Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 480

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog, then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. What's something you wish you'd figured out sooner? 

2. Something from childhood you still enjoy today? 

3. Are you a fidgeter? What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word fidget? 

4. Your favorite fall vegetable? How do you like it prepared? 

5. What's something you find mildly annoying, but not annoying enough to actually do anything about? Might you now? 

6. Insert your own random thought here.  

Going Coastal

An alternative title might be 'How I broke my elbow on the coast of California', but I'll let you decide. 

Day 6-Cambria to Carmel 

The day started with a 9 am tour of Hearst Castle in nearby San Simeon. George Hearst traveled his land on horseback but his son William Randolph grew tired of camping so he built a 'little something on the hill' and now we have buses and tickets and tour guides to help us along. 

Entry to the property today is with a timed ticket and a bus ride from the visitors center (located just off the highway) all the way up the mountain to the house itself. 

What an incredible place to call home. 

While a visit to this remarkable 'castle' sounded like it might be a little too touristy, hubs and I both really enjoyed seeing this amazing property and hearing the story behind its construction.  

The house is over the top in terms of decor and detail, not to mention the views which are absolutely stunning. 

Before leaving San Simeon we stopped at the nearby state park to see the sea lions who call this beach home. 

These are not creatures we see lounging on the East Coast beaches and it feels a little bit amazing to stand so close and watch them sunbathe. 

It was another ideal convertible day, perfect for a drive on the twisting-turning coastline road that runs through Big Sur.

We spent most of the day with our mouths agape at the magnificence of the coastal seascape and the natural beauty that is everywhere you look. I really am beginning to get why people live here. 

We stopped for lunch in one of the few restaurants we passed on this stretch of highway (The Whale Watchers Cafe) and then made another stop to see McWay Falls. You couldn't get back as far as we would have liked because some of the cliff was perilously close to falling into the sea!! and was roped off. McWay is an 80 foot high waterfall that drops right into the beach beside the Pacific and pictures do not do it justice.

We arrived in the picturesque town of Carmel late afternoon and after checking in to our hotel set out to explore the area. We walked to the beach, browsed the shops, and had a drink in a little bar tucked away in one of the many nooks and crannies this town possesses. The bar owner recommended his favorite Italian restaurant for dinner so we headed there next. We find the locals generally know what they're talking about and he did not steer us wrong. (La Balena) Fresh pasta in the garden with wonderful service and a most delicious tiramisu for dessert. 

Carmel left its mark, in more ways than one actually. We were walking to breakfast the next morning, struggling to find the address we'd been given, both of us looking up, when I somehow caught my foot on what I guess was a low landscaping curb around a tree in the middle of the sidewalk. 

Honestly I don't even know how the next few seconds happened, but down I went in grand fashion, breaking my glasses, bruising my cheek, scraping both hands, skinning my leg, and evidently fracturing my elbow although I didn't realize it at the time. 

I was shaken up for sure and I took a little inventory of all my body parts before getting up. I was most concerned about my cheek which was throbbing and especially my broken glasses because we weren't heading home for three more days. 

I wanted to cry and maybe I did, mostly over the broken glasses, but I did pick myself up, or maybe hubs picked me up???, and we went into the restaurant. They kindly brought me a bag of ice for my cheek and I cleaned my bleeding hands before mentioning to hubs that my forearm was pretty sore although nothing actually felt broken.

I texted my daughters because I knew they would be sympathetic, but also because my oldest is married to an orthopedic surgeon. He was out of town so after a series of texts relayed through her, questions asked about moving all my fingers and level of numbness, etc he recommended I find a doctor and get checked out. 

That all sounded like a lot so we got in the car and drove to Half Moon Bay to meet up with our friends and see their daughter get married instead. 

I should've listened to the doctor major. 

I have a non-displaced fracture which thankfully did not require surgery. Personally I think walking around with it broken for three days, dancing albeit cautiously, and maybe that lemon drop I sipped at the reception all helped keep it from becoming too stiff as broken elbows tend to do. 

We're almost home in terms of these posts. We still have the wedding, Sausalito, and the orthopedist coming up. In that order. Oops!

Carefree Highway

Continuing my recap of our road trip up the California coast...

Day 5-Santa Barbara to Cambria

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip because I had no idea we'd be driving through the mountains. For some reason I pictured us driving entirely along the coast but we scooted up and around on this part of the journey and it was spectacular. 

The weather didn't hurt. 

