Yosemite

We were able to spend a full day with Randy’s nephew Lance, his wife Marla and their daughter Jordan. With only one day, it was decided to go to Yosemite. It was a couple of hours drive to get there, but that was fine because it gave us time to get to know each other. On the way we stopped at a place called Rainbow pool. This is a small falls where the locals like to go and jump off the rocks into the pool. Lance says the pool is about 30’ deep. While there, we saw many salamanders and apparently it is salamander mating season - or they were huddling close to stay warm. From there on to Yosemite. Lance was able to give us a guided tour of the “best of the best”. We stopped at a few different places along the way to Bridal Falls. We stopped at a church in the park where we had a picnic. It was a beautiful area and really neat to have lunch at such a place.

Next we went to mirror lake which is at the base of Half-Dome. The lake wasn’t very large or deep but it was enticing. There were many playing in the water even though it was quite cold. Probably the most famous of the Yosemite landmarks is Half-dome. It is visible from almost everywhere, and is absolutely amazing!











Yosemite Falls was the highlight of the park. The falls has multiple layers which makes it even more beautiful. To see the entire falls you must be willing to get a little wet, but it is worth it. There has been a lot of recent rainfall, so the falls was more abundant and spectacular than ever.

Tuesday March 30, 2010

I haven’t added to the blog for a few days. We have been to the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, and I am finding it difficult to write something that conveys the intense feelings those places generate. This won’t do the job, but I have to start somewhere. . .

In Sequoia we started by hiking to Marble Falls, which is about 7.4 miles round trip, and I learned that I am not in as good shape as I thought I was. The hike is a medium-grade difficulty but most of the trail to the falls is uphill, and a lot of it is right on the edge of the mountain; stepping 6 inches to the left would make you slide right down the mountainside. It took us 2 hours to hike to the falls but I’m glad we did it. Marble Falls is not one big falls – it’s a group of smaller falls strung together. The area has a lot of huge boulders with some marble in them, which gives the falls its name. It took us only 1 hr and 15 minutes to hike back from the falls (downhill helps!), after which we lunched on the peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches which we had stashed, in accordance with park rules, in a bear-proof box at the trailhead. I didn’t used to like peanut butter but after more than 3 hours of hiking, I really appreciated them!

The entrance to Sequoia Park was just 5 miles from our campsite but the Sequoia trees are about 18 miles inside the Park. Because they only grow at elevations of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, the road to get there is really steep and filled with switchbacks. The road is a good one but you definitely need to follow the speed limit, which often drops to 5 mph. At some points the grade was posted as 8%, but at other times they didn’t tell how much the grade was, probably to avoid scaring people. There are several mule deer in the park and they are obviously used to cars; several times we saw them grazing just 5 or 10 feet from the road.

The drive alone is worthwhile because of the beautiful vistas across the valley and neighboring mountains. But when you get to the Giant Forrest, it’s a whole new game.

Sequoias would be beautiful even if they weren’t so big. They are a gorgeous cinnamon-red color and their bark isn’t rough, like most trees. It looks and feels like built-up layers of paper or cardboard, and there is so much bark built up that it gives slightly to the touch, and makes the tree sound oddly hollow when you knock on it. Somewhere under all that bark (which in the really big trees can be one or two feet thick) are the actual tree trunks.


When we were there, there had been a recent 6-foot snowfall and the forest was covered in a thick fog. It was 34 degrees at that elevation so the snow had softened and packed down a bit – when I fell through the snow on the pathways (and I did that a lot) I only dropped a couple of feet down, but off the path the snow was a lot deeper. We walked out into the forest to find the biggest tree in the world – the General Sherman tree. Unfortunately the snowfall had covered the trail signs and the fog hid the treetops, so we ended up taking a round-about hike of almost a mile long, but eventually we found the right path. Most Sequoias are huge – the size of 2 or 3 normal trees bundled together. But General Sherman is unbelievable.
It’s not the tallest tree or the widest, but in volume, it’s the biggest. It’s 36.5 feet across, stands 275 feet tall and weighs about 1,385 TONS. There were probably a dozen people there that day, and everyone was practially speechless. It's the sort of thing you can hardly beleive, even while you are standing in front of it.



