Enjoying the local scenes in Orange County, California

My husband's sister lives in Tustin, his brother in Huntington Beach; both communities are vibrant and thriving, but moreso matched up with blue skies, palm trees and interesting architecture. They are lovely to look at and we certainly didn't see the signs of economic woes and illegal populations we hear so much about on the news, although we know from discussions with relatives they are definitely there. Housing values have plumeted and work is scarce. On Thursday March 30 we visited Old Towne Orange, and Old Town Tustin, on Friday we visited Roger's Gardens and on Sunday we had brunch in Huntington Beach.

Our hosts, Debbie and John, shortly after our arrival. John is holding a tool for grilled hamburgers, which never tasted better after a long flight.

Here we are on the campus of Chapman University, a private university of 6,000 founded in 1861 (not at this location) in near-by Orange.

This shot was taken in Huntington Beach (we walked down to look at the beach which was packed with volley ball players) at our Sunday brunch with brother Rick and wife Kate and Debbie and John at the Black Bull Chop House after church at the Sound Chapel at 651 West Sunflower Ave in Santa Ana. John grew up in this area in the 1950s when it was agricultural and developing small businesses, so we had an experienced tour guide for "the way it used to be."

Here we are enjoying the sunshine and beauty of Roger's Garden--it would be a lovely place to visit any time, but with 2 inches of snow having fallen in Columbus after we left, it was like heaven for sun starved midwesterners.

The door opened at 9 a.m. and I think we were first in the parking lot. This is the entrance.

Many wonderful home and garden decor displays inside. But even the smallest, most locally significant items were "made in China."

In the midst of all the beautiful colors and sunlight, we paused for some shade in the original Disney bandstand, exemplifying all that is artificial, and yet now historical, about California.

There were entire rooms of outdoor living furniture--a bit out of our price range at almost $2,000 for the chair my husband is sitting in--taken all together, this setting would be the price of a small home in Columbus. So someone in California still has money to entertain!

The roses were so lovely I wished I'd learned how to use the settings on my camera. I'm pretty much a point and click photographer.