early yesterday morning, curiosity getting the best of me, i decided to go have a peek at the polo fields nearby, to see what i could see. how does one prepare when a prince and his wife comes to town?
first i saw signs prohibiting parking, on each side of the road, at least a quarter of a mile in every direction of the field (the polo field is behind the green hedge). then i counted six horse trailers arriving, i wonder how many horses were brought in altogether? can you see the blue flags in the distance? these are Tiffany & Co., a sponsor of the event.
a whiz by glimpse of the white tents
and the security
there was a lot of security (i was a little nervous to take photos)
more tents, and the stands are the 'cheap' seats, the four hundred dollar ones
not my photo, but this is what i saw fly over my house. will and kate are in the small helicopter and the california highway patrol (in the larger one) escorted them from los angeles
welcome to carpinteria lovely royal couple (not my photo either). feeling a little frustrated that i couldn't get any pictures of the polo grounds (it's gorgeous) or the event i drove away from the mayhem (the media, the satellite dishes, the photographers, the people arriving in droves).
instead of heading back home i thought it might be fun to take some photos of our seaside town. would you like to come along? we'll drive around, you'll be more comfortable i think, it's foggy and a bit chilly this morning (i hope kate brought her shawl)...
in carpinteria, in one of the neighborhoods nearest the beach, the streets are named after trees, ash, holly, elm...and the apartments are named with the ocean in mind, driftwood, whitecaps, dunes...
if this were my house i would have to name it too, it's so cute. for photo identification purposes shall we call it blue door?
and this one, 'grass car park'
rose arbor
california cape cod
banana tree cottage
beach condos
victorian on the sand
modern (on the sand) with a lookout deck
beachclub
boathouse
old spanish
ferns
deck
hiding
welcoming
community
and gates, a jumping dolphin
secret garden
and an arch
outdoor art
and a few popular places in town, 'the spot' for burgers is steps from the sand
esau's for breakfast
oaxaca fresh (these people are up early!)
rincon designs surf shop
blue pacific is welcoming the british
nursery
spa
hardware
gallery
if you were planning to visit carpinteria you might choose to stay here at sunset shores, the ocean is across the road
or here, at carpinteria shores, where you are on the sand (see the lifeguard tower to the left?)
or maybe you'd prefer to buy. here is a beachfront property for sale.
perhaps renting a private house is more appealing. this one is right in the middle of town, close to shops and the beach. maybe the royal couple will want to come back (i read wills said his father and brother were green as grass with envy that he got to play at the santa barbara polo club), surely one afternoon was not nearly enough time to discover all the charms this area has.
these are random photos and only a small representation of this town ( i didn't leave the car for many photos, it felt a little strange shooting homes, i don't think i've ever done this before!) if you'd like to see more of carpinteria click on the labels, 'where we live, and 'the beach'.
directly over my home they flew, back to los angeles, then on to england. i didn't make it outside in time to photograph the royal helicopter, but it is there, right in front of this escort one. turns out kate didn't need her shawl after all, the fog burned off and it was a spectacular day.
thank you for coming along, i hope it was fun, cheers!
xo lori
