Strawberries Galore

At the beginning of the Summer, when D and I magically had a day off together we decided to make a trek up north to Oxnard for the California Strawberry Festival.  We love those kitschy fairs and I think its a great way to celebrate the change in seasons too.  We drove up the scenic coast route and had a fun time taking in the sights along the way. The festival itself wasn't that big, but they had lots of booths with various themed items and snack. Of course, we felt obligated to try at least one of the strawberry flavored alcoholic beverages. So D opted for the Strawberry Beer and I tried the Strawberry Wine. I thought I was going to drink something similar to the "Strawberry Wine" Deana Carter style, but alas it ended up being more like cheap chardonnay with some "strawberry notes." D felt 'eh about his drink too, so instead we moved on to a make-your-own strawberry shortcake bar.  Pretty soon D and I reached our strawberry max and decided to head home before traffic got to insane. I got some great schwag before we left though!  Plus my dear friend Ckim is a strawberry fanatic and I picked up a few things for her too.

 

 

On a side note, we thought it was hilarious how the port-a-potties were marked . . . with a giant lift that said "TOILET" on both sides.  Guess, they didn't want people panicking while looking for a restroom.  Great job California Strawberry Festival!! Way to stay ahead of the game.

Getty

When D's dad was in town a couple weeks ago, we took him out for a full-day at the Getty Art Museum. But before we could head out to the museum, we decided to grab breakfast at Randy's Donuts.

Donuts were very good and fairly cheap too. After we had our breakfast and coffee, D and his Dad were talking about their Super Lotto tickets. As a joke, we decided to make a pact that if either of them won, then we would all split the winnings.  Not sure how I managed to sneak into that arrangement, but I happily agreed.  We took this photo to officially seal the deal. Oh and by the way . . . neither of them won.  Probably figured that one out by now.

Off to the Getty we went!  D and I went there once before with a friend, but got there pretty late to really soak everything in.  They have a great set of year-round art pieces and an interesting array of traveling shows. My favorite year-round pieces that they have are several pieces by Monet. I feel like its cliche to say that you like Monet, but I absolutely love his Haystack series.  They really speak to me for whatever reason.  I always like trying to guess what time of day it was, before reading the inscription.  Usually I'm off, but that's the fun in art, right?!

After looking around the exhibits and even going on a teensy tour, we walked the museum grounds and grabbed some fun photos. Oh and their was a traveling exhibit about trees in photographic art. While we were walking around the exhibit, I was explaining to D and J how one of my favorite books as a little kid was Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree."  We left the exhibit and were on our way to grab lunch, when J tapped me on the shoulder.  I turned around and saw that he was holding out a museum gift shop bag. As I looked inside, he said "I got the last one."  It was a brand spanking new copy of "The Giving Tree"!  I was so touched and started to get a little choked up, I gave J a big hug and said a quiet "Thank you."  (Side note: as soon as we got home from our excursions I ran straight upstairs to read it.  Still amazing as ever, but now that I'm older, it has a different resonating sound for me.  Its still sitting on my bedside table.  I don't have the heart to put it away)

Silly D and J

 

J's hero

I HEART BOUGAINVILLEAS!! I want these sculptures in my backyard

 

Fun day at the museum!  Can't wait to go back.