Pink Prickly Pear

LIFE is Good Roadtrip '09

I'll never be able to cram ten days into a single post.  Lists are good.

Our route? We went for speed over scenery until San Francisco (the opposite of last year's journey).   Then we cut over to drive along the Northern Californian coast and almost the entire coast of Oregon.

Weird names of places en route: Drain, Weed, Brown Material Road, Hungry Valley.  We didn't stop at any of those. 

Encounters with spring babies! 3!  Goslings, ducklings and baby chickens! Other animal encounters - cows (I didn't realize we walked though their field until it was time to head back to the car), seals (unfortunately included two very dead ones)

Number of Snickers bars consumed: six? one for each day spent driving to keep me focused on the road.  Packets of instant oatmeal consumed: ten?  one a day to keep me regular.

Migraine headaches? Two.  Damnit.

Migraine induced episode of simultaneously vomiting and shitting my brains out in a fucking truck stop?  One.  Really.  Anything more than that and I would have turned around.

Number of times I consulted my iPhone to assist in finding picnic areas, hamburgers, tampons, coffee shops, giant trees, etc. on the road?  I have no idea.  Mr. Pear calls it my Jesus Phone and now I know why. 

What did we listen to?  The last four episodes of This American Life, Feist (over and over again for the boy), four selections from the New Yorker short fiction podcast, Justice (over and over again for the girl), a Fresh Air program about dung beetles, the Clash, the Donnas, the Like Young, Bonde du Role, Underworld (never gets old for driving), the boy's incessant wailing, Gogol Bordello, Mexican Institute of Sound...

We rented a mini-van.  I...

oh God...

I miss it. 

One day, we stopped for a picnic in this coastal meadow.  We foraged wild blackberries.  With the exception of morning glories, every single flower tattooed on my arm was present in the meadow (and then some).  We sat on a very windy bluff looking over the ocean and ate hard boiled eggs, celery, carrots and hummus and strawberries. 

I think it was at this luncheon that I realized I probably should have given more thought towards food for the boy. 

We paid six dollars to drive our car through this tree.  When we finally got to the tree, we decided not to risk plugging the hole with our glorious mini-van.  Plus, the tunnel cut into the tree kind of depressed me.

I suppose that's a start.  I'll get more pics and such up when I can.  The boy, he keeps me very, very busy.  I can't believe no one has any advice regarding the chewing of walls.

Did I imagine writing a big long post yesterday and typepad inexplicably eating it? 

No, I think I actually did (write it, not imagine it).

Here's our current wallpaper on the mac.  Mini-pear likes to switch it up on us every week or so.  I had to share this one.  Practically every time she sees it, she comments on how those rocks are not all that far away (they're actually about a day's drive - Monterey Bay) and we should make sure we get up there again soon.  I think we will attempt another long weekend up there within the next month or so.  One last jaunt as a family of three. 

We stopped at this blustery spot for less than an hour, but I suspect it was the highlight of her weekend.  She needs more rock climbing opportunities.  She loves scrambling about and she's always asking kind of scary (to her mother) questions about places like El Capitan and free climbing as opposed to climbing with harnesses and such.  Hmmm.  Maybe we should just plan a little family pilgrimage to Yosemite? 

Nothing Elfin about these hills.

We decided to explore the trails of Elfin Forest yesterday afternoon.  This particular trail took us on a very steady climb of 600 feet over 1.5 miles.  I was surprised at my huffing and puffing, but thought I could blame it all on wearing too many clothes.  This morning I can blame it all on being on the verge of coming down with Something.  Something is a very sore throat and aching joints.  Easily remedied by doing Absolutely Nothing and drinking endless cups of (blech!) Throat Coat.

Here's Mini-pear up at the tippy top.  We could see all the way to the ocean from here.  I love  climbing these ridges and being able to look west to the sun and the sea, and east to the mountains. 

Yesterday morning, I was about to nip out to my LYS  when Kate called to see if I wanted to meet up for coffee.  Mini-pear's ears perked up the moment she got wind of what I was doing.  I started to explain that Kate was only going to have her youngest, Jonas, with her, but stopped myself, remembering Mini-pear's repeated monologues on the topic of Jonas.  We can be doing almost anything and Mini-pear will suddenly announce, "You know why I love Jonas so much?" and then spend 45 minutes filling in the details.  Jonas certainly is loveable and the feeling between the two of them is mutual (Kate's been known to use Mini-pear as a means of encouraging Jonas into his dreaded car seat).  So Kate and I got to catch up, while Mini-pear played big sister;)

Yes, Grasshopper.

