It Never Rains in California

If you’re old enough, you might recognize today’s title as a song lyric from the 1972 soft rock hit, It Never Rains in Southern California. Albert Hammond wrote and sang it. And if you know the song, it goes on to say: It pours, man, it pours.

As Canadians, we know too well that there’s nothing you can do about the weather, except complain about it. Cold winds and rain moved into Palm Springs and followed us up the coast to San Francisco. But we decided to not let it dampen (sorry!) our plans.

After a wonderful, memorable week in beautiful Palm Springs with Erin, Rob and Molly, we set out to finish the coastal drive we began last year. Night one: Santa Barbara. It’s a lovely town with brick sidewalks and lots of twinkling lights. We walked it for about three hours, popping in an out of shops and somehow choosing the only restaurant without its own bathroom! The food was great, though. In the morning, we walked the long pier and along the marina.

Next up – Monterey. Pictured above is the start of Cannery Row. It’s a gorgeous walk along the waterfront that’s peppered with hotels, restaurants and shops as well as the remnants of sardine processing plants. It’s a nod to Monterey’s beginnings. Scuba diving is big here. And out on the wharf you can hear seals barking.

If you love poking through antique stores like we do, the massive two-story antique mall on Cannery Row is a must. Take me with you! I don’t think I saw half of it.

Then it was back to San Francisco. The above photo gives you an idea of how wet it was on our Big Bus hop on hop off tour. Still, we sat up top of the double-decker bus for the view. The highlight for us was Haight Ashbury, the epicenter of late 60s pop culture and home to the Grateful Dead, Joplin, Hendrix and more.

There’s tie-dye as far as the eye can see! But it’s more than that. It’s history and it’s music.

At the end of a cold, rainy day, the Chowder Shack called our name. I’m not much for taking food photos but this stuff was so beautifully served and delicious, I had to.

Happy despite wrecked hair and cold feet – California doesn’t disappoint, even when it rains.

But the heart of the trip was Palm Springs and the easy friendship and fun of being with our generous hosts.

Molly has warmed my lap on many couches in many locales. I love this little furball.