Venturing to Ventura

    We left Entera somewhat reluctantly - from the very beginning, she was more than a welcoming host, she was a buddy, and an ambassador for her town. 

    We drove to Carpinteria and spent an hour walking down to the bluffs and staring at the Harbour Seals in the seal rookery before continuing to Ventura along a dramatically beautiful stretch of coastal highway dedicated to the "Screaming Eagles", the 101st Airborne Division. We had a taste of what traffic is going to be like in L.A. - we're fairly close, now. We explored Ventura a little bit, going up and down steep hills, and enjoying the distinctive architecture of even modest bungalows - it is amazing how you can see so many houses in so many suburban neighbourhoods, and still keep seeing so many that don't look like any you've seen before.  Here we see homes decorated with cactus trees and flowers like these bright red bougainvillea. 

    We had some trouble connecting with our next host, but it all turned out fine. She is a special needs middle school teacher named Isara Argent, and we met her ex-husband Eugene, still her friend, their sixteen year old daughter Nandi (Sela Nandi, a Zulu name), and his current partner (was his business partner, then became something more), Patty.

    Eugene was (maybe still is) a Black Panther, but has also been an IT professional for banks and a hospital, and a businessman. He has done a lot of work in various parts of Africa, including building houses with Habitat for Humanity in Lusaka, and he has worked in Angola. He said he's made fourteen trips, in total, over the decades. After a plate of spaghetti, we went over to the local high school to watch their daughter, Nandi, perform with her classmates in an evening of improv, monologues and short scenes from their drama program. 

    These are some of the things we saw in Ventura.

    Deb got a free birthday "Grand Slam" breakfast at Denny's. The sun continues to spoil us, shining clear and bright and warm day after day, mocking the poor Californians who anxiously wait for some rain and a better yet, a snow pack for the upper elevations to avoid drawing down their agricultural reservoirs next summer. We spent the afternoon at the Marina Park, mostly. Now we're serving supper to our hosts - tilapia, Deb's tomato salad, asparagus, wine... Tomorrow we'll be at the home of a musician and clinical hypnotist in Thousand Oaks, who is also a friend of our previous two hosts. He does stage shows, too.  This will take you to that leg of the journey.