The Capital of Alta California

We ventured out to historic Monterey today. The Monterey Maritime Museum offered memorable moments in our state's history. For example, the Fresnel lens from the Point Sur Lighthouse.

We also learned of the dirigible USS Macon. It was a ten million cubic foot blimp that served as an airborne airport for several small Sparrow Hawk aircraft. The Macon crashed into the sea during a storm in 1936 and put an end to dirigible service in the US Navy.

There was a special exhibit of art works by Jo Mora. I especially liked the alabaster marble sculpture of the bust of Emory C. Singletary, an early pioneer and founder of the First National Bank of San Jose. Kevin and Vicki enjoyed several of his paintings and went home with a print that I though was very nice.

This picture of a few tourists on the balcony overlooking Fisherman's Wharf shows that a few sprinkles won't stop a day of fun.

We went to Rosine's for dinner. Or should I say dessert? The lobby was flanked with cakes, pies, puddings, and other such delectables. There was Oreo Cookie cake, Snickers pie, German chocolate, banana, double chocolate, chocolate yellow, and lemon blueberry cakes to name a few. Thrust me, the cakes were sampled.

See these smiles on our faces? They re not from the cake, but from Thursday's soup; tamale. It is easy to smile when comfortably full on a shrimp Louie salad large enough to satisfy the survivors of the Macon and beef piled high!And that was our day in Monterey, the capital of Alta California.

Kool Kelp

Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove was a great walk on this fine Wednesday afternoon. Vicky, Kevin and I explored the beach and tide pools as the tide was heading out. I found at least six different varieties of seaweed on the beach.

We found a 35 foot long kelp with a big bulb and leaves on one end, and root ball at the long skinny end.

And there was the cow tongue seaweed. A large, rubbery leaf covered with bumps that make the red algae look and feel like a cows tongue.

Next was the fan belt variety that had thin leaves along its length about an inch long. The 15 foot long sample I examined was about one inch wide and the 'belt' was very rubbery and tough. It would make a good fan belt.

And of course there was long, thin, green grass; red and green leaf lettuce; and the seaweed whip. Boy that whip would have come in handy on the drive back to Carmel when Kevin offered some back seat driver advice!

Open Trail

Ripley was out on the trail this morning. Well, maybe it was early afternoon. We had a nice time at Casanova's last night, some fine Petite Sirah and way too little sleep. So I made up with a little sleep-in this morning.

But we did get out on the trail. He raced up and back to cover three or four times the distance I went. He liked running on the fresh wood chip surface.

Carmel-By-The-Sea

This is what I been talkin' 'bout! Now, if you understand that, you are well on your way to a better life.
Peace-out.

Another Rough Day

It is challenging to deal with 80 degree weather at the beach. But I am just the man for the job! I have devised unique strategies to deal with the conditions, like visiting Balboa Park yesterday, and playing 18 holes of golf today.
I decided to head back to Encinitas Ranch for golf. The course is in nice shape and the price is right. As a walk-on single, I was hooked up with Jay and Reed, two titans of the financial industry. They were nice guys that seemed to be handling the crisis well, but they were out golfing and not doing M&A deals! Let's all hope business picks up for Jay and Reed and that leads to fat 401k’s for all of us.
I shot 45-51 for a 96. That back nine got me again! Four pars and seven birdie putt opportunities, but none of those dropped. Two triples and one hole north of double par were largely due to errant shots OB and in lateral hazards. But my real opportunity is to cut the putts down from 40 to something closer to 30. Practice, practice, practice!
Yesterday I went to Balboa Park with Sharon. There was a great display of globes, perhaps 25 of them, designed to communicate ways to help fight global warming. The dominant message was for all of us as individuals to make an effort to help. I think this is a good approach and intend to do my part. I found my favorite globe of the group and posed for a photo. We also took a nice walk through the canyon and picnicked in the shade of giant eucalyptus trees. A very nice day.

Howlin' Rip

Sunsets in Carlsbad are prety nice too!

Tango Transformed

Tango has been my home for four-and-a-half months now. A little fine tuning here, and a reorganization there made it more and more like home each day. After the stop last month at the factory for all that warrantee service, I became even more attached. So the last couple weekends at Ramona have been project time for the Tango. The kitchen is now painted green.
And the bathroom is orange.Cool colors for a cool home.

Now I know you are all jealous and wish you had such fine digs. I am proud of my 176 square feet and have more plans for the near future. Keep coming back for the updates...

Ripley The Athlete

We closed out our visit to San Elijo State Beach with a visit to dog beach in Del Mar. After I had left him in the trailer while I played golf and ran and did other things, Rip was ready to tear up the beach. He charged into the water to hunt down an Aussie.
And roared back toward the beach.
It was nice to see him unafraid of the surf and having fun. He was afraid of the little waves not too long ago, but the river trip seems to have cured his fear.
So I had a chance to cook dinner for Sharon with Ripley passed out in the Tango.

Encinitas was nice. After a weekend in Ramona, we'll move up the coast to Carlsbad for a week.

Fun in Encinitas

So, when in Encinitas, what on earth does one do? Let me be the first to inform you that this is heaven on earth. Great weather, beautiful ocean view, nice people and tons of golf courses! I decided to head out to Encinitas Ranch for 18 holes and got hooked up with Fabrise and his parents that were visiting from Nice, France. We had a great time and the golf wasn't bad too! I shot my best front nine in a long while; 3 pars and six bogies for a 42. The double, two triples and something worse did not show up until he back where I showed my usual style with a 51. All told, a 93 is pretty darn good these days and I am pleased. After all, I was putting for bird six times! Some day one will drop.
The kites were out this week too. Tuesday was the best wind and these kite surfers were all over it. But I had a hot date with Sharon (priorities...) I flew on Wednesday, in modest wind. It was fun, but no scudding. The beach here is really flat so at low tide there is a lot of nice sand. A great kite beach.

