Year of Magic Ends ... Sob! Sob!

In Santa Barbara the school year is about to start and it's time for me to get my bohemian, undisciplined behind plugged back into 'the system'. Ah, such is the life I've chosen. But, boy, what a year it's been!
Last night me and my pal Premi attended an event at the Global Institute in Santa Barbara. A 21 year old student had just returned from a stint in India and gave a slide show presentation about it. She had spent some time on Vandana Shiva's farm in Rajasthan learning how to harvest rain and run a sustainable farm. She also talked about her travels through Tamil Nadu and Kerala so it was fun for me to hear her perspectives on places I'd been to. Later, when I chatted with other folks, I was surprised at my impressive knowledge of India. Before my trip there I hardly knew the names of Indian provinces and towns. And now I can talk about South India with incredible ease. I realized last night that the month I'd spent in India was truly a special time. Yes, there were many challenges that made every act a chore, but there was so much to feast your senses on too. I'm so glad I finally made it to the motherland. When I returned from India I read Michael Wood's book THE SMILE OF MURUGAN. This is a guy with a deep passion for Tamil Nadu and in his book he gushes about the temples - most of which I had visited. He gives tons of wellresearched information about each temple in an endearing style. I wished I'd had the book while visiting those temples. The book gave me a whole new appreciation for the Tamil culture.

We are having one heck of a terrific summer in Santa Barbara this year. It's been a long one too, since spring was warmer than usual. It's been fun hanging out at home most of the time. We actually got to eat most of our fruit. Each week something new is ready for picking. Right now, our yellow peaches, big and juicy, are ready. I seem to spend a lot of my days dealing with summer produce. I hate making jam. Who wants to be in the kitchen sterilizing jars in a big pot of water when it's sweltering outside? We've made tarts, pies, and sauces with our fruit and they are in the freezer awaiting the winter months!

I'm definitely not ready to enter the real world again. I've got manuscripts that need loads of work and I hate to have to put them aside. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy being a teacher. I am committed to stimulating young minds. If I didn't have to do idiot things dreamt up by bureaucrats, I'd love my job. Tbh I'm a little nervous about resuming my job. I fear that my year of travel and writing has turned me into a radical. We'll have to wait and see ..

Summer Days

As you can tell from the picture we had a blast with Pam and family. We/They did crammed a ton of things in three weeks. They didn't think they would have the nerve to drive on the other side of the road, but with the help of our genius "Tom'Tom" sat. nav, they actually drove from Santa Barbara to Disneyland with no mishaps whatsoever! So they did the Southern Cal thing for their holiday out here: Universal Studios, Disneyland, Venice Beach, Santa Monica Pier, La Brea Tarpits, the beaches in Santa Barbara. And then they sampled a bit of what lies north of us. We took them on their very first camping trip. Indrasen and Pam are pukka city folks. Their idea of fun is shopping malls and noisy cafes. But the kids were bursting with excitement about sleeping in a tent among giant redwoods. So their parents co-operated without even a squeak of protest. We camped out at Big Basin State Park near Santa Cruz. It's a gorgeous place forested with towering redwoods. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm. We went on a few hikes and cooked a hearty meal. Everything went well until the next morning when we decided to go on one last hike. Indrasen, for whom the whole hiking out in the woods deal is completely foreign, got attacked by a swarm of bees. Poor guy! His first camping trip and a rare walk into the forest and those nasty beasts punish him! Aiyaiyai! Seven ugly stings in total.

From Santa Cruz we went into San Francisco where we showed the highlights - the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, the exploratorium, etc. We discovered an excellent South Indian restaurant called Dosa south of Market Street. It was one of those yuppified Indian restaurants where everything is presented in an artistic way, but the food was splendid. Daryl and I also had a meal at Greens, our favorite place in the city. Greens is near the marina at Fort Mason, exclusively vegetarian and has the best view of the Golden Gate Bridge in the entire city. After San Francisco we spent a few quiet days in Santa Barbara and then it was time for Pam and family to return to South Africa.

Now, I'm trying to return to a writing routine. But first I go to LA for a conference. This is a huge, annual shindig where everyone in the children's books industry get together.