First Oasis

This safari has safely reached its first oasis, that of Long Beach. We had a long but uneventful drive down I-99 through the middle of California, with the usual pauses at various Rest Stops along the way. The early morning was beautifully clear, no fog, gorgeous sun rise somewhere neart Stockton. There was not much early morning traffic, especially for a Friday. By the time we reached Fresno we had entered the mid-valley smog belt, as bad as Los angeles. But at the top of the Grapevine, clear, high blue skies before sliding down the other side into the greenish-yellowish LA basin. We drove down 405 past the gleaming Getty Museum perched up on the hillside. I have yet to visit there; it's on my list for next year.

Today my grand niece Ruby, age 8 months, and her parents -- visiting from Connecticut for two weeks -- and grandparents drove up from San Diego for a family weekend, including a pre-Thanksgiving celebration at daughter Alex's house. This is where we're sitting:



Everyone will be here except Caitlin and Mike; they're frolicking in the snow in Montana instead of lounging around in this unseasonably balmy Southern California sunshine. This is a grand gathering, with Andrew home from school, Emily providing dazzling beauty to the assembled group, Alex and Peter laying on a delicious bounty,



and baby Ruby giving the future a hopeful head start. It is wonderful to have a baby in the family, especially one as cute lively as this one! I am going to get someone to take a picture of Ruby and me and I will then attempt to put it up on this blog.

The next installment of this saga will be from our second oasis, that of my sister's house in San Diego. We will hang out for about a week, including Thanksgiving, before heading east through Tucson to El Paso and then south into Mexico. So stay tuned.