Last but by no means least...

... and finally the reason we went to such a fabulous place. 

Thank you to everyone who made us feel so welcome from complete strangers to new members of our extended family.  Every single one of you has given us a very good reason to go back. 

with love, peace and did someone say bananas?  xxx



Circle of Light - California...

Cliches are cliches for a reason - a beautiful sunset at the end of a beautiful day.

Blessing of the Waves, Huntington Beach

9.30, Sunday morning Huntington Beach and what did we find?  a celebration; singing, music, and prayers for mother earth, the ocean and the waves.  The back-drop to the service was was full of people enjoying being outside in the Californian sunshine; surfers, volley ball players, cyclists, joggers, walkers; some doing yoga, hoola hooping (is that a word?) and the man with his parrot.  Behind us an art and craft market was in full swing and behind that the Pacific Coast Highway taking people further afield.  Magic!

Blessing of the Waves, HB

Blessing of the Waves, HB

 

Blessing of the Waves, HB

Maze Man - Ephemeral Artist, Huntington Beach

Maze Man, Huntington Beach

Maze Man, Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach was fascinating.  Over the few days we were nearby, allsorts of weird and wonderful things took place including a skate-boarding budgie and a chap who took his parrot for a daily bike ride along the boardwalk.  The Maze Man seemed quite normal in comparison.  

Wilson Creek, Temecular: Peach Bellini - perfect!

Crystal Cathedral, religous tableaux & stunning toilets

I've seen some fantastic images of the Crystal Cathedral, Annaheim so I was very pleased when I had the opportunity to see it for myself.  In the extensive grounds were tableaux of recognisable bible stories including Moses with the Ten Commandments; Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus travelling with a donkey and the Return of the Prodigal Son.  All were very detailed and reminded me of the perfect illustrations in some religious newsletters.  The walkways were paved with hundreds of plaques showing quotes from the bible and the names of the people who had perhaps sponsored them.  Elements of the architecture were stunning but other aspects were reminiscent of office blocks - perhaps that was what they were.  Unfortunately we couldn't go inside, every door was locked and security guards patrolled the area just incase someone did ... what?  However, we did peer inside the windows to see a modern auditorium which resembled the setting for a party political conference.  The only places that seemed to be open were the restrooms.  The Ladies was expensively decorated with fittings and finishes worthy of the most select homes and hotels.  Obviously the Crystal Cathedral Ministries isn't short of money. 

"To be inspired and motivated through possibility thinking to grow in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ to be the persons God dreams, desires, and designed us to be."

                                                                        - The Crystal Cathedral Vision Statement

 

http://www.crystalcathedral.org/about/ 

Crystal Cathedral, Annaheim Ca



Crystal Cathedral, Annaheim Ca



Return of the Prodigal Son (modelled on Charlton Heston?)

Ladies' Restroom

Light Fittings in Ladies Restroom



more cute birds and an ugly one...

Pelican over  Seal Beach

paddle surfing and doggy paddle surfing?

Seal Beach

This looked crazy!  A group of people set off from Seal Beach and paddled what seemed to be miles into the ocean.  After a while they disappeared around a headland.

Dog Beach, Huntington Beach

This looked crazy too!  Dog owners were dipping their pooches into rollers, letting them go and watching them "surf" to shore.  Dogs of all sizes were subject to this weird initiation.  I still have a lot to learn...

Newport Beach Yacht Club

Newport Beach Yacht Club - lunch

Chicken caesar salad wrap.  Another circle of delight served in a yachty environment in the company of two charming young women and two beautiful children.  My travelling companion was elsewhere, somewhere in the mountains doing manly things in a log cabin.  Could NBYC be affiliated to RCC?  Maybe we could do some sort of exchange. 

Queen Mary, Long Beach LA

Our stay on the Queen Mary was intended to be a treat to round off the second leg of our American adventure but there were far more negatives than positives to the experience.  The most negative was the cost of all the compulsary add-ons.  After enjoying generous US hospitality and welcome this was a shock to the system which didn't sit well in a setting that was supposed to give a taste of British oppulance.

The most positive was sitting on recliner deckchairs on the promenade deck sipping smuggled-aboard red wine from plastic cups taken from our cabin.  We watched pelicans dive for their last fish of the day as the sky changed from blue to pink to velvet indigo complimenting a cityscape that came alive with coloured lights.

Queen Mary:  corridor to cabin

Queen Mary:  marquetry





What...?

Ah... this!

Santa Barabara - home from home...

Santa Barbara Habour

My travelling companion who is a yachtie, thought this boat / boathouse combo was "tremendous" and has his sights on a summer spent this way... as members of Santa Barbara Yacht Club of course.    

Santa Barbara Yacht Club

Santa Barbara Yacht Club

a niece, another cute bird & new & old missions

This was a mission...  Two hours of walking uphill in the morning sun.  We caught a bus for the nearly last mile and as we alighted a women said to no-one in particular, "Are you walking up there?"  We know why now.  It took the relative coolness of the mission's beautiful garden an hour or so for us to cool down but it was worth it.
http://www.santabarbaramission.org/

...and we came across a likeness of Anna there.

Anna?

east & west doors of church

ceiling light below painted decoration



St Francis & a cute bird

Old Mission Santa Barbara

new version of Old Mission of Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, life's a beach...

pelican on pier overlooking harbour

beach volley ball

Moby Dick's

ubiquitous palm trees

The Union Hotel, Los Alamos



Union Hotel, Los Alamos



I  love the crazy, wheeled horse tied outside. 

California sun, cute birds and a full moon



Highway 1, centre right

 We did it.  We found the sun.  You can just make out the bank of sea mist on the horizon to the left of the image above.  It seems to be lurking, waiting for us to make the next move. 


cute birds Cayucos

Another paddle in the Pacific.  This time it was sunny and I was joined by these cute birds.  They kept darting in and out to fish for something beneath the sand.  They looked like frantic Blackpool paddlers avoiding the cold Irish Sea.


full moon over Pacific roller

Same beach five hours later from a long wooden pier.