Family fun in California

Just got back from visiting my parents, who at 90 and 91 are still going strong in their LA home with no outside help except for housecleaning. My dad made two pies -- even the crumb crusts were from scratch. The triple chocolate one was specifically for me, and I think I ate most of it, and the other was a delicious cheesecake pie with cherry topping.

My brother and sister and her husband were also there so we took turns fixing dinner, although my dad made a killer meatloaf for the first night. 

Every night my parents -- married almost 70 years -- sit beside each other on the couch with my dad's arm around my mom, lights low, music on.

Besides family time, there were the beach, museums, shopping and a lot of walks. We hit Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Long Beach and San Pedro as well as a lot of walks on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where my parents live.

Hermosa Beach with rainbow lifeguard station

Redondo Beach

These are the cliffs on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, my favorite place to walk. I killed my calves the first day climbing this staircase on the peninsula, and they didn't recover for four days!

We also enjoyed a lot of art. My sister, Terry, is an artist and her husband also enjoys going to galleries and museums, so we spent one day at museums.

This is a small part of an amazing 200-foot-long mosaic mural in San Pedro. It was made by artist Julie Bender with help from 300 locals and includes an array of images and mementoes designed to capture San Pedro's essence and history. Here's a link to an article about it: a-collage-created-piece-by-piece-over-two-years-spectacular-san-pedro-mural-is-unveiled-at-last

Terry posed next to another mural, this one for the Sirens coffee and tea shop -- "Where coffee and tea meet the sea."

This is the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. I love the giant fork and knife!

Then we went to the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Center.

My favorite part was the garden outside with a koi pond and beautiful flowers.

We also went to the Maritime Museum in San Pedro, but I forgot to get pictures. (I guess because it wasn't as colorful as the other two.)

It's always fun to browse quirky shops in California, although I only bought postcards.

Back at the ranch, here's my parents' backyard and the sunset view from their living room, a far cry from our house where I grew up in Pittsburgh!

On the flight home I saw a rainbow as we approached Tucson and then I noted a new sculpture exhibit outside the airport. Home again!

Have a colorful day