Road Trip!! Shannon's birthday. (long)

Road trip—Shannon’s birthday

So Shannon’s birthday is June 24th and we went on a road trip. This was great since we have not done this together and I have not done in a long time.

We drove down to Yosemite entering at Big Oak Flat and driving through the Tioga pass road and to the Tioga Pass entrance. The Tioga pass is the highest road or pass, or something like that in California. (I cant remember as I made the mistake of not keeping track of things and writing them down. )

We then stopped at the well known Whoa Nellie Deli, inside the Mobil gas station at the junction of 120 and 395 and Mono Lake. It was more than we expected for a deli in a gas station. Next we went to the little town of Lee Vining. There is an airport there that Shannon wanted to check out. He has been able to fly down as far as Mammoth area so he wanted to scope out some of the airports and landing areas should he have to land. That was the reason for going where we did for the road trip. We also went to the Mono Lake visitors’ center and checked that out since we were right there at Mono Lake. Neither of us had ever been to most of these places. I have been to a very different part of Yosemite in 1989 with Janene down by Wawona but never to this part of 395 or Mono Lake and it is all new to Shannon. (he has been to these areas by air not on the land)

Our next direction was to the ghost town of Bodie (historic old mining town). For a ghost town it’s in great shape. There are about 170 buildings that still exist. The have not restored the buildings but have prevented them from decaying further. That was 13 miles off the main highway on a dirt road.

Next we continued to drive up to Bridgeport, once again to check out the airport. This airport was more of an airport than in Lee Vining. In Lee Vining it was a runway and a metal building the size of the cottage I live in. Bridgeport appears to be the Mono County central area and had a bit more to the airport. Still just a helicopter landing and small runway but looked different.

From Bridgeport we drove back down to 395 and our destination being Mammoth Lakes where we would stay for the night. The weather has been fabulous all day. It was about 6:30 by the time we found our hotel in Mammoth. which was much larger than Shannon had expected. (I had been there in the winter in 1993) It’s a good thing I made reservations. We though maybe we could just do the road trip and find a place to say. There were small motels and B&B’s but the also said No Vacancy on most, as did a lot of places in Mammoth. Anyway, the story of once we got to the hotel to check in was sort of funny. We checked in and the guy at the desk gave us a parking pass for the car. Shannon went to put it on the car and the guy and I were out by the parking area when Shannon returned. Shannon was standing there wondering what was going on. So we went inside and up to our room. Shannon asked me why the guy showed me the refrigerator and all I could say was “there is orange juice and bagels in there”. He thought I was on drugs or something but accepted the answer. I then had to make a trip to the car to get a few things and then also to stop at the refrigerator the front desk guy had been showing me. I had gone through a lot of trouble to get a little cake for Shannon’s birthday and have someone from the hotel go to pick it up and have it at the hotel. So the guy did good job in not opening the door of the refrigerator when Shannon walked up. So I went back to the room and had things from the car and this cute little German chocolate cake. I have never seen one this size in the store, it’s so cute. (sorry I forgot to take a picture before digging in so this is only part of it.)
Our day is not finished yet!
Next we drove out to Devils postpile which was not far at all from where we were staying. http://www.nps.gov/depo/
This was cool to see the columns and a beautiful ½ mile hike up the see the hexagon tile like rocks on the top. We were also hoping to see a bear, as the ranger at the entrance to the park said bears had just been sighted. No such luck but we did see a deer, the only live one on the trip.
So from Devils post pile we went back to eat and then called it a night.

