Our four weeks in San Diego ended with a remodel of our 5th wheel, Cash…we took the beautiful long, white dried plastic sofa out and went Ikea!!! You’ll see the updates next week, but let’s just say the remodel makes a HUGE difference and provides me with three more large drawers for storage…LOL. We took our travels north to El Capitan, about 10 miles north of Santa Barbara. What a great three days. Sun, sea and grilling. Our campsite under the trees was cozy and cool, considering the 90-100 degrees. Cool breezes at the sea helped to bring heat relief. Camping on the beach is not really camping without the beach barbecue and a sunset! Even the seagulls watched the sun sink into the sea. I am working on more cooking recipes but for the past two months our staples have been: meat and grilled veggies! I’ve made various sauces for marinating the meat and zingy seasoning for the veggies. We’re addicted to grilled veggies as you’ll see in my next recipe post. More to come…
2016 September 21: Heading North to…



I'm Melinda Stevens and living the life of a beach bum was inevitable since my father was a lifeguard for the city of Los Angeles. My memories of growing up on John Street in Manhattan Beach, California were filled with joy, excitement and adventures; until my world, as I knew it, fell apart when we moved to Del Mar, California. My father was offered the position as Captain of the lifeguards and we started the slow migration to the small deserted stretch of beach in 1963. At twelve years old, this seemed like the end of my life. Remember, I’m writing with clear hindsight now, ok somewhat clearer… Little did I know this would be the beginning of a new journey and give a bit more clarity to many of the events that led me to this new cooking adventure.