Visiting with Mike and Pam–Encinitas, CA

July 24th – 31st – We left Oxnard, CA and headed south, through Los Angeles to Encinitas to visit with Fred’s brother, Mike and his wife, Pam. Let me just say, there is no love lost on these Los Angeles roadways. We did take the now infamous 405 (this was after the ‘car-magedden’ weekend) and, because it was Sunday morning, we did not suffer too much from the traffic. That means that the 5 lanes of steady cars never came to a stand-still. But, give me the good ‘ole Farmerville roads any day!
Mike and Pam live in a section of Encinitas just walking distance to the cute downtown and the beach. Our days fell into the daily rhythm of Mike and Pam’s lives, with activities or a bit of work in the morning (they are both landscape architects), or a fun outing, then an afternoon walk with their dog, Romer. We would usually walk down to a grassy area by the library where Romer could chase a ball, then on to the downtown, where we might stop by the Whole Foods to pick up a needed item for dinner.
Dinners were always a treat….both Mike and Pam are excellent cooks, and the selection of organic and locally grown produce is excellent. Speaking of food….we sampled fish tacos for the first time…and loved them! You can get a fish taco with either fried fish (like in ‘fish and chip's’) or grilled or blacked fish. They put this in a soft tortilla with lettuce or cabbage slaw and maybe corn or bean salsa. Delicious!
One evening, after having staked out our table and fire pit earlier in the afternoon, we walked to the beach for a picnic dinner and bon fire.


The fire was beautiful…..and provided a nice warmth…….believe it or not, it was chilly down by the ocean! I feel your pain, Louisiana and Arizona (even Iowa)!

I can’t imagine living where one can walk on the beach everyday………


One of our outings was to the Encinitas Botanical Gardens. It was lovely…….

With so many different kinds of plants……..

Beautiful….and unusual……

I also learned about dichroic glass……these light catchers were made from this special glass which is clear, yet reflects various colors when the light shines through them.

Another day, we went to the horse races! You don’t have to worry …… we were only placing $2 bets, which was good, because we sure can’t pick the horses!

Thanks so much to Mike and Pam for the wonderful hospitality. It is always special to be able to become part of your day to day lives for just a bit…….