| Part Fourteen; Central California Adventures
 
 
 
Santa CruzWe left the Bay Area Monday midday. It was warm and dry, and  we moved at a good pace through the city until we got out into the suburbs.  There the southbound freeway was hot, dusty and congested. Slowly, as we got  further away from the high density of buildings and industry, traffic picked  up. By the time we reached Santa Cruz,  we were beginning to get stuck in evening rush hour and found more traffic congestion.  Santa Cruz had  changed drastically since I had visited it in 1984. A lot of the downtown area  had been cleared, and new touristy strip malls built there. Many one way  streets diverted traffic around and around the city and so we had to do the loop  towing Shungo a couple of times until we found the narrow road winding by the  water that could lead us south to our RV Park. Then we got lost or turned  around, as the directions in the RV Guide didn’t seem to make sense.  Fortunately, after getting on and off the freeway a couple of times and several  cell phone conversations later, we found our way over the railroad tracks (I  cringed –trains!) and down into a little flat area which housed a small RV  Park. We were told they had room for a 40-footer, but we certainly  couldn’t figure out where that could be. Then they pointed out our place - the  last one before the street, or rather you might say a spot IN the street. It  was jutting out into the narrow access one-way lane that circled through the  Park and only one vehicle could pass us at a time. It felt strange walking out  of our door to find myself in the middle of the street and later, for me to  hear people talking right outside my window. But I was grateful for a space.  The people were friendly and that’s always a good sign. We were welcomed warmly  by several of our neighbors, although they were full-timers here and could  easily have ignored the in-and-outers. Finally, once we were set up, it was becoming dusk so we  rushed across the street to the beach to get in the last rays. Despite the heat  of the day, it was now getting chilly (60’s –brrr!) and very windy. We had to  walk fast because we weren’t dressed warmly enough. Within a half hour, the  temperature must have dropped precipitously. We had arrived at the RV Park in  summer but left the beach in winter only an hour later! Nevertheless, the beach  was welcoming and healing. ---.....---------- Monterey PeninsulaTuesday we packed up a bag or two for the day and headed  south again, this time only in our truck. Following the directions that Terence  and Karen had given us, we found our way to the seemingly isolated quiet valley  and to a beautiful development where they lived. I say beautiful, because the  landscaping was tasteful and there was a well-maintained golf course. But also,  mostly because there were still many wild areas surrounding and flowing between  the houses, placed as they were, harmoniously at different intervals along the  few winding streets. We stopped at their lovely house. The front yard had  interesting plants that I didn’t recognize, but seemed to be attractive to  butterflies. Whoever had designed this landscape had a good eye for design and  for plant texture that pleased my eyes. Terence met us at the door. Karen, it  seemed, was at some stables nearby having her riding lesson. Ah, the good life!  We walked into the spacious place, immediately noticing large crystals shining  and sparkling at us and intriguing statuary that needed to have second and  third looks to appreciate fully. We passed through the living room to the  comfortable den with its lounging sofas and chatted. Then, we went outside and  sat on the patio and talked some more. Finally, we took a ride in Terence’s  golf cart around the development and walked some of the sidewalks along the  golf course. He had seen various wild animals, including wild cats, along the  golf course while playing there. All was calm and quiet here. I could really  relax if I spent more time in this peaceful place.
 Thinking of relaxing, Terence showed us what he has been developing for his  company Real Music (see http://www.realmusic.com).  A new line called “iRelax” features CD’s to de-stress, drift and have massages  by. Developed especially for massage therapists and spas, one even has the  clever title “InSPAration.” My favorite use of “new-age” music has always been  to put on a CD and lie down for a nice drift to the music that shapes the  fleeting images of the mind in a free association of semi-dreams.
