Summer Travelogue

Summer classes have begun in earnest now. My journeys began in California with a three guild visit: San Francisco Quilt Guild, the Santa Rosa guild and the Moonlight Quilter's Guild. Thanks to the organization of all the workshop chairwomen the travel between locations was smooth and easy.

And best of all, I was able to see some wonderful sights along the way.

I stayed in a modest but delightfully located inn right on the ocean and in Golden Gate Park. The Legion of Honor was just up the hill and the hiking path began almost outside my door. The trees above were on the path of my morning walk along the coast. As a Hitchcock fan, I was reminded of his movie, Vertigo, since so much of the movie takes place in this very location. Consequently, I had Bernard Herrmann music running through my mind during the entire trip. 

I was lucky to be able to spend two nights at a cozy home in Sabastopol. The California hills were just turning golden and the roads were faced by wineries and apple orchards all along the way. Here is a field of fragrant lavender in the midday sun located on the grounds of a handsome winery.

One night we drove over to Bodaga Bay on the coast. The landscape of steep rolling hills and occasional wind swept trees were stunning in the magic light of sunset. This is, of course, the setting for another Hitchcock film, The Birds. So there was a delightfully ominous theme to this trip! That evening the ocean was rip roaring and the wind was fierce, but that just added to the atmosphere of the location.

In Santa Rosa, I got to visit the home of the famous horticulturist, Luther Burbank. The grounds were filled with design inspiration. Above is an opulent branch of plump plums against the clear blue sky.

And below is a gathering of Love-in-a-Mist... one of my all time favorite plants. They will show up in a quilt one day, I'm sure. Here I also discovered a memorable quote from Mr. Burbank:

"Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water-bugs, tadpoles, frogs and mud-turtles, elderberries, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb, brooks to wade in, water-lilies, woodchucks, bats, bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to roll, sand, snakes, huckleberries, and hornets; and any child who has been deprived of these has been deprived of the best part of his education." 

Upon my return home, a huge storm was brewing. We got in the door just as the sky broke open with lightning, thunder and driving rain. We sat on the screened porch to enjoy the show. Now that's a welcome home! Our garden is very happy as I prepare for my next journey which begins tomorrow as I fly to Australia for a month of new quilting adventures. So Greg will be on garden duty and much will change in the weeks to come. But perhaps I'll come back to some ripe home grown tomatoes!