the mountain of mustard

Or, the hills just north of Ventura after the rains.

rocks that make me think of planets

...in this case, Saturn.

heart-shaped rocks on the beach

ladybugs on rocks

ladybugs on seaweed

Another curious phenomenon that goes along with ladybugs on beaches. It was suggested that there  are little bugs on the seaweed that they find tasty.

ladybugs on the beach, again

If you do an Internet search on why so many ladybugs are found on the beach these days, you will find a lot of material, but the short answer seems to be that they are blown out to sea by Santa Ana winds. There may be more to it; there probably is more to it. This is just a start.

amazing things

I do not know the name of this amazing creature, but I am thankful that it didn't seem to mind me photographing it while it perched on our Madagascar palm plant. Also amazing is that one can take such a detailed photo with an iPhone 4S.

Beatrice Wood

We visited the former home of Beatrice Wood in Ojai, CA. This woman led an extraordinary life of 105 years. She inhabited worlds I had hitherto seen as separate: turn of the century high society, Marcel Duchamp and the Dadaists, Annie Besant and the Theosophists. In the end she was happiest living alone in this house, making pottery.

first Momo

A Momo is a type of Asian dumpling that we hadn't tried before. We lost our Momo virginity at Himalaya Restaurant in Ventura.

the flower situation at the VBG

The flower situation at the Ventura Botanical Garden... and the view from the flowers.

the Scrabble game of 4-10-17

Caravan Outpost

Sometimes for your anniversary you stay in one of the Airstream trailers at Caravan Outpost in Ojai, CA. This being your first time in an Airstream, you learn quickly that they are remarkably-crafted American-made contraptions. The outpost itself is also remarkably-crafted, highly original and lots of fun, providing bicycles, games, vinyl records and a fire pit.

USA's smallest post office

At least according to this little building we encountered in Wheeler Springs, CA.

Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve

So we made it our destination, the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, and the best part was this area on the outskirts of the reserve, where every hipster from Los Angeles could be seen roaming through the flowers. Looking at older photos, I could tell that this year's "superbloom" was not the most super on record. Still, it was worth the drive and worth learning that once upon a time antelope-like pronghorns did roam these plains (hence the name).

Pacific Crest Trail

A side show of Vasquez Rocks is the fact that the Pacific Crest Trail goes right through the park and by the famous rocks. It was great to see our old friend the PCT that we hiked in the Truckee-Tahoe area not so long ago.

Vasquez Rocks

Vasquez Rocks - a county park in northern Los Angeles county - is a great place to experience at least once. The strikingly surreal desert rock formations leave you wondering if you are not actually on Mars, which is probably why the site was used for multiple Star Trek episodes and movies. As Earthlings, it's fun to scramble up the rocks and and take in the vistas.

we went looking for wildflowers...

...and found Vasquez Rocks.

an interesting rock

cruise ships in Santa Barbara

I have rarely seen cruise ships in Santa Barbara, but apparently it has been going on for years. The ships work their way up and down the west coast. Depending on the environmental impact, I am not necessarily against that. There were also lots of sailboats that day, making the already pretty scenery pretty damn picturesque.

the Scrabble game of 4-4-17

west coast pelican

Also seen at Santa Barbara Harbor.

breakwater

The breakwater at the Santa Barbara Harbor is a great place to get splashed. I guess that's what these things do - they literally break water. Although I have never been to the Malecon in Havana, I like this place because it reminds of of it.

the flower situation at Point Mugu

Mostly yellow due in part to invasive mustard plants, but if you looked closely there were lupines and lilies and other native wildflowers. This was late March not everything was in bloom. 

Point Mugu

I had not been to Point Mugu State Park in a long time. I always thought it was a great place to hike along a stunning piece of coastline. While clearly it had benefitted from all the rains, the ruggedness of the place at times seemed to verge on shabbiness - the result of lots of use and disturbed soils.

Butterfly Beach revisited

spinach soup

It tasted a little bit like cream of spinach. I like all the green soups.

Krishnamurti's living room

Well, technically it belonged to one of his sponsors, the actress Mary Zimbalist, but they lived there together and now it lives on as part of the Krishnamurti Library in Ojai.

Santa Paula

We decided to check out Santa Paula and were pleasantly surprised.  It's sort of the sleepy, agricultural heart of Ventura county. There's an old railroad station, a "floating" granite ball sculpture, and one very good Cajun-themed restaurant called Rabelais.