Dear Friends and Followers, Gourmet Girl Gail here writing from windy Santa Barbara. We trust you are remaining safe and healthy. Boy, what a year 2020 was! And here we are, already six weeks or so into 2021 with a bit of hope on the horizon. Even though the vaccine rollout is slow and spotty […]
nature
Camping During Covid — Part II
Dear Fellow Foodies and Camping Aficionados, Gourmet Girl Gail here writing from Pismo Beach on the Central Coast of California. We’ve been doing some serious local camping most of the summer, and one of our recent excursions was to Lake Cachuma, a reservoir in the Santa Ynez Valley on the Santa Ynez River off California […]
On Being a Naturalist
Dear Friends, Gourmet Girl Gail here writing from Santa Barbara. Living on the central coast of California, one doesn’t need to travel far afield to find wonderful campsites, meet new friends, and experience Mother Nature in all her splendor. Less than 25 miles from where I live, there are two state parks and a private […]
Kudos for Cody, Wyoming!
My restless, roaming spirit would not allow me to remain at home very long. — Buffalo Bill Dear Friends and Fellow Travelers, In my last blog post, I shared some of our trip up to Cody, Wyoming, but I didn’t give you the whole adventurous scoop! After driving through Yellowstone, marveling at the sights, […]
Autumn in France
Hello friends! Gourmet Girl Denise here from the Loire, France. The rains have begun intermittently with sporadic sunshine peeking through the grey clouds from time to time. The air is crisp at night though it is still too warm during the day to start a fire in my dining room fireplace. This particular fireplace (there […]
Crater Lake National Park
Dear Foodies and Fellow Travelers, Gourmet Girl Gail here writing from Ocean Mesa, overlooking the Pacific. Even though it’s a mere 22 miles north of Santa Barbara, it feels like oceans away. And although my apartment in Santa Barbara overlooks the city and the sea, I’ll take any excuse to get away from the interruptions […]
Summertime!
Hello friends and fellow campers! Gourmet Girl Denise here from Le Petit Saint Barnabé, Mouliherne, France. The weather is hot here at the homestead in the Loire River Valley. The mercury is topping out this week at 40 degrees centigrade or 104 degrees Fahrenheit! Yikes! Lemonade consumption is going to be high and I will […]
Camping in France
Hello friends and campers! Gourmet Girl Denise here from the little village of Mouliherne, France in the Maine et Loire. All of the oak forests are in leaf and bustling with life in this part of France. Swallows are nesting and just the other day I looked out of my kitchen window and there on […]
The Snowbirds Visit — Part I
Greetings! Gourmet Girl Gail here reporting from Santa Barbara. I’m happy to say that we’re getting buckets of much needed rain along the California coast. Our lakes are filling up, creeks are flowing, and thankfully there has been only minor flooding and debris flow so far. I’m hoping things will dry up a bit later […]
Upper Feelings in Lower Sequoia
Hi All, Lindsey here. I’m stepping in for Mom (Gourmet Girl Denise) with this week’s blog post while she gets settled into her house in the Loire Valley. Bon chance avec votre déménagement! It was 10am on the Friday before a holiday weekend when my good friend Maryann (see her awesome Bloody Maryann recipe in […]