San Elijo Lagoon, and North County fun

San Elijo Morning, 6"x8", oil on linen,
©2013 Cindy Greene

We had a quick fun trip this week, to the North San Diego County area. Our eldest daughter's friends arranged a birthday dinner for her (her husband was out of town and she was a bit down), and we were the surprise guests! How cool is it that your adult children are thrilled when you show up unexpectedly? I am very grateful for that. We had a fabulous time at PrepKitchen in Del Mar. I delivered a sold painting at the same time — I highly recommend delivering work at fabulous restaurants. Here's Emily with her parents, photo taken by daughter Hilary, who was also a surprise guest. (Sorry, Mel, we wish you could have been there!)

Thursday morning we made a quick trip to the San Elijo Lagoon Reserve, just a mile or two down the road from our hotel. I set up my painting gear and enjoyed a wonderful hour of sunshine and paint. The painting at the top is the result. This was my first experience painting on a linen Raymar panel — oh my, I loved it. I don't usually like canvas, but this was a wonderful experience, and I plan to order more of them.

We ended our short trip with a very quick visit to see some friends and their three-month-old darling little boy. Cuddling with little Ellis was a highlight of the trip. Time with your kids, plein air painting, and cuddling a baby — what a great couple of days!