Thursday, August 07, 2008

Northern California

My mom and dad live in Fortuna, California, which is over four hundred miles from us. It takes at least eleven hours to drive up there, which can be tiring to say the least...especially when the little beagle, Gidget threw up in the car after a few hours on the winding mountain roads. Russ was smart enough not ot have fed her in the morning, just in case, so it wasn't too bad.

...But once we get there, it is well worth the drive. Besides the fact that we leave near-one hundred degree weather to come to foggy, sixty-degree weather, it's beautiful with mountains and redwoods all around. My parents have a huge yard full of good stuff to eat.



We have some favorite haunts, but usually try to go places we've never been to before when we're up here too. Last year we drove up to Agate Beach, which is at Patrick's Point State Park about 45 miles from Fortuna. Paige and I searched for Agates..well, I'm not sure search is the right word since they're everywhere on the beach.




Another thing I love about Northern California is that I'm always inspired to knit here. I started the Firday Harbor Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting on the Road before we left. Russ and I trade off driving, but I got in a good four or five hours of knitting on the way up.

Typical of me, I had a little trouble at first. I looked on Ravelry, and no one else seemed to have had the problem I had. You're told to cast on a certain number of stitches per needle, but then the number of stitches increase with the pattern, so you have to move on to the next needle to finish the pattern for each particular needle. I didn't realize that and thought I was doing something wrong. I eventually figured it out, but it frustrated me because my stitches weren't coming out right, so I thought I'd done something wrong. Novice mistake, I guess...novice who's been knitting for over twenty-five years!!

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great pics...as always....looks just so cool up there. Glad you had fun and are home safely!!

Call me sometime.
XO
Ann/Lincoln

Cloudberry said...

Beautiful pictures!
Love the one with the heart :)

And your socks looks great!

Tracy Batchelder said...

It's definitely beautiful there! Love the socks too!

Julie said...

I love the strawberry and blueberries - they look gigantic!You almost make me want to live in Northern California...
And I'm curious, what is Paige reading?

Ally Jay said...

Good to know there's always something to learn. Poor Gidget, those windy roads would make anyone sick I guess. Looks like you had loads of fun once there.

Tracy said...

LOVE these photos...and how the pooch is lounging on everyone--very vacation photos! Oh, but I love that heart-handful of stones :o) Strawberries and blueberries...mmm...Glad you had a great time, and safe, happy travels. Happy weekend ((HUGS))

Anonymous said...

Awwww... The poor puppy. I did dog rescue with Irwin for years and the main breed of the group was beagles. They are so cute! Love your pictures and the socks are fabulous. Thanks for coming over to my blog!

Anonymous said...

I love those hearts/rocks pics! So cool.

Anonymous said...

Wow! What awesome pictures. The heart/hands looks like something that might be on a greeting card. Definitely it is worth a frame.

TheBlackSheep said...

Very, very nice. Looks like a great trip all around. Your daughter is very beautiful by the way (especially in the ferris wheel picture from your next post). Keep an eye on her or she'll be snapped up before you know it.

I've had the same problem before with cabled socks. The whole switching from needle to needle thing confuses me, so I just try and avoid it now. It is a pretty pattern though!

JayJay said...

Ohh, I love the sock. I am just learning to knit socks, so I am impressed with those who succeed.

I am so jealous! I would love to escape the heat of SoCal for a bit.

Rani said...

Ohoh oh! I made that same pattern! But in a bright gold. I think I like this pink much better.

The fair looks like it was fun for all. Ours starts in a few days. Can't wait.

Love those pink socks!!