A West Coast Winter Day

  

  Living on the coast of California has it's good and bad sides, like anywhere else.

  Bad sides? A drought situation that has latest for years, way too many people, costs of living that can be extreme, the fear that any day now the 'Big One' (earthquake) will hit, ridiculous traffic jams, and knowing that the rest of the world views us as laid back surfer/stoner/hippy/flakes. 

  I may have had my day as a hippy, but I've never been a flake. Or a surfer. 

  Just so you know.

  There are lots of good sides, but for the sake of this blog post, let's just say that you can't beat the winter weather here.

  Tourists flock to our area in the summer, expecting it to be like a scene from "Baywatch", with warm sunshine and girls in teeny bikinis on the beach. 

  Not so.

  Our summers are mostly cold, grey and foggy.

  I watch the throngs of people as they shiver in their shorts and T-shirts, buying sweatshirts emblazoned with the California flag…it's ironic. Sure, it's plenty hot and sunny ten miles inland, or down in the Los Angeles area, but here on the coast we learn to dress in warm layers from June through August. 

  It's freaking cold.

  The big payoff comes later, in fall and winter.

  Take yesterday, December 28…

  

Monterey's harbor.

  The local weather guy called for a high of seventy degrees, so Johnny & I decided we should take a much needed day off, work in the garden, and take the bikes out for a spin.

  We have been working non-stop all month, getting our new gallery space up and running, and a wee break was just what the doctor ordered. After all, rain is eventually on it's way, we hope, and the cold weather (for us, any temperature under 55 degrees) is coming down the pike soon enough.

  But yesterday was the day to play.

The annual winter Ice Rink had several people wearing shorts
and T-shirts as they scooted around...

We had our scarves, but Johnny didn't even need a sweater.

Riding along the bike trail, the views are fantastic.
This is Fisherman's Wharf from the backside.

  It's been a few weeks since we've taken the bikes out, and I really wanted to play some dominoes and such. 

  Our favorite spot for wine and dominoes is along the ocean, so it was perfect. I was hoping for some outrageous colors at sunset…the clouds were so nice in the late afternoon-

Not a bad place to call 'home'.

Didn't see any whales, but I loved this sail boat.

This panorama shot looks towards our house, over there.

  We live about five minutes from the beach, if you drive, and we take our morning walks on the bike path just above the beach. On these clear winter days, it's beautiful.

There's our little town.
And that's the beach we walk along...

A little color at sunset, as we look towards the
Monterey Bay Aquarium.

  

As we headed back home, it was getting dark enough to enjoy Christmas lights on some of the sailboats in the harbor. We were bummed that we missed the Christmas "Lighted Boat Parade" this year, so it was fun to see these.

I love the lights reflected in the water, of course.
We live back across the bay, where the lights are in the distance.
It's a perfect bike ride for us.

Seasons Greetings from Fisherman's Wharf-
We couldn't believe how many people were around! 

A last swing by the ice skaters.
It started to cool down, once the sun set.

And just a few more pretty lights, before we bike back home.

    Whether here, or in Umbria, I guess Johnny and I do know how to have some good fun.
    Happy Holidays and Happy New Year…Here's to making the best of life, wherever life finds you.