Safe and sound

 

 

Hi Folks!

 

Greetings to you from sunny California!

 

Despite the rocky, ungodly early start yesterday, the day went quite smoothly. A slight delay in South Bend due to fog, but since we had a long layover in Minneapolis, it wasn't a worry. We had breakfast there, then it was off to L.A. We both were able to sack out on the plane and get some much-needed extra sleep. No problems other than some stiff knees and a sore back!

 

We got our rental and hit the road. As we left L.A., we saw fog of a different kind...it was amazing to see the haze of smog in the air. I don't know if it was just a bad day, but we wondered if wildfires were playing a part.

 

I have to say that looking out over the city and seeing those really tall palm trees sticking up is one of my favorite things. I don't know what it is about it, but I think it just looks so neat!

 

As we got closer to San Bernardino, the air seemed to clear considerably, and we were able to see the low mountains in the distance. Here in Yucaipa, the air is very clear, and it's sunny and hot. Surprisingly humid, too--it feels just like home!

 

It was great to see Cousin Ros, her sweetheart of a daughter Kristi, and Aunt Bea. We also got to meet Ros's boyfriend Glen, who seems like a totally great guy, and his son Dylan (not sure if it's Dylan or Dillon), who turns out to be a fabulous guitarist. (She wrote, as she sat in the room surrounded by his five guitars.) He played a little bit of acoustic this morning, and it was a nice way to wake up!

 

After visiting a bit, we went with Ros and Glen to Market Night in Redlands. They had a live band (Glen knows the keyboardist) who played blues and jazz, and were actually quite good. We walked the booths and checked things out--I'll put up some pictures at some point. They had beautiful produce from the area--dozens of varieties and colors of plums, zucchini, tomatoes, and yummmm, avocados. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed home, because Ros is teaching today. We stayed up a while and watched "Saw IV" with Kristi and Dylan.

 

Should be a fun weekend, as Ken's cousin Murray has moved back to California from Hawaii and is coming to see him. Ken had lost touch with him, and our cards came back from Hawaii, so he was thrilled to hear that Murray is coming up tonight. Tomorrow Ros is having a birthday party for Aunt Bea, and Ken's brother Mike is coming up from San Diego for a few hours, so that's cool. Anyhoo, it's shaping up to be a really nice time.

 

I won't be doing much journal reading this week, but I'll get caught up when we get back.

 

More soon! I gotta go see if I can get that broom back that Dan had to ask for this week. <wink>

Tags: California