Before leaving Santa Barbara we visited the mission there. I've always heard about the California missions but had never been inside one and thought it was beautiful. 

The weather didn't hurt. 

Did I say that already? 

The scenery on the road to Cambria was stunning and we stopped at a couple of spots to take in the views. In a funny turn of events at one of these vista points we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere admiring the view along with another group of travelers, 4 adults preparing to bike some of the PCH. We chatted for a few minutes and when one of them used the word y'all (dead giveaway you're not a west coaster) I had to ask where they were from. He said, 'Oh a tiny little town in South Carolina'. 

Well how about that? A tiny little town in South Carolina just up the road from our tiny little town in South Carolina. It's a small big world and I am here for it.  

When planning our trip hubs and I briefly considered doing a side wine thing since we were very near, and some of the time in, wine country. After looking at the map we decided we could either do wine or we could do the coast but we couldn't do both and we opted for the coast.

Okay, one small sip...

We were cruising along under the bright blue sky when we passed the entrance to  Gainey Vineyards. What an absolutely lovely little stop this was. 

Gainey is a family owned winery and they've been in the wine making business for decades. The current owner happened to be in the lobby when we walked in so we heard the history and then shared a tasting in their gorgeous tasting room. 

We liked it so much we joined their club, shipped some home, and bought a couple of Christmas presents from the gift shop before moving on down the road. Up the road? Onward to Cambria! 

Wait! Before Cambria there was one more stop in Morro Bay for an up close look at the famous Morro Rock. 

The rock is the remnant of a once active volcano and was named by a Portuguese explorer back in the 1500's. Nature is so cool...

Everybody thinks so. 

We peeled ourselves away and checked into our beachfront hotel in Cambria, then promptly went for a stroll to see what we could see. 

We had a lovely dinner in town that evening at The Sow's Ear Cafe, then sat on the hotel rooftop patio to admire the nighttime ocean view. 

It was a very good day. 

A Brainy Hodgepodge

Welcome back to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. I'm still in a sling, but have better use of my hand this week so am back to blogging. If you've answered today's questions add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger before you. Kindness always counts. 

Here we go-

1. Thursday (Oct 13) is National Train Your Brain Day. What do you do to keep your brain in tip top shape? Is it helping?

I try to 'exercise' my brain on a regular basis. I read a lot, work puzzles, and play games that fall under the category of 'brain training'. Is it helping? I hope so! 

2. You can sit with anyone in the world and 'pick their brain'...whom do you choose? Tell us why? 

Elon Musk. He's intelligent, interesting, and unpredictable. 

3. What's something happening in the world (or your corner of it) right now that you have trouble 'wrapping your brain around'? 

Black holes, the space-time continuum, the depth of God's love, the vastness of the universe...

4. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall in the pumpkin fanclub? (1=blech, 10=make it all pumpkin all the time) Tell us something delicious you've tasted recently that had some pumpkin in it somewhere. 

Pumpkin flavored anything is generally just eh for me. I don't go out of my way to order something pumpkin and I am not a fan of flavored coffee of any kind, so no pumpkin spice lattes for me. I did make a pumpkin french toast casserole recently for our overnight guests and it was delicious. The pumpkin flavor in this particular dish is subtle. 

5. Share a favorite song, book, or movie with an autumn title, setting, or vibe. 

song-The Boys of Fall by Kenny Chesney (love the video too!)

book-I always enjoyed reading Lois Ehlert's Red Leaf ,Yellow Leaf to my kindergarten students every fall.

movie-When Harry Met Sally...not sure exactly what qualifies as a fall movie, but there is a scene in this particular film set in the NYC autumn and it gives me all the fall feels.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

My niece and her husband celebrated their one-year anniversary this past weekend and we decided to make it a family affair. 

All my sibs and their spouses came to town, along with my nephew and my mom. It's always special when she has all her kids in the same place at the same time. 

The weather was lovely and we enjoyed sharing meals, boating, a birthday, the anniversary, lake time, skiing, and lots of laughs. 

Happy Wednesday everyone! 

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 479

We're finally back to Hodgepodging, bum elbow and all. Answer the questions on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there!

1. Thursday (Oct 13) is National Train Your Brain Day. What do you do to keep your brain in tip top shape? Is it helping?

2. You can sit with anyone in the world and 'pick their brain'...whom do you choose? Tell us why? 

3. What's something happening in the world (or your corner of it) right now that you have trouble 'wrapping your brain around'? 