Shannon’s birthday, Sunday morning we had a small breakfast at the hotel and then went to see the Earthquake fault (fissure). This was really cool to see. Take a look at how the rocks on each side should fit together! Maybe you had to be there to see how cool it was. Next we stopped at the Mammoth airport. This was bigger than all we had seen. The runways seem small still but there are a bunch of hangars. It looks like people can fly in during the winter and put the airplane in a hanger out of the snow and go ski that is the philosophy we came up with. Right next to the airport is Hot Creek which has the hot springs. This is the first time I have seen something like this.
We continued south on 395 to Bishop. This was also larger then Shannon expected and larger than I remembered. It was getting hot. We were going to go check out the Laws Museum. An 11 acre railroad museum, somehow the darn gps lady told us we were going the wrong way so we ended up turning around and just getting lunch. (Darn gps lady)

After lunch we were heading south on 395 to the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. This was a neat drive in desert like mountains. Lots of sagebrush to see. The views were amazing. Driving up we did see a glider flying around. The Bristlecone pines are 10,000 feet up in the Inyo National Forest. http://sonic.net/bristlecone/

We hiked up one of the trails a little to see some of the really old trees, but we both were having trouble with the high altitude and shortness of breath so did not go far. Really beautiful trees.

Next destination was out near Benton near Nevada line. Shannon said there was a road that he wanted to check out and see if it was landable. So we drove out highway 6, which apparently goes out the east coast. Well there was a lot of wind and dust and it was a straight and boring road. We went about 20 miles or so and turned on 120. Somewhere out there on 120 we found this dirt road he wanted to find. Then we continued on 120 which intersected back on 395 at Lee Vining. Our destination from there was back through 120 Tioga pass road through Yosemite and home.
We had a great and fun road trip and exploring. The weather was fabulous.

We went to the zoo and a drive

I had a wedding this weekend and as I drove out to the rehearsal I saw hundreds of goats on the hill by the zoo. Then the next day, I went to the wedding and saw them again but they had moved to a new area. So I told Shannon I wanted him to see the goats. So Sunday we went to the zoo. Yes it was Fathers day but both our dads live out of state.
So here are the hundreds of goats on the hill from up at the zoo looking down. They are so cute!! Turns out the goats are there for fire hazard reduction, eco systems and the city of Oakland . http://clerkwebsvr1.oaklandnet.com/attachments/14168.pdf
At the zoo, we of course saw a ton of kids and families. We saw the bats.
Giraffe butts! OK well they were being fed, notice the girls feeding them.

Then there is the elephants. There is one in the back of the pictue of Shannon and I.

Next we went to try and find another place and ended up driving on Skyline. Neither of us have been on that drive but it was a beautiful drive. These pictures are actually supposed to be of the view and how clear it was. Looks more like I took pictures of the houses and street. OH well.

Then apparently, we see more deer at the zoo and everywhere else

other than up at the cabin in the mountains. This is a deer shannon caught in the yard yesterday. Good deer, he is eating berries not my rose bush!! Other than that, I did a wedding out at Treasure Island on Saturday. It was really nice but freazing cold. That is an amazing site to do a wedding. Maybe I will post pictures next time, if I remember to take them. (hope to get some replies from people that read this)

People have bee asking.... Fiji

http://www1.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=52403796/a=53184460_53184460/t_=53184460

