Your Invitation to Check-in For a Virtual Visit of The Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park

I might not ever be able to afford to stay there but I was able to afford lunch and a drink at Yosemite's beautiful and historic The Ahwahnee during my last trip to California. If you'd like to check it out, it won't cost you a thing to take a virtual tour of the National Park Service's premiere example of "rustic architecture" if you click over to The Distracted Wanderer  and read my latest post:

 The Ahwahnee - Yosemite National Park's Historic Hotel & The National Park Service's Premiere Example of "Parkitecture"

'Cause I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane ...

As the song goes, "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go ... " so it's just a matter of tossing my laptop in, loading everything in the car, and heading up to Boston to begin this most bittersweet of journeys to the West Coast.

So ... let's get to it then, shall we?  California here I come.

Looking at the Sky on Friday

Last week for Looking at the Sky on Friday I posted a picture that I had taken from the small turnout on California State Highway 50 just as you make the turn that brings you to an amazing view of Lake Tahoe. From the very first time I saw that view, I thought it was one of the most spectacular of all and try to get back there as often as I can when I'm out in California. Honestly, showing you pictures of it here is only a tease as to be their yourself is 1,000 times more phenomenal and gorgeous.

For this week, I have two more pictures that were taken from the same vista point the last time I was there - May 6th, 2009. My friend Cyndi and I had taken a drive to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains but the lure of Lake Tahoe was just too strong and I ended up driving all the way up to the lake stopping all along the way to take pictures (and thereby driving Cyndi pretty much nuts!) - still, I'm pretty sure you can see why! As I told her, she lives within driving distance of these sorts of wonderful views whereas I have to fly 3,000 miles to see them in person. Not being able to do that all the time, I have pictures - lots and lots of beautiful pictures ...

Speaking of lots and lots of beautiful pictures, you can find just them with more gorgeous skies from all over at my friend Tisha's blog and this week's edition of Looking at the Sky on Friday. Stop on by if you get the chance!

Santa Cruz - Day Two

At long last - one month to the day since I was there - I have finally managed to get the pictures of my second day in Santa Cruz into some sort of order and I can finally write the blog post I've wanted to write since I got back. There are lots of pictures so I put a good majority of them into collage form to save a little bit of space and scrolling on your part! Should you like to see a bigger version of any of the pictures, I believe that if you click on them you will be redirected to a larger size - or at least that's how it's supposed to work in theory! Because there are so many pictures, I'll try to keep the text short but you know me ... have fingers, will type!

Monday, May the 4th, dawned a little brighter in Santa Cruz than the Sunday before and it looked like California might at last be shedding the rain that had greeted me upon my arrival in Sacramento two days before. Even though the skies were still more gray than blue at least it didn't look like we were going to need an umbrella.

After rousting myself out of the extreme comfort of my bed at the very quaint Inn at Pasatiempo, located at the foot of the Santa Cruz mountains, I finally got my act together around mid-morning and drove down to meet Katherine at her home in Santa Cruz.

There were a couple places that I really wanted to see while in Santa Cruz and one of the first was the Santa Cruz Mission which is just one in the chain of 21 missions along California's El Camino Real ("The Royal Highway") from San Francisco to San Diego. The missions represent the first arrival of non-Native Americans to California and the Mission Santa Cruz was the 12th of the 21 to be built. Founded on August 28th, 1791 by Father Fermin Lasuen the mission was named for the sacred cross.

Unfortunately the Mission Santa Cruz had a rather turbulent history including the murder of one of its padres which in turn led to one of the very first autopsies to be performed in California. The original church was eventually destroyed by two earthquakes in 1840 and 1857. At the time of the mission's secularization in 1834, the complex contained 32 buildings; in the center of what was once that complex now stands Plaza Park. In 1931 a small replica of the original mission church, whose bell is pictured above, was built near the original site.

In 1889, on the site where Santa Cruz Mission once stood, the town built the Holy Cross Catholic Church for their use. The beautiful granite arch in front of the church was erected to commemorate the 100th birthday of Mission Santa Cruz in 1891.

Following our visit to Mission Santa Cruz and the Holy Cross Church, Katherine and I drove down towards the water and the Santa Cruz boardwalk - a place I had been to only once before when I lived in California.

