Burbank/LA

Burbank

The chosen neighborhood is relatively close to my daughter and is pleasant, residential and safe. A good

walking neighborhood. There are a number of decorated houses, folks who walk their dogs and a corner park that is open on weekends (It belongs to a school) and parking is accessible on the street.

It is handy to have the van close by as this apartment is poorly equipped. But I finally decided it is sort of like camping. I brought in a chair to sit on, a rug for the front door shoes, kitchen equipment, like a cutting board, eating utensils and other sundries. It will take a couple hours to get everything packed up and in again.

I am lightly purple again, thanks to cousin Sherry's shampoo suggestion. Men here seem to love it. There are many compliments.

I have made some Christmas cookies and take Gina for long walks in the morning. There is a lovely park (Brand Park) which has squirrels to chase and dogs to greet. We went to a nearby wildlife preserve (Stough Canyon) which was uphill all the way.

There was a nice dog park (Griffith) that had chill dogs- none of whom Gina wanted to play with. Today I was told of Bette Davis Picnic area next to the equestrian center which had many many squirrels to chase and Gina enjoyed that immensely.

I use Google frequently to find grocery stores and Trader Joe’s and other points of interest that are handy for my projects. I got the oil changed in the van and have done some van chores. I have found avoiding the freeways is more comfortable for me and have not gone too far afield but am getting more adventuresome. 

I have finished another book which was tedious so will be doing lighter reading for the next couple of days. I have also pretty much caught up on my blog and am taking time to reflect on the wonderful weeks that I was on the road. Yes, I enjoyed that. Every day was new and brought something to the table which could be fabulous views or reflections that make me a rounder individual.

California is nice. Crowded but a good respite and there is much to see and ahead there are plans to be made which I am beginning to swing my thoughts to. Again, heading North towards Napa and cousin Christine will be around the holidays so I am a bit wiser to try to make plans ahead of time. I am finding that seashore parks are full already- of course and contemplate what my alternatives might be. Up the middle of California may be a wiser pursuit. I will be looking at that the next couple days as well as what my plans are come the middle of January. Baja California is a strong contender.

Here is what I am seeing in Burbank 

A photographic review-

 I was just thinking of all the variety I have seen in these past months and how much there is still to see. If I can get this blog to cooperate with photos which seems to be a challenge I am listing a bit of a gallery review of states... Can you believe all these things??? Most of them are labeled but I am doing it in batches... I think they are all labeled but this blog.. ay, this blog app....

      

  

Somis- North of LA December 6-9

 So good times were had by all.

I went up to see my sister for a few days who was recovering from a bit of pneumonia. It was there I caught my breath, enjoyed walking in her citrus orchard, playing with her 3 dogs and having a quiet visit with her, her husband, Danny, his mom and other Farm Inhabitants. It's a lovely spot. At the top of a hill you get a vista of the trees, beautiful sunsets, moonrises and breathe the lovely air. You can see how lovely the weather was!

We took a spin about town and she showed me the library in Camarillo, a delight and inspiration for libraries everywhere. It is clear that the community treasures its literature and literacy.

I came away laden with citrus and peace. Gina had a blast playing with the dogs, chasing jackrabbits and smelling so many new things. 

Check out this library- tiles on the floors and walls, sculptural pillars and cozy nooks!

San Diego! November 28-Dec.5

I cannot believe I haven't caught up in so long but it appears to be true. Mea Culpa. 

 I posted on  Facebook and Instagram but those are only blurbs so I will try to reconstruct what happened after leaving Utah. Even my written journal has taken a plunge. Road weary? perhaps. or distraction. 
 Coming into Needles, NV I began to get a picture of how exuberant the RV world was. There was no propane to be had in three tries so... I carried on. Lots of trailers were returning from their holiday week and there was more traffic than I had had in some time. Thank goodness once again for Google Maps.
 The road was flat and gray desert. I couldn't help but wonder how much nicer it would have been to see the desert in the spring. Perhaps someday.
 I had intended to stop in the campground at Joshua Tree National Park. Surprise, surprise, there was no room. Fine! I will get a nice hotel and sit in the desert sun. Three hotels later I found either they did not accept dogs or were full. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? I located a Motel 6 and they let dogs stay free. Pretty basic but Gina thought the smells around the area were grand. Perhaps rodents? I don't know, don't
care.  It was clean enough.
The following day saw a bit of a respite as I meandered a back way through some lovely valleys, seeing small farms, glider schools, a pie company(!) of course I stopped and picked up a pie, and other bucolic scenes.

 I came into my San Diego cousins' development. There was a bedroom for Gina and I, a place to park, neighborhood dogs to sniff and a very hospitable cousin to spend good time with. Actually two cousins, Sophie and Sherry Braheny from my mother's sister and quality cousins at that! I was spoiled and taken hither and thither. They scouted out a dog beach which Gina enjoyed. I got my toes painted for the holidays, went to a holiday parade at charming Ocean Beach. 

They had a picnic for me one day overlooking the ocean. You know, it's a nice way to spend winter....

Because Sophie is a grandmother I also got to spend some very enjoyable time with those grandkids and had a nice chat -or several with Sophie's daughter, Elise. We walked the pier, went to a farmer's market. Gina behaved admirably with the crowd there, mostly because others had brought their interesting dogs!

 It was a good visit. I got to see San Diego and was impressed with the waterside parks, the sense of culture, the quality of life. We went from the waterfront to the skyview in a lovely bar overlooking the city and topped that day with a good dinner.

We had brunch with friends one day and took a walk

by the stately and grandly decorated Claremont hotel. The following day they again took me to see the sights. We ended up at Balboa Park which has a number of museums and artisanal shops as well as being adjacent to the zoo and having lovely grounds. It was a great tour of a city I knew little about and I will come back for more. As it was, with all the non reservations I had I came early to Sophie's and stayed a few days later.

And she didn't mind- invited me back even! Now that's family.
Thanks Sophie, Sherry, Elise and the contributing cast of characters who made the week so special.  Here's a bit of a gallery-