Back Roads in The Golden State

It's been a while since I've posted here.

There have been more posts over at Lilly and the Brothers.

Sometimes there are posts I just have to write over there, and there isn't time for a post here too.

But I am looking at pictures from our camping trip this weekend, and I just have to share them, and write a bit.

Because I live in such a beautiful place and sometimes I can't help wanting to talk about it.

I love this Golden State.

Here goes.

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Aaron and I love to drive country roads.

We search them out.

You know what I mean, the kind of roads that meander.

They are often narrow.

And tree lined.

They twist and turn, and don't lead to anywhere, but somehow always hold an amazing discovery for us.

These kind of drives make up a part of almost every vacation we take--big or small.

Thankfully our kids are good sports, (almost) always up for an adventure, and excellent car travelers.

And we don't even have a tv in our mini van!

After all, who'd want to waste time looking at a tv when there are glorious vistas to feast our eyes upon?

There are not a lot of these kind of drives where we live.

You have to hunt for them, and put forth a bit of effort.

Los Angeles and its suburbs really do sprawl.

That's why we love the coast north of Santa Barbra and on, so very much.

As soon as we're just north of Santa Barbra, the hills open up, and I feel as if my very soul is taking great gulps of the emptiness.

Those rolling, empty hills fill me.

I love wide open spaces.

We camped last weekend at Refugio State Beach.

It was a marvelous time.

We had the kind of weather that makes beach camping perfect and makes me want to stay there forever.

Even with the gross campground bathrooms, and a perpetually filthy 1 year old.

One night after dinner, we hiked the trail above the beach to look for whales and dolphins, and to soak in the views.

It was that magic hour just before the sun is setting when the light is absolutely golden.

I looked at the hills just inland from the ocean.

Covered in the burnt grass of summer heat, they glowed in the golden light.

"This is why they call it The Golden State," I thought.

It made me so happy I almost cried.

Then a kid wandered too near the cliff edge and the moment was over.

Still, the siren call of those hills was too powerful for us to resist.

On Monday, after we left the campground, we headed east on Refugio Road.

Just moments from the ocean, we found this.

And then we crested a small hill and the view opened up to this.

Golden light bathed the hills surrounding this beautiful valley, and we felt like we had found a little piece of paradise.

Both Aaron and I gasped.
Then sighed.
We're both from Fallbrook.
And these kind of views remind us of home.
Perhaps that's why we love country roads so much.
They are a piece of our childhood, our family, and some of our dearest memories.
Fallbrook has changed a lot since we were kids, but the rolling hills haven't gone anywhere.
And there are still citrus groves, and avocados, big skies, and meandering roads.
It's still a beautiful place.
And so was this place.
On one side of the road this.

On the other, this.

We immediately began discussing how we could move to this valley.
The citrus grove is part of this ranch, El Refugio Ranch.

We continued on down the road, with promises that our next stop would be at our favorite park in Santa Barbara.

The road narrowed and grew shady from the live oaks and sycamores growing alongside it.

James and William both said, "are we in Fallbrook now?"

There are roads just like this in my home town.

Fallbrook is a second home for them and they know it well.

I like that.

The road opened up again to more golden fields, more oak trees, and more quiet emptiness.

I loved it.

As we continued the drive, we found the Circle Bar B Guest Ranch where you can spend the night, ride horses, or attend a dinner theater.
It looked like a pretty great place.

The road goes on quite a ways from there, until the pavement ends at the top of the hill, and it turns into a dirt road.

From there you can park and hike or ride your mountain bike along the dirt road for more spectacular views of Santa Barbra countryside.

Our kids, however, were not up for that, so we turned around and headed back to the 101.
The views going back were just as beautiful and I soaked them up.
We were going to be driving back south, to our urban/suburban life, and we'd be saying goodbye to country roads for a while.
I'm glad for these little escapes down country roads to fill up that part of me that needs them.
I love my little house in the burbs.
I love our trips to the city.
But I might love these rolling hills best of all.

I'm curious, do you love exploring country roads?
What are some of your favorites--in The Golden State or somewhere else?
Maybe one day we'll get to try them.
More camping pictures and stories to come.
I've got lots!
Love from,
Greta

Road Trip: Mt. San Jacinto and Pines to Palms Highway

Being in the San Jacinto mountains this weekend reminded me how much I love them.

I may not get to visit my most favorite mountains in the world, the Alps, but these are a bit easier to get to and really quite wonderful.

One of the things that makes them so amazing is the difference between the 2 sides of the mountains.  

On one side you have pines.

On the other, palms.

And there is a road that takes you between the 2.  It's called the Pines to Palms Highway (CA-74).

Aaron and I drove it this summer and if you are a fan of beautiful drives I highly recommend this one.

There are a multitude of ways to approach this drive; it doesn't have to be Pines to Palms.

It could just as easily be Palms to Pines.

In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we took it both coming and going.

The benefit of starting at the top of the mountain and dropping down to the desert floor is watching the landscape change so dramatically and taking in the views.

So we'll take it from the top.

