Another great week

After spending a few days in the high desert in Anza, Aariel and Gavin joined us for a day, so Gavin could continue his mission to explore the planet.

Then we made our way back to Carlsbad via Ramona were we visited Patty and Jorge in their new home on 100+ acres of gently rolling hills. The timing was perfect. They invited us for a Thai lunch and then to their house. As a new house, it needs landscaping which is right down Patricia's alley.  Based on previous conversations, Patty & Jorge asked her to draw up a plan for what plants could go where to keep it as native as possible.
Then it was time to head to our new housesit in Carlsbad at Lore & Jerry's place where Jasmine & Jasper were waiting for us.

We settled in pretty quickly as this is the fifth time in this house, and we know the ropes and looked forward to a relaxing weekend.

Starting the new week, we had Tracy and Ken, Nicole's parents, over for a tapas and wine and great conversation.  On Tuesday our friend Glen joined us for some good SNL humor.

Wednesday was Gavin-day again; we do miss the boy when we are not there for a few days.

The big task this morning was to take care of a blocked drain in the laundry. The plumber made a huge mess, of necessity, but the reward is that the water is now flowing again.

We have needed some nice chairs in the backyard, and they have finally arrived in boxes

 to be stained and assembled; any volunteers?

After all the parts were painted,

they needed to be assembled, and I was very lucky to have a specialist on hand.

 As a reward for a great job, it was time to visit the park where we encountered a school bus, Gavin's new word.

 This gave us the perfect opportunity to practice some new skills

Now it was time for Oma & Opa to hand over the reins to Mama and Papa for the weekend.

Friday was an evening reserved for having longtime friends Tom and Sandy over for drinks, and I had a little too much of the grape juice.  But we had a great time talking about old times and times to come, as Tom is just getting started in his own beer brewery in San Clemente.

Looks like we are fully booked out, as on Saturday, we had arranged to spend time with Ashley and Peter at Sun Harbour Marina in San Diego on Verena & Michael's boat, which they are in the process of selling.

This was the last blast on this boat, and a great time was had for a fitting finish for our week.

High Desert

We're visiting Anza in the high desert, relaxing while staying at Annette & Guido's house as our get away. We arrived yesterday afternoon and were treated to a wonderful sunset.

We always feel very relaxed up here at about 4000feet. Waking after a restful sleep in a totally quiet and dark place (no street lights), we were treated to a typical Southern California day of blue sky. It fit our plans perfectly as we had decided to head to Idyllwild. On the way, we took a side trip and stopped where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the 74 Highway for a walk north on the trail for about a mile and enjoyed the vastness of the country.

Going North

Going South

Then we headed on to Idyllwild where we stopped to relax at a great bakery called 'Honey Bunns and Joe' for tea and goodies. We invited two locals, Ruth and Linda, to join us at our table. Both are originally from San Diego and just moved here recently.

We met the sister of our hosts Misha, Summer and Sunrise in Vista, Kiki, who has lived up here for the last four years and was able to be our guide in the town, pointing out some of the points of interest we may have missed otherwise.

Kiki & Patricia

We did lots of walking and a very pleasant day was had by all.

It's all about Gavin

Back home we're getting settled in and entertaining Gavin a few days a week. He's keeping us busier than a lot of times before.
We brought the summer back with us from Europe, so now it's hot, and we are lucky to live just a few blocks from the beach.

I think Oma would love to join me in here

OK that's better

So how exactely does this work

Last week, we did some housesitting for Kendell and Ian while they visited Ian's parents, and as usual, we walked the neighborhood and admired people's front yards and discover new things.

A little free library where one can take exchange books.

We met Ruth and Tom, the owners of this house, sitting in there front yard waiting for someone to walk by with enough time to have a chat. Wouldn't you know it, Ruth is from Germany.
Finishing this week and for Labor Day, we went to Anza to Guido and Annette's place and relaxed a bit and enjoyed the view, the quiet and absolutely gorgeous weather.

If you look very closely, where the land ends is the Pacific.

Anyone for a horse or a dragon?

Last weekend, on our way back from our retreat in Anza, for the first time, we took a break and checked out a place we have passed many times on previous trips.
The artist Ricardo Breceda displays his work at Vail Lake off Route 79, and we spent some time talking with him and admiring his metal artistry.

He recently brought in a partner whose work hangs in the large workshop.

The week in pictures

Sunday, I drove up to Anza, Patricia was happy to have a day on her own, and I was happy to see Guido and Annette and speak Badisch all day.  After having inspected Guido's new additions to his house, we went for a walk to see Clair and Lee who live about half hour walk away.

Guido and Annette on our walk

I had no idea that last year's fire came so very close to their house.

On the home front, whenever Patricia starts to measure something, I became wary.

And it always turns out great.

The first potatoes for this year.

Then, of course, there is the time with Gavin, all day.

Here is Gavin's first major work of art. Abstract impressionism? Post modern?

To top it off, we fixed up the Biergarten for the new season and
had a soft opening with Glen.

That was it for the week. It looks like the next Biergarten Party is on Saturday, May 11th.
Have a happy week.

A day at Anza

This last weekend, we had a great, relaxing time at Annette and Guido's vacant house in Anza.  We're always struck by the quiet and how beautiful the night sky is.
Saturday morning, we left Eddie's place, where we had stayed over night in the camper, leaving at about 8am to make our way north and east.
It took about 2 hours to get there from Encinitas, stopping in Temecula for some groceries before starting the climb to 4000 ft to Anza.

There is the house, right up on the hill.

In any case it is a great escape for a short time.  The day was beautiful, clear and warm, and when we arrived, we unpacked and relaxed.
Once you get off the main, paved road, the driving is a little rough, like the proverbial wash-board, not bad if you take it very slow.  Just as well the ground is not wet.

Washboard 

Then it gets even more interesting, and that's going up hill.

It does amaze us how some people can be totally thoughtless in there behavior; there is trash everywhere, and they don't even bother to hide it.

The tip (garbage dump) is only a half mile away; what gives!

Later that afternoon, we took stock of what plants that Guido and Annette planted during their last stay are still alive .

Some thrive in the heat,

like these roses.

We think its about 60/40 survival rate; I let you guess which way that stat goes.
The next day, it was time to head back down to the burbs.

Easy drive home

We were expecting rain, so we wanted to leave early, but the rain never came.
After waking to a clear sky and fog in the valley, we said our good-byes and left at about 9:30.

We are above the fog

We decided to take it easy and go the long way back home.  First we took 79 toward Warner Springs and then route 76 past Lake Henshaw toward Pauma Valley, and this got us all the way home.

The fields were full of beautiful flowers as we approached Warner Springs

All that color from such small flowers, barely an inch across.

On the way, we picked up great fruit and vegetables, grown right here. 

Me too, I am just not as elegant.