I'm posting without photos this evening.  For some crazy reason, I can connect to wi-fi on my ipad but not my laptop.  All my photos are loaded on the laptop.  I think there are little wi-fi devils playing with my mind this evening.  I am not happy with them so they had better be gone by tomorrow morning!

What have we been up to for the last couple of days?  We traveled from Santa Maria along winding back roads through rolling hill country studded with California Live Oaks.  These are beautiful, sprawling oaks that are similar to the Live Oaks you see in pictures of the old southern plantations but are a smaller version and the setting is uniquely California - stark hills with no other vegetation other than the oaks.  They are my favorite plant out here and there are some real beauties - the bright reds and pinks of bougainvillea, jacaranda trees with masses of blue-lilac blossoms and still the live oaks win my vote.  We by-passed Santa Barbara and Ventura due to freeway traffic concerns, but our route took us through the foothills above Santa Barbara through a wealthy residential area which was really a treat to see.  There were estates that looked like Spanish Haciendas with red tile roofs, colorful flowering vines, potted shrubs, stucco walls and wrought iron gates.  These were interspersed with those beautiful California Live Oaks, cactus and agave plantings with towering palms.

Southern CA is a blend of rushing traffic, beaches and quiet, secluded areas of tranquility.  We were just lucky yesterday to be treated to mostly tranquil scenery.  We spent the night in the little town of Ojai between Santa Barbara along the coast and Palmdale in the High Desert above Los Angeles. Ojai is home to citrus groves, the homes of many movie stars and a popular retreat area for people from the LA basin.

In Ojai we spent the night with old car enthusiasts, Dwayne and Marilyn Bowers and got to enjoy their rural setting and animals - horses, cats and dogs, especially Dempsey, named after the famous boxing legend Jack Dempsey who trained in Ojai back in the 30's.  As you may guess, Dempsey is a boxer and is ready to go for a ride in an old car at the drop of a hat.  He and owner Dwayne are frequently seen about Ojai riding in Dwayne's 1909 Cadillac.  We appreciated their hospitality.  Sunday morning we joined Dwayne and Dempsey at a cruise-in at the local market.  There were modern and vintage Porsches and vintage VW bugs and Mini Coopers, vintage trucks, a bright red Kruisse race car from the 50's and some other really interesting vehicles.  It was a very ecclectic group of vehicles and apparently the mix of cars brought varies based on the mood of the owner as several own a number of cars.

This evening we are in the High Desert town of Palmdale where I used to live for several years while I worked in So. CA.  I directed Joe to what I hoped would be a favorite antique mall.  It was, in fact, where I remembered, and it was open.  I used to be a vendor in that mall so it was fun to see that it was so much the same and even saw a friendly face I remembered from 25 years ago.  Lots of fun memories of the area!