Happy 4th of July!!

I awoke this morning to this pinging sound and simply could not figure out what was the source. Low and behold its raining! Anywhere else I have lived I would be so sad to see rain today but in the desert its so rare, its a pure delight. I also know it wont last and... well its still 80 degrees outside!
I hope you all have great celebratory plans for this fun holiday. Ours will be a bit low key and I guess that is fine. We are grilling kielbasa and having our neighbors (two!) over...then walking towards Old Town for the fireworks. My very favorite 4th of July was in 1976 and it was definitely one I put in my treasure pocket to keep close to my heart. I had just transferred to San Diego from New York in June and I held someone's vacation schedule. I flew that morning from SAN to IAD (Dulles) and we arrived around 400 downtown. My crew all knew each other and had all brought food items to share. We headed down to the Washington Monument and laid out blankets for a major picnic. It was the bicentennial year and the fireworks were spectacular. I thought my life had become perfect that night and nothing could improve after that.

We had an interesting visit to SLO and actually fell a bit in love with the town and its people. Last May we had made our first stop on our amazing road trip here. I thought it was wonderful and we should  definitely consider it for a place to live. Jk not so much...he liked it but it didn't feel like it was home so we continued on and ended up waiting for our LQ house.
SLO has been named the happiest town in America which sounds so corny but I really think its true. If you google the town you will want to visit after the kind words you read about it. Everywhere we went the people were so friendly and it has this tree lined downtown that feels like you have gone back in time. Its vibrant and full of positive energy...everyone is strolling all day and into the evening simply enjoying what is happening. We found our way to SLO Brew and had the best time!  Jk had great conversations with the brewmasters and we ended up returning the second night to have the staff happy to see us. In fact the hostess hugged me when we left..where does this happen?!

"Boy you should taste the beer my son makes! Are you hiring because he could come work here if you are..."

This was my beer order and the brewman came and told me about them and had me mix a couple! Delish!

A great variety of beers and good food and just a really cool place to hang out. I would want to work here if I was 30 yrs younger, it has such a fun staff.

Isn' t this adorable?!

Thursday night farmers market and everyone was easy going and smiling.

Seriously how can you not love a town when you see more of these cars than mercedes and bmws?!?!
You just know you have to take life slow and easy when you drive an old VW.

I loved this flier...who sells bees, records and tools all at one garage sale!?! I really wanted to hit this one up but we ran out of time.

I guess to wrap this up I have to share our Westy story...we went to SLO to have the AC fixed and after 2 days of trying to find the right parts still no luck. Friday at closing they found the hose they needed and the owner said he would come in the next day (Sat) to install it and add free on. We drove back to the hotel and checked in again. The next morning when they added the free on it caught on fire again and so no AC. We were not sure what to do at this point and really felt it was time to go home, so we punted. Rented a car to drive home and left the Westy there so he could finish the job. He feels at this point the compressor needs to be replaced. Do you see what we are going thru?! We enjoy having the westy and being in the cool kid club, but old cars just constantly need to have things replaced or repaired. We simply dont have endless funds to continue on and need to sell the poor guy. It kind of reminds me of JK and my bodies...it just seems like every time we turn around another 'part' has broken down. Getting old is quite the challenge and its no easier for houses or cars. We all have the same issues and just have to smile our way thru them.
Well go out and have a great day! Fly your flags and be proud to be an American. Just watch the news and you will know we are truly blessed. xo