No posts in the last few days because we have been busy having fun with friends Norman and Janet. These are the friends that visited us for a week in Ireland last summer. One of the things we shared was to show them the “beta” version of our movie about our Senior Citizen Semester Abroad. It has some rough spots and only contains London, Wales, and Ireland so far, but we enjoyed looking back at the places we had visited together.

One day we drove up the coast to Morro Bay and visited a marvelous art center and gallery. It’s an artist cooperative with some very talented artists. We enjoyed a long visit with artists and dropped into a paint-in that they have every Wednesday. If you’re ever visiting the central California coast, this gallery is worth a visit.

After the art we needed sustenance, so we we a bit further to the Brown Butter Cookie Company. This is a small bakery that makes only one product – cookies. The cookies are all the same basic recipe, but come with different added flavors. In addition to the original recipe of vanilla with sea salt, we tried cocoa, cocoa mint,  and bourbon (my favorite).

Yesterday we took a walk along the beach between Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach to a monarch butterfly grove. It is the largest such wintering site in the state. On a cool and windy day the monarchs were mostly clinging to the trees, we didn’t see many in flight. However, it is an impressive sight to see so many orange butterflies coating the eucalyptus branches.

Last night I cooked basque chicken for our friends, which we enjoyed with a bottle of Tempranillo wine. This is a Spanish wine that is being produced in this part of the state. It was a fine combination.

We have had a wonderful time with Norman and Janet, but it is time to move on. Today we drive to Tempe!

Paul