CALIFORNIA COAST

April 15, 2006

Our French exchangers, the Norroy family, arrived Saturday afternoon.  After showing them around Don and I got in our little Prius to start our 2006 travels—a 3 month exploration of the USA.

Our first stop was Treetop in Mount Hermon.  We spent Sunday and part of Monday getting everything set up for the rental season, and then set off south on Highway 1, down the California coast.

After almost two months if rain it was nice to enjoy some sunny weather.  The coastline scenery was stereotypically beautiful—rugged rocks, roiling surf, weathered cypress.  

Nearing San Simeon, we stopped at the beach where the seals go to molt and bask in the sun.  The beach was covered with seals of every size, all snuggling into the sand and luxuriating in the sun.  Some animals were using their fins to brush sand over their bodies to cool themselves and to protect their tender skin after molting.

We checked into the San Simeon Motel 6 and got a very nice room, quite spacious with a king bed and a view—far nicer than we expected from a Motel 6.  After dinner at the restaurant we went up to Hearst Castle for an evening tour.

Our tour was a lot of fun.  There were docents in period costume throughout the castle, doing the kinds of things guests at the house would be doing in the evening—playing cards, dressing for dinner, having cocktails, strolling around the grounds.  We enjoyed the sunset from the terrace as we listened to our guide tell us about life at the Castle and then we visited one of the casitas, Vista del Mar, and the lounge, dining room, game room, kitchen, Hearst’s bedroom.  I was surprised to see that his chambers were decorated everywhere with religious paintings, statues, and furniture.  The tour lasted 3 hours and then we returned to our hotel and got a good night sleep.

The next day we packed up and headed out along back roads, following some of the Tour of California route through the central valley vineyards.  We stopped near the Foxen winery and took a bike ride along the rolling lanes, enjoying the sunshine and pretty spring green views along the way.  After a picnic lunch we rode back to the winery where we happened to meet one of the owners.  We had a nice chat about the TOC, our travel plans, and his wines.  We picked up a bottle of nice Pinot Noir before continuing through the hills to Santa Barbara.

Arriving in Santa Barbara we were greeted by Jane and Richard Kandler, Don’s cousin.  They welcomed us into their beautiful home and gave us the tour and settled us into our room.  After drinks on the terrace we had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed Richard’s photo production of their recent trip to India.  Don, the photo perfectionist, was very impressed by Richard’s production, which included titles, music, and captioned slides and video.  The movie was very well produced and colorful, interesting and entertaining. 

During our conversations we found that we have much in common with Jane and Richard.  They travel a lot and do not travel on tours, but design their own itinerary, arrange their own transportation and lodging.  They are adventurous and have a true enjoyment of learning about other cultures and ways of life, as we do.

I must also write a bit about their house.  Richard has done a beautiful job remodeling a rather ordinary little two-bedroom house into a beautiful three-bedroom retreat.  We enjoyed looking over their photo album of before, during and after pictures.  Not only did they add a second story for their master suite, they completely tore out the kitchen and refurbished it with custom-built cabinetry.  Also, they followed the Spanish style both inside the house and in the exterior design.  We loved their house.

The following morning, after a comfortable night’s sleep, we strolled the streets of Santa Barbara, down the hill to their favorite coffee shop where we munched pastries and savored delicious coffee.  Santa Barbara is a lovely town, mellow and charming, and we enjoyed the opportunity to just wander through the streets as we made our way back to the house.

We could hardly pull ourselves away, and Don asked to see more of Richard’s photography, so we stayed longer than planned while we enjoyed the movie of the family vacation on a houseboat on Lake Michigan.

Reluctantly we said our goodbyes and headed south for more adventures.

Since we were in the area we decided to drive by the Essick’s house in Ojai.  These are some of my Rhoda cousins who didn’t respond when I was gathering information for the Dudelsacher.  I was a bit reluctant to just arrive and knock on the door, but that is what I did.  The door was opened by Marilyn Essick and after I explained who I was she invited us in and we talked for a bit.  Once she was able to figure out where I fit into the family tree she warmed up a lot and called her son, Roger, to join us.  We had a very nice visit and left with a promise that they would email photos and some information.  As we drove away I checked the time and was surprised that we had been there for 3 hours.