California – Page 12 – Paint Your Landscape

The Wharf, State Street and a Special Mission Treat ~ Santa Barbara, CA

June 1, 2012June 1, 2012LuAnn

santa barbara shellfish company — Santa Barbara Shellfish Company on Stearns’ Wharf

I had not been to Santa Barbara in over 20 years and Terry had never been so I was anxious to see if it was still recognizable to me. Time for lunch when we arrived so we did the touristy thing and headed to Stearns’ Wharf for clam chowder and crab cakes at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company – very tasty indeed. Bigger lunch than we are accustomed to so we decided to browse State Street downtown and walk off some of our food.

downtown on state street — State Street downtown Santa Barbara

We are not big-city folks any longer so, other than it being picturesque, it didn’t do much for us. However, if you love to shop, there is every store imaginable on this stretch and then some. The architecture and beautifully showcased windows make it all very inviting for the shopaholic. Personally, I was saving myself for what was to come, Old Mission Santa Barbara.

This was the 3rd mission we had visited in California. Each one is special in its own right and all are beautiful but we were in for a treat beyond our wildest expectations at this one. You will just have to wait a minute longer as I give you a brief history lesson for this landmark.

Old Mission Santa Barbara, dubbed “Queen of the Missions”, is the 10th of the 21 missions in California. 225 years later this mission is still very much alive and remains the chief cultural and historic landmark in Santa Barbara. Home to Franciscan friars, it has a beautiful church with an active parish, museum, gift shop, cemetery, and 10 acres of stunning landscape, to include an amazing rose garden.

stunning rose gardens — Amazing rose gardens

December 4, 1786 marked the founding date for this mission by Spanish Franciscan Friar Fermín de Lasuén, successor to Padre Junipero Serra, who fashioned the first nine missions. Lasuén placed Padre Antonio Paterna, a companion to Serra, in charge of the mission.

Prior to the Spaniards arrival, the land was occupied by the Chumash Indians. Hunters and gatherers who were connected to the sea, they built plank boats (tomols), which they negotiated to the Channel Islands (on our list for tomorrow’s travels).

The original purpose for the mission was to convert the Chumash to Christianity. Once brought into the fold, the Franciscans taught the Chumash agriculture and worked with them to build a dam, which brought water to the mission via an aqueduct. Old Mission Santa Barbara had large numbers of sheep, pigs, goats, horses and mules at this time.

The present church on this site is the 4th, built in 1820. An earthquake on June 29, 1925 did extensive damage to it, during a chapel service. Thankfully no one was injured and restoration work was completed in 1927. Directly outside the chapel is the mission cemetery, dating back to 1789, and where lie the remains of early Santa Barbara settlers and Native Americans.

While walking through the cemetery we heard a spellbinding sound coming from the chapel. We wondered aloud if it was coming from speakers or from a choral group, as we had seen young men and women dressed in evening wear on the steps of the church when we arrived. When we poked our heads inside, lo and behold, it was the latter and we were allowed to watch, along with a handful of others already in attendance. Lined along both sides of the chapel walls were these same young men and women, the San Marcos High School Madrigals Chamber Choir, with their director, Carolyn Teraoka-Brady, in the center aisle leading them.

san marcos high school madrigals chamber choir — San Marcos High School Madrigals Chamber Choir

That is what they looked like and this is what they sound like. Their voices were heaven-sent and brought both of us to tears.

We learned from the director’s husband that these outstanding vocalists sang at Carnegie Hall in 2006, won Nationals in 2008 by a huge margin, and competed at the New York City Festival of Gold against the top 29 choirs in the U.S. and Canada. Just this past April they received the highest score for any group at the National Invitational Chorale Festival of Gold held at the Orange County Center for the Arts. They were even selected to sing the final concert of the evening.

Having learned all this, we felt so honored to be allowed to watch their performance, the last one they were to have together, as many were graduating. Carolyn’s husband said that his wife had done many things in her life and had finally found her calling. Given the breathtaking beauty of their voices, we would say she certainly has.

Our day in Santa Barbara was lovely but this special mission treat was the cherry on top!

chalk art from the annual madonnari festival — Chalk art from the annual Madonnari Festival

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Cool, Quiet Comfort at Lake Casitas Recreation Park

May 31, 2012LuAnn

Lake Casitas campground — Enjoying our own private loop at Lake Casitas, for now anyway.