Clear weather would have been nice,but the fog added extra atmosphere; the forest felt like a secret place and it was unearthly quiet. Everywhere we turned, the giant trees seemed to appear silently out of the mist. This was genuinely an awe-inspiring experience.

March 23, 2010

What a week - we’ve been so busy that we haven’t kept up on the blog and now it’s hard to recall where the time went! In the past when I filled in several days, I put the most recent at the top and worked backwards, because that follows the Blog organizational format. But it doesn’t read well to me, so this time I’ll start at the end and work forward. So here are last week’s highlights: (as I typed this, I realized most of the “highlights” included good food….and that is not a complaint!)

Tuesday, March 16
This was a low-key day, catching up on some necessary tasks. We spent some time looking at what our next route should be, then repacked some of the RV. We are working on a better way to organize things while we are on the road, so we don’t have several boxes in the living room.

My cousin Jim returned from his Mexican fishing trip and took everyone out for dinner at the family’s favorite Mexican restaurant, Zacatecas. It's easy to understand why this is there fav!

Wednesday, March 17
We drove to downtown Riverside to see the Mission Inn. It’s not a real mission; it is a wonderful inn that was built by Frank Miller in the Mission architectural style in the late 1800’s. Frank had a passion for traveling the world and collecting beautiful or interesting items and bringing them back to his inn. At one point in history the inn fell on hard times, but now it has been beautifully restored into a first-class hotel. We walked into the Spanish courtyard and immediately felt the charm of the place. Having enjoyed several months in Spain a few years ago, we could tell that Frank knew what he was doing and really captured the right ambience.












Later we walked across the street to tour the 1st Congregational Church. It’s a beautiful building with an ornate exterior and a somewhat austere interior. Then, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we went to a local Irish pub called Kilarney’s and had lunch with Jim. His office is one block away from the pub, so it was an easy place to meet. And later for dinner Teresa cooked corned beef and cabbage, avocado/cucumber salad and coconut cream pie. She can cook as well as her mother, and that is saying a lot!

Thursday, March 18
Randy went fishing with Jack again and this time they were very successful! Randy came home with 9 trout and Jack caught a bunch, too. They had such a good time that they didn’t get back until 3pm, and shortly afterwards Mike stopped by to take us to a hockey game at Staples Center. Mike had box seat tickets for a game between the LA Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Sadly the Kings lost, but we had a great time anyway. This is the first hockey game we have attended and seeing it from box seats with free food (and desserts!) is a nice introduction. If I could watch all games this way, I would be a big fan!










Friday, March 19
We needed to get a form notarized so we went to Jim’s office. When we got there Randy tricked the receptionist into thinking he was a customer who was mad at Jim and wanted to chew him out. So the receptionist, who is apparently quite loyal to Jim, left him a phone message to see if he wanted to talk to the angry customer outside. I suspect that if Jim said no, we would not have gotten past the front desk! But it’s hard to fool Jim - he knew it was us, and came out to give us a quick tour of his company offices.

For lunch Randy and I went to a local Thai restaurant – Bann Thai on Brockton street - that everyone in the Booth and Burns family recommended. The recommendation was on track and we had a good lunch. Then we went to the Mission Inn again and took a tour about its history. The Inn has four separate sections – Spanish, Italian, Oriental, and the front courtyard. It is beautiful and elegant without being too formal or structured. For example, the outside wall is adobe with sections of iron fences. The iron sections are, on close inspections, from different gates and fences and none of them match, but the overall effect is lovely.

To end a perfect day we went to Aunt Jean’s for dinner. Mike was helping her cook Dorado (a delicious fish that she or her sons had caught in Mexico), and she had also prepared a scrumptious strawberry salad, cabbage-rice salad, corn, peach cobbler and cream pie. Too much good food is never too much!

