Pacifica, Day 3

Today is my last day at Pacifica. I've had a great time. After breakfast I make more progress on the Chantelle, which I've named Chantelle de la Mer (Chantelle of the Sea).

Side wonky borders on

Top wonky border


The last wonky border

The next set of pics are of a four-patch quilt I've been working on during the trip, to sell on my website.

Pink strips

White with pink strip

Cut the strip into sections

Join two sections together for a four-patch block

Lots and lots of four-patch blocks

Time to pack up and check out. I didn't drive my car, and dragging my suitcase around the area will be a headache. The motel manager agrees to hold my bag for a couple of hours.

I spend some time at the beach, check out the shops on the street, and visit my potential painting at the antique shop. Yep, I still love it.

Finally I pick up my suitcase from the motel, and head out to the highway to catch the bus. It's been fun. I'll be back.

Pacifica, Day 2

It's Wednesday, and there's lots of sewing in store for today. I'll work on the four-patch as well as the Chantelle.

Left half of the Chantelle flower

Right half of Chantelle flower done.

Flower portion of Chantelle together

I needed a way to keep the pieces of the alternate Chantelle together while the maid cleaned the room. I pinned the pieces to an extra pillow that was in the closet. While my room was being cleaned I ducked out for a while to check out the shops near the motel.

Hoffmann's, a wine and snack place on Rockaway. Owner Alice gave me lots of tips on restaurants. I bought a cute little teabag holder that I'll use at work to lay my coffee spoon on.

Antique store on Rockaway where I found the painting below.

I loved this painting, Restaurant Marie. It looks like Paris, which fits into the theme of my home. There are nuns and schoolchildren in the picture, kind of a unique feature. I will probably buy the painting on layaway if it fits into the space I have in mind.

Back to the room to sew again. Bottom half of the Chantelle.

The complete flower

First wonky border in place

I needed a break...the ocean was calling me. The view to the left just outside my door.

View to the right

Less than 50 steps from my door is the seawall. Here is what you can see over the rocks.

Above the hill is a plane just leaving SFO.

Here's what I see from my favorite bench

On advice of Alice from Hoffmann's, I set off on this trail to find a good Mexican restaurant--only a block away. Okay...I hope I'm going the right way. A lady on the trail assures me the trail ends close to the restaurant.

Just 15 minutes later I'm here at Guerrero's at Reina Del Mar and Hwy 1. When I get inside, it looks familiar. I quickly figure out that my daughter and I ate here a few years ago. The food is good! I ate my chili relleno and beef enchilada combination plate on the porch. I enjoy eating outside when I travel.

Time to head back. I want to catch the sunset. The lighthouse in the distance is where I'm headed. The walk is pleasant. It feels safe since there are other people on the trail walking, jogging and biking. There's a brook that runs alongside the trail for a bit, and there are benches to rest should the need arise.

End of the trail

View to the right near the end of the trail.

When I'm at the ocean I try to see the sunset. I missed it the first evening because it was so overcast I couldn't even see the sun. I figured the sun must have gone down when it started to get dark. Wednesday night was a different story and I watched the sunset for nearly an hour. At one point, the water turned a beautiful turquoise and the golden reflection of the sun danced on the waves. That's what I tried to capture in the photo above.

These three photos are the last few minutes of the sunset. This first one is just as the sun meets the water.

About half of the sun is gone.

The last bit of sun for the day. After this I was really cold and went to Nick's to get something hot to drink and warm me up.

Pacifica, Day 1

Pacifica, California. Just a few miles south of San Francisco. I'm here on a three-day quilting trip. For years I've had a dream of renting a cottage on the beach for a week and quilting to the sound of the ocean. Just a few months ago I stayed in Pacifica at a motel about a block from the ocean. On that trip I discovered the Sea Breeze Motel, located just a few feet from the seawall, and many rooms with ocean views. I decided that I'd come back and stay there to do my quilting. Here I am! My motel room isn't a cottage, but it's close.

The view from my room. The black flecks are water drops on the screen.

The view from just outside my door

The view to the left

The view to the right

View of the motel from the seawall