Driving along the Redwood Highway, you never know which way the road will bend. First it goes to the left and then to the right. Ferns and mosses line the forest floor with dappled sunlight filtering through the trees...life is good! At a driving break in Half Moon Bay, I spotted these glass cherries, sorry Mary Lou the shop was closed so I couldn't find out how much they cost.

Travelling around you can see some amazing public art in both large and small towns.

This tree arches over the street in Pacific Grove.

This deer jumped in front of my car and disappeared in high grasses, by the time I found my camera and turned the corner, I found it munching away in the parking lot.

In Cambria we stopped again for a break and found this amazing bronze by Tim Cotterill, known as the Frogman.

This piece is almost 12 feet tall and the detail is amazing. He is found at Artifacts Gallery in Cambria.

I love it when photographing flowers if I find an insect in the shot. This bee flew in and wanted to be a part of the picture.

This dolphin fountain is in Santa Barbara at the start of the Stearns Wharf. Some birds flew in to take a drink just after I took this shot.

Here is one of the pigeons thinking of having a drink.

Now I've heard about putting your head in, but this is a bit ridiculous. He did it several times before flying way.

This is the view back towards the beach from the pier, I love the action in the sky. The Palm Trees make this picture so California.

When we got to the back of the pier we found a squadron of Pelicans hanging out. They let you get quite close to them. I love the red tip on this one's beak and how he is watching me so closely.

This one suddenly took flight and I managed to get a shot, not quite in focus, but still amazing.

In Carlsbad I noticed this tree, and found out it is called the Kapok Tree, just to the right and higher you can see one of the pods that has not yet cracked. This fiber was used to make inflatable vests. They have a beautiful pink bloom that looks like a cross between an orchid and a lily.

In Old Town we checked out some of the shops, I like the colours in this plate, makes you want to pick the fruit off and eat it.

In this shop their store window had a lot of Day of the Death displays.

The tiles on these stairs look like traditional quilt blocks and applique designs.

An outdoor cafe flew these lovely colourful cut out banners.

Once again some beautiful outdoor murals depicting a time gone by.

I have a "thing" for yellow lemons, can't pass them up. They make food so fresh and appetizing. I don't think these ones will spoil too quickly!

The Road to California started along the Oregon Coast in Seaside where I found these lovely flowering poppies...Then centre of this one looked so pretty framed in the orange/red of the petals.

Remember getting one of those postcards that said....wish you were here?

What a beautiful bronze of a girl about to fly a kite, was found outside a restaurant called Crabby Sue's in Canon Beach. The artist did a lovely job of capturing the concentration on her face.

Sue has some great signage around the restaurant. One time when I come down I hope to find her open.

We found the tide out, and walked out to the rocks around Haystack and found an amazing collection of starfish.

This one was hiding out in the shade.

One of the many vista points you can stop at along the way. The views are quite breath taking.

The lighthouse at the Coquille River is one of my favourite. This is taken from the Bandon-by-the-Sea side of the river.

Can you see the lady's face on this rock called Face Rock? She is looking to the right...

This bay is just to the left of Face Rock, the winds coming off the water are quite strong at times. This day there were not too bad.

This Roosevelt Elk was watching over the rest of the herd we came upon.

This painted lady in Eureka is now the home for some architects.

The Carson Mansion is now a private men's club open only to it's members. I like how the green of the house works so well with the lawns and trees on the grounds.

We walked along Main Street in Ferndale California and spotted this Victorian business front.

This lovely painted lady is now a bed and breakfast located just off Main Street.

If you look closely at the top of the front of this house you can see large O's have been attached to make the design.

This view is from later in the trip, from Hurricane Point looking back towards Big Sur.

Spring influences some quilting designs...I made this needle holder and mini pin cushion for my friend Tricia's Christmas present. Then I adapted a pattern called "Crowdiddy" to make it look more like a lady bird, I gave it to her for her birthday. It morphed into looking like a cross between a lady bird and a platypus! The tulips along the quay this year have been very pretty. I love how delicate this one looks.

I don't know the name of this flower, but it looks so delicate and truly is a greenish yellow.

Who would think that mother nature loves to play with checkerboard prints? Can you see the small spider on one of the blooms?

I love the contrast of the yellow double bloom tulip and the blue forget-me-knot flowers.

The witch hazel leaves are an amazing colour of green and the texture of the leaves and veins are wonderful.

The shape of the branches are very zen and inspirational to me.

Oh! The rhododendrons are beautiful, this purple one caught me eye.

The purple grape Hyacinth were almost finished blooming and got so large this year.

This tulip looked so pretty and tall amongst the yellow pansies.

The blue spring sky with the pink cherry blossoms look so dramatic.

These apple blossoms look so inviting.

Pink dogwoods show off their veins in the leaves.

The shadow on this twisted blossom made such a pretty image.

Red rhododendrons look so luscious.

These white tulips are under a tree by one of the entrances to my condo, I like the white and blue flowers growing with them in harmony.

We've had a few chilly mornings earlier in the month, there was even some fresh snow on the local mountains. This weekend morning you could see your breathe as you walked. The pansy had a bit of frost that was melting off.

This tulip was also covered with with water drops from the melting frost.

We've had some rainy days this May, but when the sun arrives the skies are a beautiful colour of blue.

This white rhododendron looked almost silver with the sun shining on it.

This purple tulip has such a delicate shape and looks translucent against the sun.

I found these seed heads very interesting, they are from the greenish yellow flowers I photographed and shared at the start of this blog. I will have to find out the name of this flower.

I found the yellow centre of this red flower to be so pretty. I may have to create it in cloth one day as a quilt.

The dogwood trees have had some wonderful blossoms on them this year, although the recent rains have left some of them bruised and spotted.

Most of these pictures were shot in the first 3 weeks of May.