Fishing the Golden Trout Wilderness and more

17-24 May

Bud Hennessy and I have been making annual week-long trout fishing trips in America for about 15 years. One of our favorite spots is the Golden Trout Wilderness in the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The golden trout is native to and found only in these mountains.

This beautiful yet well camouflaged trout is not to be confused with the albino trout found in eastern stocked streams that many folks call golden trout by mistake.

In the past, exploitation, mismanagement and competition with other introduced trout species brought golden trout to the brink of being designated as "threatened." Since 1978, the California Department of Fisheries has actively managed the area by removing all trout species except the golden trout from creeks in the wilderness and building dams that prevent other trout species from migrating upstream into the wilderness.

Getting into the wilderness is quite an ordeal. One method is by horseback and pack mules, which Carol and I did back in 1988. Bud and I now prefer to take his four-wheeled Toyota into Monache Meadows...

Rockin' and Rollin'

Trying to get past a sheer rock slide.

 and then hike on foot the mile or two into the wilderness. We made camp in the meadows and stayed there four nights.

The sun has risen, the frost is gone, and Bud's making breakfast.

The elevation there was around 8,200 feet and while there was no snow, the nights were very cold (in the mid-twenties) and frost was on our tent and all our seating and cooking equipment each morning. The air is thin at this elevation and our breathing became labored even on the smallest exertion including trying to roll from one side to the other in a sleeping bag (while fully clothed). I can honestly say that I had several nights of near shivering while fully clothed and inside an alpine-rated sleeping bag. By the way, we were completely out of touch. No cell phone service and the nearest phone was 2.5 hour drive. I did bring our first aid kit and defribrillator. Bud said he was comforted knowing that I was an RN and Paramedic, but I'm not sure those skills are of much use without medical gear.

All of this we gladly tolerated because the fishing was great and the days were bathed in warm sunshine. We always started our morning with hot coffee and hot oatmeal. We packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and lots of fruits and water for lunch and headed to the stream. When we returned to camp bushed at days end, we had wine, guacamole dip and salsa, and watched the birds. Then we cooked a hot dinner and ate a big salad. After bathing with baby wipes we hit the sack while the temperature was above freezing and tried to stay in our sleeping bags until the morning sun melted the frost.

After four nights, we packed our gear and headed back out of the wilderness. We stopped about halfway down the mountain and had a breakfast burrito and coffee. After that relaxing breakfast, we continued down the mountain and headed toward Bishop, CA where we again geared up to fish the Lower Owens River. This river is one of the major water supplies for Los Angeles. It is dammed upstream and after flowing cold through a large meadow near Bishop, it disappears into underground tunnels headed to Los Angeles. The water was very high and fast requiring lots of splitshots to get our imitation nymphs down to where the brown trout hang out.

That's me about to pass through a cattle gate. The Owens is running along the tree line behind me. Note the snow in the mountains behind me. Some are around 12,000 feet above sea level.

After an afternoon of not-so-productive fishing, we headed back to Bishop where we found motel rooms going for the outrageous price of $199 per night. What's going on? we asked. "Mule Days" was the reply. Apparently everyone for miles around bring their mules, wagons and other equipment to town for parades and competitions. Might be fun, but not when your goal is to catch trout.
So we leave Bishop to the mule drivers and head north up the mountain to Mammoth Lakes where we eventually find a room for $50 per night that is clean, has a bath tub with hot water, and a warm bed. Mammoth is a great ski area that we have skied in the past. Now there is no snow on the ground, but we can clearly see snow in the mountains.

Mammoth Lakes is beautiful. The elevation of the town is about 8,000 feet. The snow-covered mountains in the background give you some idea of the height of those mountains.

We're warned when we check in to leave no food in our vehicle to prevent it from being ravaged by bears looking for food. After a bath, we head out for dinner. I call Carol to let her know I survived and hear her sweet voice.

In the morning we have breakfast at a nice friendly restaurant called "The Stove". Then we head off to check out the McGee Creek where we've never fished before. It's a pretty drive toward the snow covered mountains. Unfortunately, the creek is running high and fast due to the melting snow. We head back down and follow the creek to its entry into Crowley Lake. We see lots of trout in a few deep pools, but decide to not fish the stream because the water is too high and wading would be dangerous. 

McGee Creek is just ahead on the right. The snow you see up ahead in the saddle is feeding this creek.

