Thank you very much for your wonderful comments! I am glad my pictures entertained you a little. With two kids, a California mortgage and economy in recession most of my traveling is done on the couch these days, and photographs are a big part of it:-). After 7 years in the Bay Area I still view myself as a foreigner, and Californian climate and natural beauty never cease to delight me. I am always amazed at how many plants are in bloom at any time of the year, and what a riot of color it is. I still miss the lush softer-colored gardens of my childhood but I am beginning to take a closer look at drought tolerant plants. Desert landscaping is a complete mystery to me but I am getting tired of being a semi-permanent summer landscaping feature ("A Lady with a Watering Hose") and then gasping at the water bill... Carmel Mission gardens were a surprise to me in that water wise landscaping can be lush and beautiful too. I am learning:-). Aimeekitty, the tag reads "Echium Pride of Madeira". You can see a close-up of a spike in the fourth picture. Hoovb, I would love to go Filoli again, but they don't like children there. My kids do know how to behave around plants, but there they are asked to not even step on the lawn. It is hard on the boys to spend two hours never straying off paths... Roselee, my camera is Nikon D3000. It is the cheapest entry-level DSLR I could find. It is not professional quality and not the best for macro, but it is a good all-around camera for me. My oldest boy is a gymnast so I also take pictures of fast moving kids, not just close-ups of roses. It has multiple focus points which is great - you can see in the close-up of the Echium how it focuses vertically all along the spike, or in the picture with a little field of pelargoniums, how it focuses horizontally all along the blooms. In case of these particular pictures, it helped enormously that the day was cloudy - you get a nice even tone. The pictures of private gardens were taken later when the sun came out and they are not as good as the ones of the mission. For me, taking pictures in bright sun is very difficult. Masha

Terriks - I was going to write about Solvang yesterday and ran out of time. Solvang is delightful, but you have to like cute. We've taken many getaways down there. It's in the Santa Ynez Valley - good wine country - north of Santa Barbara and over the Santa Lucia Mts (hills, really, there's nothing mountainous about the drive). Solvang was settled by Danish immigrants and retains a very Danish-European style today. There are stores that sell Danish imports, restaurants that serve Danish food, and there are all those yummy Danish pastries. The coffee is wonderful! Outside of Solvang there are wine tasting places around the valley, which in itself is very pretty. Our favorite spot is Los Olivos. A tiny town with one cross-street, it has Fess Parker's inn and country restaurant, which IMO is a must-do destination, the food and wine and ambience are that good. Fess recently passed away. He was Davy Crockett on 50's TV, for those creaky enough to remember! He became a master vintner and host. In general, that drive from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo is so lovely, one of the less visited areas in California. Not to say that there are not tourists - there are. But not nearly as many as at Disneyland or San Fran's Fisherman's Wharf. Another place that might be worth a drop-in is Ojai. It's on our to-do list. Ojai is an artist's colony, and I've read good things about it. It's just off Highway 1, a bit north of the Pacific Highway. Still another thing, especially if you're visiting San Simeon, is the Highway 1 drive up through Big Sur to Carmel. This drive is not for the faint-hearted, but if you're going south to north, it's easier, since you're against the mountains. The destination here is Nepenthe Restaurant, which is built on a cliff and has some of the most magnificent views IN THE WORLD! Apologies for screaming! Nepenthe basically serves burgers, etc., but they are good burgers, and anyway, you can't take your eyes away from the scenery.