 
 Karen returned and then the four of us piled into their car and took off  towards the Monterey   Peninsula. The seashore  along the 17 mile stretch is preserved and there were many people enjoying the  view of the interesting rocks surrounded by waves and sea spray. The dunes and  small hills along the shore were covered with many interestingly colored  flowers and herbs of native species. Sitting on the cliffs on the other side of  the shoreline road were multi-million dollar mansions with the great views.  They had fresh air and surf sounds of the beach wafting up to them through the  hiss and rumble of constant traffic. The places had little or no yards, were  mostly on rock and to me looked like being in a fish bowl, visible to all who  pass by. If I had many many millions, would I ever live here? Nah.
 
 We made our way into Carmel  to a restaurant both Terence and Karen enjoyed. Another wonderful evening  passed, with fellow magicians, filled with enthusiasm and fun and sharing.  Terence generously gave us two wonderful CD’s of their relaxing music. We  especially like the Liquid Mind Albums and now we had the latest one. It was  hight by the time we returned to their house. The weather was cool and the air  fragrant. We shared warm goodbyes that reminded me of an ending summer camp.  When you’ve had a great time, there’s always a twinge in the letting go and  goodbyes, even if there is ample inspiring adventure ahead for all of us. Wednesday, we drove around Santa Cruz and worked our way into the  neighboring mountains. We followed the trees and found ourselves north of the  city in a forest of redwoods called Henry   Cowell Redwood   State Park. The trails  went down at steep angles from the road and a fellow hiker warned us of some  troublesome yellow jackets in one of the old trees nearby. After carefully  winding our way down down down (kinda like going into hypnosis), we arrived at  a railroad track. It was still in good condition, so it certainly wasn’t  abandoned. We walked along the railroad track for a long while through forests  along a ridge, listening to running water far below us, hidden by trees. The  smells were fresh and clean and our hike invigorating. Finally, we turned  around to come back so we could be out of the forest before dark. Then we heard  the train approach. Looking down the track to a bend, we saw it – an old  locomotive style train with only two cars turning into our view. Stepping to  the side, we saw that the train was loaded with tourists. A fellow stood in  front and explained some of the history of these parts in western colloquial languaging.  A charming excursion into the past through riding one of the old logging  trains. We waved. They waved. Other hikers waved. Everyone was so happy and  friendly. We got great exercise climbing back up up up the steep trail to our  truck.  
 We hopped into Aylar and headed back towards town. And then  we found another trail nearer to the city which was short but which enabled us  to visit the stream we had been traveling alongside for so long. Pretty colored  stones rounded by the lapping of waves and rush of water. Animal and bird  tracks crisscrossed on a little beach. Now it was getting late and we returned  to our RV Park. “Let’s go to the Beach one more time I said,” and we took yet  another walk on the beach. We used a different access route and to our surprise  found a state run RV Park there! All this time, we could have parked on the  beach itself with space between the next trailer and us. If we ever go to Santa Cruz again, we will definitely sign up for a space  at the Seacliff State! Geez! I thought to myself “We  definitely have to expand our fun cubes again or maybe our magic cubes so we  can find these places first!” ---.....---------- The Santa Ynez ValleyThursday, we decamped and headed south once more. The ride  was longer than we were in the mood for, as the previous days had been so  filled, we were ready for a lazy rest day. Hours of crowded freeways and long  boring stretches don’t count as rest. Finally, we turned off towards Los Olivos  and beyond that into the Santa Ynez Valley. Turning this way and that through  large horse farms, vineyards, small towns, scrubby desert, and infinite hills  of dead grass, we arrived at Nancy Priestly’s place, hidden in a remote canyon.  We were first greeted by her two horses, standing just inside the fence next to  the road. Soon they were joined by a beautiful but excited barking Doberman.  Getting into the gate was a tricky turn for the length of vehicle we had,  always our challenge. The next strip was worse; getting up the short but steep  hill to the house.  