Here is a picture of two friends--Marilyn and me. It's great to visit with old friends! It's also great to visit with my family, Michigan friends, and cats!

Today we went to the city of Temecula that is about 30 minutes from Marilyn's house. All around Temecula is "wine country"...which is to say that grapes are grown, picked, and wine is made from them. We had a wine "tasting" at Thorton Winery where small amounts of four different wines were brought to our table. We tried them all and also at lunch there. This is the second day that is has rained here, and since there are drought conditions in most of California, every one is happy. Here are pictures of the rows of grape vines the way they look in the winter. As you can see, they are pruned back severly for now, but they will start growing grapes in the spring and summer--in the fall they are harvested and then the wine is made from the juice. Different grapes--and different combinations of grapes--make different wines.

More photos of plants and one cell phone tower. Which one is the cell tower?

Today we went to the nursery of Marilyn's daughter and son-in-law, Darryl. They have many buildings in which they grow cacti. They send them all over the world! I had to watch out...there are a lot of pickers!

Five plants--which is your favorite?

Yesterday we drove down a road that follows the Pacific Ocean to Laguna Beach. There are many towns like Laguna Beach along the Pacific Ocean beachfront. On one side of the road is the beach, restaurants, and stores for tourists. On the other side of the road is a hill with houses that climb all the way up to the top. It is very crowded with lots of traffic!

The courtyard around the "mission" church described below has beautiful flowers all around and a fountain with BIG coi swimming around looking at the visitors!

When the Spainish came to the coast of California across the Pacific Ocean in the mid to late 1700s, they eventually built 31 "missions" along the long coast. Their purpose was to bring Christianity to the Native Americans. But, they already had their own beliefs about God. Sometimes they fought back, because the Spanish (and others) were also taking their land. This mission is named "San Juan Capistrano" and building began in 1796--it took 9 years to build. Everything went well for six years after completion, but early in the morning in December 1812, a major EARTHQUAKE brought it down. In 1830, the US government took over all the 31 missions. After some years, preservation of most of the missions has taken place.

A new location and an old friend

I left Palm Springs when my friend, Marilyn Lukas, came to get me and take me to her house for a week.  I am sad that I didn't take pictures of Mel and Sharon Myers before I left Palm Springs, but I am not making that mistake now!  So here are pictures of my wanderings with Marilyn!

When I arrived in Corona last night , I could see the San Gabriel Mountains off in the distant sunset.

My friend, Marilyn Lukas, lives in Corona which is about an hour from where I stayed in Palm Springs. She has a very nice house with interesting plants!

Marilyn's grandchildren--Colby has a sore finger, and Riley is his big brother.

Marilyn's daughter, Jenny, and her husband, Darryl, grow and sell cacti. Here are a few they have on their property (along with an orange tree). It's a prickly place!

I saw a lot of "wind farms" on my way to Marilyn's house. They provide some electricity for Los Angeles--the third largest city in the US-- which is about 70 miles away.

I could NOT go up the mountains in the tram today, because clouds and wind came in. I've heard that you have to wear Michigan clothes since it's cold up there, but you can see all over the valley.

Yesterday, I went downtown and bought myself a "California outfit"--on sale, of course!

The Ocotillo Lodge was built by Bob Alexander in 1957 as a motel (you saw pictures of one of his houses). It is no longer is a motel...it has condos, of course! I took the "Buzz" to go downtown and back.

Remember the Washingtonian palms that were in the Indian Canyons? They were planted downtown but have the "beards" trimmed by the city. The building here was originally a bus station that has been turned into a popular restaurant. Yeah, preservation!

Sonny Bono was a singer and songwriter (Sonny & Cher) who later became the mayor of Palm Springs! I really liked the music he wrote and sang. His statue is shiny from people sitting on his lap for a picutre.