Thoughts Adrift on the Merced River

It’s a wet and dreary day here in Oklahoma City, and it’s got me thinking about the sunshine of California. I know I complain about the sun a lot, but I do kinda miss it when it’s gone.  Really though, the rain does make everyone’s yards on my street look so green and lush, so I shouldn’t  complain at all.

But for now, let’s take a trip to the mountains of northern California, and drift away on the Merced River. Only in our minds of course, because the water is much too dangerous to swim in. But if you want to imagine that you’re doing a little fly fishing, well you just go right ahead.

Mark Twain Cabin of Calaveras

Sometimes when you’re driving through the mountains of CA you pass a little sign telling you about some point of interest if you turn off the road a bit. Most of the time we just pass by these signs without thinking much of them, but this one caught my attention enough that I asked my husband to turn around so we could go back and investigate it.

Up a twisting dirt road we came across the Mark Twain Cabin. It was just a little cabin surrounded by homes (and a friendly horse and mule) and it was was protected by an iron fence with a couple of plaques describing what  it was all about. So this is the cabin where Mark Twain penned his story, “The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” Pretty cool! While driving through this county, my husband had actually said something about the story, but we didn’t realize that it was actually written here. So there you go, a bit of history off the beaten path. Keep your eyes open for these little jewels when you’re traveling around. You just never know what you might find!

Velkommen to Solvang!

Not far from Santa Barbara, in the Santa Ynez Valley,  is a little town off the coast called Solvang. It’s a little bit of Denmark in California. It’s a very touristy kind of place where you can eat yourself silly because there’s no shortage on bakeries. Lots of restaurants too that serve the  Danish specialty of Aebleskivers. Little pancake balls covered in a berry sauce and powdered sugar. Yum!

There are several windmills up and down the streets, and you’ll find many storks (wooden ones) perched on rooftops for good luck.  It’s a fun little town to visit for a day, and just get lost in the feeling that you’ve traveled to some old world European village.

*Warning!* Looking at this blog may make you hungry.