earthly delights: part three of our spring trip, los angeles to point mugu

from joshua tree, we headed straight over into the heart of the great city of earthly delights, Los Angeles.

Darin's brother Dave lives in Los Feliz with his wife Ashley and their adorable little spunky 15-month-old son, Jackson.

Lucy adored them all!

jackson's already slam dunking.

lucy is lucky enough to have one cousin exactly six months older and one cousin exactly six months younger than her. so much fun and mischief to be made!

i just adore these two together.

two brothers with their babes.

their neighborhood is so perfect, blossoms and bougainvillea blooming all around and you can walk to about a thousand different cool places, from the alcove to the dresden to skylight books and the cute little theater on vermont. or to find yummy beers at cap n' cork. we walked all over the place; jackson loooooves to ride in his little car, so the kids had a great time.

DAHHHHH!!!!

we decided to have sunday brunch at the food trucks at the los feliz village farmers market. it was the perfect place to explore with the babes for a while.

we bought two kinds of honey produced by rescued bees.

and finally got to meet up with my own brother mikie and his lovely lady marisa! it was kinda heart-wrenching how short our time was together but we talked a mile a minute to squeeze in as much as we could, (loudly and obnoxiously i am sure) and we are reassured that we'll see each other again soon.

i had a soul food wrap from postcards food truck that contained red beans n rice with greens, mmmmm.

during jackson's naptime, lucy made full use of all his toys for one big last hurrah before we hit the road again. it was soooo refreshing for her to be able to crawl all around, play with everything in sight, pull up on the ottoman and couch, and eat in jackson's high chair. i never knew how important all that "baby stuff" could be till i was on the road for a week without most of it! i also learned that she truly sleeps better when she has expended a lot of energy scooting around in a big area.

it was so hard to say good-bye to dave and ashley after just one night in los angeles but we had to get a move on since we were camping that night. 

headed through topanga canyon for a gorgeous drive and a whimsical whirl through this amazing little vintage shop. i did splurge on a dress which i'll show you next post :) 

we drove the gorgeous pacific coast highway (luckily away from all the crazy traffic, wtf??!) until we found sweet little Point Mugu, one of my brother matt and his family's favorite spots to camp. matt gave me all the goods: don't camp on the beach cause it gets too windy, camp amongst the sycamores, preferably in site 26. that one was occupied by a big jolly family of revelers for a child's birthday party, so we set up camp in 24, knowing our baby's possible noise wouldn't faze these folks. although the price has doubled in the last year or so, we figured we'd camp anyway and do our part to save our amazing california state parks. 

oh no!!! i have just now discovered that sycamore canyon is closed due to the current fire and that much of the vegetation has burned away :( :( :(   now i am more grateful than ever that we spent kind of an exorbitant amount to stay in such a beautiful and precious place. it makes these photos and my sweet sweet memories there that much more poignant. i am hoping and praying that restoration will go smoothly. 

we slept so peacefully! i'm sure it's because we could hear the ocean. just like a baby sleeps better curled against her mother's heart, i think all us humans sleep better with the lulling beat of the earth's bloodbeat in the waves.

camping mornings are the best.

now i want to cry when i see this little guy. there were so many dashing jackrabbits about and lucy and i loved watching them. she would kick and bounce her legs in sheer delight. i hope their homes were spared and they are safe tonight. at least there's this. 

we hiked a misty enchanted trail to the top of the mountain for the view over the cliff. lucy fell asleep in her favorite spot, and woke up just in time to see the magnificent spreading vista of the ocean below.

there's the grove of sycamores and the ocean beyond....

you little darlings. you are probably gone now. i never dreamed when i embarked on this post that my heart would be aching by the end of it.

my sleepy gal always wakes up smiling. especially when there are miles and miles of coastal air and rolling beach below and a crispy breeze and wildflowers and yucca and cactus, bunnies and butterflies all around.

well friends, i suppose all we can do is to go to the places where our hearts long to be, to embrace the world and all its offerings of beauty and miracle and trust and patience, to smell and breathe and walk and kiss here. well i am grateful and a little bit sad and hopeful for a good recovery. full containment of the fire was expected today, and i can only hope that such a beloved park will receive the help it deserves to be restored fully. 

i'll be back soon with the last posting from our trip, containing photographic evidence of one of the most magical experiences i've ever had!