California Pictures 2019

I've taken pictures from California trips before, but always with the good canon camera. I didn't pack it this time, and these were the best phone pictures. We went up to Santa Barbara for a few days and I love the garden center in Los Olivos, I think it's J Woeste...and all their beautiful containers featuring succulents.

In Los Angeles we went to Abalone Cove, a must stop and quite a hike both down and up. These rocks are beautiful but it gets old walking on them, which you have to do a lot to get too and from the tide pools. All the rocks are lovely and it boggles my mind how many combinations a photographer can make.

I'm always fascinated by water, rocks (or other objects in the sand) and how light, depth and shadow are constantly changing. On our first trip to Lake Michigan in (2007 (!)) I easily took 200 photos. I was desperate to capture all the lovely sensory images around me. Andrew reminded me I was actually missing out on the experience. He was right, but I do treasure the pictures I took. It was cold when we were in LA, it never got over 60 degrees and there was very little in the was of ocean life. So I had to content myself with more inanimate subjects.

And view from the top, before the descent to Abalone Cove.

There were some real highlights from this trip. Notably our first stat at an Airbnb in Santa Barbara, and staying at a good, good friends house. Their lemon tree in the backyard had fresh ripe lemons I snipped right off the tree and made lemonade. I was also giddy about the 5 foot tall rosemary growing along their fence.