The California Girls are Back Home

8-17-2014  -  Day 3: It was a short 540 mile jaunt from Sedona, AZ, to the greater Los Angeles area.

What a welcome sign!

After we got settled in our room and ate dinner, the NEXT thing these two California girls wanted to do was feel the sand squish 'tween their toes, so we headed to the beach. Never mind that the entrance was closed, and it was really dark outside, we followed the sounds of the crashing waves and checked another item off of our "to-do" list.

8-18-2014 - Day 4: Monday found us in Santa Barbara on a mission to see and do as much fun stuff as possible.  We toured the Mission Santa Barbara, had an awesome lunch, shopped, and made a daytime visit to yet another beach.

El Camino Real -- It's fun to say AND it has a nice ring to it. 
The mission bells seen on the 101 Freeway have been in place since the early 20th Century to mark the original route of El Camino Real from San Diego to Sonoma. 

I sincerely hope it is not disrespectful to the deceased, but this cemetery seemed like a nice spot to snap a picture of my "very much alive" daughters.

Actual skulls and crossbones were often used to mark the entrances to Spanish cemeteries. Thankfully, these are stone carvings and NOT the real thing.

On Memorial Day weekend each year, there is an Italian street painting festival held at the Mission. Over 200 artists participate in I Madonnari. Surprisingly, many of the chalk creations are still quite vibrant, twelve weeks after the event. Here are a few of our favorites:

 Come on in, the water is fine.