Saturday, March 20
Randy and I ran a few errands and looked at a few RVs at Giant RV in Riverside. Fortunately we didn’t find anything irresistible. In the afternoon I felt the need for a nap . . . one of the sweet things about retirement is that when you feel like a nap, you just take one!

Later in the afternoon Jim and Teresa came in for a visit. As usual, the conversation bounced between cooking and fishing, and included the best of both worlds - cooking fish.

For dinner Teresa and Jack took us and Aunt Jean to BJ’s, one of their favorite restaurants. The wait to get in was about 45 minutes so they gave out pizza samples while we were waiting. The pizza was very good, and since we were able get it while we were in line, when we sat down to dinner everyone was able to order something else. I highly recommend their desserts!

Sunday, March 21, 2010
Teresa fixed some awesome biscuits and gravy for breakfast. Most Californians don’t seem to know much about good biscuits and gravy, but Teresa is really a transplant from Missouri and she knows all about them! Then we were able to spend the rest of the day with her, taking a scenic drive up to Big Bear Lake. There’s a cute tourist town at the lake and beautiful mountain views all along the drive. We didn’t do any skiing, but it was so relaxing to just enjoy the view and visit.

For dinner Jim and Mike smoked some ribs, pork, chicken and prime rib, added some great side dishes, and Aunt Jean brought homemade German Chocolate cake. Everyone ate too much and wished they could eat more - that seems to be the theme on this trip!

Monday, March 22, 2010
We had lunch with Aunt Jean at Bann Thai (it was worth a second trip), then drove to the grade school to watch Tara and Dennis’ son Riley (Aunt Jean's great-grandson and Teresa's grandson) receive a Citizenship award. He’s in the 2nd grade, and he and his older brother Ian are really smart. Ian also received an award on Friday, but we weren’t able to attend that time.

For dinner we met Mike and Claire and Aunt Jean at the Mission Inn. The Inn is even more beautiful at night! I can’t describe it and pictures don’t do it justice. I’ll just say I love this even more than chocolate, so if you get a chance, visit this place!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The weather could not be more perfect but at this time of the year there is tree sap in the air, and it gets onto any vehicle that’s parked outside for a couple of days. Fortunately it’s not hard to wash off, so that’s what we did today. Randy also had to spend a couple of hours on the phone with tech support because our PC security application got messed up and was blocking all Java scripts. Since we use the computer as a link to almost everything, it was critical to get that corrected before we go anywhere.

We‘ve been parked in our cousins’ driveway for a couple of weeks now, using their water and electricity and being chauffeured all over town. It’s really hard to do something for them but everyone likes to eat, so Randy cooked dinner tonight. He made Sweet Sensation salad, fettuccini with Cajon cream sauce and scallops, asparagus with orange cream butter, and Banana nut cake. Fortunately most of the family were available on short notice and we were able to spend another relaxing evening together. It will be hard to leave, but we definitely need to be on the road again by Thursday.

March 15 2010

Monday: Randy: Today we drove to LA for some real tourist activities. We went to Grauman’s Chinese Theater to see the footprints. Some of them are really neat because they are messages to Sid Grauman who apparently owned theater. Humphrey Bogart wrote “Sid, may you never die till I kill you”. From there we walked down Hollywood boulevard, look in some souvenir shops and had a slice of pizza at a local snack bar.

On to Beverly Hills; the houses are pretty neat though the front yards are real small. These folks should visit Lindell St in St. Louis for an idea on proper showing-off yard size. We did not see any movies star houses, so on to Rodeo Drive.

At Rodeo Drive we were able to find parking on the street amongst the Rolls, Bentleys, Porsche, Audis and Lexus. It is nice to have a unique car like the Jeep Commander in a town where your car says so much about you. We walked down Rodeo and stepped inside a few of the stores. They have some beautiful things to sell and I am sure a beautiful price to match.

From there we were inspired so we stopped at a Rolls Royce Dealership and began browsing cars. They had 5 different cars on the showroom , all used. There was one that was a 1962 limo and in the back compartment it had a speedometer and an odometer to ensure the driver wasn’t wild and crazy and it was only $175,000. What a steal - the leather in these cars is incredible. Well, suffice it to say we didn’t find the right car for us but maybe at the next dealer.

