I Am a Tourist - Taking a Staycation

"Weather means more when you have a garden.  There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans."
I read this quote by Marcelene Cox on a gardening blog  and I think of it whenever it rains. This past week we were treated to one and a half days of rain.  I say treat because it is always a welcomed surprise to hear the gently patter of raindrops on the roof of the porch to look out the window at the raindrops dancing on the deck. 

The parched soils seems to lap it up and when I go outside, I can almost feel the skin on my face sucking in the moisture. I took advantage of the welcoming soil to plant my snap peas around my bamboo trellis.

Then, when the rain passed and the sun filled the clear blue sky, Jay and I looked at each other and said..."Let's go someplace!"  Since we live in Southern California, the destination of so many who travel thousands of miles to get here, we are never at a loss for an interesting place to explore on a pleasant afternoon.

We headed north...along Lincoln Blvd. until we reached the area of Venice (California not Italy, sigh!) There is an interesting street that runs through Venice called Abbot Kinney so we parked the car and began to walk.  Things look different from the sidewalk than from the window of a car. We walked past a restaurant we had heard about, Lilly's...which features French cuisine. Nice menu and has a welcoming patio in the back where you sip mimosas and enjoy a weekend brunch of quiche. 

Then tucked along the side of the restaurant we found a little walkway that took us to a hidden Sculpture Garden nursery.  Further along the we passed some mural art on the buildings.

and eventually found ourselves in a lovely tree covered walkway that seemed to be heading west.

We weren't surprised when it ended at the beach...but not just any beach...Venice Beach, the one location that helps Southern California earn its reputation for "diversity!" 

Who are these people?  There is the aging hippy selling his surfboard art. 

The T-shirt and sun shades vendors.  Who buys this stuff? 

The tattoo parlor complete with a menacing guard dog. 

There is something for everyone...Curious about what life has in store for you?  Stop at the local Palm and Tarot Card shop for a reading. 

Want an expressive outlet...join the impromptu drum circle.

While we saw few people with whom we might want to share a glass of wine, we did comment that most appeared happy and they were having fun.  There was an electricity in the air and everyone seemed glad to be there, even if some paid thousands of dollars for air fare while others paid $4.00 for a gallon of gas.  When we had enough, we found our way back to our car and headed home.   We love Southern California, despite the traffic and congestion, the noise, there is always someplace to go and something to do.  And when we are saturated, we can easily return to our haven, our home...sit on the porch, sip something nice and watch the hummingbirds.