California - August 2013

It has been a long time since we have been to the Rich & Ginny's cabin so we used Richard's 70th birthday as an excuse to get away. 

Aug 12, 2013 (Mon)

Today we flew to San Jose where Rich & Ginny picked us up on the way to the cabin. We stopped in Oakdale for gas and ice cream cones. We also stopped at Wal-Mart in Sonora. We arrived at the cabin and then unloaded the car. Ginny and I fixed dinner (salmon, potatoes, asparagus, and fruit salad). Yummy!

Aug 13, 2013 (Tue)

            Today was an unplanned day. Richard, Paul and I went to Longbarn to get the mail. We checked out their lodge. Their cabins were very nice. In the afternoon we walked around some of the streets then sat on a bench and looked at the pond (lake). We went back and I helped Ginny fix tacos for dinner. 

Aug 14, 2013 (Wed)

            This morning Paul, Ginny and I went to Twain Hart. I found two tops and Paul found some gluten-free food. We came back to the cabin and had lunch. Paul has been learning some nice shortcuts on the iPad he shared with me. 

Aug 15, 2013 (Thu)

            This morning we went to Columbia and had lunch at El Jardine, a Mexican restaurant. 

Lunch at El Jardin

The smoochers 

Nice smile

We walked around Columbia and looked in some stores. We then went to the Fallon Theater and saw the production of “Oklahoma”. It was well done. 

Columbia stagecoach

 After the play we went to The Rock for dinner. Paul and I split a meal of ribs with potatoes, beans, and coleslaw. It was good. 

Aug 16, 2013 (Fri)

            After lunch Paul and I went for a walk. 

Tree stump along the road

We walked to a small falls (Steven's Falls) to see how much water was flowing. 

Steven's Falls

What are knees for anyway?

We then went back to the lake and took some pictures. 

The lake (pond)

Shouldn't this goose be in Canada?

There were also some nice flowers around the lake. 

Bumblebee thistle competition

The pea family

Steve and Melissa arrived at about 5:30 pm. 

Aug 17, 2013 (Sat)

            Today was Richard’s 70^th birthday. We went for a walk this morning to the lake. Rich and Ginny talked to neighbors on the way so they did not make it to the lake. 

Steve, the Wheeler

Some take the wide path

Anna in the water 

The Google family

How does it feel to turn 70 years old? Unless you are a banana, one day doesn't make a lot of difference.

How many cakes does it take for a 70-year-old?

Finally up-to-date with technology

Aug 18, 2013 (Sun)

            This morning we went to church in Sonora. Steve and Melissa went back to San Jose right after the meetings. We came back to the cabin and had lunch. It was a good day of rest.

Aug 19, 2013 (Mon)

            Today we decided to see Lyon Lake and Dam. It is not very far from the cabin, but we had never seen it. It is a nice lake in a pretty setting that I assume was created because of the dam. 

Lyon Lake

Lyon Dam

We were able to walk across the dam and then we went back across it again. We followed a trail and some steps down to an aqueduct. It was very pretty. The weather was just right and there was a touch of a breeze. We came back about noon and had lunch. 

Around the lake 

Who picked this trail?

Helicopter landing strip

The mathematics tree - a square root

Shady character

Along the metal walkway

Down the wooden stairs

Up the dirt path

Aug 20, 2013 (Tue)

            This morning we learned that Richard couldn’t sleep (trying to solve the problem of the phone not working) so he went to Oakdale at 3:30 am to see if he could get it to work - it didn’t. He was back by 6:30 am. We went to Sonora to do some shopping, passing by the waterwheel family along the way. 

Papa wheel, Mama wheel, baby boy and girl wheels

We got a book of kid’s recipes and I bought a machine embroidery pattern. I also bought  another pattern to use as a rug hook pattern possibility. They were both 50% off. I hope I can make the machine embroidery one work. We went to a few more stores then we went to lunch at Jeb’s. 

We went to Cover’s Apple Ranch and Richard and Paul each bought  book. Paul got the Readers Digest of the American West. He has been looking for it for years. 

Covers Apple Ranch

The train (Paul's is cuter)

Aug 21, 2013 (Wed)

            This morning Paul and I went for a walk. He wanted me to point out cabins that I thought were cozy. As we walked the air was quite smoky. The smoke from the Rim Fire by Yosemite was coming this way. We also noticed ash falling. 

Smoky haze

Even more smoke

The smoke cleared out so it was pleasant outside. 

Aug 22, 2013 (Thu)

            This morning the smoke was thicker than it was yesterday. When I walked out of the bedroom I could smell the smoke. The fire was about 15 miles away, but the smoke was coming right over Odd-Fellow Park where the cabin is. 

This looks like evacuation time

We decided it would be wise to leave and go back to San Jose today. On the way we stopped at Oakdale and checked out a western store where they had large carved bears in front. 

New meaning to bear hugging

We then went to Manteca and had lunch at the Black Bear Diner. It was very good food. We finally arrived at the house in San Jose at about 4 pm. Steve and Melissa had fixed an Indian dish for dinner, but we had California tacos instead. 

Dancing with the stars

Aug 23, 2013 (Fri)

            We had a leisurely morning with breakfast and packing. 

This is why grandpas have laps 

Melissa in the kitchen

At 9:30 am we went to the Computer History Museum. It was a fascinating place. It was fun to see ancient methods of calculators and how that led to computers. It was also interesting to see how big things were and how small they are now. We definitely live in a fast changing world. 

Look at this new computer 

Is this better than counting on my fingers? 

Why can't I have a car like this?

When we finished there we met Steve at Google and had lunch with him. He showed us around outside. It seems he has the ideal job. Rich and Ginny then took us to the airport and dropped us off. Our flight home was nice. It is good to be home.