There were a couple of things I remembered from that previous trip: one was the frozen chocolate-covered bananas (yum!) and the other was the Giant Dipper, Santa Cruz's wooden rollercoaster that has been making people of all ages scream for the past 85 years. Luckily for us, the boardwalk was partially open with a few of the rides running - one of them being the Giant Dipper itself.

Katherine asked if I was up for a ride and after debating the pros and cons of going on a rollercoaster with a back that could conceivably go out if I coughed wrong I decided to throw caution to the wind and climb on for a trip around the tracks. As you can see, there was no need to wait in line which made the ride that much more enjoyable. Katherine and I took our seats in the back (you get better air-time in the back!) and the ride was just as much fun as I remembered it to be from all those years ago. There's just something about the smell of a wooden rollercoaster that makes it that much more thrilling and as we flew over the hills and dips, my back didn't hurt a bit and I was glad I had taken the chance and gone for the ride.

Further down the boardwalk is a candy shoppe that would have had any kid - or adult for that matter! - drooling over the display of confectionery goodies. While we were there I could have gotten one of those frozen chocolate-covered bananas that I remembered so well but for some unknown reason I didn't. Maybe I figure it gives me a good reason to go back sometime!

After we had walked the length of the boardwalk and enjoyed our rollercoaster ride, Katherine then took me over to the Santa Cruz Pier - which you could walk to from the boardwalk if one was feeling adventurous ... we weren't!

There are a number of shops and restaurants located out on the pier and whereas the boardwalk offered sweets, the pier offered up a different sort of delicacy - fresh seafood!

I'm sure the guy behind the counter thought I was nuts as I took pictures of fish on beds of ice but I thought it all looked pretty cool even if I'm not much of a seafood eater.

The pier also gave me a chance to photograph some of the native wildlife including large starfish that wrapped themselves around the pilings beneath the pier and a few of the many sea lions that climbed up on the boards below the pier to take naps or snarl at curious photographers! Katherine assured me that they were less than friendly creatures as she flapped her arms together like fins and did a pretty good imitation of a sea lion bark! That may have been about the time the guy in the picture above gave me the evil eye!

Another person walking along the pier with friends offered to take a picture of Katherine and I together so we said sure. After all, we were both probably feeling pretty comfortable hiding behind our sunglasses - at least I know that I was! Besides, in this shot you can see what a lovely looking lady Katherine truly is. Only problem is, you can't see how very nice she is on the inside!

Even though it was still somewhat hazy, I really like all of these pictures that I took of the water off of the Santa Cruz beach. Those things that look like mountains in the background are actually the hills of Monterey on the other side of the bay. The California coastline makes a lot of twisty turns and that's one of them right there. For some reason I always seem to forget that Santa Cruz is actually north of Monterey but that could be because I'm a little rusty on my California geography. Katherine, who is a pilot, tells me when I come back out to visit that she'll take me on a flight in a small plane up the coastline which is a great incentive to go back again as I can only imagine how cool that would be!

After one more picture of Steamer Lane from the pier, we climbed back into the car and drove over to the marina where we could walk out to the other of Santa Cruz's lighthouses - the Walton Lighthouse or Santa Cruz Harbor Light as it's alternately known.

This relatively new lighthouse which was built in 2001 was dedicated on June 9th, 2002 and named in honor of Derek Walton, brother of Charles Watson of Los Gatos who gave a major donation when fundraising was going on for the new harbor light. Derek, who had passed away, was a former merchant marine and no doubt would have been delighted (no pun intended) to have a lighthouse named in his honor.

A plaque on the door of the lighthouse reads "for the people and mariners of Santa Cruz". Through the door sits a circular staircase of 42 steps at the top of which is a fifth order Fresnel lens that flashes a green light every four seconds 54 feet above sea level. Unfortunately you can't climb the tower but have to be content to walk around the breakwater on which the lighthouse sits. Speaking of the breakwater ...

I found the odd shaped cement breakers rather fascinating as each one seemed to have a number on it (though not all could lame claim to having graffiti - thank goodness!). I asked Katherine if she knew why they were numbered but she wasn't really sure and I haven't been at all successful in finding out why via an internet search. Anyone know or want to hazard a guess?