August 31, 2006

We left the Bay area from Pleasant Hill BART, for the beginning of our honeymoon. We took BART to SFO. The flight was at 6:40 pm to LAX. American Airlines and the flight was fine. We arrived in LA with a 3-hour layover. The next flight was on Air Pacific from LAX to Nadi Fiji. SFO was a really nice airport compared to LAX. As we were waiting to be called for boarding, we saw a bride still in her dress and veil board our plane. This was a long flight, 10 hours and 25 minutes. We sat in an aisle and middle seat. Flight was ok. Both of us had a hard time sleeping. The plane got hot then would finally cool down, then hot again. Water started dripping on me from the cooling system. Finally, at nearly 6 a.m. Fiji time, we arrived. (Fiji is 5 hours behind CA but a day ahead) It is now Sept 2nd. Due to crossing the International Date Line, we missed Sept. 1st entirely. The gal with the travel company met us at the airport and got us checked in to our (Fiji) domestic flight to Taveuni. That flight was supposed to be at 8 a.m. It got split up from one flight to two, and eventually at 9 or so we were on a flight. This was a tiny plane with 2 propellers; there were 15 people on it. What an amazing view. It was 1 ½ hour flight. We landed on a gravel runway, at the smallest airport I have ever seen. This was one building, well more like our carport at home. We are not there yet; we still have another part of the adventure to go.
Next, a gentleman with Matangi Resort picked up us and drove us by mini-van to the next part of our trip. It took about 20-30 minutes to get there. It was a beautiful, scenic ride. This was mostly a dirt road, through small villages with some homes that were “shacks”. Women were in the small streams doing their laundry. Very small villages. This is all on an island that is lush, green and beautiful, just amazing to see. We arrive at this area with sand and some local people and children. It’s just a small spot of beach with some fishing like boats. Next we get to roll up our pants, wade through water (ocean) and get on the boat. Just a basic boat with Shannon and I and the boat driver and some boxes with fresh produce. The boat is taking us to Matangi Resort. I cannot put into words how beautiful Fiji is so far. The boat ride was about 30 minutes. We arrive at the resort and again, wade through the ocean to get to shore, just a few steps. A gal then greets us with cold drinks in coconut shells. Yum. We get seated in a seating area, in a lounging “Bure” and we pick out lunch and dinner for the day and they take us to our Bure, Bure #6. It is about 11 am now. Wow!!! That is about all we have been able to say since landing in Taveuni. This is just beyond words. Our Bure is a little cottage. This is what we traveled 25 hours plus for, and it’s amazing. The resort has 14 Bures. They are all different floor plans some are a tree house. We have picked the right spot for a memorable honeymoon.
You know its time for lunch when you hear the drums. Lunch was fabulous, sesame beef & rice is what I had. Shannon had Tuna and mushroom pasta it was wonderful. We are so tired at this point. This is a great day to lie around in the sun, play in the water and relax, so we did. Later in the afternoon, from 4-5, we were told it was afternoon tea and there were fresh cookies. We sat and watched the water and a huge cargo ship came through. This was a strange sight. Apparently it will be dark about 6:30 and it gets really dark. We had a really nice dinner, once again, called to dinner with the drums. I ordered shrimp and they were served whole and I didn’t do too well with that. That night, we both slept really well. There are no TV’s, telephones, computers or anything; just the sound of the ocean and it was very peaceful. We hear and see the ocean and hear roosters all day long. It rained all night the first night.
Sept 3
That morning we woke up to the rain; it was a beautiful sight and scent to wake up to. The rain is so beautiful and amazing. It comes down really hard, stops and starts again, it did this all morning. The English couple and others we did not meet, left that morning. Breakfast was nice. Shannon is really happy.
We are going to go snorkeling today and not sure what else. Liz gave us “just married” flip flops, so it puts “just” on the right foot and ”married” with the left foot, in the sand. We have been wearing these all over the resort, but most the couples are honeymooners, so nobody will know who did it.
We eventually made it snorkeling. The clouds cleared up and you never would know it had rained. Shannon loved the snorkeling. He was out in the water for a long time. The water is crystal clear. We also saw “flying fish” behind the boat that took us snorkeling. We had a nice evening socializing. There is a newlywed couple from Central Cal, in the navy. A new couple arrived earlier, from Oregon; they were on our flights from SFO to Nadi.
Sept 4