Nancy  heard the commotion and soon came striding down the hill in her jeans and free  flowing hair to greet us. After welcoming hugs, we debated how to back the RV  up the hill into position below the house and under the trees where it would be  cool in the daytime. Valiantly we tried, again and again, but we simply did not  have the turn radius we needed to do it the way we wanted to. This exhausted  all of us, Daniel trying to steer, me trying to holler loud enough when to  turn, and Nancy hollering with me. And we were stirring up a lot of dust in the  heat – all of us getting a bit grimy. So we made a compromise and backed Shungo  up by the side fence. It was level enough there. Whew!  An hour after we arrived, we were finally encamped and able  to sit and relax and chat a bit. Nancy  introduced us to her dog, Lady Blue. Blue wasn’t happy to see us; she obviously  wanted Nancy  all to herself. So Nancy  gave us some doggie biscuits to offer her. That seemed to tell her we were  okay. When I got the chance, I gave her a biscuit and then reached over to  touch her with some Quantum Touch energy. She appeared to calm down a little  and look at me, so I sent healing energy down her spine while blowing light  energy over her. Soon she was totally okay with me and offered her head and  body for petting. A little love always goes a long way! Evening soon came and we watched the magnificent sky above  us fill with stars. We could see the Milky Way. The heat of the day turned into  a cool evening and I put on my sweater. It kept getting colder and I resisted  leaving our fun sharing to go get more layers from the RV. So Nancy offered me her fleece jacket to wear.  My, was it warm. Although it was polyester, it was soft and comfortable. I wore  it every night I was there. Nancy  asked if we thought the area was beautiful. I said that I didn’t like all the  dead grass hills. I missed the green of Florida  and the eastern part of the country. Nancy  laughed and said that she had come here in the spring when the grass was all  still green and it was certainly beautiful. When the grass died through the hot  dry summer, she felt the same way I did. Then finally, she reframed the scenery  as her “golden hills” of California.  I chose to keep her reframe for myself. ---.....---------- Visit to L.A.  and NCRFriday, we headed onto the road for the two hour trip south  into L.A. I  felt the strong need to get some NCR (NeuroCranial Restructuring) as my head  had been getting tighter and tighter. I had hit it numerous times, not hard,  but each time had created days of pain and tension. I felt a tightening of a  “vice grip” on my cranium.  And the  progenitor of this method had just moved to L.A. – Dean Howell and his wife Trisha. Dean  was a master at getting my head to expand and loosen with just one or a few  treatments. Normally, after hitting my head, I’d run to see my local NCR  practitioner, Dr. Lew Arrandt in Kendall/Miami. But since there were few  practitioners of this art, I’d had to grin and bear the tension and discomfort  all along the trip. (For information on Dean Howell and NCR in L.A., plus his schedule  dates and times, see http://www.drdeanhowell.com.  For information on Dr. Lew Arrandt doing NCR in Kendall/Miami, see http://www.ncrdoctors.com/doctorspages/arrandt/arrandt.htm or, if you can get it directly, http://www.yourhealthdoctor.com.) The reason we were going to see him now was twofold. One, to  get the NCR now, because Dean was preparing to go away on one of his trips  around the country (and South America), and we were concerned that we could  miss him entirely during our trip to L.A. (next  after Nancy’s).  Secondly, since we had been invited to stay at his and Trisha’s place, we  wanted to check out the feasibility of parking next to their house in their  neighborhood to see if it was level enough or if they had enough room. Trisha  had told us that they were at the top of a canyon, so we could imagine narrow  winding streets and slanting driveways. If it wasn’t feasible, I would want to  make a reservation a.s.a.p. with the closest RV Park in L.A. We also wanted to pick up some concrete  blocks on the way from a Lowe’s or Home Depot kind of store, to steady the RV  like we’d done in Montana and Oregon.  We had “mapquested” their house and had no trouble finding  the turns. The only downsides we noticed during our trip were the bumpiness of  the roads (more of those concrete slab things) and the congested traffic. We  finally eased out of the thick traffic soup onto the canyon road leading to  their place. The slope and turns of this broad street would be easy for an RV,  even one our size. But when we arrived at the house, we could see no place to  park the RV except on the street itself. Along with his sons Derek and Brandon,  Dean and Trisha lived in a huge sprawling place – bedrooms and extra cottages,  hillside plantings of citrus and other interesting plants, and a pool that was  not working and still not quite drained out in