Pacifica 2009, Day 2

It's a little overcast in the morning, but eventually the sun comes out. Here's what I can see as I sew at my little table. The ocean is less than 50 steps away, on the other side of the parking lot.

Not far from my door is this beautiful view.

After a couple of hours of sewing, I head out for some lunch. There is a great trail that ends up at Hwy. 1, near the restaurant where I plan to eat. Recently I have been reading Maria Peagler's Color Lessons at her website quiltsandcreativity.com. I've begun a color journal, collecting samples of colors and color combinations that I like. On this trip I am trying to pay attention to examples of those in nature. The following pics are some inspirations I found on the trail.

California Poppies--Brilliant orange!


Bright yellow--one of my favorite colors

This inspiration is not so much color, but design. The long line of the branch interested me.

Near the end of the trail (or the beginning, depending on your point of view) are several miniature landscapes. The color combinations were pretty.

More calla lilies

Here are some tall spiky red flowers.



Pink, red, white, yellow and green

Gorilla Barbecue, near Hwy. 1 and Reina del Mar. I heard about this place a few months ago while watching Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri. When I mapquested it, I found out it was just around the corner from Guerrero's Taqueria, where I've eaten several times. I've passed this red train car many times on the bus, but never noticed it. How could I have missed it? Anyway, I'm here for lunch. Sorry, Guerrero's...maybe tomorrow.

Gorilla Barbecue doesn't have dine-in, but there is a nice little picnic spot up on the hill above it. That's where I ate my ribs lunch. Yummy! There's enough food for two, so I'm taking some back to my room.

View of Gorilla's from the picnic area

I know this doesn't look like much. On the way to lunch, I saw a beautiful black bird with a brilliant red on its chest perched on a wooden pole. Before I could get my camera ready, the bird flew away. On the way back, I saw "him" again (or one of his friends). He landed in this grassy area, and I tried to get a picture. Oh, well... I definitely want to make a quilt from his colors--mostly black with spots of bright red.


Here are a bunch of pigeons hanging out at the parking lot near the beach. They kind of looked like people standing around.

During the afternoon, I did more sewing for the southwest quilt. Here are a bunch of Square in a Square blocks that I knocked out today. For dinner I have cold leftover pizza and ribs. There's no microwave in my room, but I can deal with it. There's no sunset to be seen, because it's so overcast. It's freezing cold outside, and all I have is my light sweater to keep me warm. I wish I hadn't chosen to leave my wool coat in my car at the BART station--an hour away. It's hard to believe it's almost 100 degrees at home.

Tic-Tac-Toe block from Quilter's Playtime

In the evening I work on Tic-Tac-Toe blocks. I should have some time to sew again tomorrow morning before check-out.

In the background is the intersection of Hwy. 1 and Reina del Mar, where the trail ends.


Lots of different colors here, but the tall red flowers really caught my eye.


This pic is for my daughter-in-law, Laurie, who loves calla lilies.
She likes them so much, she had one tattooed on her foot!



Blues and yellows, another favorite combo


The globe clusters intrigued me.


Pinks, blues, red, yellow and green