Orange trees! That was pretty exciting for us, coming from Oregon and all, to see such large trees completely covered in oranges. Of course we didn’t pick any oranges from trees in anyone’s yard, but when Bracken found a fallen orange on a sidewalk, we said he could have it. It was delicious. We had an unexpected day off to explore Davis, due to the crazy wind on the first day of the festival. The sad part (besides missing an entire day of selling anything when we had come so far) was the fact that we had finally upgraded our old 8×8 booth the local market required (that we had for so many years) to a brand new 10×10 which blew over in the wind on it’s first time out and got holes ripped in the roof and sides. We could hardly believe the timing- what do you do but make the best of it, though? Despite all the booths (and displays etc.) blowing all over in the wind, everyone was safe so that’s the important thing.

The happy part, was that we got an entire day off that felt a bit like a snow day, or forced vacation. We went back to the place we were staying and we all had a nap (that never happens!) and then we went on an adventure walking around Davis, exploring the neighborhoods in the area where we stayed. We went to the Davis Food Co-op, which was a wonderful place. (Besides all the good food, and friendly people, we appreciated that they sold filtered water that you could fill your containers with- which can be a challenge to find when you’re traveling.) Bracken really wanted a watermelon, but I knew we had about a mile walk back to our place with our groceries, so Jeff and I only wanted to get the essentials and nothing too heavy. He begged, so I told him we could get it if he carried it all the way back himself. (Maybe that makes me sound like a mean mom, but it wasn’t a very big watermelon.) Bless his heart, he carried that thing the whole way all by himself (even after his bag got a hole in the bottom and his precious watermelon rolled out on the sidewalk.)

The weather was just beautiful while we were there (other than that one day) and we enjoyed being out in it. One thing that stood out to me about Davis was how many people were riding bikes everywhere, more than I’d ever seen during my time in Portland or Eugene (the places where I’d seen with the most bikes before that.) We fell in love with the famous ducks that wander all around Davis, they were very friendly. We found some treasures too, including an owl feather that Bracken found while we were walking one day. I would have loved to explore the farmer’s market, which I’ve heard is amazing, but that didn’t happen during this trip. The one thing about the area that we didn’t enjoy? The parking! 90 minute parking in most places during the day (re-parking on the same street not allowed)… and no overnight parking on the weekdays to be seen anywhere. We asked many locals where to park overnight and were met with lots of confusion and no straight answers. When the weekend rolled around it made things easier, but only slightly. We kept wondering where everyone in the area parked at night during the week? The great mystery.

We appreciated the opportunity to check out the Whole Earth Festival for the first time. (I was so excited when I sent in an application over the winter and we got accepted!) Looking back at last weekend, it’s kind of funny just how many things went haywire for us and didn’t flow smoothly. (Sitcom material, we always say.) New experiences can have a learning curve, and through everything we learned a lot. Having a booth at a festival for the first time is like trying on a new pair of shoes and seeing if they are a good fit. We’re in the constant process of finding the festivals that are a good fit for us (which I’ve written about here before.) We mostly stick with Oregon festivals, and if we go all the way to California- it’s got to be a really good fit to bring us that far. What I enjoyed about the festival was meeting people and seeing inspiring artwork. I also liked discovering some delicious chocolate (made in Oregon, no less!) My spirit is fed by new experiences, adventures, art… and I do enjoy good chocolate! I’m also grateful for the quality family time that road trips bring, we played games and got totally goofy together on the drive home. (And we stopped in Corning for some garlic stuffed olives- yum!) Though I don’t want to make that long drive again anytime soon, we had fun together, and made some good memories during our trip.

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{Link love for the artwork shown in these pictures: Sten Wire,  R Honey Pots, Summer of Love Silk Art, Dharma Love, Kiwi Sandals & Gneiss Wood. Oh, and I took the picture of the earrings in our family’s booth, WoolyMossRoots, over the weekend. You can find a large selection of the new earrings Jeff made, by the way, at the Wildflower & Music Festival in Eugene tomorrow!}

I was grateful to have the opportunity to visit the Starlight Knitting Society for the first time last weekend, and to be a part of the Rose City Yarn Crawl. It’s a cozy knitting shop with shelves full of colorful yarn. (They had a spot all set up out front for taking pictures, so of course getting a family picture taken in the moon was a must!) There were fellow makers doing trunk shows on the same days, and we met some really kind folks. I was surprised by how many familiar faces we saw, from selling at different fiber festivals over the years, and we knew a few of the vendors too. Portland has such a fun knitting community, and I enjoyed connecting with people. (And seeing so many inspiring handknits being worn! I love that about fiber festivals too- so many handknits to see in person. The yarn crawl is during the perfect time of year to wear the handknits too, whereas many of the fiber festivals happen when the season is too warm to wear the handknits comfortably.)

We found a place to stay during the yarn crawl not far from the shop, and for part of the crawl Jeff and Bracken were able to have a little downtime there (appreciated after Stitches West and all our recent travels.) I hung out at the shop- knitting, chatting with folks, and helping people search for the perfect set of buttons for their projects. I felt great on Saturday, but by Sunday the exhaustion really set in and between that and some sinus pressure/allergies my brain was having a hard time forming complete sentences by the end. (I apologized a few times, luckily knitters are usually a pretty understanding bunch.) Thanks to everyone who came by to say hello! And a special thanks to Toni, a long time reader who has left comments here for years, who came by with her family (four generations all together that day!) and introduced herself in person. And of course, thank you to Starlight Knitting Society for inviting us to their shop for the yarn crawl!

