Major Car Trouble...MAJOR

Today, I called the dealership to make an appointment to get my car fixed. With another prayer, we headed the 40+ miles to the dealership. We dropped the car off and drove off with a rental. Later the dealership called to say that the left strut had gone bad. As the car had over 50k miles, then they require changing both as fixing just one puts more strain on the other one. As the car has a whole airmatic system, then the struts are very expensive. In the center of the dial which is normally grey, was a bright red screen with the message "Stop, car too low" The fender hung lower then the tire...can't really tell from the angle of the picture below.

Homeward Bound...the Long Way

Monday morning, we left Monterey early and drove west. We stopped by Lover's Point where I took these next two pictures.

We then drove the 17 mile drive through Pebble Beach. We stopped at Carmel by-the-Sea for a great breakfast at Kate's Place and to browse around some of the stores. Whenever I hear or see the name Carmel by-the-Sea, it reminds me of my paternal grandmother as she lived in a little village in England called Knott end-on-Sea, England. To differeniate her from my other Grandmother, we called her Grandma by-the-Sea. My other grandmother lived near a castle ruins, so we enjoyed visiting there too.

After leaving Carmel, we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway and saw miles and miles of gorgeous coastline. Maybe not the best idea with a broken car, but how could we pass up such beauty to drive interstate? We made it back to my house and the first thing we did was say a prayer for the car making it.

Pebble Breach, CA

This evening we had reservations for a wonderful dinner for at Peppoli's at Pebble Beach. We had an excellent meal. We had an excellent Capressi salad with red, yellow and green tomatoes and the freshest mozzerella cheese I have ever tested. We then had a great corn and fennel soup followed by our dinner dishes. We then finished off with a great pear dessert. Wonderful meal and excellent service.

Muir Woods

After leaving Safari West, we drove down to San Francisco and stopped at Muir Woods to see the huge Redwood trees. Their size and age are amazing. We found a shaded place in the woods and stopped for a quick lunch. This morning, we had purchased a sandwich to share at Dean and Deluca...for $8.75. We were both very disappointed with it and neither one of us finished our half.

Safari West, Santa Rosa, CA

Today we went to Safari West in Santa Rosa, CA. We got to see giraffes, gazelles, zebras, rinos and many other 600 animals in the 400 acres preserve. We started with a two hour safari drive and explored the animals in authentic safari vehicles. Then we walked around seeing more animals and birds.

Falling for Hot Air Balloons

As we were headed north, on our way out of Napa, we saw several hot air balloons getting ready to land. We pulled onto a side road to get some pictures. They were colorful against the blue early morning sky. I was talking pictures of a balloon that landed by the road, then turned around to get some pictures of two that were getting ready to land in the vineyard. I started running down a 2-3 feet decline so I could get a great shot before they landed. Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air parallel with the ground then "landed" and slid to a halt. Ouch! A lady came running over and asked if I was alright. I stood up and brushed the dust off me. My camera was also dusty from the cloud of dust I created. Yes, my camera was alright...and so was I.

I like how the picture below captured the red weight in mid air as it was getting thrown from the balloon for a landing.

I didn't realize that in my super hero flight, the lens became a little loose. I took this picture right before it fell off the camera and into my hand. It explains the white burst at the left of the picture, but I like the white burst so included it. The lenses worked fine the rest of the day, so no permanent damage.

Up, up and away

Ubuntu Restaurant

Saturday evening, we had reservations at Ubuntu Restaurant in Napa. I had read about it in a magazine as a "vegetable" restaurant. It was an interesting experience. All the food in the restaurant was vegetarian. We had fresh olives for an appetizer, they were delicious. The salad had greens and flowers on it that I had never eaten before. The flowers were sort of sweet. We had a brown rice and roasted vege's in a broth for our entree, then a cheesecake in a jar for dessert.

Vineyards

After deciding to drive further, we stopped by a vineyard by the side of the road to get some pictures of grapes, olives and other vegetation. Bob snapped a picture of me......while I was taking pictures of these.

Elmshaven

After church and a picnic lunch, we went north to Elmshaven, the home of Ellen White, and toured around. It was there that we realized why a warning light was coming on in the car intermittently. The drivers side fender was lower than the wheel instead of a few inches above it and the car had a serious list to the left. I called my dealer to ask about the warning light and they said don't drive the vehicle, but have it towed to the nearest dealership on a flat bed tow truck. Due to the local dealership being closed the next couple days, that didn't seem like much of an option. We looked and how much we could turn the wheel to the left without scraping the fender and decided to keep driving it and assess if the situation seemed to be getting any worse.

Napa, CA

Today, Bob and I drove to Napa, CA. We had talked about going for a ride on the Napa Wine Train that went through Napa, Yountville and the vineyards. Bob surprised me with upgrading our tickets to the Vista Dome car and it included a five course meal. The Vista Dome car was a two story car with dining at the top under curved windows and the kitchen down below.

We had a great vegetarian meal and since they didn't have any non-alcoholic drinks, we were able to take our own bottle of Navarro non-alcoholic wine...thanks to Duncan and Marlene for bringing some bottles down last Christmas. We had a great time and want a fun and unique way to see some of the valley. Here are a few pictures of the fun experience (double click to enlarge).

Photography Workshop

Today, I went down to Orange County for a workflowshop with Matt Saville. I had a great time and it was fun meeting some other photographers. Matt had invited a model to come by the class so we could practice some of the techniques. Here is one of my pictures of Rachel.

Playing with Photo Gear

This evening, Steve came by my house. He brought his new Canon T1i and I showed him how to use some of the feature on his camera. It also gave me the chance to try out my new lights.

OC SmugMug Meeting

[b]ecker was the guest speaker at last nights OC (Orange Country) SmugMug Meeting. He talked about passion and profits. The Costa Mesa Country Club lets the group use their banquet room, but the group has to be out by 8:30 p.m. Here's a picture I took with my iPhone, but if you check out Jasmine Star's blog, she has much better pictures. I sat next to Troy Gover and his fiance. They were "models" for one of Jasmine's workshops. I'm starting a list on the right for blogs of the people I meet at the OC Meetings.

At the end of his presentation, [b]ecker, said that there was a Cold Stone Creamery a couple miles away and he would buy ice cream for anyone that stopped by. I'm guessing that about 60-75 (if the 250 people) stopped by for ice cream. Yes, the will power I displayed earlier in the evening at Whole Foods (and when they had desserts at the meeting) just vanished and I enjoyed some butterscotch icecream with some Butterfinger, Reese Cup and Carmel mixed it...it was displayed on a huge picture as tall as me, an looked soooo yummy...and it was. I met some great people and it was fun to talk with other who were there.

Whole Foods Market

Last night, I went to the monthly Orange County Photographers meeting in Costa Mesa. I had remembered reading about a Whole Foods Market that was in the Newport area, so Bob checked out the location and directed me on how to get there. I enjoyed walking around and couldn't resist talking pictures with my iPhone of these muffins and fruit tarts...but I did resist buying any.

Yeti - The Maltese

Last night, I went to David and Anne's and got to see Yeti again...all 2 1/2 pounds. Here's a few pictures that I downloaded from David's Facebook page.