preparation for its repair. They  had struck a good deal with their landlords in this expensive neighborhood of  Brentwood (West L.A.). It seemed that the  owners had been in the process of upgrading the place but had run out of money  near the end. There was expensive marble in all the bathrooms, but no  appliances or towel racks and such, we were told. Trisha and Dean struck a deal  where they could finish the place and take their work and purchases off the  rent. Rents, like everything else in California,  were horrendously expensive after living in Florida. I found myself catching my breath  when they mentioned the rent that was a “good deal.” I got my NCR session and felt much better – ahhhhhh what a  little cranial expansion can do! Then we discussed what we could do with the  RV. There was no room to park the RV on the street and have our slides out – we  would simply be too far into the middle of the road. So we settled on a plan  where Daniel would stay in the RV on the street with his slide and the  living/dining room slideout (on the house side) and my slide (street side)  would remain closed. I would stay in the house in their guest room. They  invited us to stay and eat with them and so we joined the whole family for all  sorts of delicious creative leftovers plus several new dishes. Trisha is a good  cook and there was more than enough for all of us. We laughed and talked until  we absolutely had to go. We arrived back at Nancy’s not long before midnight. I fell into  bed, appreciating the peace and quiet of this place. ---.....---------- Dog Days and Crystal  NightsFinally Saturday, the big day for the Galexis workshop, had  arrived. People began to gather. I met Marlene, Dorit, and others – again  seeing faces to go with the names. Kirby showed up with light boxes and  crystals in tow. He had an appointment with a client in L.A., and we were fortunate to be able to  have him piggy back his trip with being here. For the most part, I stayed out  of the hustle and bustle, cheerful as it was, and centered myself, preparing  myself to channel. Nancy’s  charming cabin atmosphere was changed into a magical workshop space, her  crystals seeming to step forward to reflect more light and participate in all  the doings. The time came and I went into trance. You know how there can  be things you don’t notice in your normal state of affairs, but when everything  goes quiet, they can stand out like a sore thumb? Well, I had had no idea that  the wood burning stove sitting near me was going to make snapping noises, or  how loud the wall clock ticked. My nervous system is sensitive and sudden  noises can pull me out of a deep trance. So it took a lot of effort to retrain  myself right on the spot to stay down and out of the way. As usual, a workshop  starts out somewhat shallow and wide with gatherings of energies, gradually  over the first several minutes aligning and orienting to those present and  possibly to those who may listen later. As the energies get deeper and more  focused, so do I in my trance. This time it took longer to get where I wanted  to be, in that nice and peaceful relaxing place. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lady Blue started barking alarms  and pushing at the door, looking out. I learned later that a couple of young  people visiting next door had come by to pet the horses by the road. “My  territory!” growled and barked Lady Blue, as Nancy opened the door and the Doberman raced  out onto the porch and down the stairs to do her doggy defense duty. This  stopped the workshop completely as Galexis simply paused and waited. Nancy followed Blue out  to calm her dog or request the children to leave until later. Overall, there  must have been a moment or two of silence and then Galexis did something – talk  with people there, or whatever. When Nancy  returned, everyone must’ve assumed the workshop would continue. It did, but  there were more interruptions and perhaps my depth of trance suffered as a  result. The shallower I am, the less information can come through. I suspect  that even if I were a total trance channel, with my nervous system’s “startle  response,” I probably would’ve been pulled out. Finally, there was the break, the question and answer period  and the meditation. I hope things went well for everyone, because there was a  lot of quiet in these spaces allowing the participants to go deeper themselves.  