2011 Sunday -- The Road Home

We left Lompoc this morning knowing that our final destination would be home, but we had a specific "off the beaten path" excursion planned.

A month ago while we were on vacation, we passed the sign that announced "Jalama Beach Park: Santa Barbara County," so later we took a look on the Internet to learn about it. We'd never heard of it. The report we read spiked our interest and we decided that the next time we were in that region and if we had time, we'd drive the 14 miles off the main highway to find the park, which was advertised as a lovely beach-side camping park.

So we drove the country road wondering what we were going to find. We knew by the cloud bank that we were approaching the coastline, but when we rounded the curve in the road and saw the campground we were amazed at the beauty of the place. Because we were planning to eat at the "Jalama Beach Cafe," the ranger gave us a free pass into the park. The park was "full"  with campers -- tents, truck campers, van campers, and huge RV rigs.

Jalama Beach is a beautiful part of California's hidden coastline. A person has to want to go there;  it's bypassed  by the main highway. It can, though, be seem while riding the train from Los Angeles to San Francisco.

So after about an hour in the park, we left Jalama, drove the 14 miles back to the main highway and headed further south through the communities of Santa Barbara, Carpenteria, Ventura, and through the heart of Los Angeles. While we were passing the high rises of Glendale, I captured another shot which also reveals a smooth flowing freeway. As we got closer to home, we stopped to get the pups at the kennel, which was a wild and crazy moment because they were so excited. We arrived home at about 4:00 p.m.

This has been an emotional weekend, but we've also enjoyed each other's company  and the casual travel through our state. Thanks for the meaningful comments left these past couple of days, as we've scattered ashes and said "the final goodbye" to our friend George.

Good night from home in Southern California.
Rosie (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol

P.S. Tomorrow is America's Labor Day holiday, so hopefully I can catch-up with emailing my students and doing the paperwork that accompanies the beginning of the semester. I threw all of those responsibilities to the wind as we blew out of here this past Thursday afternoon. Having crummy Internet connection most of this weekend was not helpful for staying in touch with students.