One thing we saw on the street causing quite a commotion was a Bugatti. It was black and red and was a real eye catcher. The car itself was fantastic but the color choices made it look more like a freak car than a high end car (my opinion). Then we saw this Rolls show up and when the driver locked the car, the front emblem went down into the grill and a lid came over the hole to prevent anyone from breaking off the emblem. What money will buy!

After seeing the ritzy part of town we thought we ought to see the more eclectic part. Off to Venice beach boardwalk. This place is known for the strange, bizarre actions/antics of the people. It was pretty mild when we were there. There was a much older black muscle guy wearing a pair of briefs who was posing for pictures - quite a sight to behold. There were some street performers doing acrobatics. There is a weightlifting gym right on the beach with a training area for gymnastics. There were a couple of guys working on the gymnastics equipment that were pretty good. There are also paddle balls courts, hand ball courts and basketball courts.

The boardwalk is lined with stores and restaurants. There are local artists plying their wares, but they can’t sell them unless they have a permit. Therefore, to get around this they have a sign that says they accept contributions only, and according to the law they must be willing to give at least one item a day away for free if someone asks them. Some of the items were very neat. One guy was selling all types of things made from Bamboo, including medical instruments. It turn out the medical instruments are pipes to smoke the Medical Marijuana that is available. Out here they say that Medical Marijuana can cure just about anything, or maybe just make you forget about the problem. There are plenty of stores on the boardwalk to get your prescription filled.

From the boardwalk we drove home in the evening LA rush hour traffic and believe me it was not fun.


Sunday: Randy: I got up before 5 am to go fishing with Jack and went to Mountain Lake, a member only campground. It is a beautiful area with 2 different lakes. Jack said there were fish there but we didn’t catch any to prove it. We stayed there for about 3 hours, not catching fish, then we went to Bass Pro Shop where we knew we could spend money. And we did. Jackie got up later to go to church with Jean and Theresa, then lunched with them and Emma at BJ’s Brewery. Afterwards they met with Alma and some friends and went to see “Menopause: The Musical”. Great play!


Saturday: Visited my cousin Mike who was preparing smoked pork and beef for the staff of the children’s theater. Later that night we went to the theater and saw a performance of Beauty and the Beast. The kids are kindergarten through eighth grade and they did a really great job with the play.


Friday : Drove to Riverside and parked the RV in my cousin’s driveway. Visited with Jack and Theresa, then drove over to see Aunt Jean.

Wild Animal Park

Today Butch and Lina took us to the Wild Animal Park, This 1,800 acre park is home to some amazing animals who live in large open-air displays that mimic their natural habitat. There were a lot of beautiful birds here - some were in large netted areas, but a lot were free to fly and roam.

Several endangered animals were there because they needed a home. Their elephant herd was started with elephants that were scheduled to be destroyed (i.e. killed) because their original facility somewhere else was not adequate. All of those elephants found a home at either the Zoo or the Wild Animal Park. Here they have a big area and several baby elephants have been born since they arrived. The latest arrival was born on Valentines’ Day this year.

Their condors were in a big area that is netted over, to keep them from taking off. At least one of their condors was originally raised in captivity and released in the wild, but recaptured because it developed lead poisoning. Because they eat carrion, they sometimes eat the bullets that killed the animals they eat. These aren't pretty, but they are so amazing to see!

We took a tram ride through the vast plans section that is home to rhinos, giraffes, buffalo, and a large variety of antelope. Lions and cheetahs each have a separate area.

We were there when they fed the 3 cheetahs their lunch. They are sisters who were hand-raised because their mother rejected them shortly after birth. So they like their handler and, after snacking on some raw meat, one sat down beside him as he talked to the crowd. She licked his leg or hand all the time he was talking, and the handler said she was purring. He also said their tongues are very rough and if she licked him a long time in one place, it could cause him to bleed. Since that might trigger some natural but disastrous instincts, he didn’t let the cat lick too long in one place. Our thought is that she's either taking a taste, or washing her dinner before taking a big bite.

