Million-dollar view for $25 a night

After a few days at Rincon it's back to reality and a mountain of laundry. So nice to wake up to this view each morning.


High tide did bring the breakers a bit closer than we were hoping but we avoided getting wet. Other, not so lucky.

With little side-trips to Ventura and Santa Barbara we kept quite busy but there was always time for a card game or three.

Little jewels

It's only been recently that I've discovered the fantastic outdoor opportunities we have here in Southern California, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. Not that we haven't hiked in the hills around Simi but the organization and extra programs the SMMC provides. Yesterday we explored parts of Franklin Canyon.

Franklin Canyon sits between the valley, right off Coldwater Canyon, and Beverly Hills. Since it was looking like a lovely morning we headed off to start our New Year's promise of getting more exercise.

It was listed as an easy two-hour docent led walk around the lake pointing out areas used in filming movies and commercials. The docent was very good. She had a notebook full of photos of the productions for all the stops she made and could give a quick description of the movie or TV episode that had been filmed there; and a lot had been filmed there. We also learned of the former owners, the Doheney Family. This was their "backyard" and it must have been a lovely ranch complete with guest quarters for friends.

From the classic Clark Gable movie, It Happened One Night; 1937 all the way through to the TV drama, NCIS, this small wooded area had been the backdrop for hundred of movies and commercial. Our docent had little anecdotes for each stop she made and she was quite funny and we were surprised when we ended back at the Nature Center and our two hours were up.

We will go back to Franklin Canyon for another hike but next we want to explore other areas here. There is an astronomer led moonless night hike in January that sounds great.

Let's all be more like the pig

So many are glad 2009 is over. I can't say it's been a great year but it did have some positives. Of course, with anything, there were bad times. Today I'm thinking of the good ones.

My beloved has had another Cancer-free year. My friends are healthy with a few beating Cancer, a few not so lucky. Lil bird's husband is unemployed but I have hope for great things plus I promised to teach him to cook while he's off work. We had a great Christmas. My darling sister and husband lost their long-time friend, Buddy-Cat but after the pain the memories become all that much brighter. Now, they're making an acquaintance with a new guy, Mr Bogart. She swears he'll grow into his ears. We are planning to travel more this year and I didn't brake any bones in 2009.

We live a simple life so life is good for us. I hope you can look toward the future and see the bright spots coming. Remember: Pigs can't look behind them to see the past.