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Tag Archives: California

Another Day, Another Beach

Maybe it’s because we live in the mountains that we are drawn to beaches. We looked around for dog-friendly beaches on the trip and were pleased to find lots of places for them to run. This one at McKerricher State Park in California had a long open section in between two closed sections – one because the seals and sea lions hauled out on the rocks and at the other end was a nesting area for an endangered plover. We were there at an exceptionally low tide and saw a fellow out harvesting mussels. Yumm!

Anemones exposed by the low tide
Lots of mussels
Lots of tidepools to explore
Mussels and gooseneck barnacles
Gooseneck barnacles
Sea anemone
Golden beach
Black Oystercatcher
Mussels
Luna went right up to the sign before being called back.

When in California …..

It just seems natural that you must visit a winery even though we come from a big wine-producing state ourselves. My aunt and uncle live in Napa and they took us to one of the grander wineries I’ve ever seen – Castello di Amorosa. It is in an authentic castle built specifically to house the winery. This building was a labor of love that took several years to complete with bricks and rock and fixtures shipped from Europe. I cannot begin to imagine how much it cost. Much of the winery is underground in a labyrinth of tunnels and arched rooms. I had to fight off my claustrophobic tendencies in order to enjoy the tour. Thank goodness we had a guide. I’m quite sure I could not have found my way out on my own. At the end of the tour, we were treated to tastings and we did take home a little bit of California wine to enjoy in the future.

Every castle needs a moat
And the moat needs ducks
The farm yard for goats
Ken likes goats
Gold-crowned Sparrow in a rosemary hedge
And a castle needs some gargoyles. Ken thinks we should consider them for our house too.
A castle needs a drawbridge and an iron gate
So many interesting touches
And terrific views
Lovely flowers
And murals!
This great hall can be rented out for parties.
The murals were very interesting.
Two brothers did the mural painting but one quit early so his brother painted over his signature.
Such tidy grounds
More great flowers
A mixture of high tech industrial wine making with traditional looking castle
Many hallways like this one
Often lined with oak barrels full of wine
A place to taste wine out of a barrel
Lots of animals on the grounds.
Chickens in the vineyard