July 18-19 Surfing in Monterey Bay (Del Monte beach), camping in Arroyo Seco, beach in Sta. Barbara-by Judy

7/18

Dalia, Noel, and Sophie took a nice long surfing lesson this morning.  It was way too cold and windy for this Florida native, so I watched the lesson and took pics (chicken, baak, baak).  

Then we headed south to camp at Arroyo Seco.  The drive was absolutely stunning, with beautiful tree-covered mountains and huge vineyards.  California actually reminds me a lot of Italy and Israel in that way:  it’s hard to take a bad picture here because it’s so gorgeous.  Same with the food–we’ve been really lucky.


7/19

Spent a beautiful night at our campsite in the Arroyo Seco forest.  There’s something so peaceful about cooking, eating, cleaning up, and sleeping in the woods.  No rushing, no cell service, no internet.  Just beauty, plus the sound of the crickets and bullfrogs (just like at our house in ny!).

Later…..

We found Leadbetter Beach in Santa Barbara.  Stunningly gorgeous weather, just the right amount of sun for basking and the right amount of wind for sailing and parasailing.  First we saw lots of parasailors, and then over 20 sailboats.  This place is just gorgeous.  Just watching all the boats and kites makes me happy.  We also ended up getting a great dinner right on the beach.  I want to move here. 
Noel kept trying to contact our next campsite, but they didn’t answer–we think it may be closed due to recent fires, since they’re in that area.  ☹️ So we found a motel that has both internet and showers, both of which we respect greatly.  👍🏼  Good night, Santa Barbara!