Bud tells me about how beautiful the nearby Convict Lake is so we decide to drive up to see it before heading to our next fishing designation. Convict Lake is stunningly beautiful. It has a deep blue color which reflects the clear blue sunny sky and the surrounding snow covered mountains.

Convict Lake filled with crystal clear water.

The site is worth the entire fishing trip. Click here for a panorama view of the lake. According to Wikipedia, "The lake was named after an incident on September 23, 1871, where a group of convicts escaped from prison in Carson City. A posse, from Benton, led by Deputy Sheriff George Hightower, encountered the convicts near the head of what is now Convict Creek. Posse member Robert Morrison, a Benton merchant and Wells Fargo Agent, was killed in the encounter, and Mount Morrison was named after him." A 1951 film "The Secret of Convict Lake" was largely based on the events that occurred at the lake in 1871.

We head off toward Hot Creek, one of the top 100 trout streams in America. This creek gets its name because there are several active faults giving rise to boiling water and sulfurous gases. All the minerals in the water create an abundance of aquatic insect life which in turn grows big brown trout that are hard to catch. The stream flows through a deep canyon which we must climb down (and back up after we're tired at the end of the day's fishing). We note a guide working with a husband and wife team,

The Hot Creek gorge is about 400 feet deep at this point. Note the size of the guide and his client, I have a blowup of them in the cutout. I got two browns in the section hidden by the trees in this photo.

so as we head down into the canyon we stop and watch them and note they are not catching any fish. We also note there are other fishermen on the stream as we find a spot away from both parties. I look around and find lots of black caddis crawling around the rocks. I also note the swallow dive-bombing the river and picking up flying insects both on and above the water that I can see. I tie on a black caddis imitation and carefully debarb the hook so I can easily remove the hook from the fish without hurting it if I should be so lucky as to catch a nice brown trout.

Bud and I fish together for awhile. After about 10 minutes I catch a brown about 8 inches long. He fights hard, but I had hoped for something larger. I easily release him while still in the water and hope he will grow to a foot or two by the next time I fish this creek. I lay back, reach into my pocket for an orange, and eat it to celebrate my first catch of the day and to let things settle down in the creek while I watch Bud fishing.

After about 15 minutes, Bud decides to go downstream to fish which requires him to go over a 25-30 foot stone ledge. I start fishing again and this time let my line slip down further into the area where Bud had been fishing. As I make the caddis dance on the water surface 20 feet below me, I see a large fish come up and grab my fly. I set the hook and the fight is on. I call to Bud as the trout heads upstream. After a few minutes I land the trout in my net and Bud yells to hold it so he can get a picture. But I had let my line go slack and had my net in the water so away ran my hard-fighting 12 to 13 inch trout. It would be the last trout I caught that day and that trip.

Bud and I head back up the canyon and agreed as we always do that fishing for trout is mostly about the scenery. The fishing and the scenery is the cake; If you catch a trout or two, it's like the icing on the cake. We have a great relaxing drive back to the motel. Next morning we pack up, have breakfast again at "The Stove" and head home to Bud's house in Escondido.

Carol's Friday

It was great to have Jack back in the fold! Sounds like they had an exciting time, but I'm sort of glad to miss the shivering cold nights in the tent. (I love the RoadTrek, with its propane furnace and thermostat!)

My recent days have been pretty much more of the same: hang out with Cindy and Tom when they're around, take beach walks, work on my book, and take my Spanish classes. My last class was today. I do feel like I made a lot of progress with my Spanish vocabulary and grammar, but I still need a LOT more practicing with comprehension and speaking. My pronunciation has improved. Here's a photo of my instructor, Anamaria. She was great: a wonderful personality and very knowledgeable.

Carol's Spanish instructor, Anamaria.

More Spanish and a Baby Fix

Tuesday

Cindy and I walked downtown (Oceanside) on Tuesday morning and had manicures. We also had “second breakfast” and chai tea at Swami’s café, a popular spot across the street, while waiting for the manicurist.

 

Swami's Café in O'side, site of our "second breakfast"

 

That and going to my second Spanish class in the afternoon were the highlights of the day. I believe I’m making progress on Spanish—I’m biting the bullet and memorizing all the verb conjugations that I’ve pretty much forgotten over the years, which are essential for actually understanding a native Spanish speaker. My instructor recommends watching Spanish films with English subtitles, to improve comprehension of spoken Spanish. Sounds like a great idea. For the rest of today, I worked on the book I’m editing and did my Spanish homework.

