Travels with The Rayman

I’m visualizing the Pope washing feet while donned in protective gear aka PPE.  That is how far I’ve come in my imagination during the pandemic of the day.  

So what, dear reader, do you think of all this?  As bad news swirls, the President refuses to free up ventilators from the defense production stockpile.  What on earth is wrong with this man?  

But I digress.

Took a ride yesterday.  It was a blustery March day and the wind whipped off the ocean as though Mother Nature was angry and letting us all know about it.  We drove down to the small burg of Guadalupe named after the Patroness of  All the Americas, Our Lady of Guadalupe.  She is the Mexican version of Mary, mother of Jesus.  I’ve always like the little town.  Its’ residents are mainly Mexicans that work for big Ag in the fertile Santa Maria valley.  Located in Santa Barbara county, the town has always looked like it has fallen on hard times.  And so an artist in Santa Barbara created some art to locate in this tiny town for what reason I do not know but I am glad he did it.

It was while looking for these sculptures that we turned down the road by the cemetery which is across the street from the school Rayman once taught an elementary school class.  Having never been on this street before, I asked Rayman to keep driving on the road to see where it led.  Wow.  We were so delighted to end up at the ocean after driving through the towering dunes that lined the road.  What a fabulous place.  And it is actually a place.  Here are some pictures.

Entrance to escape

Dunes under clouds

They are vast.

Looking back toward Pismo et al.

We stopped at our friends home, the Bucks, and picked up our pizza stone that we left there a couple of weeks ago after a pizza making party.  They live in Nipomo which is north of Guadalupe.  Things were fine at their house and they were dressed in street clothes.  I say that because it is about 9 a.m. on Friday, March 27th and I’m still in my bed clothes. 

Earlier in the day we worked on our new headphone that I ordered on advice of our friends, Tomas and Ruthie.  Couldn’t get them working the night before so we went at it again and discovered that working during the day is more illuminating…Rayman could actually see the back of the TV to see where the jacks were.  So, now the headset works and I’ve ordered another pair because the one we had from Dish is pitiful compared to these new ones.  They are awesome.

Took our lives in our hands by stopping by Whole Foods on the way home and buying lots of chicken, ribs, lamb shanks so we can continue to, well, eat.  Rayman had to use the restroom so he ventured in.  We carry hand sanitizer with us for protection…armed, so to speak, for grocery shopping.  I made a point of thanking the workers for braving the virus to come to work.  Without them, no food.  

Work continues on the front of the house.  The painter and his sidekick that looks like James Crowell, stood on their ladders buzzing the building to erase the effects of the vine tendrils that has been removed.  This is going to be the world’s most expensive paint job is all I’m saying.  

And we started a new series on Apple + (plus) that is a riff on the race to the moon.  Highly entertaining.  

Lagoon on the road thru the dunes.

More from the ride.

Cows on the hoof.