Normally I don’t care for the gorilla exhibits, but today it was a fine, sunny day and the gorillas were foraging comfortably through the grass. Their area was large, clean and grassy, and they seemed at ease and interested in what they were doing.

These animals are so huge when you see them up close, and they are amazingly muscular.

At the end of the day we all went to Outback and had yet another good meal. Tomorrow we will be on the road again, but it is sad to say goodbye.

Baseball game

Randy asked Lina to show him how to make a couple of Philippine dishes, so today he went to their house and watched her cook. Then we stayed for lunch, and it was delicious! 

In the afternoon we went to watch Mitchell play baseball. It was really cold and windy – I was bundled up in jacket and gloves, sitting on one blanket with another one around my knees, and I was still cold. But it was worth it; his first time at bat Mitchell hit a home run, right out of the park! 

He played several positions in the field – shortstop, pitcher and 3rd base. One inning while was pitching, he got 3 batters in a row out.

March 9, 2010

Tuesday: The sun was shining today but it was really windy. Nevertheless, we went to the Boardwalk at Mission Bay to see the beach and walk through the boardwalk shops. The beach, as always, was awesome. We found that lots of sand dollars and kelp had washed up on shore. I was surprised to see what kelp looks like up close – it’s very rubbery, almost like it’s made of a plastic.










No wonder folks have died when they got caught up in this stuff – you’d need a very sharp knife to cut yourself free of it! There are small pods along the main strand of it that are filled with air, for buoyancy. And near the bottom of the thing is a pod larger than a grapefruit, with a spongy shell and a hollow center – again, for buoyancy.

The wind was really strong at the beach so after a short while we got back in the car and drove to the Viejas Casino. The casino buffet was less than $8 with a players’ card, so we had lunch there. They had crab legs on the buffet so I was a very happy camper! I was so busy with the crab legs that I almost forgot about dessert; crab legs are one of the very few things that can take my mind off of chocolate.

Eventually I had to leave the buffet, so we went out into the casino to spend the $5 of free play that came with each player card. $5 isn’t much, but at the penny slots it can last awhile. I ended up winning $9.06. Randy said that with all our recent big casino wins, he’s about ready to order a new Prevost!

Maria invited us to their house for dinner this evening. She made chicken asado and had cake for dessert, and it was all great. Another evening of great food and conversation – who could ask for more?!

Monday: Well, it’s not raining, just a little overcast. Butch drove us out to the Coronado Amphibious Base and gave us some info about his time in service (he’s a Marine). Then we drove to Coronado and walked thru Old Towne. They have beautiful garden areas in town. I don’t know what the plant is that is in this picture, but I love it!

We had lunch at El Fandango and walked thru more than a dozen shops. Lina, who is an avid gardener, got several new seeds for her garden (with permission, of course!).

We also visited MCRD (Marine Corp Recruit Depot) and saw some troops drilling.

Sunday: Randy’s birthday! The light rain was still here, but the rain is really needed in this area so it’s hard to complain. In the morning we went to church with Butch and Lina, and then went to lunch at Anna’s, one of Butch’s favorite restaurants. We went shopping afterwards but didn’t buy anything – it’s just as well, we don’t have any room for anything anyway! Then Lina fixed dinner for us – salad, rice and great big steaks. Penny came over with her fiancé Jesse and daughter Melissa, as did Michael and Maria with their sons Matthew and Mitchell, and everybody brought something wonderful for the dinner. We had a great dinner and a wonderful time visiting with everyone.

Saturday: Butch drove us out to the local Swap Meet in the morning. We didn’t buy much but we did enjoy walking around to see what was there. There was a light rain that cut down the number of folks there, but it didn't bother us. For lunch Butch and Lina took us out to the Claim Jumper restaurant, where Randy and I had excellent salads. Mine was a California Citrus Salad with walnuts, raisons, apples, avocados with a light vinaigrette, and it was so good that I may try to create it at home sometime. Afterwards we all walked around the nearby Grossman Mall.