The workshop went overtime due to the pauses, but few people left. There was a  magnificent display of food in the kitchen and adjoining room, a lot of which  was bought at the local health food supermarket in town by Nancy, and other donations by Daniel and  myself and other participants of the workshop. Daniel showed some crystals and  a few were bought. They looked good, lying on the porch, sparkling in the  afternoon sunlight and the moving dappled shade of the huge oaks near the  house. We had to blow dust off of them because there were wildfires to the  south and west and we were unfortunately downwind. This meant that the sky was  a shade of blue-beige instead of the crystal clear blue it usually is. Soon, everyone had his or her plates full and settled around  the table in the downstairs bedroom. There was just enough room for us all to  have a seat and put our food on the table. What a camaraderie we shared! We  laughed and talked about the world, politics, healing, Lazaris and Galexis,  spirit guides, esoterica of many different forms, and on and on. We seemed to  be totally simpatico on all topics, so we all let our hair down and got very  relaxed, open and free with each other. Again, we were encouraged to move to California and do more  of these fun events. I shared with everyone how both Lazaris and Starr had told  me, in answer to my question about where would be best for me in the USA, “Santa  Barbara south.” Here we were, only a half hour from Santa Barbara – getting into the “zone.”  Maybe… After dinner and clean up, several of us moved upstairs to Nancy’s loft, her special  meditation area. There, Kirby had set up three light boxes in a row with  crystals upon them. One was Nancy’s  light box that she had purchased from Kirby with her big crystal on it. Sitting  on the second light box was one of Kirby’s big spheres, and finally the piece  de resistance; Sha Na Ra sitting on light box number three. We all settled  ourselves as comfortably as we could (I speak for myself – it seemed everyone  else could use the pillows and sit/lie on their tailbones but for me) around  the boxes. By the time twilight had fallen, the lights from the glowing  crystals were virtually the only lights in the house. And these were glowing  and changing color. It got darker and the lights brighter. Kirby put on some  music CD’s that were awesome, enabling me to gently move into the crystals and  see things I hadn’t noticed before. Also, I could feel the ancient  civilizations in which the crystals participated. I can’t really explain what  that was like, but it was cool. Deeper we all went until some people actually  fell asleep, their breathing or snoring moving in and out of rhythm with the  music. I felt happy and fairly relaxed, but not relaxed enough to fall asleep  too. What gratitude I had for being here in this particular place at this  particular time. “I’m so lucky. There’s no other place on the planet that I’d  rather be.” Strange, but I have seldom felt this. My “warrior” self claimed the  present and its power as being THE place to be from now on and I smiled and  sank deeper into the soft pillows.  Over a few hours, the music changed and I went through many  different spaces. If you are ever lucky enough to be available when Kirby puts  on one of his light shows, do NOT miss it! (I mentioned it in an earlier  travelogue, but to repeat; if you want to know more about Kirby and his amazing  crystals and light labyrinth technology, check out http://www.ancienttechnologies.com/liminal.html)  Finally, even Kirby stopped and curled up himself. I left all the contentedly  snoring people lying about the lit crystals and tiptoed out through the dark  house, down the stairs and over into the RV. Crawling into my own very  comfortable bed, I fell asleep right away. ---.....---------- Mystery of the  NightBang! I startled awake, my heart racing. Then we heard  another loud knock coming from the innards of the RV. I got up with my  flashlight and stood by Daniel’s door. “What do you think THAT is?” I asked. “I  have no idea,” he said. We couldn’t sense exactly where the sound was coming  from, but perhaps it was some small animal such as a rat exploring the trailer  workings under the floor. Another knock and clunk, and I was soon standing  outside in the now cold night with my flashlight scanning what I could see  under the trailer. If it had been an animal, chances are it would have  continued to move or run away. But then, I thought, maybe it has “frozen” to  become invisible to me, the predator so it won’t move until I leave. I waited, shivering,  but there was no new noise. Reluctantly, I came back inside. Then we both heard  another clunky clunk and silence. Daniel thought that maybe something was going  on with the plumbing. He put on his bathrobe and walked over to the plumbing  connections at the house and turned them off. We waited. Just as we thought we  must’ve addressed the noise, a small one happened again. Silence. Finally, we  agreed that we were not going to figure this one out and that, noise or not, we  were just going to have to go on to bed and try to get some sleep if that were  possible. It was well after 1 am at this point and I was dead tired, so perhaps  that would help me sleep