Jack and Bud finally came back into cell range and he called me this evening. Sounds like they have had a great time so far and they’ve caught a lot of trout. It’s a bit colder than expected where they’ve been, near Yosemite; there’s snow on the mountains and some of the streams are still a little high from the snowmelt. I’m sure he will fill you in when he gets back and will have some photos for us. They are due to arrive home on Thursday afternoon.

Wednesday

This morning I got up early and drove down to Solana Beach to meet my friend Lynne for breakfast. After breakfast we planned to visit a friend with two-month-old identical twin boys. (Sara took a science writing class from Lynne several years ago and we met through Lynne—she attended my alma mater Mary Washington College and she also was in the Coast Guard, so we had two connections.)  The boys, Scott and Brett, were just waking up from their nap when we arrived, and I got to hold and feed Brett while Sara tended to Scott—a great baby fix! So cute…

Me holding Scott and Brett (not sure in this photo which is which!)

After the visit, we hustled back up to Solana Beach, so I could be on time for my Spanish class in Carlsbad. Today it meets earlier than usual, at 12:30 pm, and I have a different teacher, since Anamaria had a schedule conflict.

I haven’t said much about Carlbad in this blog. It’s a picturesque and historic little town by the sea. It has some interesting buildings, some that look like Olde English Tudor and some German, and it has a replica old-style windmill that’s a landmark for a restaurant/hotel. Carlsbad is famous around here for its colorful flower fields, about 50 acres of ranunculus flowers that bloom in big stripes of color in the spring. This can be seen from the interstate, and it’s really something! Unfortunately, we arrived too late this year to see it, as it’s gone in early May.

Carlsbad and its flower fields (didn't take this photo--we missed the bloom)

Windmill reproduction, a Carlsbad landmark
 

 

My Spanish teacher today, Monica, is from Spain, a beautiful blonde who says she always wanted to be a “California girl” even when she was young and living in Spain. For the first hour, we walk by some of the quaint shops of Carlsbad and down to a beach overlook, chatting away in Spanish. I have to ask her for the meanings of many words, but it’s a great way to learn. I’m getting better at conversing. For the second hour of class, we practice verb conjugations back at the class building.

When I got home, I helped Tom assemble a new “bistro” table for their patio, while Cindy makes supper. We have supper up on the “ocean deck” again with Cindy and Tom, and then Cindy and I watch the rest of Princess Bride before retiring. Cute movie. Jack called again and verified what time they’d be getting home tomorrow.

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird

State count: 11 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California]         

Spanish Lessons for Carol

 

Monday

Hola, amigos!

I haven’t heard anything out of Jack since he and Bud left on Friday, but he told me that they probably wouldn’t have cell service for a few days. It’s weird not to talk to him for this long, since we usually call each other every night when we’re apart. I hope they’re catching lots of trout!
I have work to do today; I’ve finished up one book editing job and now have two more to do. The one I’m starting is on criminal justice—crisis negotiations. Cindy and Tom are both at work so the house is quiet and conducive to working. Before starting work, I go out for a walk, since I want to continue with the daily exercise we’ve been doing since we came here. Another beautiful day in southern California! (Are y’all getting tired of hearing that yet??)

Another beautiful day for a walk.

I also am starting 5 days of Spanish lessons this afternoon at The Spanish Institute, which is just 2 miles down the coast in Carlsbad. I had several years of Spanish in high school and college, but I’ve lost most of my vocabulary and verb conjugations and want to get them back. My teacher, Anamaria, is a young woman originally from Colombia, South America but now living in the U.S. with her husband.

I leave the house at 3:30 pm to get to the class, and arrive early, since it only takes about 7 or 8 minutes to get there. I always worry about unexpected traffic around here, but things were pretty calm on the roads.  I found the building easily with the help of my trusty GPS.

Building where I'm taking Spanish lessons from Anamaria.

 

Inside I’m warmly greeted by Anamaria, who’s an attractive, friendly and energetic person. It’s fun working with her and to my surprise I can understand about 80% of what she says in Spanish. (Of course, I’m sure she’s slowing WAY down for me…) I brushed up a little bit before today’s lesson so I don’t feel too lost. I’m getting excited about being able to comprehend and speak the language better. (However, I listened to a Mexican radio station while driving back to Cindy’s after class, and could only understand about every tenth word they said! This may take some time…)

İHasta mañana!