With eyes fully open and a clear head (unlike how we felt when we pulled in yesterday), we started our morning with a walk around the campground at Lake Casitas. The temps dipped down into the upper 40’s overnight, which made for some great snuggling under the covers. A crisp, clear morning welcomed us, along with birds merrily chirping at our every step. We reveled in the cool, quiet comfort of this “off the beaten path” campground.

mountain views from our campsite — Mountain views from our campsite

There are roughly 400 campsites in this rec area, spread around the lake. Some are lakeside, others sit on the hillside, while still others are nestled among the trees. We opted for the latter of the three since we had already had our beach fix, which is a good thing since there is no swimming, wading or skiing in this lake.

water adventure feature — Water Adventure at Lake Casitas

Lake Casitas provides drinking water to ~ 70,000 residents in Ventura and the Ojai Valley, so sorry, no swimming in the drinking water. For those wanting to get wet, there is a water park on site that includes an interactive water playground and lazy river.

This lake is one of the premier fishing lakes in the region and is known for “world-class” bass fishing. Since we have not fished in many years, we are just going to kick back and let the fishermen do what they do best. We will be cheering them on as we bask in the cool, quiet comfort of this little oasis on the lake.

marina on lake casitas — Marina on Lake Casitas

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A Most Unusual Day ~ Lake Casitas Recreation Area, Ventura, CA

May 30, 2012May 31, 2012LuAnn

a nice cozy fit at San Elijo State Beach — A nice cozy fit.

Our day started with the question “can we get our rig out of this tight space after four months of sitting?” Bragging on my hubby for a bit, he did a fine job! And we were off, heading north to a little out-of-the-way rec area that would afford us some down time and the ability to visit Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands. We left shortly after 10am and counted on a normal 200 mile day, getting us in at about 2pm. What started out as normal became anything but.

on the road again — This was prior to our little mishap and yes, I was driving at the time (a little multi-tasking if you will).

About 2 1/2 hours into our trip, as we were heading up a grade on an active California freeway, I noticed a little mist on my windshield and about that time Terry, who was driving our rig in front of me, started to slow down. I then heard those dreaded words ‘I have a problem’. That fine mist on my windshield was radiator coolant and yes, we did have a problem. Luckily we were able to pull off onto the shoulder and opening the hood, we found a fine mess! The hose had become detached from the radiator (perhaps occurring when we had some recent work done on the truck?) and we had some clean-up work ahead of us. Terry was able to reattach the hose and we started wiping down the engine, the grill, and the hood. And no Roger, it was not because we are driving a Ford instead of a Chevy!

Terry always plans for the inevitable so we had plenty of coolant and distilled water, or so we thought. Using everything we had on hand, the coolant didn’t even register in the reservoir so Terry left me with our home and took our “day use” vehicle to scout out more fluids. My phone rang while he was gone and thinking it was him, I said hello and immediately was connected with the fraud department of our credit card company, who wanted me to verify a couple of recent charges. The first was a small charge at an auto part store for today, so I knew that had to be Terry and the next, ~$1000, was for an online shopping experience, also for today. Terry did not seem to be in the mood to stop and do some quick online shopping so I passed on that charge. Luckily our credit card company did not authorize the charge either. So now we have a hold on our credit card and the day just keeps getting more interesting.

a quiet little oasis — A quiet little oasis

While waiting for my hubby to return, I tackled the problem of how to clean the slippery mess off the windshield and not have my butt hanging onto the freeway. My solution, poke my head through the sunroof and lean down over the windshield. Piece of cake and just where the heck is a camera when you need one! I had also been checking periodically to make sure no one had pulled up behind us, looking for an opportunity (if you know what I mean) and just as I was going to get out of the truck to look again, someone was looking in at me. He had a name tag on his uniform and wore a bright vest and his vehicle read “Metro Freeway Service Patrol”. Mr Velasquez was a pure joy to see (after my initial shock) and insisted on staying with me until Terry returned, and stayed until we added another two gallons of fluid and started the engine.

