Califia Jones and the Last Crusade

I went to a special screening of 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' at a closing theater. Indiana Jones is one of my favorite franchises, and many of my friends planned to go to the movie. It was a much bigger deal than I thought. Many of the humans were dressed up like Indiana Jones, and there were other lovies, too. There was an Indiana Jones Mickey Mouse! There were people there asking if anyone had an extra ticket to sell because it was sold out. All the local news channels were there. This theater was a landmark; unfortunately, it wasn't registered. All of the Star Wars movies showed there, and I was hoping to see Episode VII there. That area is already overrun with shops and restaurants, but the developers believe the city needs more jeans stores and coffee shops. And the worst part? There was a bookstore in the complex across the street and its lease was not renewed. I think it very unlikely that a new bookstore will go in. That is sad commentary in and of itself.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Have a wonderful day! Best of luck to you. I'm going to enjoy some greens today. Some of my favorites are kale, avocados, broccoli, cabbage, edamame, zucchini, sugar snap peas, and lots more!

Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Rio Carmelo

On Sunday we went to the mission in Carmel. While there I saw another human carrying around a teddy bear and she was taking photographs of it. I was too shy to approach her. But I'm sure she would've liked to meet a kindred spirit.

Saturday in Carmel

There was a very nice cow at our hotel. It seemed a bit random, but there you go.

We went to an outdoor shopping area called The Barnyard. Maybe that's why there was a cow in the area. There are shops and restaurants. It was very quiet, and for the middle of the day on a Saturday, it was quite deserted. Some of the spaces were empty. This place isn't really worth a special trip. We walked through the whole area in all of twenty minutes. There were some pubs but we didn't stop in for a drink.

One of the shops at the center

There were a couple of fountains in the area. I do love water features.

There is a candy store at The Barnyard. They have a lot of chocolates and other sweets. I bought a dark chocolate bear.

This big guy was sitting in the window in the candy shop. I always love taking pictures with other bears.

After we left The Barnyard we drove into downtown Carmel. This was the place to be. We went into a tiny, cute shop called Cottage Sweets. This is where we found one of our favorite treats.

Fresh saltwater taffy!!!

We rode down to the beach. It was a little breezy but very sunny and it was warm. We didn't stay long, just long enough to walk on the boardwalk that leads to a small lookout point.

Carmel Beach is beautiful.

This gigantic tree had a gnarled trunk and a lot of great branches to climb. It looks like the kind of tree that becomes driftwood that people carve into things, like bears!

After our walk around the different places in Carmel, we went back to the hotel. First we had a fancy dessert in the ballroom. There was a white cake and chocolate brownies. And we had a glass of apple cider with a slice of a strawberry that looked like a heart. Very fancy!

We ended our evening by hanging out in the room, eating our bag of saltwater taffy and watched some movies.

Weekend Getaway

Duffy and I went to Carmel for the weekend. We stopped at the Jelly Belly store on the way so we could buy some jelly beans.

Before we went to our hotel, we stopped at a shopping center called Crossroads. This was a mural on one of the walls.

There were nice flowers all over the property, all blooming in the sunshine.

This pelican was in front of one of the restaurants.

We found some yummy treats on our bed. Cinnamon gummy bears, smoked almonds, and dairy free chocolate bars. We were in Carmel for four days.

Links to Online Articles about Teddy Bears

Over the last few days, I have been spending time indoors because it's been rainy and gloomy. I've been knitting, web surfing, reading, and maintaining things around my den. Here are some fun articles I found while searching online: About The Bear Club, a social media site for teddy bears Teddy Bears that are on Twitter British grown-ups who sleep and travel with teddy bears A psychology study where teddy bears are used for comfort Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members Rally To Reunite Guest With Beloved Bear And this is just about the best thing I have ever seen on the whole of the Internet: Teddy Lost & Found You can follow Teddy Lost & Found on Pinterest You can follow Lost Teddy Bear on Twitter You can become a fan of Teddy Bear Lost & Found on Facebook

Tasty Beverages

Some months back while shopping, I found a new brand of almond milk from a place called Califia Farms. I am lactose intolerant (is that common for bears?) so whenever I find soy, almond, or coconut milk, I like to try it. Imagine my excitement when I saw the brand's name! Well then I found out through their Facebook page that they have coffee flavors! The almond iced latte is okay, it tastes a bit strong but not espresso strong. Their iced mocha is very good. And when you look at the cost of buying a 20 ounce iced mocha from the average coffee chain, and the cost of the Califia bottle, it's a much better deal. And since the coffee chains use mostly ice in their drinks, the Califia brand is a very good deal.