Mini-pear was invited to test for her yellow belt on Sunday morning.  Here she is reviewing her moves with Sensei Paul.  She passed and is so excited to get her new belt at the beginning of her next class.  I didn't expect karate to grab her the way it has.  She is even talking about working towards her black belt.  I love our dojo.  The instructors have a quiet authority and obviously love what they do and (I think this goes a longer way) sharing their knowledge with the kids.  The junior classes are multi-level, so the more experienced students are always there for motivation, encouragement, and assistance.

The rest of the weekend was...playful;)  On Saturday, we took Mr. Pear down to the wooden roller coaster at Belmont Park before walking along the beach and people watching a bit.  Afterwards, we had planned to take in the final roller derby bout of the season, but my directions were all messed up and when we finally realized that we needed to turn around, we got stuck in some ridiculous traffic jam.  No roller derby for us. 

On Sunday, we took in a street fair in Encinitas.  I'd hoped to get a jump on our holiday shopping, but the hand crafted goodies I'd hoped to find were few and far between (which is not to say I didn't manage to pick up some seekrit odds and ends).  Oddly enough, there were multiple booths of the pet boutique variety.  I love my dog, even though she sleeps on my bed when I'm out and has figured out how to open the bin in the kitchen, but I'm not going to buy her a covered (and cushioned) wagon to ride in or little booties or a San Diego Chargers themed doggie jacket.  We did manage to find Mini-pear an all beef hot dog because, as I might have mentioned, she's back on the meat wagon, but I am so sick of the back and forth about it that I'm not going to make special trips to Jimbo's for overpriced lunch meat this time around.  Occasional overpriced hot dogs will have to satisfy her carnivorous cravings.

On our way home we stopped at the lagoon.  Lots of birds.  Since I'm always wishing I knew enough about birds to call myself a birdwatcher, I actually welcomed the bird-crazy old man who accosted me on the trail and proceeded to spout on about every last bird in the vicinity non-stop for about 20 minutes.  Then he started to get a bit too bossy with his wife (she moved a little too quickly when some Crimson Teals or Baffleheads or something were about to swim past us and so he hissed at her - the birds appeared to like that a whole lot less than Sharon shifting her weight from one leg to the other)  and I noticed that the rest of my family was totally not into my spontaneous conversation of the avian variety.

The family that hikes together...

...lusts after sport bikes together?  Not really - that one's to lure my dad back for a visit right quick.  We pulled over to get this shot on the mountain road leading up to our hike yesterday.  These riders enjoyed a 3000 ft. climb in elevation over at least 10 miles of switchbacks.  Not for the faint hearted - or the rider who hasn't invested in knee pads.

We decided to find a dog friendly hike for Sunday and settled on the Observatory Trail up at Palomar Mountain.  Because I'm an idiot (not a trail blazing ignoramus, just a regular idiot) I mis-read the hike description and thought we were in for a 700 ft. rise in elevation over 2.2 miles.  It was actually 2.2 miles one way, so we ended up doing over 4 miles - not that 4 miles is all that long, but with the climb I did end up spending a little more time playing hiking cheerleader than I would have liked.

Here's one of the numerous acorn granaries that lined the trail.  Large families of acorn woodpeckers drill the holes and then store up to 50,000 acorns per tree.  As you can imagine, they are fiercely guarded.

Mr. Pear promised to acquire me one of these bucolic little ranches nestled into the mountain meadows.  Remind me to hold him to that, would you?

Sunny Saturday

The beach trail is back at Torrey Pines!  We've been meaning to get down there and check it out, but warm Saturdays have been for actually swimming in the ocean, not hiking the bluffs above it.  I know everyone and their mother has been trailblazing their sorry asses down to the beach at Torrey Pines anyway, but we know that trailblazing is for ignoramuses!  Ignoramuses who could care less about erosion and delicate coastal habitats! 

On googling oneself.

So, every once in a while I do this - don't we all?  Happily, nothing relevant to the real me ever turns up.  I like being an enigma wrapped in a sausage roll disguised as a wonton etc.

