Last Friday we stayed at Carpinteria Beach State Park. It definitely shows the heavy use it gets but it was fun to go to sleep with the sound of waves in the background. There is a 14 day limit on camping as far as I know but some of the visitor’s sites look like they had been there a long time!

We spent most of the day in Santa Barbara checking out our old stomping grounds. Presley loved Hendry’s Beach. He thought the washed up kelp would be great to roll in but I wouldn’t let him. He only got caught by a couple of waves and it was too funny watching him back up to get away from the incoming water. Happy to report the whale skeleton at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum is all back together. State Street was as colorful as ever and has three Starbucks now (only one when we lived there). The Santa Barbara Film Festival was going on so we couldn’t go to a movie in the Arlington Theater. Reading the local paper showed the local politics haven’t changed in the 10 years since we left . . . from the ones with money more services for the poor homeless of Santa Barbara while the people who work there and visitthere have to put up with them. We stopped for supplies at Tri-Vally Produce before heading up the coast to Moro Bay.

Moro Bay is a delight. We definitely have to go back for a weekend! The State Park is beautiful and the water front, although full of visitors, was very appealing. The park also has a marina so if you are sailing the California Coast you can stay there, a safe-harbor for the night. We had a wasp mound near the camp – whatever that is. BTW, here you can dispose of dish water by pouring it into the fire-ring – something we will try at other camps.

We were to be off to Santa Barbara this weekend but the fire there gave me second thoughts. Montecito, Santa Barbara, Goleta make one large city and we have been through fires there so we decided to stay home. We do need to get down there though as we lived there for many years and want to check out the changes. Wonder if Rock n Roll Sushi is still there?

The weather here is great – very warm with roses still blooming while the leaves fall. Really great weather to wash the Sprinter so this week, I promise!

I spend a lot of time with the dog (like he gives you a choice) - we’re doing some agility training now. He loves to ride in the bus. I sent off for one of those doggie DNA tests. On the web you can find them from $50 on up depending on how many breeds they test for. So, in the next month or so, we’ll know exactly, “what kind of dog is that?”.