Lifespan of a Chennette

You may not have noticed, because I don’t have scheduled or sometimes regular posts, but I am on vacation. I have been offline for 3 days and this is only a brief aberration. I meant to post the day I was traveling but airports and airplanes conspired against my having time to open up the computer.

So I am in California! The absolutely beautiful Central Coast of California, with its combination of rugged landscape and spectacular Pacific Ocean views. I visited here a couple years ago and was struck by the colour of the sky and the Pacific which somehow seem different in the tropics – maybe closer to the sun/equator our sky takes on a different hue.

While I am not uploading photos now, you can enjoy the views from my last visit – Carpinteria, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Santa Cruz. That first shot is on the little beach at Carpinteria which is near the fancier Santa Barbara. Carpinteria is also home to “tar pits” – little relatives of our grand La Brea pitch lake!

Santa Barbara is known for being home to the rich and famous, and has a cute (and expensive) main street – State Street, and a fabulous harbour area from which you can look at the mansions in the hills, or the beauty of the ocean (I choose the ocean).

Monterey is a great bay for whale-watching, seal-watching – boat tours have actual marine biologists that give you information (or annoy you with their perkiness – choose wisely). There’s also the fantastic Monterey Bay Aquarium – which had the amazing Jellyfish as Art gallery where I got that last photo (and others). That particular exhibit is closed I believe but the aquarium is still a great visit, with an Enchanted Kelp forest and touchable sea creatures (ever touched a sting ray?).

Santa Cruz has wonderful huge and ancient redwoods. If you’re a tropical person, temperate forests are a quiet peaceful revelation – none of the (lovely) constant cacophony of sound in tropical rainforests! Of course just driving along the Pacific Coast Highway is worth a visit! Which is what I have been doing this trip. Now that I have done my unpaid work for the California state tourist board, why don’t you visit my California set on Flickr, while you wait for my return and new beautiful blue photos!