Weekend Trip to San Diego and San Luis Obispo

From November 22 to November 25 I visited San Diego and San Luis Obispo (SLO) in California. I visited my aunt and stayed with her. It was an impromptu trip and it was a great break. The scenery, people, pets, and places were just gorgeous.

The first animal I met in my travels is Rainbow. He is an orange tabby. His eyes are piercing and his mask makes him look very much like a lion. However, he is sweet as honey, and very much like a dog. Within moments he was posing beautifully for my camera-sitting so nicely and looking directly at the lens. I tried capturing some natural shots, but he hopped off and wanted to be petted. So, I settled on doing a bit of training with him. The other cats around the property are feral and wouldn't even let me get close enough to take a decent picture. The peahen and chickens were not very obliging either...

Rainbow-named after the town in CA

The next day we drove up to San Luis Obispo and I got to meet a pretty famous poet-Ray Clark Dickson. He was the First Poet Laureate of SLO. He is currently 94, and he recently passed his driver's test! Ray Clark Dickson is such a wonderful guy and amazing poet-more about him can be found here. I was blessed to be able to hear him read a couple of his poems, and I am looking into one of his books to buy-"With The Blood of Butterflies."

Then we went to the Pier at San Luis Port. There were a couple of dogs along the pier, and I enjoyed getting some puppy love since my babies were back home. Bueller (yes, named from Ferris Bueller's Day off) is a Parson Jack Russell (which is different than a Jack Russell Terrier), and when I went down to say hi, he jumped right on my lap and snuggled into me-what a ham! He definitely knows how to turn on the charm for the ladies!

Along the pier are various fresh sea food areas, and I decided to check them out. I am not a big seafood fan (can't stand the fishy smell nor the fishy taste!), but I was curious to see some aquatic creatures. The crab pictured above came over to the glass and just stood there and stared at me. I'm convinced he was trying to impart some wisdom or message to me. I even got to see a bunch of sea lions on the pier! Then we ate lunch at the Olde Port Inn (don't worry, I only had a BLT sandwich and some french fries).

After the Pier, we stopped by Avila Valley Barn, which is a combination of a petting zoo and farmer's market. There were goats, horses, emus, and sheep to name a few of the animals. There was also ice cream, fudge, pickles, and pie! We got some ice cream and walked around a bit. The shop had fresh produce, toys, jams, decorations, and so much more! It was cool to see all the baked goods, and I was most fascinated by an Apple Pie that looked like a volcano! I've never seen one like this-only ones like this.

The next day I got to meet some adorable animals and photograph them. There were two black lab mixes and an adorable little white pup named Hank. They were such easy models, and I'll be sending their mom some prints from my short photo shoot.

Hank-he is too smart and cute for his own good!

Beautiful black kitty with bright yellow-green eyes. He was so friendly.

People are always amazed at how easily I relate to animals and how readily they approach me.

After the photo shoot, we picked up my brother and headed back down to San Diego, where we flew back to Arizona. It was a wonderful trip and a nice reprieve.