through all of this. Then I heard one of the horses whinny loudly and kick the  fence. Again I went outside. Both horses were close to the RV, next to the  fence, and kicking it. I was annoyed at the horses and told them to go to sleep  with an angry mood. This didn’t waver them and so I shooed them away. They  moved back but looked at me like I had just majorly offended them, which I  probably had. But I was cranky from exhaustion. I reentered the RV and crawled  back into bed, laying there awake, listening and waiting. Finally I drifted off  and was awakened by another noise, milder, quieter. Then, exhaustion took over  and I fell asleep. Another noise came and I barely lifted into awareness of it,  dropping down into sleep that was undisturbed until morning. I woke up listening to the cheerful birds outside. It was  Sunday morning on the late side, and I had enjoyed enough sleep to feel rested.  I waited for a while, but decided to check if Daniel was awake. I tiptoed to  his door and surprise! He had dressed and gone. I dressed and went over to the  house, which was the scene for a goodbye party and breakfast. Darn! I missed  out on some fun! Kirby and Dorit were leaving and we helped them take stuff  down the stairs to the cars. The little birds were still scampering along the  ground chirping. They looked like some kind of genetic cross between a robin  and a cardinal, and sounded more like a cardinal. No one knew what they were  called. I told Nancy  about our strange midnight noise and how the horses were whinnying and kicking  the fence. She told me that they did that one time when there was a huge snake  around and scared it away. So I immediately felt that perhaps I had misjudged  the horses. While Nancy was getting ready to  leave too – she had a workshop in Santa    Barbara for the day – I went outside and over to the  fence where the two horses stood. I tried to tune into them the best I could  and they seemed a little annoyed at me. I apologized for my rude behavior and  their attitude changed to a “that’s the way it is” approach. Their response?  Food! They insisted. Was this to mollify them or maybe buy their favor? In Ohio, the healing horses  said it, and now here it is again. I said I’d do what I could and went in and  got apples for them. 
 After Nancy  left for her workshop, we had the place to ourselves. Finally, a day to relax  and catch up on laundry and chores! In the afternoon, we exchanged healings  with each other. Nancy  returned around dinnertime and we shared leftovers. Afterwards, I channeled for  her. It had been a very satisfying day. The next day was another channel workday. After I was done  with the afternoon sessions, Nancy, Daniel and I hopped into Aylar and tooled  around the Santa Ynez Valley. Nancy  was still hopeful that we might like this place enough to move here. She wanted  to show us some places; after all she’s a real estate agent and knows the ins and  outs of the place. I insisted that I needed to walk and exercise or my sacrum,  which was edging out of place and beginning to hurt, wouldn’t correct itself  and come back into alignment. One of the worst things you can do to an unstable  Sacro-Iliac joint is sit a lot, and that was exactly what a channeling day was  – sitting. So she said we could go here or there if we could see other places  first. However, it seemed that there was way more Nancy wanted us to see than what we had time  for. We drove through the local small towns, some with a theme. There didn’t  seem to be much available for housing. It seems that the horse and wine country  was controlled by the very few. Celebrities and high-powered executives of  major companies lived here, and sat on the Santa Barbara County  zoning board. So no developments could get in. Nothing for the average person.  We saw the only new buildings going up were mansions for celebs. As one  approached the coast and edged out of the valley, there were more trees.  I was antsy now. Time was running out for a walk and I had  to come back and eat dinner before my evening channeling appointments began. So  when it became obvious that a hike or walk was simply not part of the tour  time, we walked around Solvang, one of the small touristy cities. Stores were  closed for the most part, but I didn’t want to shop. Nancy pointed out a house that now belonged  to Dolly Parton – a humble looking thing. But then, even small houses were very  very expensive compared to Florida  real estate prices. Walking on hard flat surfaces like sidewalks and streets  didn’t help my sacrum. It was hurting now. Nancy  volunteered a preserve near her house for a view of what wild California looked like. It was interesting,  but there was no time to walk up and down any inclines. We rushed back for  dinner after taking a picture of the typical countryside in her county. 