Oh, and while I'm asking things ...

... does anyone know what kind of bird this is? Katherine and I saw a lot of them - an awful lot of them! - not only in Santa Cruz near the harbor but near the old cement World War I supply ship the Palo Alto in Aptos. As a matter of fact, it seemed like a lot of them had made the Palo Alto their home. They were kind of odd looking, to say the least!

Before we hit the highway to make our way back over to Stockton for our dinner with Sandee and Zane we made a few other stops in Santa Cruz but there is still a lot there I'd like to see one of these days - including maybe a gorgeous sunset or two that the weather deprived me of this last time! Not that I'm complaining as the whole trip really was wonderful and I am so glad that I made the drive over the Santa Cruz mountains in less-than-ideal California weather to spend a few days exploring Katherine's lovely community. I've often said that if I could live anywhere I'd pick Lake Tahoe but I'm beginning to think I need to make that Tahoe in the summer and Santa Cruz in the winter. What a great place that I now have some great memories of!

Thank you again, Katherine, for being my tour guide and chauffeur - I enjoyed every single minute of it and really do hope to get back out there someday soon! After all I need to get one of those frozen chocolate-covered bananas, take an airplane ride, eat at the Shadowbrook and go on that neat looking tram, take some pictures of the sunset, ride on the Giant Dipper again, ... !!

My Three Anniversaries on the Third

Today I mark three anniversaries: it was thirty-three years ago today that I graduated from Windham High School in Willimantic, Connecticut and began my ascent into adulthood (snicker), it is my six-year anniversary as an Emergency Medical Dispatcher with American Ambulance (yay!), and also the one-month anniversary of my time in Santa Cruz with Katherine, an amazing woman who lives in an amazing place. Guess which one I have a few pictures of?

No, no - that's not Santa Cruz in that picture above, that would be Aptos (I think) which is south of Santa Cruz (Katherine please correct me if I'm wrong!). On my first day in Santa Cruz, Sunday the 3rd, we took a drive along the coast and this was one of the places we saw. It was pretty foggy as it had been raining in California for an unprecedented number of days in honor of my arrival but it added a rather interesting, almost Hitchcock-esque feel to the area.

This is part of the infamous Steamer Lane in Santa Cruz where surfers wait patiently to catch a wave and sea lions bark loudly in the fog like flippered foghorns warning of the rocks ahead.

In spite of the chill and the fog and the encroaching darkness, men dressed as seals in black rubber wetsuits wait for the ocean swells that will take them on a ride across the cold waters.

Even in the fog, though, Santa Cruz has much to offer - especially when you've got an ace tour guide to lead the way! Come on back tomorrow and I'll take you on Day Two of my trip to the California Coast - one month to the day! Don't you love anniversaries??

Sunday Scenery

Only time for a quick post so I thought I'd grab one of the pictures from my trip to California and drive through the Sierra Nevada mountains. Just in case I haven't mentioned it a time or two in the past, I just love the Sierras and am quite certain that I crossed them via wagon train in a previous life hence my affinity for the place! Well, either that or it's just so breathtakingly beautiful there that it's impossible not to love the place!

Beautiful, yes?

Caption That Photo!

Today, like yesterday, has a lot of running around for various and assorted errands scheduled so I'm afraid I'm not going to have a lot of time for blogging until perhaps later this evening when I settle down in front of the TV and watch "American Idol". Being the professional multi-tasker that I am, I can watch Adam perform and blog at the same time!

In the meantime, though, I thought I'd use one of my pictures that I took out in California last week and see if you maybe ya'll could come up with a caption or two for it. I took this picture at the Seacliff Beach Pier in Aptos where the Palto Alto is located and felt that it looked like these two birds were talking to each other. That, in turn, led me to think that perhaps some of you comedians out there might have some fun with it

I'll be back later to see what you came up with but for now I've got an appointment with the eye doctor, lunch with an old friend, and a consult with Amanda's oral surgeon lined up. Hope you all have a great Tuesday no matter what you're doing!

"The best laid plans of mice and men ..."

... sometimes get rained on or changed at the last moment. So far, my trip to California seems to have been one changed plan after another that gets rained on but that doesn't mean it's been bad - just not what I thought.

