Picnic table

Picnic table, originally uploaded by cabanagirl.

Happy Birthday to me! I have been dying to go to one of my favorite destinations: wine country. Spontaneously Friday night I decided that I would take Sophie and leave in the morning. What a fabulous day for a drive. The ocean was sparkling. The hills were green from the recent rains even the mustard and California poppies were starting to bloom on the roadside. The sky was a summer blue without a cloud disturbing.
Instead of heading north my destination was Paso Robles, inland from the central coast and San Luis Obispo, where I was born 62 years ago.
I stopped in Santa Barbara and had lunch at the Farmers' market and then headed inland near Lake Chumash, passed Solvang and reached the wine country in the late afternoon. The drive was passed rolling hills dotted black with live oak trees that are simply majestic against the green hlls. Paso is filled with working farms, grazed by cows, goats, sheep and llamas. I stopped at a couple of small wineries and looked for a place to lay out my watercolors.

Meantime in Colorado, my family celebrates without me. Please click on this link and sing along. It's pretty darn cute.