the one where I visit paraside

I'm still here in Santa Barbara visiting my sister-in-law & her husband, who retired here recently. My mother-in-law and daughter Lauren, the recent graduate, are also here. Good times. This house is frighteningly amazing. I mean it. Some people are just overachievers. All I'm sayin'.

Is that ridiculously gorgeous or what? Yesterday, I was lounging in the infinity pool pondering how lucky I am to even get to be a visitor at this mecca. QG and I were thinking we might buy a travel trailer to visit the national parks when we retire. Different strokes, right? Oh, and they even have an avocado grove and small vineyard. For some reason, their avocados are twice as creamy as the ones you buy in the store. Amazing.

Since I arrived in Santa Barbara, I've been having perpetually freaking out over the jacaranda trees. They are the most gracefully striking trees I have ever seen. They positively glow purple. When I die, please bury me beneath a jacaranda tree.

Yesterday, we went to see the Santa Barbara Mission. Very interesting. I'll show you pictures tomorrow. I am rushing out to a hot yoga class now with my daughter. We went to one the other day for an hour and it nearly killed me. This class is going to be an hour and a half. Oy. I don't want to miss it, though as she is leaving today and this is our last gasp of precious time together (along with twenty other incredibly sweaty people, granted, but I'll take what I can get) till who knows when. Pray I make it back alive.