I don't know how many times I heard on the news this morning that normally California only gets three total rainy days for the entire month but so far, it has rained every single day of May and apparently there is more in store for the next couple of days. Oh yay, oh yay - do I have good timing or what??

In addition to the rain which has kind of messed things up, Cyndi and I had to change plans for our trip to Santa Cruz when her husband came down with a nasty case of the flu (his doctor doesn't think it's swine flu or the H1N1 virus but it's the flu nonetheless) and Cyndi needed to stay home to take care of him. It's kind of hard to do anything for yourself when your bones feel like melted jello so I fully understood why she needed to bail out on me. Still, it was a disappointment for her to miss out on the trip but the hotel room had been booked and paid for, Katherine was waiting, and I've driven to New York City by myself so Santa Cruz had to be a piece of cake in spite of the crappy weather and traffic, right? Hence I made the trip across the Santa Cruz mountains on my own and checked into the Inn at Pasatiempo which is a charming little place nestled at the bottom of the mountains.

I'm no expert when it comes to flowers - that would have been Cyndi's department - but there are quite a few fragrant blossoms outside of my door that are lovely to look at and really add to the beauty of this place. I'm sorry Cyndi had to miss it - she would have really liked it.

After dropping my bags in my room, I climbed back into the car and made my way down to Santa Cruz proper to meet up with Katherine, authoress of Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness. I originally met Katherine during last year's visit when we got together for dinner at Cancun in Stockton along with Sandee and Zane and Katherine's guy, The Teamster and she is a great person who takes great pictures and lives in a great town.

Thankfully it had stopped raining and even though it was still overcast as well as foggy and misty, I thoroughly enjoyed the tour that Katherine gave me of what is apparently Surf Central here in the United States! Honestly, I'm not sure I've ever seen so many surfers in one place just out bobbing around in the ocean waiting for a wave to come along that they can catch a ride on. I never knew surfers' had to be so patient but apparently they are and they also have their own rules of etiquette and proper surfer behavior. From what Katherine was telling me, it's probably not a good idea to tick a surfer off when it comes to taking your turn out of order with a wave, the consequences could be more than you bargained for!

After dinner at Katherine's favorite Mexican place (as delicious as any Mexican food I remember!), we drove around some more and Katherine showed me a rather unusual site -

This is the Palo Alto, a World War I supply ship that was made from cement and rebar when steel was in short supply. Formerly docked at the Seacliff Beach Pier as a casino and dance hall until its owners went bust during the Great Depression., it's currently home to an awful lot of birds! Katherine also tells me that it's like a manmade tidal pool in that there are all sorts of marine life living below it's submerged decks.

Following our short walk on the short pier, we drove back towards Santa Cruz itself to another popular surfing locale, Steamer Lane, which was really covered in mist and fog but where many more surfers were out waiting to catch the next curl. Also located here is the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum which is housed in the Mark Abbot Memorial Lighthouse.

Being the curious sort, I did a little bit of research and found out the following about this little lighthouse -

On February 28, 1965, Mark Abbott, age 18, drowned while bodysurfing in the waters near Pleasure Point, three miles east of Point Santa Cruz. Mark’s parents, Chuck and Esther Abbott, had purchased a life insurance policy for their son’s 18th birthday, and shortly after the accident they received a $20,000 payment. Remembering that Mark had enjoyed the lighthouses seen during their family vacation along the Oregon coast, the Abbotts decided to use the insurance money to donate a lighthouse to the city in honor of their son. Five years earlier, the city had purchased all of the lighthouse property except for the area immediately around the still active wooden Coast Guard tower. In 1967, the brick Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse was built adjacent to the wooden tower that it would replace. The lantern room from the decommissioned Oakland Harbor Lighthouse was used atop the new lighthouse, and Mark’s ashes were buried at the base of the tower. (Badly corroded, the lantern room was replaced in 1996.)

Katherine tells me the surfing museum is suffering from the same financial difficulties that is affecting so many other places in this country and is currently closed pending the ability of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society to keep it open. In the meantime, though, it still looks pretty cool in the mist and fog!

With any luck, that mist and fog won't make a reappearance today and I'll be able to actually see the ocean when Katherine and I continue our tour of the area. I believe that the Santa Cruz mission and another lighthouse are on the agenda along with the boardwalk and maybe even a train trestle before we make our way back towards Stockton and dinner with Sandee and Zane at my very favorite Mexican restaurant. Let's see how these plans go, shall we?!?

