Shhhh, the well kept secret of Elkhorn Slough

When I was growing up, my father disliked going anywhere he couldn't return home to his front porch by sundown. It makes me smile, knowing he would have approved of the summer we've been having this year. Instead of going on "vacat-ions", we have gone on "stay-cations"--day trips to places in our area we have never been to before.

Yesterday’s backyard adventure took us to nearby Elkhorn Slough, an ecological treasure, tucked secretly between the two popular tourist destinations of Monterey and Santa Cruz. These other two flashy destinations attract tourists like magnets, while sleepy little Moss Landing, where the Elkhorn Slough resides, goes relatively unnoticed—except by those who know what they are looking for. And yesterday we knew exactly what we wanted to see: an amazing wildlife ecosystem filled with sea birds, California sea otters, California sea lions, harbor seals, and other interesting creatures!

Since this was our first visit to the Slough, we decided to book a three hour kayaking tour through Kayak Connection:

http://www.kayakconnection.com/tours_page.php?id=12&keywords=3-hour_Tour

That way, if one of us over-turned, there would be someone that knew what they were doing to rescue us! It was also nice to have someone narrate what we were looking at, as well as point out the varying wildlife.

Since we were rowing most of the time, it was a bit hard to take too many photos, but here are a few from our trip.

Above: Our first sighting of wildlife was along a beach we paddled past. On the left are California sea lions, and on the right, harbor seals.

Our guide pointed out the differences between the sea lions and the seals. The California sea lions (above) are brown, have ear flaps, and their faces are similar to that of a dog. They are more active than harbor seals.

The harbor seals (above) are multi colored, lack ear flaps, and look like giant slugs! But, once either get in the water, they are equally fluid and graceful. They came right by our boats-- popping their heads up to watch us, or jumping in small arches from the water.

Above: harbor seals on the left and brown pelicans on the right (click on photo to enlarge).

Our kids were troopers; they more agilely paddled around in their kayak than we did in ours! (Kids above, old people below!)

Below: Elaine with the sea lions and seals.

More California sea lions (below).


Here are just a few other things we saw on our trip through the Slough: brown pelicans diving for food, a group of white pelicans floating by, double-crested cormorants skimming across the water, a snowy white egret standing as still as a statue, and giant red jellies pulsing by under the kayaks. We also saw numerous sea otters floating on their backs--breaking open shellfish by pounding them into the rocks resting on their tummies. An incredible display of nature at its best!


Ahhhh, three hours with squadrons of pelicans soaring above, rafts of sea otters floating by our sides—the engaging magic of Elkhorn Slough! It was sad to see the tour come to an end, but my aching arms told me it was time. Being such a well kept secret has probably enabled the Slough to remain the rare, vibrant wildlife ecosystem it is today.

After spending the rest of our magical day in Monterey, we headed back home . . . to my front porch . . . before sundown.

For more information on Elkhorn Slough, go to:

http://www.elkhornslough.org/

Someday Summer!

My husband almost had a work transfer to Michigan a couple of months ago. I was devastated by the possibility of moving. So many things went through my mind--things like, "How could I leave my home of 27 years?" Other more trivial thoughts were, "There are places here that I have always wanted to see, but have never taken the time." I had always thought, "We will go there someday." It scared me of the possibility that I had put off doing these things for too long, and now it was too late! It mad me feel sick.

To make a dramatic story short, we ended up staying here in Cali and decided to make this our "Someday Summer!" A Summer filled with things we always wanted to do--to take advantage of this "second chance" we have been given. Also, after all the huge medical bills we have incurred this past year local day trips totally fit our budget!

As our family sat down to make our list of things, I was amazed--the list had places that people travel from around the world to see and do. I was so excited to start the fun-filled adventures. I am going to post our local outings here on my blog, as we check them off our"Someday List".

First on our list: Natural Bridges State Beach, in Santa Cruz. We have been to Santa Cruz before, but had not seen Natural Bridges Beach. We decided to go there the 5th of July, since both since both hubby and I were off work that day. On our way, we had to drive past the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

It is always so cool to see an amusement park right on the sandy beach, the waves almost lapping at the large wooden roller coaster.

Not too far north of the Boardwalk is Natural Bridges State Beach.

Apparently there use to be two "bridges", but one collapsed around 1976, leaving a single bridge behind. The beach is in a tiny intimate cove. Very cozy and a wonderful place to spend the day. There were picnic tables with BBQs just above the sandy beach. Next time we will have to plan a BBQ when we come.

Often the weather can be cool along the coast--but it wasn't too bad this day. Overcast, but not too cold. We liked it here so much we are planning on coming back in the Fall--by the beach is a eucalyptus grove which becomes a temporary home for around 100,00 Monarch Butterflies (from mid-October through mid-February).

On the way home, we stopped to watch the surfers (below is a short video).

Okay, one fun-filled check off the old Someday List! And thank goodness for second chances!