However, should an old school mate or boyfriend or ex-serial best friend have an odd moment of boredom and decide to reciprocate the time-sucking wee hours I've spent googling their names, there would be several entries that would, at first glance, render their search for the real me fruitful.  It would seem that there are at least two other K______ S____s out there and not only do we share a name, but these doppelganger bitches stole my interests and went and made careers out of them!

Cases in point:

K______ S____ won a silver medal at the 2004 Roller Figure Skating World Championships by finishing in second place in the women's inline figure skating competition.

I was one of those kids who hit the roller rink well past the time it was cool to do so.  My ex-speed team buddies might scratch their heads as to why I'd traded in my spandex racing uniform and quads for a sparkly ruffled figure skating dress and inline skates (the horror!), but it wouldn't be a tremendous leap of the imagination.  Although that part about second place might give them pause.  I was (and still am!) a winner.

K______ S____, a grasslands ecologist who works for Forest Guardians, says the organization has filed suits asking that cattle grazing on federal lands be "conducted in a responsible manner."

In addition to my truly dorktastic choice of a sport, I was also a member of my high school's Ecology Club.  It wasn't all about the camping trips and canoeing, I love picking up rocks and you know I'm a closet birdwatcher (did you need any more proof that I'm really a 68 year old woman?).

While I'm glad the real me doesn't show up on Google, I'm secretly hoping those who knew me then, think I am now protecting the nation's grasslands from reckless ranchers.  It could have happened.  Who says it didn't?

File under: What was I thinking.

It's county fair time.  I'm not a crowds person.  I'm not a rides person.  Yet today, after dropping off my mother-in-law at the airport (which you would think entitled me to a day in bed eating vanilla fudge and having my toes massaged) I elected to take mini-pear to the fairgrounds by myself.

Must tot up numbers.
$18 - admission for the two of us.
$9 - highway robbery parking
$14.50 - 20 ride tickets
$4 - french fries to consume while watching monster trucks
$3.75 - additional tickets required in order for us to both ride the ferris wheel
$4.95 - caramel apple stack

My nose is red and my feet are very, very tired.  I talked myself into this because someone asked if I'd take their child with us to the fair.  I hadn't even seriously considered going in the first place, but of course, once I mulled over the idea of taking two kids and said no to that, just taking my own on a Thursday afternoon looked like a most attractive alternative.  I just don't know why I didn't also consider laying next to the pool reading or something, because that definitely would have won out.

the way to my heart is through my stomach

Out with friends this morning.  Mini-pear and her friend, B, walk ahead just a little, holding hands, whispering little secrets, presenting each other with nature treasures.  They also have bouts of silly, boisterous, almost giddy behavior.  We see them a couple of times a week.  The kids get along, the adults get along.  It's lovely.  I make B's mom laugh - tears running down her face laughing.  This is a good sign because with so many people I feel like their dour great aunt or something.  My humor misses often, but I think it hits the mark with the people who matter.

Anyway, great minds think alike.  We sat by the waterfall to snack and sketch for a while.  C pulled out carrot salad for the kids - carrots, raisins and coconut flakes!  And for a treat, she had brought rice pudding with more coconut flakes!

We're totally destined to be BFFS 4evah now, aren't we?

Feet SO tired.

For dinner tonight:
cheese and crackers
tomato and broccoli salad (but I was reheating 3 day old chili for mini-pear so I overcooked the broccoli)
hummus and chopped carrots, celery, bell peppers
left over Mexican coleslaw

It was the kind of thing I'd eat all by myself in my underwear on the step-stool with my third beer perspiring on the kitchen counter.  Except I was not all alone.

We visited the Botanical Gardens this morning.  After about 45 minutes, mini-pear decided she need to sit and meditate.  She carefully took off her shoes and sat "criss cross apple sauce" on the trail, with her eyes shut tightly and her arms resting on her thighs.  This meditation kick is inspired by karate lessons and our visit to the Meditation Gardens at Swami's yesterday.  This fascination for sitting perfectly still and quiet has my full support.

After lunch with Mr. Pear (he is working and I am playing tour guide), we drove down the coast to Mount Soledad for a pretty excellent panoramic view.  I think I terrified Grandpa Bill.  He does not often relinquish control of the wheel and I think the stomach lurching overlooks were more than he had planned on.  The van loads full of camera wielding spawn of the religious right pilgrims were more than I had planned on, but there's that gigantic white cross up there attracting every last nut job.