From where ever you are in LA, Orange County or San Diego, you end up on the 10 East, headed toward Palm Springs.  When you reach the tiny town of Beaumont (worth driving around for their great signage) you exit the freeway and head up the mountain.

Soon you are taking in vistas like this:

And this:

As befitting a mountain landscape, you'll find towering pine trees,

Moss covered rocks,

and lots of the Manzanita tree with its smooth, red bark.

There are plenty of good hiking trails just off the highway as you drive through.  It feels good to stretch your legs, even if you are huffing and puffing from the altitude.  You are, after all, at 6000 feet.

Here are some links for hiking trails: here, here and here. 

If you worked up an appetite, you can stop in the little town of Idyllwild for a mid- morning snack, if you started early enough, or for lunch, if you slept in.
I haven't actually eaten in Idyllwild, but there are plenty of places to try and I did find a pretty great used book store.  It's worth the stop.

Once you've fueled up and took a break from the car, hop back in and head out of Idyllwild, towards Palm Springs.  

You'll catch CA-74 also known as the Pines to Palms Scenic Byway.

You'll notice the landscape change quickly.  

Gone is the verdant green moss, replaced by hardy desert vegetation.

Very different but still very beautiful.

The highway snakes you down the mountain on a very steep, very curvy road.  It's the kind of road my mom hates and my dad loves. He looks out at the views while she tells him to keep his eyes on the road.   If you are prone to car sickness, this part may be a challenge to you.

There are plenty of spots to pull out and take in the desert spreading out before you.

Once you've reached the bottom of the hill, you can drive into Palm Springs.
I highly recommend stopping at the ACE Hotel for lunch.  The food is very good and they have a photo booth!  (see more about the ACE here)

I love Palm Springs and can find lots and lots to do here.
If you like thrift stores and vintage, read this post to see some of my favorite picks.
If you like art, you can visit the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Or do some hiking on the desert floor.
You can visit the Palm Springs zoo and botanical gardens.
You can even ride the Palm Springs Ariel Tram back up to San Jacinto Peak for a whole new Palms to Pines experience.


Whatever you end up doing, you'll find it hard to tear your eyes off that beautiful mountain.
Whether it's covered in afternoon shadows,

or bathed in morning light.

For the drive home, you can head out of Palm Springs on the highway and hook back up to the 10 West, or, you can drive back up the mountain for the Palms to Pines version of the drive.
The views are spectacular that way too.

If you live in Southern California, or are here for a visit, I hope you'll give this little road trip a try.  We're going to do it with the kids this month or next, before the sun really warms things up.  What a great way for them to experience mountains and desert in one day.

I'll be sure to tell you all about it.

Happy travels!

Love from,

Greta

Where I've Been and Some Beautiful Figs

I know I've been gone a lot.

There has been a lot of life happening lately.

Some of it very good and some of it decidedly not.

There have been adjustments to new routines and schedules, and some how I find myself with a lot less time for me.  The hour or so I spent blogging every night has just disappeared.

We are rolling on a new wave and it has taken a while to adjust to the changes.

That is why it was so nice to take a break from it all last week and spend time in one of my favorite places, the Central Coast.  

It is restorative to me in every way.

I have oodles of pictures and discoveries to share with you, but for now, I'll leave you with these.

Aren't they beautiful?

We bought them at the famous SLO Farmers Market the night before we left.

The produce on the Central Coast blows my mind.

I could move there tomorrow just for the farmers markets.

It was nice to have a taste of vacation the day after, when I was suffering from vacation sickness.  These figs were perfect with my sandwich made on fresh olive bread from the French Bakery in Cambria, (we brought a loaf home) with an heirloom tomato from a small farm near Paso Robles and a ripe avocado from another farm.
I wonder if my kids will grow up thinking every mom takes pictures of lunch or it's just their mom that is the weirdo?

Looking forward to sharing some autumnal goodies with you as well as a lot of Central Coast love.
Hoping I can get back into the swing of things.
Love from,
Greta
PS.  I thought these were honey figs, but actually I think they are a kind called Conadria.  I really want to plant a fig tree.  These ones are in the running.

The View From My Weekend

Just a few pictures from the weekend.  We went camping at the beach, brought home some treasures and had a splendid lunch.  

Our vintage mugs ready for coffee around the campfire on Saturday morning.

Treasures from the sea ready to display on our nature table: black sea fans, unidentified bird bones, and parts of a lobster shell.

The perfect lunch for a summer afternoon: olive bread, (my absolute favorite) a ripe heirloom tomato from the farmers market, thickly sliced, a few slices of good quality dried salami, goat cheese with sun dried tomatoes and olive oil.  Heaven on a plate.

Hoping your weekend found you enjoying some simple summer pleasures.
Love from,
Greta


*To see more pics from our getaway and a review of the campground, visit Lilly and the Brothers.

Urban Foraging and Blackberry Crumble

We went blackberry picking last week.

Not out in the country, or on a u-pick farm, but right in the middle of the city. Orange County, suburban sprawl, next to 405 and John Wayne Airport.

It was great.
If you don't live in southern California, you might be thinking, "so what? I can walk out to my mailbox and pick berries any time I want to."