What should have ended with us pulling our rig into Lake Casitas Recreation Area at 2pm was pushed back to 6pm instead. Ironically some friends of ours recently had a horrendous 400 mile day in their RV, finally finding a site that would accommodate their rig. Their planned stop did not work out and although the park was rather empty, they were told there were no sites available for them.

After we knew they were safely at their final destination and had tossed back a stiff drink, we chuckled as we thought of Nina’s expression and comment when she heard the news “no room for you”. Being from Denmark, she has a delightful accent and is full of spunk and we couldn’t help but laugh at the image. So, Nina and Paul, if you are reading this, go ahead and have a chuckle. Better yet, laugh out loud. I insist. I think we got it comin’!

terry relaxing after a long day — Terry, enjoying a glass of Pinot after a long day on the road.

Life sure has a way of reminding us that there are going to be obstacles along the way so better to roll with them if you can, and it makes the good times so much sweeter, don’t you think? What started as a most unusual day is ending at Lake Casitas, with the light fading from the sky in a quiet campground, frogs and crickets all around us providing a melodious symphony.

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One Last…

May 29, 2012LuAnn

One last sunset at San Elijo State Beach.

One last walk on the beach on the busy Memorial Day Weekend, marking the first of summer for families . The weather was divine!

One last Eli Howard Surf School class to watch – beginner surfer dudes (kooks)! Wish I could capture the look of excitement on the kids’ faces when they catch their first wave!

This was going to read one last strawberry balsamic gelato from Chuao Chocolatier, and it is amazing, but we decided to get a little crazy and go to Blue Ribbon Artisan Pizzeria and have something we have not had in months, a pizza. We walked away remorseful that we had not found this place earlier in our stay, everything was that good, all local ingredients and made on site. When we walked in we said that it reminded us of a quaint little pizzeria in downtown Phoenix and later learned from our waitress that it was modeled after that very same restaurant. The pizza was one of the best we ever had; the Eel River craft porter was delish; and we were talked into staying for dessert, so no gelato, but the award-winning dessert we had was divine. I am not a fan of butterscotch pudding (Terry loves it) but I must admit that the addition of some malted sea salt in this decadent dessert made it, well, heavenly.

One last view of the ‘Unconditional Surrender’ sculpture at the San Diego Harbor, depicting a sailor kissing a nurse to mark the end of World War II.

One last visit with the terrific young men and women Park Aides at San Elijo.

One last walk through the meditation gardens.

Today wraps up our first workamping experience and what a great first it was! A big shout-out to the wonderful staff at San Elijo State Beach. We could not have asked for a greater group of people to work with and our Camp Host teammates were a delight as well. Tomorrow we hit the road again, to spend time at some of the National Parks in northern California, to reconnect with nature until time for Terry’s medical tests later this summer.

Lots of memories for us in San Diego and a great way to spend part of a winter and spring. Today is the one last day to say goodbye to the staff and campers and breathe in the salty air at San Elijo State Beach, that is until we return later this year.

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Workamping at San Elijo State Beach (paintyourlandscape.wordpress.com)

Serene Resting Place ~ Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery

May 23, 2012LuAnn

With Memorial Day rapidly approaching, it seems a fitting time to say a few words about our visit to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, 77 acres of serene resting place for ~ 72,000 veterans and their family. This is one of 120 national cemeteries, one which could not have a more breathtaking backdrop, that being San Diego Bay, the Submarine Base, and the city. The stark white marble headstones dotting the rolling hillsides drew us in and we were humbled by the experience.

This national cemetery dates back to the mid-1800’s, with some of the first to be interred here as a result of the Battle of San Pasqual, which occurred during the Mexican-American War in December of 1846. It became an Army Post Cemetery in the 1860’s, a National Cemetery in 1934, and was placed under the auspices of the Veteran’s Administration National Cemetery System in 1973. Fort Rosecrans has been closed to in-ground burials since 1966 but space is still available for cremated remains.

Memorial Day, known quite often as the kickoff to summer, ending a long school session for many, was the day initially set aside to honor all the men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice to keep this land of ours free. It is the day that we remember not only those serving our country in the Armed Forces now but all who bravely fought. One of San Diego’s largest celebrations is held on Memorial Day at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, a most serene resting place.