a wonderful day

we set out on the bluffs in carpinteria to see the seals at their rookery on a cool and foggy morning.

gigi walked ahead with ezra, who was so excited to see the seals and hopefully a train pass by.

we used to come here when he was a baby to do the same things.

we walked by this beautiful row of eucalyptus trees, these ones commonly known as rainbow eucalyptus, perhaps my favorite kind of tree of all.  i love them for their big scrappy trunks and colorful branches, the beautiful shades of pink, white, gray and brown in their stripes and the little knobby seed pods that fall from them with their patina shade of turquoise coating the little star studded earth-colored balls.  

my friend lori met us there and was walking with ezra 

while my mom and i took a break in the bushes (ahem).  

the wildflowers were everywhere and a delight to see.

there is also a flower farm by the train tracks on the way to see the seals.

before crossing the tracks we laid down several coins for the train to flatten.

we walked by the mustard flowers which always make me so happy to see in spring on the california hillsides and then heard the train whistle blowing from afar.

we waited about 5 minutes while ezra twirled a little and used all of his senses to listen, feel, and look for the train.  lori lovingly taught him that important skill.

and then it came rushing by, louder than i think he had expected.

and it was blue - like thomas the tank engine - ezra's favorite.

gigi held him tight and i even beckoned her to come back it was so powerful.  

we waved goodbye to the train and to the fog that lifted as we waited.

with lori's expertise, this is her stomping grounds after all and she's raised five kids along these tracks, we found six of the seven coins we left on the track.  they blended in so well with the rocks, i was really surprised she found any at all.

we headed to the seals and looked down at the shore so different from the one we lived by the last two years in the caribbean.

when we got to the lookout we saw a nice sized group of seals, mamas and their pups now already a few months old.

ezra laughed at one who was wiggling its way along the shore.  he watched them curiously for a good while and we took in the beauty and company around us.

i am so happy to have made a friend like lori from blogging.  

heading back i had to stop and take pictures of this pretty euc

and the pretty wildflowers in front.

ezra and gigi played tug of war with nana's scarf at the end of the trail.

then we headed over to montecito to my friend clare's store.  

she has such beautiful things including these earrings.  aren't they pretty?

next to clare's store is a great little italian restaurant on the corner called via vai.  we've been here many times over the years.  michael and i lived in montecito for a couple of years when we were studying at the university of california in santa barbara before our 98 year old landlord passed away and we moved to another home in santa barbara.  i spent several summers and weekends working in clare's store.  i'm always filled with nostalgia coming to this area.  i would love one day to return for good.  

after coming home from a fun day, we saw michael who survived his exam that he spent the whole day taking.  he will not have his results for a few weeks and until then we hope to spend a lot of time relaxing together, enjoying each other, family and friends that we have been gone from for so long.  we went out for a celebratory mexican dinner in honor of michael and cinco de mayo.  it was a great day!