Travels with Heart, By Annie Bowler, Vol 22. February 1st, 2025
One of our goals when we travel in our van is to reconnect with family and friends across
the country. John and I traveled south recently and had the best time enjoying the
hospitality of many dear friends as we literally ate our way down and back up the state.
Our trip started with us heading south on HWY 395, which proved to be quite an adventure, first with snow and then, further south, by strong winds. I don't regret going that way because this's a stunning route!
Our first stop was in mountain town of Mammoth Lakes, where we enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Chris Bubser and her husband, David. It was freezing cold that night; sweet Chris and David insisted we spent the night in their house rather than in our van. They have lots of mountain experience, so they helped us problem solve to be sure our water system didn’t freeze overnight. Our problem solving was successful; no pipes froze, and we happily headed south in the morning.
We stopped at the very popular Looney Beans Coffee in Bishop. While waiting to order, I
chatted with a young woman who was shocked that someone “like you” was traveling in a
van, but after talking a bit, she said, “Well, you seem pretty cool; you’ve got to visit the
Alabama Hills, as they are amazing!” She was right. As a sculpture, John was mesmerized by the rock formations, and with a storm threatening and Mount Whitney in the distant, the Alabama Hills were unbelievable. I’ll let pictures tell the rest of this story.
Next, we visited with Mike and Sarah Pesses, who John has known since they campers at
Sugarloaf Fine Arts Camp where John taught art and I have worked at most summers since the ‘80s.
Sarah and Mike’s oldest is now a freshman in college, so our friendships go way back but
we’ve always spent time together at camp. and had never been to their home. Both Mike and Sarah have great senses of humor and let’s just say, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree with their four kids. We enjoyed their family’s wonderfully fun dynamic; it was fun to see their little farm that’s in the mountains near Lancaster, and it was delightful to meet their beloved 4-legged menagerie! Thank you Sarah and Mike!
Sarah and Mike Pesses The Pesses kids a few years ago A girl and her horse
a delightful pair
John and I both love the ocean and have looked forward to camping in our van somewhere
along the Rincon, the beaches just north of Ventura, as these were our go-to beaches as
teenagers. The surf there is most often the perfect size for boogie boarding or body surfing,
there’s rarely a rip current, and there’s miles of white sand beaches. We enjoyed a long walk down the beach at low tide at sunset, we slept well to the sound of the lulling ocean, but when we awoke, the surf was crashing into the seawall and even splashed near where we were camping. The surf drenched some RV’s.
I wouldn’t want to camp there during storms or full moon these days! It worries me knowing that the surf never came this high years ago and some houses are now threatened along this beautiful stretch of coast.
On our recent van trip, we visited UC Santa Barbara, which is our alma mater, John with
a master’s in fine arts and I with a BA in Sociology and Multiple Subject Teaching
Credential. We wandered Isla Vista and the UCSB’s Family Student Housing, which is where we lived for almost 5 years as we studied.
Family Student Housing continues to be one of my favorite places I’ve ever lived,
despite the fact that our apartment was only 800 square feet. Why? Because there was
so much outside space that we shared with all kinds of fascinating students that came
from around the world to study. Our neighbors and friends were getting advanced
degrees in philosophy, botany, sociology and computer science, a field that was in its
infancy back then. The discussions were fabulous. For example, the neighborhood kids
used to catch flies so they could bring them to our botany student neighbor who’s entire
porch was a carnivorous plant nursery.
Family Student Housing was a practical place to live too. It was a quick bike ride to the
University and children could safely ride bicycles on the wide sidewalks and play in the
grassy shared backyards because cars were banished to the complex’s perimeter.
There was a giant playground and beyond that a shared vegetable garden. No one had
any money, so we shared everything as best we could. We help take care of each
other’s children too. It was a community, which was heaven for young students like
ours.
As we walked our former home turf, I was heartened that Family Student Housing
hasn’t changed much; it continues to serve families with children and young couples as
they’re working to get a good education.
One thing has changed though, the community gardens aren’t as well used as they
were in the late 70s though we did meet one sweet couple who had quite
the garden.
Isla Vista was quite the hippie enclave back when we lived there; it’s a bit more upscale
today, but I was delighted to see that the Isla Vista Food Co-op hasn’t changed much at
all.
Next, we headed to Lompoc to visit our dear college friends who were our neighbors in
Family Student Housing, Dulcie Sinn, and Joe White. We haven’t spent time with them
in many years, but sitting at their dining room table laughing, it felt like no time had
passed. We will not let so much time pass again.
Joe White and Dulcie Sinn (now), Annie and John Bowler Dulcie and Joe (then)
With all the political chaos going on, I thought I would end with some timely words of
wisdom from an old friend:
Worry is a misuse of your imagination.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, especially with everything
happening in politics right now.
But worry, while natural, doesn’t create solutions—it just drains your energy. Instead, try
using that same imagination to picture the world you want to see.
What small actions can you take to bring that vision closer?
Having conversations, staying informed without doom-scrolling, supporting causes you
believe in—these are all ways to turn anxious energy into something meaningful.
The future isn’t set in stone, and neither is your mindset. Shift your focus from fear to
possibility, from helplessness to action.
A better world starts with the way we imagine it.
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