September 9, 2012 Running a bit late tonight!

Holy Hannah!  If I'd waited much longer I'd technically have missed a day, and we can't have that!!!  But my excuse was a busy day and a need to get off of my feet for awhile (and to do so while not in a moving vehicle!)

Great day wine tasting and wandering around Solvang, although we really need to time things better so we can spend more time in Pebble People before they start rolling up the streets!  I was, however, disappointed to find that the back room which used to be filled with the most amazing, hand crafted jewelry was now full of a lot of ceramic stuff.  They've cut way back on the jewelry and restocked the place with pretty little music boxes and ceramic figurines.  Some changes just are not for the better in my opinion, but I suppose they're catering to the tourists. 

Of course, things didn't go quite as planned as another person was added which meant we didn't all fit in one car.  It would have been much more enjoyable to leave and arrive together, but we did make the best of it.  (and frankly, the cigar smokers rode in the other car which works for me.  I appreciate their right to individuality, but I also appreciate not having to smell the cigars all the way home!) 

We brought back a few bottles of wine from the winery where Heather got the wedding stuff, so we'll have a bit for Thanksgiving, whether it's just the three of us or even 10.  More than that and I might need more wine! 

Heather took us on some lovely back roads in an effort to miss some of the traffic, so it took a big longer to get home than a straight shot (without traffic, of course!) but it was worth it.  Montecito is really beautiful and untouched in a lot of ways!  There are some beautiful homes, many of which just blend into the environment.  We all fantasized about having careers we could do from home and living back there with a lot of property to indulge in animal rescue efforts while only having to visit civilization once a week for groceries and such.. 

I did learn something from this trip, though.  My daughter is an individual and has a very eclectic group of friends.  Some I really like from the minute I meet them, some grow on me over time and others, just leave me feeling sticky and uncomfortable.  But I'm very proud of my daughter for seeing qualities in each one of them, despite my inability to do so. 

I'm afraid I'm still rather nervous when Heather drives long distances.  She follows closer than I like, though I don't really know her car, and I'm just not used to being a passenger and seeing cars in lanes next to me get so close!  I hope this gets better with time!!!  It's nice, all things considered, to be able to ride along and watch the scenery instead of having to pay attention to the road all the time.  And it really was a beautiful day for a drive up the coast and through parts of the Los Padres National Forest.  If I had been driving, I'd have missed a lot! 

But now, I'm unwound enough for sleep, and my meals for tomorrow are nicely packed up and waiting in the refrigerator.  The coffee pot is ready to go and the kitchen is put back to rights, so I'll wind this up until tomorrow.

Love and light.