Loved my maiden voyage to the Huntington Collections and Gardens in San Marino near Pasadena, a spectacularly situated series of landscaped gardens (Japanese, Chinese, children’s, Australian….) and galleries (my favorite was an exhibit of early American folk art).

My sister-in-law Heather (named here for her bemusement) and I drifted through one lovely setting after another, catching up, enjoying the greenery, flowers, huge trees, even the dramatic white-grey clouds over the mountains off in the distance. We had a light delicious bite of scallion pancakes and mushroom-stuffed spring roles by the reflecting pool outside in the Chinese garden and enjoyed the excellent gift shop (where I discovered that a Nashville painter Vicki Sawyer, whose whimsical bird portraits  I bought several years ago at an east Nashville gallery, has become a brand- I bought napkins, coasters and cards with her birds on them!)

Of course the best sight of the day was my four-year-old niece who knocked on the door of my guest house in lovely Burbank in the morning. Other highlights include seeing my brother and his fun new digs at the new Nickelodeon building. (He writes for the hit kids show “The Loud House”) and dinner from Zankou zof takeout chicken, hummus, tabbouli, rice with my cousin Scott!