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SPRING BREAK

My fellow-teacher-friend Stacy and I had the same week off for Spring Break (miracle!), so we spent a few days exploring the gorgeous Great Central Coast of California. Not to be confused with the Great Central Valley of California, which, while fascinating with its profusion of cattle and flat land and exciting cities such as Fresno-- FresYES!!--isn't quite as gorgeous. Might have something to do with the persistent odor of bovine defecation, a killer if you forget to put your air on the "recycle" setting when driving through.

But the central COAST... gorgeous. Wild and raw, and preserved thanks in part to the eccentric William Randolph Hearst. We stayed in San Luis Obispo, visited Hearst Castle, played in Morro Bay, and explored the Danish village of Solvang. Then spent a couple of days in Balboa, back down south, where the frigid cloudy beach weather tricked me and I got maybe the worst sunburn of my adult life. My forehead actually swelled like one huge blister-- better than Botox, though, it smoothed out ALL my wrinkles and made me look sixteen again. Until it un-swelled and the burn caused even more wrinkles, and I looked sixty. Dang.