This Year’s Travels—Summer Trips

In August, we excitedly boarded a plane for Los Angeles and two weeks in Southern California. The main events were my best childhood friend’s son’s wedding and a visit to San Diego to see Steve’s daughter, son-in-law, and new grandchild, Julian. 

Julian Though L.A. was experiencing a heatwave (but the heat was dry! No humidity!!), we enjoyed every minute, while the locals moaned. My friend, Jeff, works at Warner Brothers, so he arranged a Warner Brothers Studio Tour for us, which was great fun. We did the whole L.A. thing: Bel Air, Beverly Hills, the Sunset Strip, Malibu, Venice Beach—all over. And the gardens! While in L.A., we visited The Huntington, in Pasadena, which had the most unearthly cacti and succulent gardens I have ever seen; the Los Angeles Botanic Gardens, which is spectacular and much more than we expected; and the Getty, which has a very cool sunken garden and overlooks the Pacific from several vantage points.

Cacti at The Huntington, Los Angeles

Japanese Garden at The Huntington, Los Angeles

Jacaranda Blossom at The Huntington, Los Angeles

Garden at The Getty Center, Los AngelesSince I’d always wanted to go to see the gardens at Lotusland, we headed north one day to Montecito and Santa Barbara. I had been to Santa Barbara on a previous trip and visited the botanical garden there, but Lotusland was closed for the season, unfortunately. Lotusland was created by Madame Ganna Walska, an opera singer who hailed from Europe, married six times, and finally settled in Montecito. Her love of gardening is evident at Lotusland, where she designed and nurtured several collections and theme gardens. It is fantastic, amazing, beautiful and bizarre, all at the same time. Enchanting. The tour is wonderful. If you get out there and can go, be sure to visit. Another great stop in Santa Barbara is the Old Mission Santa Barbara, one of the 21 missions built in California by the Spanish Franciscans. It is beautifully restored and the garden in the center of the mission is lovely. I love to visit it.

Lotusland, Montecito, CA

Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CAAfter the wedding and our memorable trip to Los Angeles, we headed south to San Diego, where we mostly relaxed and spent time with family. Since we plan to visit often, we will slowly enjoy the delights of the area. This trip, we visited Butterfly Farms, which is dedicated to conserving native butterflies. It is a very educational stop, and the butterfly house is magical. We were also able to visit and hear my good friend, the talented musician and singer Rick Rutti, perform at Bistro 90, in San Diego.