I know all about you, you Pacific Northwesters. You and your roadsides brimming with berries. Aaron and his family drove to Alaska when he was a little boy and one of his favorite memories is how they would stop in the morning to pick fresh berries from the side of the road and his mom would put them in their pancakes.

It sounds pretty nice. OK, it sounds stinking amazing!

But we don't have that here.

Or at least I didn't think we did. Turns out we do. You just have to look for it.

This is where we found these berries. It is a lovely place to pick, even with its close proximity to the city.

There are other places too. In fact, there is a whole movement of people who are interested in finding fruit that is otherwise not being eaten and taking full advantage of it.

It's called Urban Foraging, and you can read an article about it here.

I have always wondered about trees laden down with oranges that no one is picking. Apricots falling to the ground. Loquat trees full of fruit that no one seems to want.

What becomes of all that fruit?

I'll take it.

When we were kids we always did. Anywhere there was fruit that wasn't in someone's yard was fair game. There was a street in Fallbrook, the town I grew up in, lined with pomegranate trees. It was called Pomegranate Lane and people went there and picked them by the bagful. There was a giant loquat tree just up the hill from our house. Oh how my brother and I loved those ripe loquats. They're the ones with the big shiny seed in the middle. No one else seemed to eat them.

That is the idea behind urban foraging.

Rather than let the fruit go to waste (or to the birds and squirrels) pick it and make something like this:

There is a distinct pleasure in filling your bucket with berries you've picked yourself, adding a bit of sugar, oats and butter,

slipping it into the oven and enjoying it with a bit of ice cream.

Urban foraging? I'm all for it!

If you don't live near our blackberry spot, take a look at this site to see if there are any good fruit picking spots near you. You can even take a walk through your neighborhood and if you see fruit laying on the ground, offer to pick it in exchange for keeping some yourself. Urban foraging requires you to be a bit bold.

Or, if you can bear to share any place you know and love, do tell. I'll even keep it a secret if you want me to.

Happy picking!

Love from,

Greta

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The Crumble

To my understanding, the difference between a crisp and a crumble is all in the use of flour or oats. A crumble uses oats. I think. If I am wrong, please correct me.

Our crumble could not have been easier. It took James and I about 3 minutes to make. Now that is my kind of dessert.

Directions:

Spread berries in the bottom of a buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

Choose size according to amount of berries you have. We didn't have a lot, so we used a small dish and had a single layer of berries.

In a bowl, combine 1 and a 1/2 cups of oats, half a stick of butter cut into small pieces, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon. (If you have more berries, make more oat topping)

I used my hands to blend the butter into the oats.

Crumble oat topping over berries.

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the berries are bubbling and the oatmeal topping is crisp and golden, but not getting too brown.

Top with ice cream and enjoy the fruit of your labor!

Vintage Playground Equipment

The kids and I recently visited Atlantis Park for the first time. Atlantis Park is in the city of Garden Grove and it was built in the 60s. To some, that would be a good reason not to go. But I fell in love with it as soon as we walked in.

You know I love vintage--even vintage playground equipment.

There was Sandy the Sea Serpent. He's just right for climbing on.

And Danny the Sea Dragon, a much loved slide.
His long tail starts in the trees
and spits you out at the bottom of the hill.
A sea horse rocking horse. So cute I'd like to put him in my own back yard.
But this whale, o the whale.
He really stole my heart.

Here's the thing about vintage. It's worn, it's old, it's paint might be chipped and cracked. It isn't streamlined or space aged or the newest thing.

But it has character. It has a story. It's fun.

And I love it.

I'm glad to find a playground that is devoid of foam padding on the ground, and perfectly safety tested equipment.

I like a little soul.

I like a slide that is a blue whale tongue.

I like vintage.

Aaron's Art at the Tiki Garage Sale

So.....add it to my list. No website yet. Turns out I need a little help and Aaron was busy getting ready for this.

The Tiki Garage sale at Bamboo Ben's in Huntington Beach. You can get a peek at a bit of his art to whet your appetite for the new digs we'll be inhabiting soon.

Along with some of his paintings, he also sold some of his linoleum block prints.
Trailer. Available in 3 different colors.
Lawn chair. Iconic summer backyard.
Sam's sign. If you've driven PCH through Sunset Beach in the past 30 or so years, you've seen, and loved, the Sam's sign.
The booth was actually a family affair. Our brother in law, Mark, sold tiki buttons.
And Aaron's Dad, Scootiki, sold tikis. He's the one who got Aaron here in the first place. He carves amazing tikis. These are just a few. You can see more here.
It was perfect weather for perusing tiki goods.

Even the kiddos liked it.

I especially liked him.
It was a good day at Bamboo Ben's. The only thing I have to say about the tiki crowd is, some of them take the whole tiki thing a little too far.
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Thanks for hanging in there with me while we get our stuff up and running. I'll be here with regular posts this week since I'll have Mr. Linoleum Block Print around a bit more to help me with other things. Although he did say he has tons of ideas for new prints.

We might have to set up the studio for both of us or we'll never see each other.

Happy Monday, friends.

Greta