Awash with Wishes

I’ve been in de-blog mode for a couple of days because I got invited to visit with friends in beautiful Santa Barbara. The drive on Friday got a little dicey because of the rain, but the weather was great for the rest of my two-day stay. We ate and talked and visited the monarch butterfly grove (too cold and windy for much activity) and ate and talked and visited the Botanic Gardens (a refreshing boulder-strewn creek runs through a redwood forest and other exhibits of California native plants) and ate and talked and walked on the beach and ate and talked and walked some more. Cruising down Cabrillo Boulevard (right by the beach) I was impressed by the variety of bikes available to rent, even a tandem recumbent bike. Do we have that many types of wheels to choose from here in Long Beach? I wish I knew.

I also wish I had to the nerve to volunteer to read at the All-Day Read-a-thon on Second Street on March 1 from 9 am until about 6 pm. It’s the kick-off event for Long Beach Reads One Book where people will read the entire book Three Cups of Tea plus a book sale to benefit Long Beach Public Library. I’ve read the book about a mountaineer who’s inspired to help the tribal people in a remote Afghan village after they saved his life and eventually devotes his life to building schools throughout the region, but I plan to be there to watch some of the readers. The Long Beach Public Library Foundation lists other events for the week, including appearances by Greg Mortenson, the mountaineer featured in the book.