A Whirlwind Named Malakai

My father loved children. He would have been happy with a houseful, I think. But he was satisfied with a little girl to dote on. And he did dote on me, as I did on him. He was 40 years old when I was born. The doctor came out of the delivery room and asked my father what he wanted. Poppa said, "Twin girls!" "Be happy you have one healthy daughter, congratulations!" Thirty seven years later I gave birth to the twin girls Poppa had wanted. He didn't see his grandaughters, but every time I find a penny on the ground I wonder if he's saying hello or if it's Bob checking in. When you have 10 children (8 lived to reach adulthood) as my grandparents did, you look to the older ones to help. My father apparently did his share of "looking after" and loved the youngest child, his baby sister Sa, most of all. I was called "Sa" by my father as often as I was called "Penny". I didn't mind. "Sa" sounds like a "grown-up" name. "Penny" was cute when I was a three foot tall, towheaded curly top who Aunt Paul (Pauline) nicknamed "Poodle", but when you are a 6 foot tall woman, it's vaguely embarrassing. I haven't felt like a "Penny" in almost a half century. Think about that when you name your children, please. I gave my daughters "adult" names as a result... Lucia Louise Emanuela, Jocelyn Bryan, Mary Noel. We call Malakai "Mali" now. I'll make a conscious effort to change that to Mal by the time he's 10 or so. Noel named her daughter Ava Grace. I approve. It's a woman's name. I saw Mali for the first time in 15 months two days ago. To him, I was a stranger. This is where my father's influence comes in... 39 years after his death. Poppa loved children but he always waited for them to come to him. When their parents introduced them, Poppa would say "Hello" and then kept talking to the adults. He wouldn't hug the children or kiss them. He waited. They always came to him. I employed this strategy with my angelic little grandson and... it worked. By dinner time he was sitting in my lap. The photo above with Lucia was taken last summer. The "jam session" photo was taken Wednesday morning. Look at him checking out Gramma! He is considerably less reserved now! He calls his mother "Ma" and me, "Momma". His mother, generously, encourages that.

The Road Home

On the way out of Solvang, I was back on 101, then took CA 46 and 41 to Interstate 5 thru California's farm country which was not new to me. I took it deliberately because, although it is very green, very pastoral and soothing, there wasn't much to distract me from heading straight to my grandson and first born daughter. After settling down for the night in Buellton and thinking about the next day in Solvang, I was just drifting off to sleep when Lucia called me... so excited to learn that I was in CA and only 7 hours from her. I had planned to go on to Carmel, up the Pacific Coast Hwy after Solvang. When I heard her excitement, I decided my wandering was over (temporarily). I wanted to be with my daughter, get to know my grandson, Malakai, and settle into my room. In the course of the day, I saw more wineries and vineyards than I have seen in all the years of my life combined. Then came cattle, more cattle, orange groves so laden with fruit that it covered the bases of many of the trees. That attracted the bees and the bees, too bad for them, covered my windshield by the time I made Stockton. After the orange groves were many miles of flowering trees. I looked for a sign identifying what they were. The flowers were pinkish-white, so I first considered that they were cherries, then apples, finally... I don't know what I was looking at! Whatever they were, if blossoms are an indicator, they'll have a good crop.

Herds of chubby sheep were next, more cattle, more sheep, stockyards and then towns like Stockton and Sacramento. When you make Sacramento, you are an hour and a half from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains where Lucia lives. I stopped to walk Danny as the sun was setting. (See the photo) It brought back the old sailor's advisory:

"Red Sky at Dawning, Sailors, Take Warning; Red Sky at Night, Sailors' Delight"

A sign that the days to come will be Gramma's delight. I met Lucia in Nevada City's interesting downtown. The winding road to her home on the San Juan Ridge is without lights and not navigable by strangers in the dark. Once you arrive there, you are in one of the few remaining areas in the U.S. where people go to bed with the keys in the ignition and the doors to their homes open. Malakai will be 2 on March 3rd. We'll have a party on Sunday and the neighbors will come. Nothing up here has just one purpose and the birthday party will also be an opportunity for the adults to bring food and converse for a few hours. It's well after dark when we arrive there, a wood house reminiscent of the one my children were born into in Virginia. I will see Malakai in the morning. I haven't seen him in 15 months.

Tonight I will go to bed at home... as I have every night of my journey. Home is wherever you are at peace. And my journey will continue in a few months, when I return East by a central route through Colorado. There will be a few side trips from here too, but I am home... with my blood. Thank you for coming with me, all of you who have read this blog. Check back now and then.. I'll have a few entries and I'll leave a heads up for my new adventure in the fall.

Scandinavia In The Santa Ynez Valley

The photographs I'm sharing with you here represent less than 5% of the photo ops in this charming little town. Enjoy the photos and I'll give you the rundown tomorrow.... long day...can't keep my eyes open!

Denmark In California

What an amazing sight! It's a Danish town replicated in the Santa Ynez Valley of California! Why is Solvang so little known? Not many people I talked to about it before my trip began had ever heard of it. What a charmer, just a few miles off Route101. They have a fairly large RV lot with complimentary parking in Solvang and when that closes at 5PM you can drive 2 minutes to their sister city of Buellton and stay at Flying Flags RV Resort. One thing I've always loved about California is it's warm days and deep freeze nights, but I couldn't find a free plug-in for electric and I wasn't about to leave this little gem until I got my fill of it. I broke down and rented space inside the RV park and I'm glad I did. Rates are reasonable, bathrooms are immaculate.. including large showers, there's a pool and after breakfast I'll spend the morning.. or longer.. showing you Solvang. Meanwhile, Nala keeps touching the keyboard of the computer and then looking at me. This cat is a great communicator... she's cold and I'm her bunk mate. Meet me tomorrow night, wherever I am, and you'll see Solvang through my eyes. Goodnight! Sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite...