Today we are going on our “private picnic”. The resort takes our picnic order and pack everything- fruit, sandwiches, salad, cookies, coffee/tea, hot water thermos, juice, water, tablecloth, utensils and all. They take us by small boat to another part of the island. The island is 240 acres and only this resort. There are maybe 6-8 couples here at the most. They drop us off at the other part of the island, horseshoe bay. We have an enclosed (by wire fence) hut with table and chairs. We can snorkel, swim, eat and relax. There are goats over here, probably about 8 on this small stretch of beach, and bats. (The goats are the reason for the enclosed hut) It was beautiful. Shannon snorkeled. I liked it better to try to walk out and snorkel rather then just get out of the boat in the water. Shannon was like a kid in the water and didn’t want to get out. He swam really far snorkeling. Next we came back to the resort and did something I have never done, Shannon took me sailing on a small hobie cat. Wow! Kind of scary but wonderful. This island is paradise.
The island has bats, goats, cows and pig farm. We will go on an island hike to see more.
Sept 5
Today we went on a waterfall hike on Taveuni. We have to take the boat to the original place on the other island and then they drive us in the van to the rain forest park. We had a great lunch and walked up to the waterfall. There were two waterfalls but we were not wearing the correct shoes to cross the river. It had slippery rocks and a rope to use to cross. The rain forest and the views on the hike were beautiful. Shannon jumped from part of the waterfall, he said water was freezing. (picture)
Sept 6
This is another world. The life people live is so different but they are so happy. We went on a village tour today. This is on the other island, Qamae. We saw the school and the homes. We tasted kava (yuck) and it’s a ritual and “sedative” that is mixed with water and you drink it. It makes your tongue numb. This evening just before dinner, I heard an animal making “chattering” noises. I went out to see what it was and it was Jonathan the resorts bat, outside our Bure in the tree. The resort rehabilitated him and he is used to people and social. They said he may sleep in our outside shower but we never heard or saw him.
Sept 7
Today we went on a “bush walk” island hike, which takes us to the top of the island. What a beautiful view. We lost the trail at the beginning, which is easy to due since it’s so overgrown. The “village tour guide” saw us and said we are not on the trail and took us back to the trail. We had to hike up the side of the hill. It was a nice hike once we were on the trail again. There are goats and birds all over. We did notice that most of the plants we see growing naturally here are the same as houseplants at home. When we got back, we went sailing again. This is really beautiful. Shannon looks so comfortable and natural with it.
Our last evening was really nice. The staff has been so friendly. I don’t want to leave. We have to get up and have our luggage ready by 7:30 am and the boat will take us to Taveuni at 8:15.
Sept 9
We left Matangi resort at 8:15 a.m. We took the boat ride to Taveuni, and a small plane to Savu Savu then to Nadi. Our flight to LAX was not until 10 p.m. The resort arranged to have someone meet up at the airport and take us to downtown Nadi. They kept our luggage and we were able to shop and spend the day as we wished and just let them know when we wanted to head back to the airport. The company they were with is called Jack’s. We wandered around Jack’s for souvenirs. We went to curry house for lunch. It was great. We went back to Jack’s and bought some things and about 5pm we decided to head to the airport.
When we got to the airport, I had decided I should check and see if the flight was still on time and when we can check it. I looked on the monitors and it said all Los Angeles flights = CANCELLED. I had to go find Shannon and bring him with me so I would not freak out. We stood in the line for check in, with hundreds of others, for hours. Finally we asked the staff what was going on since nobody had said anything to us and we were very near the front of the line, maybe 30- 40 people in if that. They really could not tell us or answer our questions, as if we were not speaking English to them. Finally around 10 pm they sent us to a motel for the night with guarantee there would be a flight at 10pm the following night, 24 hours later. The hotel was ok.
We went to the Raymond Burrs’ “Garden of the Sleeping Giant” orchid farm. It was beautiful. We spent a few hours there, went back to the motel after that. We then went with another lady that was stranded with us, to downtown Nadi to the temple. It was so colorful and beautiful. We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant that was very good and went back to the hotel. We spent the rest of the day lounging around, reading and had dinner. At 7 pm we were taken back to the airport and we were able to get on the LAX flight. (We got bumped up to business class as we checked in, that was nice) Once we hit LA, we found out Air Pacific never rebooked our connecting flights. (no surprise) We booked a flight home on Southwest and finally made it home, about 24 hours late.
It was such a wonderful trip up until then, so we didn’t let that spoil anything. We had a fabulous and amazing trip.

