FINAL DAY IN YOLKLO COUNTY

High Tea is not only at 3 p.m. at this lovely restaurant called Ciocolat, in Davis. Eunice and I did this for brunch. All kinds of small appetizers, little foods samples, and desserts....and tea, of course. It was graduation time in the area's school and we met a woman who was learning to be a vet. The food was so good that Merle was afraid we would take it away from her.

We traveled out of Davis to Woodland to see the Heidrick Ag History Center and check out the antique tractors. And yes, we ran into our friends.

Eunice and I took a side trip to this tourist attraction called Reiff's Gas Station and Museum. It was closed but we were able to see what this guy had just sitting outside.

Last restaurant before going home, also in Woodland...Tazzina. We were glad to hear that the owner/chef is a female.

Time to Jetblue back to New York!

FORT LAUDERDALE: FINAL DINNER

Esther and I had our final dinner at a restaurant called 15th Street Fisheries for another chef's tasting. Because the restaurant is located on the waterways yachts can pull up at the dock. We sat by the window to look down at a hangout for tarpons and jackfish.

There is this special kind of mozzarella that is solid on the outside and soft on the inside, as if there were ricotta cheese in the middle of it. At some point we'll get a description of the food but for now, just check out the photos. Of course we got a photo with Carlos, the Executive Chef that was preparing his signature dishes but not before getting one with the pastry chef.

It was back home the next day as we JetBlueing to a cold and snowy New York. Seems that Merle got sick not too soon after being home. I can't say that we would recommend chicken soup.

IRWING AND THEN HOME

Eunice and I went back to the other shopping center called the Spectrum. We had gone there during the TMS but only to eat at one of the restaurants and then go across the way to the Improv Comedy Club.

This time we walked around noticing that the South Coast Plaza was more on an upscale level than the Spectrum. Lot's of shops, eateries and more geared for entertainment. There was a ferris wheel in the middle which came from Italy and this pretty fountain.

We had a sandwich outside of a new French bistro bakery called Le Napoleon Patisserie. It was such a great day weather and otherwise.

Last stop was to Pretend City Children's Museum. Yes, we were there before but there weren't any little humans around.

Our trip came to an end. It was time to buckle up and go back home.

BACK TO CALIFOWLNIA

Eunice and I wanted to complete our Irvine trip as well as seeing another area of California, Long Beach. The only part of Long Beach that we had seen in September was the docks when we went to Catalina Island.

After experiencing Columbus Day noting that this guy came here to discover a place where people were already living, we made up our minds to discover everywhere we went because we did not see any groups of rubber chickens. So, now we return to change the name to Califowlnia. If we ever get back to Catalina Island, we will rename it Cacklina Island.

We first wanted to make sure that we were in shape to go so we went to our chiropractor to get adjusted.

Air Tran and Jet Blue are our favorite airlines because they have such comfortable seats, great snacks and nice pilots. Since Jet Blue was going non-stop to Long Beach we chose that one. The pilots brought us into the cockpit for photos as well as giving us a quick lesson on how to fly...especially since we can't.

While waiting at the gate, we met Capt. Ron Horetski of the Los Angeles Fire Department with his dog, Pearl. We noticed that he was a rescue dog. As it turns out, they were just on television that morning because the ASPCA Search and Rescue dog, Pearl, was honored the day before (November 11th) as the ASPCA's 2010 Dog of the Year at The Annual Humane Awards Luncheon in York City. Pearl, herself was rescued from an animal shelter and Ron adopted her. That makes Pearl a rescue dog that's been rescued. We wanted to pose with Pearl, but I think she would have thought we were toys, so we got Merle to just take a photo of Ron and Pearl.

We checked into the Avia Hotel in downtown Long Beach near the ocean. Our robe and slippers (we share) were laid out for us on the bed. That was great, but we still wanted to inspect for bed bugs as it's been a big problem these days. None found.

I had suggested that we go to an Italian restaurant since our itinerary also had us taking a gondola ride. We went to La Traviata where we met the owner, Mario Nasab. We dined on lobster ravioli, a cleansing of sorbet and a vanilla creme brulee, while Sheryl Smith was singing opera.

WE HAVE NOW RENAMED THIS PART OF CALIFOWLNIA AS LONG BEAK.