Ostrich Land In No Man's Land

Ostrich Land's owner(s) had cleverly covered the view of the birds' corral with paper so no one could take a picture without paying an entrance fee. "How much?" "Four dollars. Plus a dollar if you want to feed them." "I don't think I want to feed them. Aren't they pretty ornery?" "Oh yeah, they like to bite." "What's going on with your t-shirts? Half of them say 'Buellton' and the other half say 'Solvang'....." "Well, the city line goes down the middle of the building...so take your choice of where you want us to be! But because of that we can't get mail delivered here." "You're kidding!" "No, Solvang can't turn left off 246 and Buellton says we're in Solvang." "Well, guess I'll see your ostrichs. My dog's waiting in the van." "You got a dog with you? Go get him! He can see 'em too. Just be sure he's on a leash." "Right. He's blind so he might just wander into the corral without a leash." "If he did that, I couldn't help him." "You mean they'd kill my dog?" "Yep!" "They are a bit ornery, eh?"

"On Earth There Is Not Heaven... But There Are Pieces of It" -Jules Renard

Pieces of heaven on earth. I have been given that by both people and places. My life now resembles a "coat of many colors", irreplaceable and beloved. When you wish for another's life, you also wish for their hardships, their tragedies, their challenges. My life has had all these things, yet I would not exchange it for anyone else's. The City of San Buenaventura (Ventura's full name) gave me a piece of heaven today... freely, with both hands. The surf calmed down overnight and I know the surfers were disappointed, yet they had a day of incomparable beauty. I hope they appreciated what they were given. Do any of us appreciate what we have? I talked to people in Ventura who are blind to it's desirability. They've been here so long they literally cannot see. On the other hand, when's the last time I went to one of Miami's parks or beaches? Maybe that's why I am as I am... when I wander, I appreciate. I picked up lunch at Lassen's natural food store. A raw organic salad of my making, a Odwalla smoothie, sweet seaweed for dessert, and sugar coated date and almond logs rolled in coconut for more dessert... what's the point of eating well if you can't have double desserts? In the store the produce manager gave me a big, sincere smile and wanted to know how my life was going today. "My life is wonderful! How's yours?" His smile widened. "Oh, I'm good too. Can I help you find something?" "No, I'm waiting for the salad bar to open." "Time for a snack?" "No, I'm taking lunch down to the water to see if it's as riled up as it was last night." "Was it riled up last night?" "Sure was. They closed it." What about the surfers? Were they there?" "I didn't see any. But it's hard to keep them away, especially when it's rough!" "Why is that? I mean, I don't know about surfing." "It's about the undertow, I think." "Yeah, I guess. I was listening to NPR and they were talking about a guy - a surfer - who sneaked onto a closed beach to try to catch the biggest wave and it crushed him." "Where was that?" "Hawaii, I think. The police were waiting to arrest him if he made it out." "I doubt he cared about that." "That's what the police said. Too bad though." "Not so bad. Bet he died with a smile on his face.He figured out what made him happy." "That's what his friends said!" "You should go to the beach after work. It was so beautiful last night, I almost drove off the road looking at it." I took my food and headed for the pier. On the way I took a wrong turn (once again, there are no coincidences in life) and ended up at Marina Park, full of people who DO know what they have... and their children and dogs. Danny loved it there. He doesn't think much of New Mexico and Arizona.. Texas either. He likes grass under his feet. We stayed and enjoyed 'til well after lunch. Time to turn north again. Solvang awaits. But first, I needed to see Lucia's beach again. The beach that "talks" as the tide goes out. I found it quickly.. Faria Park. AND they allow overnights there. I'll be back, Ventura. Wait for me. On the way we got gas in Carpenteria. Little town, full of energy. Passed Santa Barbara.. it's a place I've been before and my daughter Jocelyn lived there. Santa Barbara is probably as perfect a town as money can make it. Maybe that's why I don't like it, imperfect as I am. In little more than an hour I was at the turnoff to Buellton and Solvang. Buellton bills itself as having the world's best split pea soup. Anybody who's had mine knows better than that. I turned toward Solvang when suddenly I saw a field of ostrichs... grazing. I slammed on the brakes. Danny fell to the floor, unhurt. Good thing our pets offer unconditional love.(Photos at the bottom are from Lucia's beach. All others are Ventura, heaven on earth)

The World and The Golden Thread That Binds Us

I am that.. thou art that.. all this is that.. and that alone is.
-Vedas

Ventura Highway

Casual elegance. The perfect small town. I can't find a flaw in it. I drove up Route 101 on a rainy, cloudy Sunday evening. My heart beat a little faster. At the exit for the pier, I looked left and almost ran off the road... the surf was pounding and crashing...what a sight! I found another exit and doubled back. Residents were all over the beach. And the beach? Closed. Too dangerous. Too achingly beautiful. Too wild and untamed. Once more, I fell silent in the face of nature's glory. I walked the beach and then took the Coast Hwy north for a few miles and straight to the gated entrance for Faria Beach. I hoped someone would exit or enter. I couldn't remember the code and after five years, it's doubtlessly been changed. No such luck. Back on 101 south into town, I exited at California Street, heart of the restaurant area, which leads up to City Hall on the hill. The shots you see at the bottom were taken after sunset. Ventura... I hear "America" and repeat the lyrics.

"Ventura Highway in the sunshine

Where the days are longer

The nights are stronger than moonshine

You're gonna go I know"

Ventura... on my all time short list of favorites. More from Ventura in the daylight....