Good-bye Vegas - Hello Stockton!

It's still kind of hard to believe that just about one year to the date that I was last in California, I am back here again. I honestly figured I wouldn't see the place again for years - if ever - but I was quite obviously wrong.

The flight from Las Vegas was quite nice as there were only about 35 of us on the plane so I not only had my own row but all of the rows around me were empty, too. Compared to the packed-to-the-gills flight that Jen and I had from Providence to Vegas, the flight to Sacramento was fantastic! Plus it was a lot shorter, too!

I really can't complain about Southwest Airlines at all - in spite of the packed plane on Tuesday. So far, all of their flights have been right on time or early and the crews have been wonderful. Sadly, flying isn't what it used to be (I actually have fond memories of some of my first flights when they actually gave you real silverware and an honest-to-goodness meal) but I don't mind it every once in awhile. Besides, you can't get cool pictures of the clouds and wings of airplanes if you're on the ground all the time!

Anyhow ... we landed in Sacramento about ten minutes early and I stepped out of the airport into rain. Yep, it is raining here in sunny California and may not actually clear up until the day I leave. Bummer. Oh well, they need the rain out here so I guess I can't begrude them the moisture - though it could have waited till after I left!

First stop after getting my fancy-dancy brand-new hybrid Toyota Camry rental car with all the bells and whistles for a dirt cheap price (gots to love Price-Line!), I made my way down to an iHop not too far from the airport to meet up with Carol of A Letter to Me ... Carol's blog was introduced to me by Jamie of Duward Discussion and she is a truly delightful lady who originally hails from Massachusetts but has called Sacramento home for quite some time now. After a big hug in the parking lot we sat down to a lovely late breakfast and chat and I've got to say that Carol is just as lovely in person as she is on her blog. Before I knew it 2-1/2 hours had flown by and yes, idiot that I am, I left my camera in the car and neglected to get a picture. After another big hug, I continued my journey south to Stockton and pulled up outside Cyndi's house right around 3:00.

Left to my own devices while Cyndi and her husband left for their Saturday night visit to see her youngest son in his group home, I finally was able to get on-line and clean out my email folders as well as download some pictures which I am still in the process of sorting out.

When hunger finally kicked in again I decided to hold off on any sort of Mexican food until Cyndi could join me and opted to finally check out the fast-food joint that people have been telling me I need to go to now for years - In-N-Out Burger. The last time I was here in Stockton I was going to give them a try but the line at the drive-thru was wrapped around the building and I went to Jack in the Box instead. This time I bypassed the long drive-thru line, parked the car, and went inside to order.

Having never been to an In-N-Out, I had no idea what to expect. The menu is pretty basic - a hamburger, a cheeseburger, or a double-double burger; fries; shakes; and sodas. I believe that about sums the whole thing up! I was pretty hungry so opted for a double-double (no onions, please), an order of fries, and a beverage. As I waited for my order to be ready, I wondered whether it was going to be as good as all the hype I'd heard.

First off, let me just say that the fries were phenomenal! They're made from potatoes fresh-cut right there on the premises (you can see them slicing them as you wait for your food to be served) and are probably the lightest fries I've ever tasted! As for the burger - it was definitely just as good as everyone kept telling me and reminded me of the hamburgers that we used to get when I was younger and burgers tasted like real burgers and not some prefabricated mystery meat smothered in secret sauce. Of course, now I get to go back to Connecticut and wish we had not only Jack in the Box restaurants but In-N-Outs, too!

Now that I've got a full stomach, it's time to call it a night as 5:00 a.m. was a long, long time ago and I need to be up at a reasonable hour to get ready to head to the coast - rain or no rain! I'm hoping it's a Central Valley thing and the sun might actually shine in Santa Cruz but even if it doesn't, I'm looking forward to seeing the ocean and Katherine both. Let the real part of the vacation begin!

"It's Vegas, Baby!!"

It's repeatedly been said that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" but I've never actually had the chance to prove that out ... in April that may all change, though!

