FRESH AIR, FLOWERS, CRASHING WAVES!

Today was the most amazing day. I think, between Mary and I, we took around 400 photos at the Botanical gardens, redwoods, beaches as well as the gardens at our motel.  As we rode the Skunk train into the redwoods we were entertained by a guitarist singing lyrics that all had something to do with trains.  It was very relaxing as we slowly moved through the woods. We spent some time out in the open air car for a bit enjoying the sunshine and breeze. We then drove down to the harbor and had the most amazing cod lunch. We sat at a window seat and watched the boats coming in. Several fishing boats came by and held up their catch for the day! We joined other customers in the restaurant cheering and giving them thumbs up!! We visited the Botanical gardens...wow.....we took photo after photo....we could have stayed all day snapping photos there. We then went to the beach....we had to climb down the cliffs..as it was pretty rocky. We didn't find as much glass as I thought we would but it was high tide and there was hardly any beach to walk on let alone to comb. We enjoyed the refreshing air and the smell of the ocean. Here are a few photos from today that I think everyone will enjoy...I sure enjoyed taking them!

The Skunk Train.

Original seats.

Our entertainment.

Succulents at the Botanical Gardens.

Fishing boat passing by our restaurant showing off their catch for the day.

Some of the rocks on the coast. Gorgeous.

ROAD TRIP!!!!!!

Just a few wonderful things I saw on my first day traveling South with my friend Mary. We both love taking photos so I told her right off if she saw something she had to have a photo of to just say so because I flip U-ies for a good photo....well....I flipped a few!!!  I also flipped a few for some yard sales we saw!! Got some old cobalt blue bottles for $2.00 and a 1950's glass ice bucket for almost nothing...we scored!! We made it safely to our Motel and got settled in. We both can smell the ocean breeze and can't wait to enjoy the outdoors tomorrow. We are tired now but we will be ready in the morning for an adventurous day of riding a steam engine into the redwoods and visiting the botanical gardens....and beach combing!

This was a "Flip A U-ie"!! Look at that field of sunflowers!

Another "Flip a U-ie" I just had to go back and capture these cranes by

this pond. An amazing sight to see!!

Mt Shasta. It was hazy but I still love it.

The back side of Mt Shasta.

I just had to stop and take a photo of this old silo.

Look at this Myrtlewood tree and that sky!! Wow!!!

Buzzing Bee's/Pumpkin Blooms!

I have a lot of buzzing bees in my garden this year because I did some research

and found out that pumpkin blooms need to be pollinated several times to get

a pumpkin. So I planted lots of flowers around them. So far..so good.

CRAZY TOMATOES!

I planted my tomatoes in a greenhouse this year.....we'll see if this helps!!

Look at those crazy tomato plants! I had to cut part of the top of the greenhouse off

so they could have some air and room! I have bunches of cherry tomatoes and

roma in the back!! (Shayne, can you believe this?)

I have already eaten several cherry tomatoes right off of the vine...they taste

the best that way!! They rarely make it to the house!

Sunflowers

I have a few sunflowers in my garden! It will be a couple more weeks before they

open up. Here are a couple of photos of the buds. Love!

(update 7-28-13)
My sunflower opened up today!!!!

BLACKBERRY SMACKN' GOOD!

I went back out to the Berry Farm once again...but this time I picked some blackberries as well as  one more bucket of raspberries. I came home and made a mouth watering blackberry cobbler. I used my daughter's recipe and it was to die for.

YUMMO!!!
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Recipe for cobbler
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In a large pie plate place
3 heaping cups of berries.
Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over them.
In a medium bowl mix together well, using a fork
2 eggs, 2 cups sugar and 2 cups flour.
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Now take a handful of mixture in your hand and squeeze it together and place on top of the berries. Keep doing this until the entire top is covered and all of the dough has been used.
Melt 2 TB of butter and drizzle over the top of crust. Sprinkle a few tsp. of sugar over the butter.
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Bake in a 375 degree oven (uncovered) for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and the 
crust has become golden brown. (ovens may vary)

Raspberry Pickn'!

Today I had a wonderful time picking raspberries with Cindy. We traveled out to one of the U-pick berry farms. It was a gorgeous sunny day. A perfect day for picking. What a beautiful farm...clean...peaceful.

Ten jars of fresh raspberry jam canned.