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird

State count: 11 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California]

Weekend in Oceanside

 

Saturday
Seems like almost every day is perfect in this part of the country, weatherwise. It’s a little cool and cloudy first thing in the morning, but then the clouds clear out and the sky is bright blue with few clouds, and the temperature is always a comfortable 70 to 75 degrees. Perfect weather for doing anything outdoors.

Tom announces that we will have some “mandatory fun” this morning, which turns out to be some gardening at the house next door, which he and Cindy also own. It’s a four-bedroom house that they rent out. It feels good to be outside and doing some physical work. I’m assigned to deadhead some plants and trim them up a bit. We spend about an hour and a half on yard work and clean up, and then declare a lunch break.

Cindy and Tom's two houses. House on left shows results of our morning yard work efforts!

 

After lunch, Cindy and I go for a walk down to the beach. After sitting on some rocks in the sun for a little while, watching the kids in their bathing suits play tag with the waves, we decide to take our shoes off and wade in the ocean. It’s pretty cool yet, but not bad—very refreshing.

When we get back, Cindy makes dinner, a special one since this is Tom’s birthday weekend. She makes a salad, a delicious potato casserole, and sauteed tilapia, with some yummy pastries from the bakery for dessert. We eat up on the upper deck, so we can see the ocean.

Our dinner spot, with ocean view.

 

Afterwards, Tom and I climb a ladder to the roof, to see if we can see the green flash at sunset, but there’s a marine layer of clouds, so no luck this time. Cindy is somewhat scared of heights and declines to climb the ladder. It’s a little scary.

Ladder to roof.

 

Cindy and I watch The Princess Bride for our evening’s entertainment, but I fall asleep about halfway through, so we’ll save the rest for later…

Sunday

It’s Tom’s birthday, so Cindy made him waffles this morning. He’s King for a Day today. They plan to walk about 3 miles down the beach to Carlsbad, the next town south of here. I’m going to church this morning, to a little neighborhood church around the corner. It’s nondenominational Protestant, just like our church in Oriskany. It’s an inspiring worship service, and the congregation is small and friendly. Makes me miss King Memorial Church.

Nondenominational neighborhood church.

 

After church, I drive to WalMart to buy a birthday card and gift for Tom. I promised to buy him a box of frozen creampuffs, since he loves creampuffs and has never tried the little frozen ones. I also see a Nicolas Cage collection of three shoot-‘em-up DVDs and buy that too, since I tell Tom that he reminds me a little of Nicolas Cage.  I also buy a few bars of dark chocolate—I don’t want to run the risk of running out of my daily dose of chocolate! (It’s a health food, you know…)

When I get back, I work on my book editing and finally finish up one book and send off the files to the publisher. I have two more books in the queue now, so I guess I won’t have too much down time on the rest of this vacation.

For supper, we all go to The Flying Pig, a fairly new and popular restaurant within walking distance of the house. It has California versions of various pork dishes and other stuff too, like duck salad. It was very crowded and we had to wait a half hour to be seated. The food was pretty good. The waitress brings Tom a special bday dessert and we sing to him, just to embarrass him a little.

The Flying Pig

Cindy and I watch a movie and then off to bed, with plans to get up early and take a walk tomorrow.

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird

State count: 11 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California]         

Our Old Haunts

 

Friday

Jack and I drive over to Bud’s house this morning and get there about 8:45 am. They’ve decided to take Bud’s SUV on their trip instead of the RoadTrek, since they want to fish in some areas with roads too rough for the van, so I’ll have wheels while they’re gone. It’s been awhile since we’ve been to Bud’s house; Bud and Justine have done a lot of landscaping work in their backyard, so Bud gives us the tour. It looks completely different from last time, with fruit trees, garden areas and even a trail around the property for the kids to ride their bikes. They also have bird feeders, and we see a beautiful western bluebird while there, to add to our trip bird list.

Bud's house.

Bud and Jack packing for fishing trip.

 

Bud also shows us his “man cave” with his electronic bench for building and experimenting, and his ham radio equipment. Wow, ham radio has changed since we last paid attention to it. It’s computerized to a large extent, with some of the communications being digital text rather than voice; Bud does both. Bud is a true Renaissance man--lots of interests and wide-ranging knowledge.

