Today Hubby and I went on a little outing to one of our favorite places. "Real Goods" is a store located in a town not too far from here. We haven't been there for a while, but it's kind of a destination for people like us. They specialize in products for off grid and self sufficient living, as well as other off beat items.

The setting is an inspiration all by itself, with ponds, gardens, a grape arbor, a greenhouse dome, lots of solar panels, some funky toilets, and hay bale and cob structures. There were benches and picnic tables, a perfect setting to enjoy lunch we brought. (Still on that diet! Stuck for the last week at 17 lbs.)

I was lucky to find an unoccupied bench in the book section where I could get off my feet while delving into the different natural building books. It's kind of a hobby for us, fantasizing about building a funky house someday. Even if we never do it, we really enjoy seeing what other people have done, and to keep up on the latest technology.

We didn't buy anything. We have enough books, and enough projects on our hands. We just wanted to get out of the house, and do something a little different. The drive took us through some of the little towns that we remembered seeing on our honeymoon. They have changed a lot, but are still charming.

The wine industry has turned the whole area into a tourist hot spot, but it was pretty quiet there today. We turned off onto a country road just for kicks, not knowing where it would lead. It turned out to be a lovely drive winding around lichen covered rock outcroppings and moss draped oaks. The hills are not quite green, but still sculpturally interesting. It was nice to be out of the suburbs.

We had planned on doing much, much more, but we were enjoying ourselves so much we decided to take a separate trip later on. No hurry. It's all close enough to do in little day trips, and will give us an excuse to get out more. I'm looking forward to it!