Good Saturday Morning (26th), Everyone. Yesterday it was fairly warm for these Western North Carolina mountains - maybe 80-85. But, around 7PM I took the Miata out for an hour or so. To be honest the breeze felt a little cool - pleasant, but cool. A sign of things to come, huh. Today, I must mow. I wait until the neighbors have finished which was Thursday and Friday. I guess if they didn't do theirs mine would turn into a hayfield. We moved to the house in 1965. The road was gravel; the neighborhood consisted of four houses; dogs ran free; land was for cattle and hayfields; and we slept with windows open. We were the first house on the right. Now I'm the fourth house on the right and there's more than a dozen houses in the neighborhood. Times they are a changing as someone said. Great pictures, Gurley157fs. I think anyone would be impressed with the layout and picture content. You did well. Before my wife died we did travel along the North and South Carolina coastal area. We didn't camp. If you travel after Labor Day and after schools start back I'd suggest Oak Island. The beaches are almost vacant. The town is Long Beach. Although the motel is old we stayed at the Pier House Motel. I would metal detect and I would pier fish more just to talk to others doing the same as opposed to really catching anything. The place has a huge deck just steps up from the beach. My wife would read and walk the beach looking for particular shells. Things seemed so much easier back then. Saluda (NC) is closer to the foothills than to the mountains. It's a very small place and really about as convenient to S. C. as it is to places like Hendersonville and Asheville. I live a little west of Asheville but still in the same county. I consider Asheville the stepping off place to Western North Carolina. There's a lot of campsites all over. I drive toward Waynesville/Maggie Valley as often as I do Asheville. Sometimes I take a little roundabout way and drive to Cherokee on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Once above 5000 feet I stop at overlooks and try to absorb nature's beauty. Somewhere along the way I lost the ability to truly enjoy what I see. Many years ago I use to view a site; take a breath of fresh air; and have a rush of euphoria. I really miss that. Life sometimes seems unfair. Going west from Asheville I just think there's more to see. Of course if one drives about an hour NE of Asheville they can be on top of Mt. Mitchel (highest in the east). And, the Boone/Blowing Rock/Banner Elk/Newland area (Christmas trees and skiing) is very pretty but, for me, I need a little more to see. I've been to Harrahs only once but know it's there if I want to go. I've picnicked and watched whitewatering in the Nantahala gorge(sp?). Maggie Valley CC is on our monthly list of places to golf. From the back nine the views are pretty. They're building around the front nine and have taken something away. There's not much I don't like about Western NC. If you had specific questions I'd be happy to try to help. My Sumatra from Intelligentia is not as good as Starbucks, in my opinion. Starbucks Sumatra is organic and the beans come from like trees and like regions. I have yet to try the other two. No, what I've said doesn't sound much like a single's forum discussion, does it. I'm sorry. When one is alone there's no telling what may generate discussion. I hope all have had a good summer and that the rest of the year, and life, is enjoyable and rewarding. Gene

Lived there for many wonderful years. Here in no particular order are some highlights that I don't think visitors should miss: Outside the City (SF): MUIR WOODS- a redwood grove north, over the GG bridge, which includes a beautiful drive there. Avoid on weekends. MONTERREY/CARMEL -including the beautiful 17 mile drive. A good couple of hours south of SF. Beautiful, quaint little towns with a fab aquarium as well as great shopping and dining. NAPA VALLEY -winery tours, great dining, gondola ride to see the area from above, hot air balloon rides for same... In the City: TAKE A BUS TOUR to see many highlights on your first day, including The SeaCliff district and Pacific Heights (many famous mansions, etc.) GG park especially on a Sunday where you can peoplewatch as well as attend art and science museum and Hall of Flowers. Rent bikes for a great day in the park. FERRY BUILDING along Embardareo, similar to Fanuel Hall in Boston, lots of food vendors, etc. CHINA TOWN -authentic, fabulous dining and shopping UNION SQUARE - lots of great hotels and shopping ALAMO SQUARE -for the famous skyline view of victorian houses GG BRIDGE -spend a morning in the Marina District and visit the Palace of Fine Arts, then rent bikes and ride across GG Bridge. Ride back to the Marina for lunch and shopping. FISHERMAN's WHARF -just kind of fun and touristy. Not really high on my list, but everyone seems to want to go SAUSALITO -wonderful, charming town across the GG bridge from SF. Eat dinner there on the water and you will feast on a fabulous, sparkling view of SF. There is soooooo much more. Be sure to check out TripAdvisor ad other sites for favorite shops and restaurants before you go.