"Home and Away" by Beausoleil

This little fellow was born about 45 minutes from our house at the Living Desert Museum in Palm Desert, California. He stole our hearts.

The Living Desert Museum is a combination zoo and garden. They have recreated the major deserts of the world. They also have a huge model railroad with model trains from all over the world and replicas of the Matterhorn, Grand Canyon and other things. It's fun. Oh yes, a petting corral for the little ones and trams for those who don't like to walk. There are also marvelous hiking trails for those who enjoy a walk.

The museum has Blue Boy and Pinkie among other things. The gardens are a joy year round because of the mild climate and the library has an original Gutenburg Bible along with many other historical documents. It's a lovely place to spend a day if you're visiting Los Angeles.

You can see the new Point Loma Light from the other side of the Old Point Loma Light. Below you see waves crashing on shore and seals playing in the water nearby. It's a great day trip from San Diego.

You can follow the Mission Trail in southern California. The missions are spaced about 25 miles apart, a days travel when they were built. Some are still functioning parishes and others are museums or state parks. All are different and all are interesting.

San Diego is a living parish and you can attend Mass (or even get married) there.

There are so many beautiful abbeys in France it is hard to pick one but Fontefroide is in a magnificent setting. It is very wild around it and on top of a hill behind it is a large iron cross. It's very dramatic.

Bavaria is amazing. Everything is so clean and beautifully painted. There are pictures on all the buildings and then when you look up, you see the Alps. The mountains, the lakes, the villages are all stunning and the people incredibly friendly. In the spring everything comes to life, lilacs bloom, strawberries are served everywhere and during asparagus season the restaurants all have special asparagus menus.

Meersburg was particularly fun because there are two Old Towns, an upper one and a lower one. You can go through one and then walk down the hill and visit the other on the lake.

This little village was so typical of all we saw in Italy. We had lunch here and were walking up one of the narrow streets when a gentleman approached us. He spoke only Italian and our Italian was quite sketchy at the time but the gentleman perservered and we had a chat. It was his birthday and he was 94 years old and very proud of it. We hoped he had a great day and considering his cheerful personality, I'm sure he did.

Scotland is filled with lovely gardens. We visited as many as possible. Attadale looks out over Loch Carron near the town of Lochcarron which is a sea lock so is tidal. There were sheep grazing on the lawn and it was rhododendron season when this photo was taken. We were enchanted with the Highlands but were delighted with the Borders. They don't seem to get the press the Highlands get but we fell in love with southern Scotland.