Stunning Spring

Travels with Heart, Vol 4, June 1, 2023 by Annie Bowler

I’ve spent much of the six weeks at home, recovering from heart surgery. I am getting stronger each day, but I have also had my ups and downs. There is nothing better than a fun road trip when you are tired of the home scene so a few weeks ago, John and I drove to the central coast for the weekend.

What a weekend it was! We celebrated in style the birthday of my wonderful sister-in-law, Noreen Martin. I promise you, there is no one more deserving of a party than Noreen! It was healing for me to get hugs and spend time with many dear family members and longtime friends.

On Sunday, John and I headed to the coast to visit the elephant seals, who are in the process of molting. It looked like the beach was filled with hundreds of dead bodies, as elephant seals hardly move while molting. But once they have their new blood-filled skin and fur, these female seals will swim for the next six months, eating fish all the way to the Arctic circle and back again to this exact beach, where most will then give birth. What a fascinating, exhausting life they lead!

We drove our all-electric Chevy Bolt on our road trip, which was the longest trip we’ve taken it on to date. We made a couple of interesting discoveries on our travels including:

* We only need to charge once to make it to the central coast.

* If you can find a fast-charging station, your car will be well charged after an hour’s stop.

* Tesla will soon allow all types of electric cars to use their super-fast chargers. We will buy a Tesla adaptor before our next road trip!

Though we weren’t all together this Mother’s Day, we celebrated Mother’s Day in style this year. As we all know, it takes a village to raise a child, so I feel very lucky to have six wonderful grandchildren who have had the positive influence of their amazing moms and aunties. I will be forever grateful to Sarah Bowler, Marisol Cuellar,  Dwi Ayu Dian Mariana and Nicole Bowler for all you do for the younger members of our family. I celebrate each of you!

This has been the spring that keeps on giving! I have greatly enjoyed my local flora and fauna as I walk further each day, as I work to get back into pre-heart surgery shape.

We planted mostly drought tolerant, California native plants on our property which are now reaching full maturity; they are blooming as never before. I got to say, out yard is stunning! Additionally, our property backs up to beautiful nature preserve which has made it truly interesting to walk each day. I hope you too are enjoying this splendid spring and that our trails cross soon!