🌊 Traveler’s Gallery: Morro Bay & the Magic of Marigold

We arrived in Morro Bay beneath a mist-soft sky, the kind that hushes the world just enough to let the important things speak. The salty air kissed our cheeks, and the sea lions barked their welcome as we parked the 1953 Silver Streak, shimmering like a time capsule of freedom and creative intent.

It was the quiet, sacred launch of The Traveler’s Gallery—our mobile dream of plein air painting, story-sharing, and soulful puppy matchmaking.
And what a launch it was.

The first to join us were the brilliant and ever-inspiring Brandon Smith, master painter, and his graceful daughter Vita, whose presence felt like calm ocean light. We painted side by side, letting the rhythm of Morro Bay shape our strokes. The brush moved like breath—slow, deliberate, wild.

Then, like something from a page already written, Coco arrived. Glowing, joyful. With her was her husband Terrell, their sweet daughter Nani, and the man I’d just met—Coco’s father, Steve. Together they carried a certain tenderness, an energy that felt like family before words were spoken. I haven’t seen COCO for years. Meeting her husband and daughter for the first time. My heart was so full.

And so it happened: Marigold, regal and graceful, with those wise, soulful eyes, walked straight into their circle like she belonged.
Because she did.
There was no question, no hesitation—only that unmistakable recognition between dog and human, the deep knowing that this was home. Marigold was claimed not as a possession, but embraced as a new heartbeat in their family rhythm.

As all of this bloomed around me, I felt such gratitude for family friends and furry critters.

By evening, canvas corners curled with drying paint. Puppies dozed in the warm laps of new friends. And the Traveler’s Gallery, once just a dream parked in my mind, had taken root in the sand.

We weren’t just selling art or finding homes.
We were creating a living altar to beauty, to connection, to love in motion.