I visit my little beach house a couple times a a month. Mostly it's so my potted plants don't croak (thanks, Mr. Gopher), especially during this very dry winter, but it's also a change of scenery for me and a chance to blow the cobwebs out of my head . . .

. . . while driving and listening to my favorite tunes.  It's usually a 2 to 3 CD drive, unless I have the one in the player that my once-teen daughter burned for me with all the Beatles songs. That one gets me all the way from Monterey to the Bay Area and vice versa. The songs are out of order, so it's hilarious to hear John singing Ain't She Sweet right after Revolution.

Other good things about the trip are as follows:

  1. Sea gulls. As long as they're not pooping on your head, they're fun to watch.
  2. Blue, blue ocean. I can see it from my front door when it's this blue. When it's gray, it blends in with the gray sky. But blue sky and blue ocean are distinctly different colors.
  3. Guys in speedos – yes, my neighbor was lounging in his Adirondack chair in his speedo behind his garage. I walked by with my dog and caught a glimpse of his big belly covering up the Speedo. The guy looked naked, but I don't think he was. I thought about waving and then thought that might be a bad idea.
  4. The police log in the local paper. It's nice to see where the catalytic converters are being stolen this week and where domestic quarrels are happening across the town.
  5. Knowing where the trees are cut down – yes, two big Monterey pines that had beetles.
  6. Houses for sale – listed in the same local paper.
  7. Houses that have sold and for how much – local paper.
  8. Ace Hardware sells regular potting soil, not Hoity Toity potting soil, so it's $5.99 per bag instead of $12.00 per bag as it is in my Bay Area town.
  9. Great thrift stores, although two of them are closed on Mondays.
  10. Great book sale at the local church from 10 to 12, but I left too late to get there. Books are $1 and $2, so worth it!  Next time.
  11. Second Chance Thrift store had some good stuff today, four things for under $8.00 total (terra cotta flower pot, baby onesie, two creamers).
  12. Good Will – baby clothes, two sleeveless dresses for $8.00 and $9.00, a tea cup and two green plates for garden pots.
  13. Lots of weeds to pull – good therapy in the sunshine.
  14. Always stuff to do, and never enough time to do it all.

That assures me that I'll need to come back again soon, even if gas prices are going through the roof. It's a good thing I donated the Suburban and got a Prius, oh, so many years ago.

Go for a long drive and blow out the cobwebs!