60 is the new 40

On July 20th I reached a milestone in my life...the big 60! Seriously? 60? Where did 60 years go? They went by like a dream and sometimes like a nightmare!

Does this look like the face of a 60 year old?  Well...maybe  a little bit around the eyes, but those aren't wrinkles they're laugh lines.

Everyone keeps telling me that 60 is the new 40 but I don't know....my 40's were pretty great and my body felt pretty great and now I'm a bundle of aches and pains. 

Nothing an Aleve can't take care of, but still you kinda have to think about it before you jump out of bed in the morning, and of course you no longer jump, you gingerly step out to make sure that your legs and/or feet aren't asleep!

The one thing for sure you can't stop is getting older. Well, I guess you can stop it, death would end aging really quickly so it's not an alternative worth contemplating!

But I'm not complaining about getting older because I had the best birthday ever!

I took my actual birthday off from work. Our employer gives us that day as our gift from them, plus they sent me a lovely gift VISA gift card. 

My coworkers went off their diets so we could all have cake...delicious cake!

My co-worker/friend Angelica also knows me so well and gifted me this awesome Art Set that I can take with me anywhere so I always have art supplies at hand! Thank you Angelica!

On my actual birthday, my sister and our friend Lupe both took the day off, as did I, and we headed off to Pismo Beach. We stopped along the way for some shopping which is always fun. We also stopped at a new place we've never been to named Chulo's Cafe & Cantina where we had the most fabulous Carnitas Nachos ever! Their Margarita left a lot to be desired but they made up for it with the nachos. I can't wait to go back.

Carnitas Nachos at Chulo's Cafe & Cantina

Then we just sat on the beach enjoying being somewhere where it was not 104 as it was back home. It was overcast and I was actually a bit chilly but I kept remembering how hot it was back home and enjoyed being cold!

For dinner we headed to Cayucos where we walked on the pier to build up an appetite. Here's my sister and I on the pier. You can see how foggy it was but when we left Shafter it was already 85 degrees and we were dressed for the heat!

We found a lovely little place to have dinner in Cayucos called Duckies Chowder House. I had the BEST fish and chips ever with an ice cold Tecate beer. It was fabulous and a great way to end my birthday and face the long drive home.

Thank you Lisa and Lupe for celebrating my 60th birthday with me and for treating me like a Queen for a Day!

When my friends found out on Facebook that it was my 60th birthday and that I tried to stay under the radar with that info, they were not having it and this past Friday, August 3rd they all got together to celebrate me yet again!

Here's a few photos from that celebration where I had a great time with a Giant Margarita, A Cake made of Money and a real cake, plus spending time with the greatest group of people it has ever been my pleasure to know. Thank you Pat, Linda, Connie, Diana, Carmen, Angelica, Lupe, Lisa, Pauline, Joe and Guero!

Me, Carmen, Diana, Connie and Pat 

Me, Angelica, Lupe, Lisa and Carmen and my giant Margarita!

The Gang

Me and my sister Lisa and my Cake of Money. A beautiful creation by my friend Pat. Thank you Pat!

 "Youth is a Gift of Nature, but Age is a Work of Art" - Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

You my friends and family are part of the rich tapestry of my life. 

Happy Birthday Alicia and remember, "Do not regret growing older. It's a privilege denied to many".

Road Trip! - Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival

In my world there are two things that go hand in hand, just like bread and butter, burgers and fries, fish and chips...I'm talking about avocados and margaritas! Nothing I love better than a delicious Margarita with some avocado turned into yummy guacamole. That's why when my sisters' friend Lupe suggested we take a road trip to the Morro Bay Avocado and Margarita Festival I was all like, "Yep...count me in!"

So yesterday we made the little trip from Wasco, which is where Lupe lives, to Morro Bay. I say little trip, but it's actually a little bit over two hours away. But when you are in good company a long car trip is just the ticket to get caught up on girl talk and snacking!

And that's what we did. We stopped and bought Cheetos, Beef Jerky, M&M's, Fritos and Diet Pepsi's and we laughed and talked and shared memories and gossip until we got to Paso Robles. Even though this was not our destination we stopped at a TJ Maxx to shop a little. Shoes were purchased and the bathroom was used and off we were again to do one of my favorite things and one of Lupe's favorite things...shop the local Goodwill! Yay! I finally found another bird of a feather!

