Ralle at the Pacific Ocean

The water is a little salty.

After all those many walks along the ocean in Sweden....in beautiful Jonstorp, Viken, Helsingborg, at Kullaberg and many places in between here we are on the Gold Coast. Amazing it is!  Ralle seems as at home here as there.  He is an ambassador for his breed no matter where he is.

As Ray had an appointment in Carmel the other morning Linnea, David and I with our wonderful dogs Ralle and Buddie decided to come along.  He dropped us off near Asilomar Beach near Monterey and we went exploring on the beach and on the many mile long beach walkways.  What a great morning it was!

Many years ago David and I used to go and spend special weekends at this place.  There is a convention center where we could rent a room very inexpensively,  if they had rooms left over..... for us this is a very special place indeed.

With scenery like this, how could one go wrong!

It was a good morning for all of us, especially Buddie and Ralle.  Loads of dog traffic here so a fun adventure for our two four footed friends. Loads of sniffing going on.

The sound of the water and the waves smashing against the rocks is both awesome and comforting.

Walking in wet sand too......

with the color of the water being truly aquamarine this particular morning...

Everyone was having fun.

watching lot's of folks having fun, playing in the water...

Ralle leaves his mark in the sand.

leaving our temporary marks in the sand ..

enjoying the wind, the view, the scent and the sound,

Linnea and Buddie.

 most of all having the pleasure of Linnea's company.  That is life at it's BEST!

Those Ahaa moments!

There have been so many of those.........

Reflecting now on all those times I or we would drive to San Francisco to get our hair cut at Mister Lee's or later at Transitions for our appointments with Bernard.  Later we would drive there to see Lisa, as Leslie still does, and I would have to pinch myself just realizing we were driving to San Francisco!

The city by the bay, Treasure Island, Tiburon, sour dough bread, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge and all that.  I was always excited by it, never took it for granted.  Not to mention Alameda but that is another story.

Then when we moved to Mariposa after quitting our jobs in the bay area we would often say as we drove to work "just think we are driving here!" or "just think, we LIVE here!"

Then we contemplated and planned our move to Sweden feeling like it would NEVER happen.  We would NEVER get there!  One day we were on the train to Helsingborg from Copenhagen airport looking at each other saying "just think we are HERE!"

Same thing in reverse.  Once we decided that we needed to be here, trying to fit all those puzzle pieces together regarding home sale, moving everything and our beloved animals and ourselves.  How to make it all work.  Were we EVER gonna get back to California?  Here we are!  Walking the dogs in the cool morning breeze around Maria's neighborhood this morning saying to each other, hey look, we are here now!

There is much to get used to for everyone.  As Ray and Maria so graciously have allowed for us to turn their world upside down until we get a foothold here.  Buddy the whippet putting up with Ralle the Pyr. The cat trying to figure out his place in this extended family situation and vice versa.....
For now it seems to be working.

The days are warm and beautiful.  The mornings generally cool from fog or sea breeze.  We have fun cooking together.  Or, Linnea the future Chef, is  whipping up this that and the other with great flair.

Enjoy some images from here and now.  We are both glad and enjoying being here :-)