Bleat, Yum, Splash, Slurp and Ahhhh.....

Song - You Hit the Wrong Note Billy Goat by Bill Haley and the Comets

 Last Friday, Mr. B and I headed down Hwy. 1 along the California coast to visit Harley Goat Farm on our way to Santa Cruz for Easter weekend.

 Their link is here - Harley Goat Farm

 Yes.....there were lots of baby goats running around and lot's of delicious cheese and body products in their shop. We came home with a few fine goat cheeses'. 

The adult goats are in the photo above and below are the baby goats that are 6 weeks old and being weaned from their parents.

 We drove through fingers of fog......

 

....then out into sunshine again....and back again to heavy fog.

We arrived at the cabin to beautiful sunshine and sat on the deck and relaxed.

For dinner on Friday night we went to Soif (which is French for "thirst") in downtown Santa Cruz where we have eaten several times before. It's a cozy little bistro type restaurant that always has an interesting menu and atmosphere.

We shared a cheese course that had Kikorangi (Blue Cheese-cow) from New Zealand,  Brillat Savarin (Brie-cow) from Lyon, France (yummmmm, yummy, yummy, yum),  Pata Cabra (Chevre-goat) from Spain,  Cabot Clothbound Cheddar (pale yellow cheddar-cow) from Vermont, Manchego El Trigal (sheep) from Spain as well as quince paste, grapes, almonds and toast. Our portions were at lease four times this size but I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo.....

We each had a couple of glasses of wine - Mr. B had Syrah from Northern Rhone which he really liked and I had a Pere et Fils Remoissenet Bourgogne Blanc which was fabulous. We both ordered amazing entrees but once again they were gone before I thought to photograph them.  So now you will just have to go to Soif yourself and try something on their delightful menu!

Saturday morning was sunny and Andy & Ashley came to visit and stay overnight. 

We stopped by our very favorite bakery in Capitola to pick up some breakfast on our way to the beach - Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria! 

We picked up a bag of savory and sweet treats to-go and headed to Aptos Beach.

 We plopped on a log while looking at this view of the bay and dined with great joy!

We took a nice long walk along the shore and enjoyed dodging the waves as they rolled in.

 Saturday night we had an early Easter dinner as the kids had to head home in the morning to take care of some things. 

It was so nice to spend time together.

Easter morning we had breakfast and our guests took off for home.  Mr. B and I drove up to the lighthouse and watched the surfers for a while.  

The ocean was quiet but a few small waves rolled in but it looked more like

beginners-Easter-break-surfers out there.

Mr. B fixed a door in the cabin that needed attention 

and I planted a flat of white Impatiens in the garden.

In the afternoon our second set of guests arrived - our middle son Jon, his girlfriend Jacque and their puppy Chewy.  We had a lovely visit and late lunch together.

Mr. B and I stayed until Monday at noon as it was another beautiful day and difficult to return home but we will be back!

"You can't stop the waves but you can learn to surf. "

-- Jon Kabat-Zinn

Notre Dame Cathedral

Song - Je T'aime by Lara Fabian

I have no words......

Called On Account of Rain

Song - All We Do - Oh Wonder - Cover by Sierra Eagleson


It's raining again here in California, so Mr. B and I decided to head to the art museum in San Francisco to see the Monet exhibit.  We timed it perfectly so we wouldn't get stuck in commuter traffic or the Giant's home opener traffic.  Off to the Legion of Honor! 

I showed the lady our online tickets, picked up our audio guides and went to walk in and saw.......

 ....this....

....and this.....oops.....that does not look like Monet!  It was a Rubens exhibit......did we miss it?
Nope.  I had the wrong museum!  So while we did take a quick peek at the Rubens show (not really our cup of tea) we quickly headed over to the deYoung to see Monet.

 Now that's better.......

 Just look at all the colors he used in this close-up........

The exhibit was titled - Monet: The Late Years and included about 50 pieces of art that he did from 1913-1926, where he spent most of his time at home in Giverny, his home near Paris France.

 He loved his garden and was passionate about his Lily Pond. He would often paint the same view at different times of the day to see how the colors changed.

 Once again, amazing color on top of color.

 In his later years he developed cataracts and eventually had surgery to correct his vision.  His palate changed from blues and greens to orange and yellows.

 But still powerful color....

 Also at the deYoung was a Gauguin exhibit that was interesting and is the first one at the Fine Arts Museum dedicated to the work of Paul Gauguin.

 He met and married his wife, a Danish women, Mette-Sophie Gad and they had five children.  After 11 years their marriage fell apart when Paul Gauguin decided to paint full time. 

This is a tiny portrait of his wife - about 3 x 4".

 Paul Gauguin - 1848-1904

 Similar to Monet, Gauguin had layer upon layer of color.

Amazing color in the water..... 

While Mr. B and I did get to see three amazing exhibits, we did miss our first home opener with the Giants in 19 years.  While returning home we saw the fireworks from the freeway and I had my camera ready for the fly-over (my favorite!) but alas we either missed it or they did not do it this year.

The only fly-over I saw was a big black crow flying over our car!

"I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers." 

--Claude Monet