Working Girl Cooks!

Eddie and I drove down to Camarillo for Labor Day Weekend. Camarillo is a small town on the Coast of California right in between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. It is best known for the huge outlet mall that was built a few years ago. Eddie grew up in Camarillo and his parents still live there. So we decided since we had a three day weekend we would drive down to visit them...and take the whole family!

We borrowed my moms 1996 Mazda Protégé. Eddie drove. Eddie always drives. He does not like my driving very much. Now, not having a car ourselves, it is really nice to be able to borrow my moms car when we want to take a road trip so I am going to take what I can get and I am not complaining! Especially since the alternative is spending $300 or more to rent a car. But there is one problem with my moms car...there is no air conditioning. And not only is there no air conditioning... the car has a tendency to overheat when going to fast or up hills. Usually this isn't a problem because we usually drive down to Southern California at night, but we both got off of work at noon on Friday so we decided to leave early. Of course it was like 90 degrees outside...in San Francisco! Yes, it was a hot, sweaty, smelly six hours!

The cat tried to get comfortable on the back ledge. She liked looking outside and she liked the wind blowing on her from the window...as long as it was only open a crack, not fully open...she did not like that much.

Eventually, she got too hot up on the window sill with the sun scorching her thick fur. So she found a much more comfortable and shaded place in the car...underneath the drivers seat. She stayed here pretty much the entire trip.

The dog was hot, and rather uncomfortable.

But he eventually found a cozy place nestled in between the door and my leg. He was very good too and sat still next to me almost the entire trip!

We drove down the 101, the entire way to Camarillo. Driving down the 101 really makes me appreciate living in California, with all of it's beauty and diverse landscapes. There are flat plains and dessert...

There are hills covered in bushes and trees...

There are beautiful mountains!

And then we got to Pismo Beach. I was shocked, I have never seen Pismo so overcast in all the trips I have made down south (and I have made a lot of trips!) It was like a huge cloud had settled on the town of Pismo, it felt like I was in the movie "The Mist!" It was actually pretty disappointed because I really wanted to take pictures of the ocean!

But I still got some pretty cool pictures! There is ocean beyond those palm trees somewhere!

On a nice day, Pismo is a beautiful town! Just South of San Luis Obispo it is full of rich, old, retired people. I have never actually stayed here...but I'm sure it is awesome...especially if you like to golf!

We stopped in Pismo Beach for gas...our only pit stop of the trip. Look at Eddie... doesn't he look like a movie star!

Then back on the road.....back to the beautiful blue sky, the great plains, and the wondrous mountains.

And the vineyards! California is full of vineyards, they line the coast from Napa and Sonoma all the way to Santa Barbara. They are beautiful and are usually surrounding a beautiful castle or mansion on a hilltop.

And right as the sun began to set....

we reached the ocean.

We were at the end of the earth... and it was absolutely beautiful. The stretch of 101 past Santa Barbara through Ventura is the absolute most beautiful drive I have ever experienced. You don not get much closer to the ocean than that. I absolutely love this part of the the drive. The smell, the ocean breeze, the glisten of the sun... there is nothing like it in the world!

I just cannot get over it. I love the ocean...I want my house to look over the ocean someday. I will never leave California because I cannot bare to be too far away from the ocean.

And right as the sun set... we arrived in Camarillo. Our home away from home!