The Park, the Pacific, and Making Plans

Whatta day again! After a lot of back and forth phone calls, Mike and Paula arrived at my place about 1:00. They actually thought it was pretty nice for a single person and, as time goes, I do, too, more and more. Then Mike went out to look for my friend and her guy, who had parked their car near the leasing office, but had walked the wrong way. Mike and Violet rounded them up and they came in. They thought it was pretty nice, too, and thank Zeus, they took my mother's china!
This was a twelve-piece set Mom had gotten when she was married, some 98 year ago and we always dined off it on holidays and special occasions; of course, we sat in the dining room, not the kitchen, too. It's a beautiful pattern, with silver around the rim and tiny, delicate roses in shades of red and pink on the edge. However, in the modern day, the fact that it can't be put in the dishwasher is a major problem. (Of course, when we were kids, there were no dishwashers, so it wasn't an issue because everything was washed by hand.) I used the good china on Sweetwater Drive for a few dinner parties and other events I wanted to make particularly nice. It was admired by all and looked elegant, but then I'd be up until 1 am washing it. So, okay, out it goes to New Mexico and I'm glad because it stays in the family and the bonus is, it frees up more space in Tinytown.
We stayed here just a half hour or so, then all went to Ellen's. She had yet another yummy lunch ready for us and after a bit of conversation, we dug in. That enjoyed, we all put on outdoor wear (it's far from warm here just now) and took off for the Ventura Beach. We went to an area that has a zip line for the kids, plus a lot of playground equipment, and Vivian and Violet made full use of it. The adults strolled here and there, then down to the iron mermaid sculpture that was "a gift from Russia," according to a plaque. This is quite large and is on a stone pedestal, so I suppose is about twenty feet high. It depicts a somewhat homely mermaid blowing a horn and struck me as rather weird, but is certainly eye-catching.
What really caught the eye--and in my case, the heart--was the Pacific Ocean, rolling majestically shore ward and looking like the purest blue with whitest white foam imaginable. Just beautiful, as is the whole coastline here, which you can see for miles.
We all went back to El's to open a few more presents--mine to Mike and his family, theirs to me, and El's to them. By that time it was after 5:00 and some of us called it a day. My friend and husband went to Mike's in Montecito for dinner, as it was on their way and they were taking the girls to stay over in the RV. Did they want to? Of course, yes, yes, yes, and there was great excitement over this.
El took me home after another wonderful--and need I say, strenuous--day. Called Betty and the plan today is, we'll all converge on Mike and Paula's, including Betty, Carolyn, and her two kids, and possibly, her son Stephen, and his family.