Memorial Day Monday- I forgot to post this

Monday morning of Memorial Day weekend, Shannon and I got up early. They have the art & Wind festival in San Ramon. One of the events is the hot air ballon launch. I have always wanted to see this so.................we got up at 6 and went down to watch it. It was pretty cool to see the process. We dont know if they actually took off. It was overcast so we didnt think so but we were getting bored.

Apparently......

So apparently some people try to reply to my blog and can not, so I am trying to figure out why and hopefully (since I wont be able to figure it out) then Tami is also trying to figure out why. Hope we can figure it out so I will think people read this stuff.

Just as I am getting ready to go to the cabin

I get this email saying. "Betcha never thought this would happen..

but...drum-roll please.....We're getting married!!!"

This is my friend Angel from uh..... too many years now and Dave. (This is at our wedding rehearsal dinner)

So Congrats to the happy couple to having made this decision.

Anybody.............

is anybody out there? does anybody read this?

Pre Memorial day at the cabin

We went up to the cabin on Tuesday to open it and meet Shannon's parents. Opening went without a problem, thankfully. We didn't know if we would have any broken pipes. Dan and Anne, Shannon's parents, met us at the cabin later in the afternoon. We showed them around and relaxed a little and drove down to the lake and then to the dam. Weather was pretty nice. around 70 in the day and not sure on night maybe 40's. Wednesday we took a drive to go to Feather Falls. It was a beautiful drive but unfortunately we didn't read the brochure well enough and it was a 4 hour hike. Myself and Anne could not do that so we all enjoyed our lunch and walk around a little on the trail. THis is a view on the way and some pictures on the trail. Also a fire water fountain we saw. Thursday morning Dan and I got up at 6 and went fishing. Of course he caught a really nice size rainbow trout and I got nothing. Here is a picture of him getting the pole ready and then another of the lake and the tiny patch of snow.

Then Thursday afternoon we packed lunch again and went off to find the mining areas and hydrolic mining areas. This was on a dirt road but such a nice drive. We saw the mines, the old bridge and a very old cemetary. This is a picture of a mine shaft.

Thursday night Dan and I fished again. No luck at all, not even a nibble. Well I got some mosquito bites.

Friday morning we got back up at 6 and tried again. No luck at all. THen later, we took a drive down a very steep and windy road to Quincy. Its about 34 miles away. We had a nice time, had lunch in Quincy and followed the 7 wonders of Railroad. So shannon and his dad climbed down this hill off the highway to find this tunnel that is 7344 feet and then a train came so they watched it go in the tunnel. Anne and I stayed up on the road and watched. It seemed safer that way. YOu can see us up there, the little people in the picture looking up.

Friday night Amy, Mike and Chance and Mike's dad got up to the cabin about midnight. We all got up Saturday morning and did some fire clearance around the cabin and went to the picnic grounds to help with cleanup there.

Shannon and I left Saturday afternoon. IT was a wonderful visit and probably the busiest I have ever been up there since I was a kid. I slept so good the entire time I was there. I was so tired.

La Porte, A1c and stuff

Well I dont know that anyone other than Tami is reading this, since she is the only one that comments. Nothing new to really report.

I went and got my HA1c test done. Its a blood test they do every 3-4 months to figure out your average number for diabetes. Thankfully it has dropped from 6.7 to 6.3. I am glad because I would have been pisses if I had gone through all this with the insulin and it stayed the same or worse, gone up!! So that is my good news.

I am working on preparing for a trip up to the cabin next Tuesday. 4 or 5 days away from computer and cell phone. We have absolutely no service up there, just about an hour down the mountain we lose the service. Should be beautiful weather. The cabin is in La Porte and has been closed all winter so we will open it and Shannon's parents will be up with us. I am looking forward to going and maybe fishing, should be great weather for it.