Every year, the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch, the organization that I have my Emergency Medical Dispatch Certification through, holds their annual conference either on the right side or left side of the country. Back in 2006, I was fortunate enough to attend the NAED Navigator Conference when it was being held on the right side of the country in Orlando and this year I'm going to be lucky enough to attend the Navigator Conference when they hold it on the left side of the country in Las Vegas - at the Las Vegas Hilton to be exact!



Prior to yesterday morning, I was still thinking that it was probably not looking good for us to go this year but as it turns out I was quite wrong. Shortly into our shift, Jen and I got called into the Vice President's office where he told us - "It's Vegas, baby!" Seriously? Wow, I love it when I'm wrong from time to time!

Even though it had been being kicked around at work for a few weeks, I really wasn't holding out much hope of going as I knew that money is tight and technically it wasn't my turn to go. The idea is to rotate all of the dispatchers through so that everyone gets a chance to go to the Conference but this year one of the guys who would have been up for it couldn't attend due to family obligations. Two other dispatchers weren't eligible as they haven't been with us for a year yet and, of course, the guys who went last year were out of the running, too. Still, I wasn't holding my breath and really wasn't expecting to get the nod to go.

Jen, my regular dispatch partner, really wanted to go this year, especially considering she and I had taken on some additional duties, so I let her do the "nagging" for us this year as I've been the one to write proposals and the like in the past. Matt, our immediate supervisor, put his support behind Jen and I going (thanks again, Matt!) as it was felt that we could get a lot out of the Quality Assurance training - QA being the duty that we have taken on. Basically what that means is that we listen to 911 calls and evaluate them using a computerized system called ProQA which I'm sure is all Greek to you folks! Because we are evaluating our co-workers' call-taking abilities and performance, it's important that we know what we're doing and be fair in our evaluations. There are a good number of classes that are being offered at the Conference that have to do with that aspect of our job so the training potential is invaluable.

While quietly hoping that maybe we'd be able to go, I had also been kicking around the thought that if I did get to go to Vegas perhaps a side-trip to Stockton might be a good idea being that I was only going to be 500 miles away from somewhere truly miserable and it seemed a shame to be almost on the West Coast and not go by to visit Grandma Edith (who's not getting any younger), MizCyn and - of course - my favorite Mexican restaurant! Upon being told that we were going to Vegas, I asked if it would be okay to take a few extra days and go up to Stockton. I was told that sure, that should be no problem as long as I had the time available to take off and the flight wasn't going to cost any more than what was already budgeted for airfare.

Thank goodness for Southwest Airlines as I was able to get a flight back to the East Coast from Oakland for only .60 cents more than what Jen's round-trip ticket cost. Of course now there are the other logistics to figure out but I've got plenty of time to get my plans in order as the Conference isn't until the 29th of April. However, for my West Coast blogging friends who live around that area (Sandee! - Katherine!), I should be in Stockton on the 2nd of May with plans to fly back East on the 5th. Perhaps we can fit lunch or dinner and margaritas in there somewhere?

In the meantime, I guess I need to get a hold of Cyndi and let her know what's going on or she's going to be in for quite the shock in May!

Once again, a very big thank you to Michael, Damian, and Matt for giving Jen and I the opportunity to attend the Conference and represent American Ambulance; I promise not to do anything that needs to be "left in Vegas"! And no ... my fingers are not crossed behind my back!!

Sunday Scenery

For this week's Sunday Scenery post, I ventured into my photo archives and pulled out a picture from Sunday, May 4th, 2008 which was taken while I was on vacation in California. My good friend, MizCyn, and I had decided to take a drive over towards the Bay Area that particular day and we ended up in San Francisco - home of little cable cars, big hills, and the infamous Alcratraz Island ...

During the entire time I lived in California I only went out to The Rock once and that was in 1985 when my parents came out for a visit. It was a fascinating place, to say the least, but certainly not anywhere that I would have wanted to spend a lot of time at even though I wish I had gone back a time or two as a tourist. The history behind Alcatraz, which started out as an Army Defense Post long before it was a federal prison, is most interesting and if you're ever in the Bay Area, I would highly recommend taking the ferry over and doing the tour. A word to the wise would be to make reservations in advance, though, as it's quite the popular tourist destination.