We have coffee and chat for a bit, and then I leave them to finish their packing. Back at the house, Cindy and Tom both stayed home from work today. When I get back, we have a snack and then decide to walk down to the condos at the north end of Oceanside where Jack and I lived for several years. It’s a beautiful day, cool and sunny with a gentle ocean breeze. We stop to look at some of the new houses and public buildings, and go into the city library to see their remodeling.

Cindy and Tom in front of Oceanside civic center and library complex.

 

Much of the town looks quite different from when we lived here, but when we get in the vicinity of the condo we owned, things start to look familiar. The buildings in our old condo complex have a new paint job, but otherwise look much the same, and Cindy and I are able to locate our condo, which looked out on the beach and pier. It’s satisfying to see the old place being well maintained.

Cindy and Carol in front of Carol and Jack's former beach condo (second floor on left, balcony over Cindy's shoulder).

It's also satisfying to see that the cute little pink Robert's beach cottages are still here (from the 1930s or 40s.)

Robert's cottages (our former condo way in back at end of street)

 

We continue our walk down the beach, stopping for fish tacos and chocolate malts near the pier, before heading for home. A good walk, maybe 4 or 5 miles. We resolve to continue our daily walks while I’m here.

Oceanside beach and fishing pier.

 

The rest of the day is filled with napping, reading, a little editing work, and then Cindy and I watch the movie Shirley Valentine, one of Cindy’s favorites, an entertaining chick flick from 1989 that I had missed.

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican, western bluebird

Moved to Oceanside

May 15 and 16

Wednesday

Lynne and I went for an early morning walk, while Jack and Marc worked. When we got down to the ocean, the tide was out, and lots of surfers were in the water, so we decided to walk on the beach. It was great--cool, pleasant, nice breeze blowing. We even saw some tidepools exposed, with sea anemones and mussels in them. We ran into a couple of Lynne's friends from her walking group, also enjoying a beach stroll.

Back at the house, I did some laundry and we started packing up everything for our move up to Oceanside, since we've mooched off of Lynne and Marc long enough. We say our farewells, for the time being, as we'll be seeing them again before we leave the San Diego area. It's been a wonderful visit! Now we're going to mooch off of our friends Cindy and Tom...

They live in Oceanside, the town we used to live in from 1988 to 1995. It's gone from primarily a Marine base town, with lots of tattoo parlors and bars, to an upscale beach town, with new hotels and nice condos. The beach is wide with good surfing and boogie boarding, and it has a cool fishing pier with a 1950s diner at the end of it. Fire rings on the beach are lit with campfires at night. It's a nice place. Cindy and Tom live just a few blocks back from the ocean. When Cindy bought the house originally, it was one story, but they've built an attractive second level that gives them a sweeping view of the ocean.

Since it's a week day, Cindy is at work, at BMT-Scientific Marine Services in Escondido. We arrange to meet her, Jack's fishing buddy Bud, and Bud's wife Justine at the office for lunch.

The new BMT-Scientific Marine Services offices.

We all go out to a nearby Mexican restaurant and catch up on everything. Jack and Bud are making plans for their upcoming fishing trip, with departure scheduled for Friday. Bud is very busy at work, and says that every time he takes a vacation, he has to work 60 hours the week before to get everything done, and then 60 hours the week after to catch up!

Poor Bud, trying to get ready to take a vacation. Too much stress!

Cindy in her office.

SMS is hopping, with plans to expand into adjacent space. It's hard to believe it's been 21 years since the six original founders, including Jack, started this company. This is the third or fourth building they've been in, and it's pretty fancy.

After lunch, Jack and I go back to the office building and find a couple of empty desks and work on our respective projects, until Cindy is ready to leave work. We follow her home, stopping at an Indian restaurant to pick up some food for supper. Her hubby Tom is already at home when we get there, and we spread the food containers on their patio table and have supper al fresco, enjoying the ocean view. Nice! We're so glad our friends have such good taste in houses and ocean views!

Carol and Tom in the living room.

We visit for awhile, have some homemade cookies (thanks, Cindy!) and ice cream and blackberries, and then head off to bed and/or blogging.