I took Ripley down on the sand under the waning moon. He loves to run on the beach. But during daylight hours he is leash bound here. I need to find an off leash area for him.

And the sunsets here are spectacular. You saw the pic in the prior post - even a cell phone can capture a great sunset! And the fires broke out on Monday with the smoke from Camp Pendleton blowing out over the water.

A shame fire can be beautiful.

So lots more to do. I got a tip on a good bike trail; want to run around the lagoon again; the surfboard needs to get wet; more golf; and then there is hiking, kayaking... I could live here!

Next week, South Carlsbad (a few miles up the road).

Encinitas

Life is good!

Inserting Four Corners

This morning I was reviewing the blog with Mr. Ripley and he nudged me with his nose. Then he let out a little arrggghhhh, as if to say "where is my picture at Four Corners?" It took me a moment to properly interpret this, but once I came around, we found the picture and here it is! One paw in each state. Now how many dogs can boast that accomplishment?
Now we are back on good terms.

Completing the 4K Mile Loop

The final stop on this four-week loop was Prescott, AZ. A nice town that has grown too much and is becoming suburbia. It was one of the old west towns that attracted the likes of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday. I sat at the saloon bar that was in place back in their day.

But the highlight of this town is the trail network. Ripley and I got out on two trails. First, the Willow Lake trail to Pioneer Park where we saw lots of different grasshoppers. More on that later. Then we headed over to Thumb Butte. We made this a 3 mile loop and saw great views.

This is Prescott. And who knows what that tower in the lower right is - vacation home on steroids??? The Beaver Tail Cactus was full of fruit.
And as I mentioned there were some neat grasshoppers. This one flies with orange wings. We also saw black hoppers with red wings, and tan ones with blue wings. I tried to photograph them in flight, but they are too quick. I never appreciated grasshoppers before, they were always just a nuisance. Not anymore.
And on the drive back to So Cal, I spotted my favorite cactus, the Cholla. Back-lit like this they are so vibrant in the desert landscape.
And then I arrived back at Ramona. Carol welcomed me back with a birthday chocolate pie and April and Desi came by to celebrate. The Chargers won. The Dodgers won! Life is good!
Next stop San Elijo.

Sedona

I have stopped in to JB's for a burger and beer before I continue my search. The Red Rock RV park on Art Barn road does not exist. So that timeshare salesman was correct when he advised he was the only game in town. I have decided to keep on down the road since all the campgrounds I passed were full. Rip is in the Tango eating his.

Durango & Mesa Verde NP

Rip and I are camped on the North side of town next to the narrow gauge railroad and the Animas River. So yesterday we hiked up he hill to get a good view of town. Here it is folks, Durango, Colorado!
And that smokey little train giving tourist rides. We put some coins on the track for smashing, but this whimpy narrow gauge only deformed them slightly. Not the heavy smashing you get from a big freight train. It is cute though. Another view of this gorgeous area.

Ranger Scott led me on the tour of Balcony House. Rip decided to stay in the trailer for the trip to Mesa Verde. He is sorta pissed at the NPS for their dog policy. We climbed up this ladder to get in.
And up these ladders and steps to get out. Needless to say, there were some freaked out people. I enjoyed it.
The design of the rooms makes for some very small passages, probably to keep intruders out. It would be easy to guard with a stick by poking people if they tried to squeeze through.
This is inside a kiva, the ceremonial gathering spot.
And this is a kiva without the roof.Pretty neat!
This is Spruce Tree House.
And a closer view.
We are moving on to Sedona today. But before we go, I may have to exercise the kite. The wind is up this morning!

Ripley wanted you all to know that he went to the Durango Dog Park today. He ran and played through the whole park, and a big park it is.

"See my big floppy paws? That is what makes me fast and also a good swimmer. I ran hard today in Durango."

I swear those were his words.

Back on the Trail

Ripley and I were back out on the trail hiking in the Colorado River valley.
We found a great trail into one of the feeder canyons and we were all alone to explore and run.The steep canyon walls were spectacular!And Ripley enjoyed the views.
Until we reached this rock scramble that he struggled to climb on the first try. As much as I encouraged him, he continued to look the other way and refused to come along.I told Rip that I was continuing on to see the view ahead, and he soon joined me. Somehow the rocks were manageable at that point.On the way back he chose to be a vagabond and followed the RR tracks.The beautiful Lasal mountains were in clear view. Including that fresh coat of snow that covers well below the 10,000 foot level we were at the day before.

The canyons offered some great vistas.
And the White Rim layer in Canyonlands makes some interesting formations.
It brought a discombobulated smile to my face :}
And we visited the Delicate Arch in Arches NP.
Where I met up with Katsie and Darren on the trail. We said our goodbyes...

This rock is precariously placed...

And these thin partitions in Arches look unable to handle a small earthquake.
But the balanced rock looks to be able to handle all that Mother Nature can offer.
It all presents a spectacular view that these pictures cannot fully communicate. I sat on this edge at the Grand View in Canyonlands for quite a while pondering the magnitude of the erosion that created these canyons.
Rip sure enjoyed the chance to run wild on the trail.
So today I had to get back on he bike and head to Slickrock.
The rock is sandstone and grips like sandpaper so the traction is awesome.I had a good time riding the rocks until I came to a super steep section that had two hairpin turns. I made it to the first turn and then freaked out and decided to turn back. I had enough adrenalin rush on Saturday to last me a while. So today I only went over the bars once and had a great time. My new brakes worked great.All in all, a great visit to Moab, one I will never forget!

Next, on to Mesa Verde NP and Durango.