Road Trip With Mary

Earlier this week, Mary and I went down to the Central Valley to visit friends. We were happy to leave the cold and snow behind. 

When we stopped at Murray Farms at the foot of the mountains we were greeted by this beautiful pink rose.

I always enjoy the palm trees there. And I always take a picture. 

The sun was strong, the shadows sharp, so I took a picture. Just for fun!

Once we got to Carol's place, she drove the rest of the way to Exeter, where she and I had lunch and Mary met up with  Chan. Last time the four of us had lunch together, this time, we separated to better catch up with each other. Carol and I have been friend forever and so have Chan and Mary.  

When we finished lunch, Carol took me to her favorite thrift store, The Pink Lady, where everything was on sale for $1.00 or less. It was a fun place, and I bought a sweat shirt, two books, and two small paintings.

The valley is beautiful with fertile fields, plowed and planted now, 

and the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background.

We passed grove upon grove of orange trees; these are naval oranges, the best ever. Carol has a tree of her own in her backyard.

So, of course, when we came back to Carol's house, we picked oranges. I picked some of these and Carol gave me the ones she picked. You know I will be busy enjoying them for a long time to come. 

This backside of a row of kitchen cabinets faces my dining area. I know this is a fuzzy picture, but it's just for now. The two small paintings on either side of the Bell painting are the ones I bought at The Pink Lady. I thought they would be perfect here.

I will adjust them so they are at an even distance form the Bell painting. And take a better picture for a future post. Since the Bell painting was a gift from Carol, I just wanted to show her this to give her an idea of what "her" wall will look like. 

Thank you Carol for a lovely day. Mary and I had such a good time. Hope to come back in May.