Thursday

Tom ends up staying home from work today so we talk with him for awhile in the morning. We haven't seen each other for a couple of years, so we have a lot to catch up on. Bud told us yesterday that we should have lunch today at Stone Brewery, a microbrewery near the office that is in an amazing building surrounded by gardens. It's actually a tourist stop--buses bring people here from all over for their tour. I guess the beer is the main thing to most people, but we tried their homemade root beer and it was great. Quite a place!

Lunch at the Stone Microbrewery and Bistro.

A stroll through the gardens of the  microbrewery.

Jack and I both worked all afternoon at the office again--it's quiet and they have good wifi. Bud is still hunkered down, trying to get ready for tomorrow's departure. We left the office about 6 pm to drive up to Cindy and Tom's. When we arrived, we all decided to walk down to the beach and have sushi for supper. It's  a little over a mile, and made for an exhilarating walk. Sushi was good, then we scoped out the street fair which goes on here every Thursday evening--got some kettle corn and hummus, and Tom got himself a funnel cake. Walked onto the pier and watched a lone surfer, surfing in the dark, right next to the pier pilings. ??? Pretty good surfer though.

Tomorrow Jack heads out on his fishing trip, leaving me behind to keep up this blog all by myself!

Back at the Coast

May 14, 2013

This morning I get up early for a final walk around the property and take a few more photos of the scenic surroundings here at Bubbling Wells Ranch. 

 

An early morning view of our beautiful guest house.

The back yard is an oasis of water, grass, desert plants, trees and art.

A cool spot to retreat from the desert heat, complete with bullfrogs.

Then Lynne and I pack up the car, wash the sheets and towels, and say our grateful farewells to Audrey and Courtney. 

Farewell to Bubbling Wells Ranch. (Can you tell I love this place??)

We plan to stop for breakfast at a nearby diner, The Sidewinder, which turns out to be a good call—excellent pancakes!

Doesn't Lynne look like a celeb going into the Sidewinder?

Our drive back to the coast is smooth and uneventful; we listen to tunes and chat about this and that, watching the scenery change. We get back to Lynne’s a little after 1:00 pm. She has to teach her science writing class tonight and needs to prepare for it, so she heads for her computer. Jack is working on his book, so I set up my computer at their dining room table and work on my book editing too.

Marc bought some white corn for supper, and he makes turkey burgers with Italian seasoning on the grill. Then we watch a slide show of photos from his and Lynne’s recent trip to Patagonia—some spectacular shots of hikes they took, places they stayed, and wildlife they saw. Patagonia is way down at the bottom of South America, partly in Chile and partly in Argentina. It has tall, spiky granite mountains, like skyscrapers, as well as geysers, glaciers, condors and penguins. It also has amazing trout fishing, so Jack is very interested…

I begin the job of getting our clothes and other stuff together; tomorrow we are having lunch with Bud, Jack’s fishing buddy, so he and Jack can start planning their upcoming fishing trip (they're supposed to leave on Friday morning for a week-long trip to fish in the Golden Trout Wilderness area, about 6 hours north of here--this is Jack's turn to take a vacation from our vacation). Jack and I are moving to the house of our friends Cindy and Tom, in Oceanside, which is up the coast a ways, near the huge Marine Corps base of Camp Pendleton. I plan to stay most of the time with Cindy and Tom while Jack and Bud are on their trip.

Bird species count: Vermilion flycatcher, turkey vulture, Bell’s vireo, *golden-fronted woodpecker, Say’s phoebe, northern cardinal, greater roadrunner, house finch, common raven, *northern rough-winged swallow, *summer tanager, *prothonotary warbler, *yellow-breasted chat, *yellow-rumped warbler, northern mockingbird, mourning dove, cliff swallow, Mexican jay, black-headed grosbeak, black-chinned  hummingbird, Wilson’s warbler, *Scott’s oriole, chipping sparrow, house sparrow, lesser goldfinch, black-crested titmouse, acorn woodpecker, scrub jay, *western kingbird, white-winged dove, *canyon towhee, *Grace’s warbler, *zone-tailed hawk, *curve-billed thrasher, Bullock’s oriole, Gambel’s quail, great horned owl, black-throated sparrow, *cactus wren, ladder-backed woodpecker, white-crowned sparrow, brownheaded cowbird, Brewer’s blackbird, *pyrrhuloxia, hooded oriole, verdin, crow, Anna’s hummingbird, dark-eyed junco, white-throated swift, Steller’s jay, mallard, common egret, brown pelican

State count: 11 [Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California]