hello again. today while tramping along the mendocino headlands admiring the turquoise waters with sister, i heard a voice.
mary. ann. moss!????
a stranger calling my name in the tiny town of mendocino. whaaaa?
it was none other than dear susan warder, a blog friend and fellow teacher from albuquerque that i’ve never met. turns out she’s camping a few miles down the coast with her son, Zach and his wife. we gave each other a big hug and yacked for a bit. what a happy surprise to meet someone i’ve known on the interwebs practically since i began blogging way back in 2007. carol took our picture, which i would like to post, but first i’ll wait to make sure susan isn’t in the witness protection program.
here are a few more random pics of what we’ve been doing. visiting the mendocino botanic gardens. simply divine! the begonias and dahlias are blooming and quite a wonder to behold. you can stroll along the bluffs overlooking the bright ocean. there are quite a few paths that meander through fragrant woodland, groomed garden, and open headlands.
since we’ve been here we’ve met some delightful locals – a man named ed who walks daily along the headlands. he moved here in 1944. he told carol that they need nurses here and she should consider moving. a lovely couple, kelvin & liz who relocated from england to open “wild fish” restaurant (quaint delicious freshly sourced food), a numerologist, and at least half dozen other strange & wonderful menfolk. interesting peeps here along the mendo coast!
tomorrow we push off for points south.
waving, blowing air kisses and sending bear hugs from northern california. we’re heading outside to snuggle in blankets, listen to the waves, and stare up at the milky way.
oh. about my lumberjack shirt. today i didn’t wear it.
Sheesh — I just this morning realized I hadn’t seen or heard from you in eons! Didn’t realize I was no longer getting your feed (your old addy). Fixed that. Your trip to Mendo is wonderful, your photos fabulous. You’re kinda, sorta getting closer to Fortuna with every trip north! Have a splendid autumn. xo
Ah Mary Ann, You and Carol look like you are having the bestest time ever. I am totally enthralled with your pics and peeks and you’ve become a sketching beast. So so many cool moments captured in paint. I am soaking up all this goodness vicariously and hanging on every tidbit with an abundance of happiness and glee. xoxoxox
The flowers are beautiful, the views are beautiful, the artwork is beautiful, meeting new friends is beautiful, and seeing you both looking so relaxed and refreshed is tre beautiful! Thank you for sharing it all!
Playing catchup this morning on all the developments in Mossland. I SO love far, far northern CA! I visited Point Arena Light a couple of years back and was just stunned with how amazing the area is. The seaglass beach, the agate beach (did you see that one? agates wash up there!) We, confident in our minerology skills honed by about four minutes of googling ‘agates”, picked up a bunch of stones that fairly convinced us they must be agates. Wanting a bit of semi-pro confirmation, we went up to a woman with a homemade bucket and fork/scoop thing. You could just tell by her confident scooping and determined strolling that she was ‘in the know’. Asked if she had time to take a glance at our treasure of rocks, and she said yes. She examined them for a few seconds and said, very kindly, “Those are some very pretty rocks! But they’re not agates…” Me: “None of them?” She: “Well, this one is (she pointed to probably the smallest pebble).” Me: “Did you find agates?” She: “Yes….this was the best one of the day.” She then pulled what seemed to be a small boulder out of her bucket. The lodestone of agates! Good thing I’m not reliant on agate finding skills for making a living…
Waiting to see your octopus patch.
What a colorful post. I love all your sketches. How are those journals you bought working out for you? Travel on…………………….!
Oh, Mendocino. Is it real? I have memories, but still, I wonder? Can anyplace like that really exist?
Such a lovely trip and great photos. Your sketchbooks are gorgeous. I really like your lumberjack shirt. I’m always happy to see the plaids come out in the fall. Carol looks quite fetching in her pink scarf with the octopus tee shirt!
Huge thrill for me! The extraordinary thing about long following you (YOU, not just a blog [good title for blog]) is that encountering you in real world felt as comfortable as any unexpected meet w a friend. I was buzzing about it for a long time after.
Zach had just finished telling his wife, Dea, about how impressed he was with that lady’s super fast reflexes in grabbing her hat as the wind took it from her head. I’d heard some of it Iin the background and hadn’t realized who he was describing when he commented that you never know who has Jedi powers.
I’ve been cleared from witness protection. The five year olds I was hiding from have a short attention span so post us away. ?
Mary Ann, it was a pleasure to meet you and your sis. Just chiming in briefly to second my mother’s excitement. It was a sweet addition to an already glorious day.
…and i was impressed you managed to save your travel hat…
🙂
I love this Mendocino coast you and Carol are playing in! Gorgeous, Mary Ann! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!
I am *so* enjoying “our” trip in Mendocino! Your pictures are way better than mine.
XO
I love this little vacation to mendicino you are taking us along. I love seeing the sketchbooks poses. Beautiful flowers! Hope we get to meet Susan!
LoveLoveLove!
Too, too cool! Thanks for sharing!