See, my sister is not a big lover of Goodwill or any thrift store for that matter, in fact she is not a big lover of shopping of any kind at all, although she does indulge me quite often. But Lupe loves to shop the Goodwill's and she knew exactly where we could find one in Paso Robles. Yay! Treasure Hunt!

It was not my day to find a lot of treasures, but I did find this cute little lady. I know she's kind of odd looking, but I just love the little spider and her cute purple hat with the little pink flower and her little curly hair and her precious smile with that very bright red lipstick! For a mere $1.00 she was mine! Can't wait to display her at Halloween!

Lupe found some treasures as well, but the one that found the most was my sister Lisa. Funny how she dislikes shopping at Goodwill yet she always spends much more money than I do!

From there we headed to San Luis Obispo, which was about a 35 minute drive through some beautiful scenery. Once there Lupe took us to another Goodwill where I found a black sweater that I love and Lisa again stocked up! 

After this one Lisa drew the line and said NO MORE! I AM HUNGRY! So we decided to head on over to the Avocado and Margarita Festival in Morro Bay which was about 25 minutes away. We made a quick stop at a campsite along the way as Lisa and Lupe are both infatuated with camping!

Once we got to Morro Bay we realized that this was a huge event and thought we would never find parking! But we did, a few blocks away and it was such a beautiful day we didn't even mind the walk and we stopped to take pictures along the way.

My sister and her dear friend Lupe. No...that is not our Rubicon,
but I thought they looked great standing next to it!

Another great picture of Lisa and Lupe with Morro Rock in the background. More information on "the Rock" coming later! Aren't they pretty? Love these girls!

Hey! What about me? I want a picture with my sister!

And one of just me! Love the background!

Then it was time to continue our walk to the festival itself. A salesclerk in one of the little shops we stopped at along the way told us that Morro Bay has a population of about 10,000 people and that the Chamber of Commerce was expecting about 12,000 people for this event! 

For the price of a whole $2.00 each we gained entrance and it was packed! Barely room to turn around in. Everyone was walking around with paper plates filled with chips and avocado...not guacamole because the star of this show was the avocado so it was virgin avocado, no salt or onion or jalapenos, just the pure taste of creamy, buttery avocado mixed with the crispy texture of a salty tortilla chip! Yum! 

Sad to say I didn't get a picture of the avocado and tortilla chips because we were starving and devoured them. But here's a picture of another delicacy we tried a little later on. Bacon wrapped hot-dogs!

These were so good. We only bought one and had them cut it into thirds, but we piled sliced avocado and onions on it! 

And after all the saltiness of the chips and the bacon wrapped hot-dogs we were a tad parched. We soon found refreshment!

I think they call these Corona Beer-ita's!
The cup was filled with Lime Margarita on the Rocks and then using a special lid on the cup a small Coronita Beer is turned upside down, mixing the margarita and beer. Then you sip with the straw and it's delicious! They also made a strawberry version, but we stuck to the original. ***My sister called me after reading this and said they are called "Corona-ritas"***

We wandered around the various arts and craft vendors, we people-watched, we chatted with strangers, we listened to music, we ate kettle korn and bought big containers of fresh fruit salad and just generally had the best time ever!

Because it was standing room only, we finally got tired of all the standing and walking and decided if we stayed any longer we would only end up eating more, so we left and walked down the embarcadero wandering in and out of shops.

We saw some seals and watched them for a while. People were barking at them and little kids were getting such a kick out of seeing their daddies barking like dogs! It was hilarious!

Then we did another couple of things that are a MUST DO when you visit Morro Bay. One is eat fish and chips and the other is visit THE ROCK!

My photo of the Rock!

Official photo of THE ROCK

A few details on THE ROCK

Sunset at the Rock!

At the entrance to the rock is this power plant which plays a large role in Morro Bay,
and in providing electricity to the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California (primarily Fresno and Bakersfield). Due to its tall smokestacks,
it is known locally as "Three fingers".

After having seen and done almost everything there was to see and do in Morro Bay we three ladies headed over to Cayucos to watch the sunset.

Lisa got poetic on us and remarked that we will each see many more sunsets, but at this moment, at this time, on this date, the three of us shared a sunset and a day that we will never forget and that will be one of a kind. Love you my sister and love you too Lupe! Hope we do this again real soon!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tired, sun-burned and happy, we three ladies made the long drive home glad to have been able to make wonderful memories and already making plans for our next "road trip!"