Here it is as we closed it up. That is my mom's cousin who has a cabin on our road and then my cousin Amy and Mike, Shannon and myself. (for those who can not figure it out)

I am trying to find the battery charger for the camera so we don't run out of battery. I don't know how we lose things in this house like we do. I guess we need to do a bit more organizing. I am starting to see some of the seeds I planted recently sprout. It seems they sprout and then die. I am hoping that us being gone a few days and not getting them watered does not kill them. The deer came back a couple of days after it ate my rose, but Jasper told me. What a good kitty. The deer we see right now at the house are the males. Here is Jasper and the deer last year. This is right out our sliding door bedroom window.

The cat just watches and meows. Its early morning usually when they are around, well actually its dawn and dusk. We haven't seen them in the evening yet. OH and the wild turkeys are not back at all, just a one time incident. Kinda cool that Shannon could get a picture this close. This was during the day though also. They eat the fruit that the tree drops. I think it is a loquat tree or something. They eat nearly everything else out on the deck and stuff. I am going to booby trap the area so they will stay away (hopefully)

Ok thats it for now. Stay tuned for the pictures from our trip.

Cats, wildlife and more

So you know how as a kid, Mom let us lick the spoon when making cake or cookies or something? In this house we let the indoor cat lick the spoon from the can of cat food we feed the outdoor cat. I have never heard my darn cat cry like a baby like he does when we feed the outdoor cat his wet food!! (Jasper gets a special dry food so he doesn't get crystals)

So as for the life I live with wildlife.... Last night Jasper and Shannon both stopped and their ears perked up and then Shannon went into the hall.... finally he answered me telling me the racoons were in the wall or under the tub again. GGGGRRRRR I don't like the critters. So then you will see I have this beautiful red rose from my new rose bush this year and 1 bloomed. Isn't it nice??? So here is what I woke up to , deer, I want to get them and make them stay away. I am going to go buy fishing line and put it everywhere so they wont eat my roses. darn them!! (sorry dont knkow how to rotate the below picture

Saturday we Cinco de Mayo. I didn't do much of excitment but did get out for a while that evening. Jim and I went down to Luna Loca. (Shannon was flying) We had dinner and hung out a while. Jim's ex showed up, with her ex husband. (weird) I of course ran into people I knew from high school and grade school. I also met a friendly or drunk and friendly or just lonely gal. I was waiting in the bathroom line and she started talking to me, introduced herself and was just nice. Then a while later I ran into her again and she hugged me and said hi, asked my name again, introduced me to her husband and asked if I wanted to see a picture of her baby. It was a bit strange. Plus the child was about 3 or 4 not a baby at all. Anyway, the other thing about that was while waiting in the bathroom line, I was looking at all the pictures on the wall from years ago when luna loca used to do the full moon night. So it was funny to see pictures of myself and various friends and such from '92 and such. Lets see what else? Well I saw one gal, Sharon that I have known since elementary school. She was interesting to talk to, I dont know her so well. We told her about Jim's ex being there and she put on a little act so that was fun. Kristina was another we saw and I always seem to see her in Danville for these events. So we run into each other once a year sometimes more. Not much else of interest that night.

Sunday 5/6 we did the diabetes bike ride. I did 10 miles and Jim and Shannon did the 25 mile one. No way I could make that but I did make the 10 mile no problem. Here are a few pictures from our little adventure.
So I have to say, many many thanks to those that sonsored me!!
Other than that, its just job searching and such. I have a couple interviews lined up. I have some clients I am working with for weddings also so that is good.

Power tools!

Yep thats me and they really let me use power tools. Ther were in desperate need of people to help with everything to build the playground. I dont have much for pictures yet, Shannon has the digital somewhere. They will get added here soon. 5/10, here are some pictures. You see Walter in the tool shed and just the grounds as this is being constructed and the mosaic wall Tami worked on. I may go to the grand opening and get pictures of it completed