P.S. On Sunday, Spincycle Yarns was at Starlight for the yarn crawl. I had the pleasure of connecting with those ladies at Stitches West this year and coming home with some of their gorgeous yarn. (I must say their yarn is truly unique and something special.) All you reading for awhile here know about my current pom pom obsession, so I had to show you Spincycle’s new Fixation Hat Kit that I think is so awesome because it has a skein of yarn with a pom pom (!) on top. The skeins of yarn are so beautiful as they are, but the pom pom on top is just too fun. There’s something really satisfying about having a skein of yarn and pom pom together, you just want to hold them in your hands and squish them.

P.P.S. Come back here this weekend for a giveaway from Sweet Skins– organic apparel! 

Forgive me for saying Californy in the title, after watching The Beverly Hillbillies recently, it’s just so fun to say it that way and I couldn’t help myself. For those of you who have watched that show, imagine Jed Clampett’s voice saying “To Californy we go!” and you can’t help but smile. These pictures were from the drive back. Stopping by the beach on the way home is essential, and has become a tradition. More on the yarn crawl soon, but first our trip to California… 

The morning we left to start driving south for Stitches West, it snowed at our house. We’re about twenty minutes from the coast, we don’t get snow here very often and when we do, it doesn’t last long. Bracken hoped for snow all last winter, but we didn’t get any here. This year he hoped for snow again, and his wish came true, but the snow came on the day we were leaving. Poor guy! (The next time he wishes for snow, he told me he will be more specific and wish that it comes on a day when we’re home.) We had a tree fall over in our driveway, but didn’t have time to deal with it as we were leaving (and luckily it was in a place we could drive around), so had to leave that for when we got back. Despite the snow (and the fallen tree), all the roads were clear for our travels, so we were grateful for that.

On the drive down we stopped by the Ashland Food Co-op to grab a quick lunch. (The first time I ever visited Ashland, right after I moved to Oregon, I went to the co-op there and have loved it ever since.) This year, rather than stopping in southern Oregon where my dad and stepmom live for the first night like we did last year, we drove to California and then drove as far south on I-5 as we could, before calling it a night. We were glad we did it that way because we arrived early in the day on the second day (even after getting stuck in road construction for awhile) and giving ourselves more time to set up, and being less rushed, was a gift to ourselves.

I said before we left that we were doing things differently this time around and it turned out that driving my dad and stepmom’s truck made a huge difference in regards to driving in the traffic. There was better visibility, from being higher up, and it made the intensity of the traffic so much more manageable. Bracken had better visibility in the back seat too than in our car and didn’t get car sick in that vehicle a single time during our trip, which was another blessing. It made the entire experience vastly different than last year and we appreciated driving that truck more than we could say.

It was chilly while we were there, but the sunshine was wonderful. When comparing different places to stay during the show, we decided on a place nearby that had a kitchen. Having a kitchen cost a little more initially, but being able to make all of our own meals saved us so much money in the long run. Being able to do laundry while we were there was great too. And the short commute was awesome!

We appreciated knowing our way around more, and having a grocery store nearby. (Jeff and I have been brainstorming ideas for keeping our traveling expenses down as much as possible for next year, everything seems especially expensive in that area.) We stayed at a nice (and affordable) hotel on the drive down, but on the way back up 101 we stayed at a place that cost much more than the first (the nicest place that small town had to offer) that we wouldn’t want to stay at ever (!) again. I’ll leave it at that.

The next day made up for that experience, though, when we drove further up the coast until we reached Arcata and then had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Phoenix. We sat on the back patio, in the sunshine, that overlooked the little garden. I loved that they served organic food that came from so many local farms, as well as their own garden. I also appreciated that they had gluten-free options. We had been traveling and I hadn’t made any of our favorite chia date pudding in awhile, and was craving some. When I saw that they had chia pudding made with coconut milk and vanilla, I ordered some for all of us to share. I loved all their topping ideas- roasted almond slices, shredded coconut, and lots of fresh fruit- yum!

Eating out is a treat for us, not something we do all the time. (Though we just found a new place nearby we like so much, I think we’ll be counting the days until the next time we go!) Most of the time when we travel, we make many of our own meals to save money, and Jeff is so great at whipping up a quick meal while we’re on the road (he’s a faster cook than I am.) Since we make our own meals so much of the time, we love to eat out a few times when we travel. (I know I just mentioned above about keeping our traveling expenses down… but eating a good meal at a good restaurant is such a highlight of our traveling experiences!) I wrote about this before, by the way, and shared a few favorites places we’ve found over the years along the Oregon coast. Whenever we find a great place to eat, I enjoy sharing about it here.

Once we were back in Oregon, we kept our promise to Bracken and went to the beach for a little while. (While we were at Stitches West he begged for more outside time, and Jeff and I were really wanting some beach time ourselves.) I found a rock that looked a bit like a heart, had a ladybug land on me, and then found a small sand dollar, so I felt pretty lucky. (It’s the little things, right?) We could have stayed there at the beach all day, but we wanted to get home and start unpacking the truck while it was still light out.

It felt good to be back home, but we weren’t there for long. We unpacked the truck to re-pack it for our next trip. We cleared that tree out of our driveway, mailed orders out, and didn’t even bother to unpack our suitcase because we just added more to it. Now we’re home again after our weekend in Portland, and I will be happy not to be living out of a suitcase for awhile. Between going to Florida this winter, getting a long-lasting flu, going to California, and then Portland… we missed quite a few of our regular activities. We’re looking forward to connecting with friends and getting back into the swing of our regular activities, but we really enjoyed our travels!