 ---.....----------Santa Barbara Tuesday, we packed for the day and Daniel, Nancy  and I drove down to visit Lori in Santa    Barbara. Lori had lived on the East Coast but had  moved to Santa Barbara  upon her divorce. I asked her if she liked living here and she told me “I never  knew I could be this happy!” Needless to say, she was sold on the place and  wanted to sell us on it too. We were seriously considering it because of two  readings I had had where I asked for my best places in the country to live. One  reading was from Lazaris, the other from Starr earlier in the year (see  Travelogue #5, the Intensive with Starr). Both had used the exact-same  expression, “Santa Barbara  south.” Indeed, as we approached the city, I felt a happy inner energy touch  me. We found Lori’s condo and found it warm and inviting. There  was just enough room for parking, a few plants and a nice little patio where  one could relax and have a little sun with one’s tea. Lori also had a cat, and  for a while I was concerned, since Daniel tends to be allergic. The cat was shy  and hid in the closet, but Lori found him and we said hello to him. A beautiful  big-eyed Himalayan, Angel had a powerful presence. He was definitely a  “familiar” (companion to a witch or magician) and Lori shared with us how she  found Angel or rather, how Angel found her (what usually happens!) Angel  had been abused and traumatized but is now, as Lori says, “a thriving Sirius  light being.”We appreciated the warmth of the sun and the day too.  The sky was blue and the beach called us, so we walked on the public beach  looking at the gulls flying overhead and the sandpipers doing their  synchronized group speed walk in and out of the moving surf. Later, we traveled  up into the surrounding mountains and enjoyed the phenomenal view of the valley of Santa Barbara plus the seashore. We  drove through gorgeous neighborhoods and frequently saw wonderful scenic views.  But we realized that we couldn’t simply afford these great places. Prices for  real estate here was at least four times that of South   Florida, so I spent some time in sticker shock. Nancy is a real estate agent and between her  and Lori, they knew the prettiest and nicest areas to live in. So while Lori  stayed in the condo, Daniel, Nancy and I explored various neighborhoods  culminating in Montecito (just east of Santa    Barbara). Hidden in the woods, the homes were  beautiful and some whole blocks felt magical. Fragrant herbs and shrubs under  the many oak trees made the picture complete. What a joy it must be to live in  such beauty and feelings of harmony! 
 It was sunset by the time we returned to Lori’s place.  Shortly thereafter, Harvey and Patsy showed up. Presently, we had all 6 of us  around the table and fabulous potluck food to choose from. Another night of  magicians – will the joy ever increase! What fun we had sharing each other’s  points of view and stories of life. I was so happy to find that Daniel was not  allergic to Angel and never got stuffed up the entire evening. Daniel and I  were encouraged over and over again to move here, and I found it appealing,  although I still didn’t know what to do with the sticker shock. What one can  do, Lori told me, is to purchase a place with an interest-only mortgage,  assuming that the value of the property will only go up (as it has consistently  for decades). Perhaps then later, refinancing or selling and doing it over  again is the next option. Still I didn’t want to think about those logistics right  now. I was feeling great, however and was warm enough – yea! It was certainly  warmer here than in the Santa Ynez Valley. And Nancy  shared that there were hot springs  in the mountains and great hiking trails leading up to them. Everyone was  trying to entice us to move here – an encouragement Daniel and I found hard to  resist. The three of us arrived back late at the ranch only to  find to our surprise the strangest insect we’d ever seen in our lives. I  grabbed the camera and took many pictures until I felt I had captured most of  the bizarreness of the creature. It must have been 3 inches long and so I was  glad it was docile. Maybe the cold night air kept it from moving quickly. The  next day I looked it up in an Audubon insect guide and found we’d seen a Jerusalem  Cricket. Crickets are good omens, right? And Jerusalem is a center of three spiritual  faiths.  Maybe there’s a message  somewhere for us about being here? (Google “Jerusalem Cricket” and see all the  fascinating pictures and info that comes up!)    |