For more information about Natural Bridges State Beach go to:

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=541

Winding down the school year

I am wayyyyy behind on posting anything here on my blog. To busy living life! Even though it has been awhile since Summer has started, here are a couple of fun photos taken at the end of the school year.

Our daughter made the 4th Grade Honor Roll at her school (above and below).

Our daughter with her fabulous 4th Grade teacher (above).

Yikes, this school year went by in a blink-or-the-eye. Here are a couple of photos of my son's 8th Grade middle school graduation.

Nope, the 8th Graders didn't have any "caps" to go with their "gowns".

His graduation was held at the local high school football field. There were 330 graduating 8th Graders.

Here is the principle of the middle school giving our son his diploma. Guess it is now official, he is off to high school!

Below, this is how I find my son in a large crowd.

It helps that he is 6' 3 1/2" tall!

The end of graduation and our son is going home to dress for the big 8th Grade Dance and Graduation party. It is so cool that our son and daughter are best friends--I thought this photo captured that relationship (below).

This also shows us walking off into Summer. I will post more about those excursions later!

Hope all of you are having a wonderful summer!

Being a Child Again

One of the great joys of being a mother is being able to live another childhood along with each one of your children. This past Wednesday I was able to do that with my ten year old daughter. I was one of the chaperones for her 4th Grade Class as they went on a field trip to Monterey and Carmel. The field trip was to go visit three important historical landmarks in California’s history: Monterey Custom House, Colton Hall (in Monterey), and the Carmel Mission. This was a real treat for me, since I didn’t grow up in California. I didn't learn California history when I was in elementary school like my ten year old daughter is currently doing. So what better time to do it than now?

Our first stop of the day was at the Custom House (pictured above), right by the wharf in Monterey. At one time it was Mexico’s primary port of entry on the Alta California coast. This is one of the oldest government buildings in California. In July 1846 Commodore John Drake Sloat raised a flag here, claiming over 600,000 square miles of territory for the United States.

Next stop in Monterey was Colton Hall (pictured above and below). This building was originally built as a school house, but on
September 1, 1849, representatives met here to draft a constitution, in hopes California would be admitted into the United States.

Our last stop was my favorite; we ended our field trip at the Carmel Mission (above). This mission was dedicated in 1797. By 1836, two years after secularization, the destruction of mission life was complete. The church was basically in ruins until 1931 when Harry Downie was put in charge of restoring the mission. From that time until his death in 1980 he dedicated his life to restoring the mission. Here are some of my favorite photographs of the beautiful building and its grounds. Click on any photo to enlarge.

The next three photos are of the living quarters in the mission.

More photos of the grounds. The weather was nice that day--perfect for taking outside photos.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of these historical places. I also hope you, along with me, learned a little bit more about California history. It is fun having a chance to learn, explore,

and to be a child again!

My Mom

A Mother’s Day can’t go by without me missing my mother.

I would like to pay tribute to her today.

I am sad to say, the last five years of my mother’s life were so heartbreaking, they often overshadow memories I have of the wonderful person I knew growing up. Unfortunately when I was only twenty-one years old, my mother had a brain aneurism. She had just turned sixty-five years old. The person I had known as “Mom” disappeared that day and fragments of her, along with her frail body, stayed and fought a five-year-battle of dibilitating health problems.

Ahhh, enough of the sad, and on with the happy.

(Below, left to right: my grandmother, my uncle, my mother, and my grandfather.)

My mother was born in the heart of one of the most sparsely populated regions of the United States, Fredonia, Arizona.
(Below: my uncle, and my mother)

The tiny little town is located in the high desert plateau considered the Northern gateway to the Grand Canyon.
(My mother and her family outside their home in Fredonia, Arizona.)

She had four amazing sisters, and one brilliant brother.
They were all very close. They were taught the value of an education.
(My aunt who was an RN, my uncle who was a psychiatrist, and my mother had a teaching degree.)

My mother was one of the few women of her time to get a college degree. She graduated from Brigham Young University.

After graduating and teaching school for one year
she married my father.
(Below: My mother and father with my oldest brother.)

My parents had five children, of which I was the youngest--
--and an “oops”.

You see, my mother was 45 when she had me, and my father 50.
So, my appearance in their lives came as quite a surprise!
She was a very petite woman, and her motto was, “Diamonds and dynamite come in small packages!” She was a mixture of both :-)
(Below: on the left is my Aunt Ella, on the right is my mother.)

My mother filled her time with hard work, service towards others, and a love of God.

(Photo above and below: My mother with her sister Ella.)

She was employed for twenty-five years as the town's City Recorder. She was very active in the church and served others whenever she was given an opportunity. She loved to laugh, and had a witty sense of humor.

I have never met a person who worked harder or could fit more into a day than she could.
She believed that “Everything worth doing was worth doing well!”

I wish I could have shared more of my life with her.

I miss her terribly.

I celebrate this day in her honor.

Love you Mom!