Be sure to stop by Lee's Tarheel Ramblings and check out the other participants in Sunday Scenery - it's the best way to take in some lovely scenery without leaving the comfort of your computer chair!

Sunday Scenery

No, no ... I've not been transported away to some warm paradise where palm trees sway in the breezes and fruity drinks come with tiny umbrellas ... I'm just wishing that I had been as I am heartily sick of this cold New England weather that we've had this winter. I know it's only February but enough already!!!

Anyhow, all carping about the weather aside, for Lee's Sunday Scenery meme I chose the above picture that I took while I was on vacation out in California last May. I came across it the other day while looking for some other pictures and it reminded me of what a good time I had out in Stockton even if it is the most miserable city in America!

Part of the good time was because of another picture I came across ...

So now I'm not only missing some warmer weather but hankering a big ole' plate of Mexican food, too! Sadly, I don't think I'm going to get either anytime soon ...

I Just Flew In From California ...

... and boy are my arms tired! Groan ... Sorry, couldn't help myself on that one, I've always wanted to do bad stand-up comedy and trust me - it would be really, really bad stand-up comedy!

Truth be told, it's the day after I flew in from California and then proceeded to drive another 230 miles from New Jersey back to Connecticut so ... yeah ... I'm a little tired but not too bad all things considered. I got to bed around 2:30 a.m. Right Coast time after getting up at 5:15 a.m. Left Coast time so that's kind of weird but it's all good and now I'm back home safe, sound, and shocked that it all seemed to happen so fast.

I have to be at work in about an hour so this post is just to let everyone know that I arrived home uneventfully and I will return to making all of my blog rounds and posting a few more California pictures hopefully tomorrow after work.

Oh, and lest you all think that Amanda missed me or was bored to tears while I was gone, there's also going to be a post about her adventures at Bamboozle where she got to meet up and hobnob with the members of her favorite band - Mindless Self Indulgence. Just as a preview of that post, here's a picture of her talking to LynZ, bassist of the band, that was taken by a guy that Amanda knows who goes by the name of Fith on the Mindless Self Indulgence Underground board.

Amanda, some bodyguard guy, and LynZ

It took Amanda from the time we left Darcy's house down near Philadelphia all the way to New York City to fill me in on how great the concert was and everything she talked to LynZ about so there's plenty of stuff for a post there as soon as I can fully recover from my jet lag and get caught up!

In the meantime, thank you to everyone for putting up with my non-blog-visiting during the past week while I was out indulging in a Mexican food, friendship, and sunshine!

Now to get back to work ... sigh ...

And Just Like That, It's Time to Go!

Monday was my last full day on the Left Coast and it was another beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley in the mid 80's. I can't believe that it's time to go already but tomorrow is my return to my real life and today was the last day to enjoy my vacation. Cyndi and I set out mid-morning in search of a few things for me to bring back with me and ended up out in the middle of Lodi grape country tasting a little more olive oil and even some mustard.

From there we went back to Stockton and, because it was Cinco de Mayo and you can't not have Mexican food on that day!, we stopped off at another favorite Mexican restaurant - Miguel's. This restaurant was actually the very first Mexican restaurant I ever dined at in Stockton way back in 1980 when I made my very first visit out here with my first husband.

This time I ordered a chicken taco and enchilada and a chili relleno - things I hadn't had yet while I was here and, of course, some guacamole to go along with it. I know it looks like a big brown mess on the plate but it sure was good (though not as good as the food at Cancun in my own humble opinion!).

After gorging ourselves, Cyndi and I then went to spend some time visiting with Grandma Edith before we did a little more exploring around Stockton. As Cyndi put it, she saw more of her own city while I was here than she has in ages but I think that's a good thing as Stockton has made a lot of positive changes and I don't view it with the same cynical view that she does. Of course, I'm not a native Stocktonian so that probably accounts for a lot of it!

I need to quit procrastinating and get things packed for an early departure tomorrow morning but when I get back to the Right Coast, I've got plenty more pictures to share from my much-needed and much-enjoyed vacation. I'd promise to post one of myself and Cyndi but, idiots that we are, we neglected to take one so I'm hoping Zane has one from our night out at Cancun that Sandee can forward to me! Well, it's either that or I'm going to have to come back again soon to get a picture!