Cali Blog Tour - Pasadena Part II

Carrie and I were still reeling from our fun lunch with Margaret and the beauty of Pasadena, California. As soon as we found The Huntington Library, we were smitten with the amazing surroundings. We searched the crowd, looking for our blog friend...and there she was! All the way from England...

Hi Mel!!!

So cute - notice her two kiddos, running away behind her - that sweet and funny awkward too-shy-to-stick-around-and-do-the-whole-introduction-thing. {That didn't last long!} :o)

We had a limited time to walk around the gardens at the library, throw in some excited chatter between all of us, and snapping pictures left and right...the time went much too quickly!

One of my favorite things about being at the gardens with Mel and her children was experiencing their delight over the amazing hummingbirds there. There are a BUNCH of them, buzzing close by your head and flitting all around. Though seeing a hummingbird isn't rare for me, it was so fun to see them up close and to relish in the glow of Mel's excitement over them.

It was so lovely meeting her children. They are both so well mannered and sweet. The Boy has a quiet and gentle way about him, and speaks so intelligently about all things nature related. We had an interesting conversation about dental work while walking around in the garden. LOL. He's brilliant.

And his little sister, The Tomboy? Well, she was quite shy at first, covering her face with her hat, giggling and trying to hide from me. I knew that wouldn't last long. She was carrying a penny around with her and I couldn't resist showing her a little trick I know where you place a coin on your elbow then quickly catch it with your hand in a sweeping-down-motion. The penny proved to be too light so I gave her a quarter - she got a lot of entertainment out of that 25¢.

Being blog friends for almost two years now, it seemed so natural and easy to be with Mel and her family. There was an instant comfort about being with Mel - like visiting with a family member you love and haven't seen for a while. It was awesome!

The Children knew I wanted to see turtles, so we headed straight to this beautiful pond where we could see a few little turtle heads poking up on the top of the water. {No photos of that...you'll just have to take my word for it!}

After walking around the gardens we went to the gift shop where Mel's sweet girl had all kinds of turtle items she'd scoped out for me to buy. "Look at this one, Deb Turtle!" "...and this one!" It was so dang cute. I ended up buying a small turtle hand puppet she had found. We flipped a coin to decide whether is was a boy or a girl turtle. {It's a girl.}

So, from covering her face with a hat, to being

great pals within about a two-hour window.  :o)

It was so much fun being with Mel's family and conversing with them. I realized how LOUD Carrie and I are, compared to their soft and lovely British accents. I felt like an animated California girl {uh...well...I am after all...}. And the sweet way that Mel's children called me "Deb Turtle" just touched my heart.

Mel and The Doctor had graciously offered to have Carrie and I sleep at their rental house for the night and I'm so glad we did. It gave us more time to visit, enjoy a lovely meal prepared by Mel, a glass of wine on the patio, and then falling into bed, deliciously tired.

But before retiring, little miss The Tomboy could be heard saying, "Please Mummy, just one more photo with Deb Turtle. Please? Just one more photo..."

We took the photo and I told her that we needed to say our good bye's as Carrie and I planned to be up early and slip out before she was awake. She stood in front of me, her little shoulders slumped forward and head hanging a little bit. I'll never forget what she said, in her soft and sweet little British accent, "Good bye, Deb Turtle."

Not good bye, my sweet little friend,

just farewell until we meet again!

♥