4. On a scale of 1-10 where do you fall in the pumpkin fanclub? (1=blech, 10=make it all pumpkin all the time) Tell us something delicious you've tasted recently that had some pumpkin in it somewhere. 

5. Share a favorite song, book, or movie with an autumn title, setting, or vibe. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

On The Road Again

I paused my road trip recap for a fun, full, family-filled weekend but am back on the PCH today, figuratively speaking of course. 

Day 4-San Clemente to Santa Barbara

We waited to get on the road until about 9:30 because everyone scares you about the traffic you're sure to encounter getting around LA. We experienced no delays whatsoever, but we also didn't make any side trips or stops as we were anxious to get around the city and on our way north. 

When we were planning our trip we knew we'd be in the vicinity of the Reagan Library, and hoped there would be time for a stop. Since we made such good time around the city when we saw the exit signs for the library we decided to go for it. 

What a beautiful location and fitting tribute to our 40th president. Ronald Reagan was a leader I very much admired, still admire, and the library is definitely worth seeing if you are traveling in or around the area. 

There's a retired Air Force One in the building, along with a former Marine One, and you can board both for an up close look. 

Reagan had a wonderfully optimistic view of America and the deep love and pride he felt for this country was apparent in all he said and did. 

His ranch was just a few miles from where the library sits today, and looking around it's easy to see why he so dearly loved the time he spent here.

After touring the library we drove on to Santa Barbara, a charming seaside town, arriving at our hotel early afternoon. We stayed in The Lavender Inn and loved this quaint hotel with all of it's small sweet touches. Hubs helped himself to homemade cookies while I got the low down from our very helpful front desk manager on getting to the beach, shops, and restaurants. We dumped our bags in the room and walked a short few blocks to the beach to see what we could see. 

We meandered along the harbor walkway before grabbing a snack at Finneys on State Street. Then it was back to the hotel for a glass of wine in the hotel lobby and a really nice chat with a couple from another part of Cali (by way of Kentucky), who were also guests of the hotel.  

At the hotel manager's suggestion we went for dinner on the pier. While the pier was within walking distance we opted to drive as we were unsure about walking back in the dark. Turns out you can drive your car all the way out to the end of the pier, a little freaky but that's how it's done so we did it. 

Rock crab at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company... 

With a side of sunset view for the win!! 

"Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music." 

~Ronald Reagan

Coastal Connections

Day 2-San Diego to San Clemente

We brake for sea lions and there were plenty to be seen at various vista points all along the coast. Before leaving La Jolla we walked down to the beach to watch the sea lions and seals playing in the ocean and lounging on the nearby rocks. 

I read that sea lions are the ones who bark, seals make more of a grunting sound. Regardless, they're both so entertaining to watch and do not seem stressed at all. It's the weather here I'm pretty sure. 

Our next stop was about an hour down the road in the seaside town of San Clemente. Our friends kindly loaned us use of their condo for two nights and we spent most of that time on the beach. 

It may seem like I talk a little too much in these recaps about the weather and the food, but those two things do feature heavily in a drive up the coast. We had dinner on the boardwalk in San Clemente that first night, where we ate fresh fish and marveled at people swimming in the chilly Pacific. 

Sunday morning we had a wonderful breakfast in a sidewalk cafe (La Galette Creperie) before taking a long walk on the beach (see we didn't just eat!). 

We loved watching the surfers and were most impressed by a guy on a paddle board in the breaking waves. The waves here roll and crash and his balance was incredible. 

I posted a picture on Facebook while we were in San Diego and one of my very first blog friends saw it there, and commented on how close I was to her home. I looked at her page and realized she actually lived in San Clemente, so we made plans for a quick meet up before we both had other engagements we needed to get to. 

She knew the area and I told her to bring her husband (sometimes husbands don't understand the blog connection lol) and the four of us spent a really nice hour catching up in person. Facebook gets a bad rap, rightfully so most of the time, but these real life connections that happen thanks to social media are so special. Also carpe diem everyone and cheers to those who do!

One of the highlights of our entire trip would definitely be the day we spent with some long time friends in their lovely home in the nearby town of San Juan Capistrano. The mister and my hubs worked together for decades and we were way overdue for some real life face time. 

They took us in to Dana Point and we walked along the coast road in Laguna, a trail that runs along and just above the ocean. 

Beautiful! 

Maybe this is why people live here?

We wrapped up the day with dinner all together at a well known Mexican restaurant called South of Nicks. So much fun!! 

Our trip up the Pacific Coast Highway was made up of a thousand small special moments. This was one of our favorites.