trip to the UK for Bill and Patty. They'd love to see where Stace grew up, so we told them all of our favorite places.

Stace pulled up a Martock visitor's guide on the TV.

On Sunday, it happened to be the annual Queen's English car show, so we four went together.

Once back in town, we got a coffee and walked around Newhall. We noticed an old payphone stand on Lyons - funny it's still there. No phone, though.

Later on Sunday, the big event! Dad's 70th birthday party!

We had about 17 people at my parents' house for food and fun. 

Posing with our dog, Maverick. (He insisted on being in the photo!)

Here is the photo card I made Dad. Lots of love to a wonderful father and grandfather, Dad! 

Master Bedroom

 We refreshed our bedroom with new flooring, baseboards and a colored accent wall behind our headboard. We love the results! 

Here's the before... carpeting was installed some 16 years ago, and had served us well. 

During...
So much effort to empty the room - I emptied the floor of the closet, and Stace and I worked together to move the dressers to the garage. Then it was on to the bed. Thankfully, we have the lovely new Murphy bed in the playroom, which was super comfortable.

Because of the paint project, we also had to take off the headboard shelves and their contents. Stace did the cutting-in, and we worked together on the main painting.

First coat...

And finished. I love this color, and actually was inspired by a Sherwin-Williams ad that popped up on my Instagram. The color has always been a favorite of ours, as it's the same color as the large framed mirror we've had for 20 years, and the chair we already had in the bedroom corner.

Here, you can see the carpet removed.

The installer had the floors in in just a few hours. It's nice to have some things done for you by professionals who know exactly what they're doing and work quickly. This is the same floor we put into the playroom.

Then, Stace worked on baseboards, and reassembling the bed frame and moving everything back in. It's a bigger job than it looks!

But, well worth it

With these cozy super soft new runners, the room is complete.

I now love being in our room! I'm thrilled with the whole thing, love the paint color on the single wall, and the floors and rugs.