Taming the Second Sister

Cerro San Luis

AKA

San Luis Mountain

AKA

Madonna Mountain

is the

sister

second

from Islay.

Annie and I started our trek up

the mountain from

Laguna Lake Park

(the best doggie park in SLO)

One of the nice things about hiking in SLO

is that mornings

are generally

cool

often times

foggy

and

the perfect weather

for hiking

You see the trail?

That is one of three

(or four)

ways

up

the mountain

It is really not a

REALLY

tough

trek

...

It is

much tougher

than

Islay

though

and

I

did

huff and puff

quite

a

bit

That's Annie.

She hates when she hears my camera

clicking

behind her

You couldn't see

the

"cerro"

(the top)

as

it was

really foggy

but you

could

look

west

towards

Los Osos

and

the other

sisters

and

have

a beautiful

clear

view

Laguna Lake

and

the

Irish Hills

were still

fogged

in

but

the view

was still

quite breathtaking

Look

to

the

east

and

you see

Islay Hill

the airport

and

the Edna Valley

This is about

three quarters up..

see the trail?

Huffing and puffing

is the breath

pattern

at

this

point

and

then

ta-da

the

TOP!

The views

sans

fog

are

alarming

spectacular!

Annie and I

posed

and

patted

each

other

on the back,

and said

"good job"

and

we headed down.

It is a

bit steep

in some

areas

so

you

really need

shoes

with

decent

treads.

the hike

is

about

three

miles

up

and back

The

next

Sister

will

be

Bishop's Peak.

As Annie is heading

back

to

UCSC

to finish

up

her

senior year,

Toulouse

and I will need to grab another hiking buddy

to

tackle

Bishop's

...

mademoiselle petit soleil

mademoiselle petit soleil, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

Toulouse newest friend, Mademoiselle Petit Soleil, just had a face lift and had her colors done to be quite "ooh la la"
more about Mademoiselle P.S. later
(she is the new Costco car - lots of space!)

Giggle and Hit..oops I mean Hit and Giggle

I

am

still

giggling!

What a happy,

light- hearted.

outrageous

golf event

this

Hit and Giggle

is!

It

is

an

annual event

proudly

organized

by

a most

amazing

group of

ladies,

Women for Community.

This was the

7th Annual

"Hit and Giggle"

event

...

Procedes

from the

Golf

tournament

this year

go

to the

SLO County Senior Nutrition Program

Let me

forewarn you,

the

"giggle"

in this event

is that

the golfers

get

to

dress up

er - um,

well,

actually

most

of the

golfers

dress in

drag..

The team

may choose

a

common denominator

(i.e. schoolgirls,

Geishas

disco queens)

or

NOT.

Let the tourney begin!!!

I

was lucky

enough

to

cruise the

Avila Beach Golf Resort

with

Max

on the back

of a golf cart

...

SO

FUN!

We found this

beauty

at the second hole

She, uh... HE, was accompanied by these lovelies. The wigs, short skirts and various undergarments

made each strike a bit more difficult - but, by golly,

these are some serious golfers!

REALLY!

I mean they are

really

serious

golfers!

(This brave soul borrowed his daughter's plaid skirt)

Each hole is sponsored

by a local

business,

and

at

each hole

are

taste treats

to nourish the golfers

Yummy

sandwiches,

chips and salsa,

bowls of

stir fry noodles,

cookies

local wines

and

beers.

(men sure have pretty legs )

The Avila Beach Golf Course is really incredibly beautiful!

It meanders around creeks

through bridges

with the most glorious fairways-

it lies between Avila Beach

and the

Bob Jones Bike Trail

Oh

Look..

another

golfer

and there's a honey with a curly fro

waiting for his turn to hit

and giggle..

another

schoolgirl

team

...three blonds and

a brunette

This

team

modeled

African attire

...

these guys were

really

G O O D !

Oh, hey look ...There Paul Kwong! He was making delicious pork noodle bowls

for the golfers!

Paul has a little noodle house in SLO - Mee Heng Lo!

worth a visit

delicious noodle bowls

and

Wednesday night Jazz is a blast!

Ah!

Did you

know that

the Supremes

were

golfers?

...

The fun

continued

throughout

the

entire

eighteen holes

Sadly,

I missed

the

awards assembly

at the end.

and

sadly,

I didn't even

know if someone

won

the

BMW Convertible

...they needed to get a

hole in one

at one

particular hole.

piece of cake,

not!

I was so impressed by what an outrageously fun tournament

Hit and Giggle was....

A perfect,

sunny

day,

by the beach

golfing with friends,

good food and libations,

great prizes and raffles

and all for a really good cause.

I had hoped for a really good picture

of these

most dedicated

women

of

WOMEN FOR COMMUNITY

but,

the ladies

were all

too

busy

ensuring

a

successful event.

In conclusion,

if you like to golf

and

you like to

giggle,

make plans to be a part

of the event

next year,

and the next year

and

the

next

...................

An Unexplainable, Meticulously Charted Course

IMG_0197, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

"Life is not a path of coincidence, happenstance and luck, but rather an unexplainable, meticulously charted course for one to touch the lives of others and make a difference in the world" Barbara Dillinham

Thank you, Julia and Scott for the glorious sunflowers and your friendship!

Islay Hill can you see it?

IMG_0179, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

it is an extraordinary evening in SLO! We never, well,hardly ever have moisture in the air in September.
Moisture brings amazing lights and colors..
In the distance - there - is the first of the Nine Sisters, Islay Hill
(as in the blog)
Beautiful, huh?

Chelsea

I

Love

Petit Soleil!

Really!

I mean

you can't

not

love

working

in a place

that

has

wonderful guests,

the perfect staff,

happy

and colorful

rooms,

delectable food,

stellar wines,

and

I

get to do all

the things

that

I love to do!

.....

We just had

the

most charming

guests.

Meet Chelsea!

(she is sitting on Mama Mimi's lap)

Chelsea

is a nine year old

Miniature Pomeranian.

Really,

though,

I think

she

is a

child

in

a

puppy suit!

Chelsea

loves

Petit Soleil,

so

her parents

decided

to stay.

In fact,

they

all three

stayed

two days!

...

Chelsea

had her suitcase

with

a few of

her outfits

with her,

so

she

was prepared

to vacation

in

STYLE!

Really,

though,

Chelsea

is quite famous

and

has

a page

in a beautiful book

Faces of Sunset Boulevard

A Portrait of Los Angeles

Chelsea

presented

me

YES,

ME!

a copy

of this

beautiful

book

(which is,

by the way,

REALLY

BEAUTIFUL!)

Chelsea's page talks

about her

Spa days,

and her outfits

and her nanny

and her

Mama Mimi

who

along with

Papa Sam,

are

just

three

M O R E

reasons

I

Love

Petit

Soleil!

Meet Granny Gummy

IMG_0167, originally uploaded by TTT with Toulouse.

Stephanie and I decided that her 1967 bug,
whom she calls " Gummy",
is really Toulouse's long lost Granny.

She has been lovingly restored and "purrs like a kitten" or was it "runs like a top".

Happy Sunday!