Travel
Excursions to exotic locales or day tripping, I realize that humor and motion sickness pills are the best companions.
-
The Lost Gardens of Heligan
If you ever go to England, go to Cornwall and spend at least a day at the Lost Gardens of Heligan (http://www.heligan.com/ ). Due to a flat tire we only spent four hours there and we didn’t see even half of the 400 acres of incredible restored gardens. The story is this: a thousand acres on the southern coast of Cornwall has belonged to the Tremayne family for about 400 years. At the end of the 1800’s, one of the Tremaynes had built extensive theme gardens. There were walled gardens, enormous hedges, glass houses, cold frames, a pineapple pit where the only pineapple grown in Cornwall grew warmed by horse manure. Melon houses, leisure gardens, formal flower gardens, woods, kitchen gardens and unbelievably, tropical gardens, filled the estate. Due to Cornwall’s position by the English Channel the climate is such that with care tropicals can be grown there. The estate was fantastic; then came WW I, and almost half the family and staff were killed. The gardens were abandoned. Subsequent wars and taxes took their toll, and the gardens became overgrown. Vines, brambles, trees and weeds ran rampant, breaking through the glass roofs, pulling apart brick walls, upsetting carefully laid pathways and covering every trace of the gardens under a head-high blanket of tangled, thorny brush.
Twenty-one years ago, the Tremayne who inheirited the gardens, asked one of the founders of the neighboring Eden Project ( http://www.edenproject.com/ ) to try and restore the gardens. The task was phenomenal and reads like a mystery. Hacking through the overgrowth they found the walls, the foundations and the clues as to what had been. Since then the gardens have been restored. They are everyone’s dream of a garden combined. There is a mound that was a beacon mound during Nepolianic times, but then discovered dates back to the Armada, and then back to Medieval times! There is a jungle with massive gunnera plants and palm trees, about half an acre of vegetables all grown from seed that dates from the late Victorian time, walled flower gardens, ‘antique’ poultry and cattle, unique sculptures recently added, and a wildlife garden to encourage the existence of so many insects, birds and animals that are disappearing. Even with weeding through photos I came up with so many that I want to share, that I’ll just post them below. Visit the website and read up on the Lost Gardens, voted Britain’s Finest Gardens. They are magical.
Entrance to a magical world. 
The Tremayne who built the gardens holding a single Gunnera leaf in front of his famous pineapple pit. 
Flavors of ice cream… we didn’t get to have any! 
A mysterious mound was uncovered and thought to have been a beacon site in Nepolianic times, and for centuries beyond that. 
Stone steps into the ravine 
The Italian garden 
Ivy coming through the roof, trying to reclaim the building once again. 
Hot houses and cold frames 
Cold frames for veg. 
Espaliered pears of many varieties. 
Writing on the wall of the ‘thunder room’, or original composting toilet 
All plants and veg grown are from the late Victorian period 
Espaliered fruit trees make use of warm wall space 
About a quarter acre of mixed greens. 
Bee skeps (baskets, pre-movable hives) were kept in boles for winter protection. 
A bee skep in a bee bole 
History of the Bee Boles 
A banana grows in Cornwall! 
Melon houses 
Potting shed with greenhouses in a walled area. Sigh. 
Cold frames in the potting shed 
A robin watches, just like in The Secret Garden 
The overgrown remains of mud brick walls 
A very steep pathway lined with chicken wire to prevent slipping 
The Jungle 
A wire sculpture of a woman with her arms out… can you see her? 
A deciduous walkway 
Mud Woman 
A very green man -
Jamaica Inn
Our first room was above the pub on the left. I know you are all sick of reading about bathing a hen; I’m back from a vacation in Cornwall, UK and helping my daughter move back to OSU for her Junior year. With a gazillion photos to sort through, I’ll do my best to show you the highlights of our travels as well as keep you up on the growing of my gardens.
Why Cornwall? It is a land of legend, infinite beauty, the birthplace of many famous people, and is home of the pastie (a turnover with savory filling made by wives for lunch for their mining husbands). It was also supposed to be the warmest place in the UK in September, and the best place for birding as all the migrants fly near there. What no forecasting website let me know was that the hurricane that had hit the US East coast had moved north near Ireland, and gale-force winds were hitting most of upper Europe. Cornwall was no exception. The winds hit on the third day of our trip, and let up towards the end, so birding wasn’t so great ( you had to look quickly :). )
Our first lodging in Cornwall was at the Jamaica Inn (http://www.jamaicainn.co.uk/ ). How great is that! For you literary types, or those who love Alfred Hitchcock films, you’ll recognize this Daphane Du Maurier title which had been made into a movie. (Hitchcock also made movies of two of her other works, Rebecca and The Birds).
The Inn had been infamous for smuggling Jamaica Inn sits on the Bodmin Moor in East central Cornwall. When we flew into Newquay (pronounced NEW-key) airport and rented our car it had just begun to rain with a little thunder thrown in for atmosphere. The drive through traffic was slow (the highways have cow crossroads with signal lights!) and as we approached the Inn the fog rolled in.
The museum in the rain. There had been an accident on one of the highways so traffic was backed up. As we gratefully parked in the main parking lot of the Inn, an older man in a yellow traffic vest that had been out on the street came over and suggested that we park in the small lot in the front. He explained about the traffic, and joked about us being ready to meet ghosts at the Inn. I told him that with a meal, dry clothes and a warm bed, let the ghosts do their worst! He laughed and replied that ‘strange things happen around there.’ I moved the car, navigating a forty-five degree turn in a narrow, brick sided gate without scratching the car (England is infamous for this sort of thing), and re-parked. Glancing back at the road, I noticed that the man had disappeared. We never saw him again! Strange things, indeed.
The neighborhood isolated by fog In three nights we stayed in three different rooms because of the Inn being full.
Main entrance We moved from the smallest and oldest room, one which the owner vowed had the most ghostly activity, to a larger, slightly less ghostly room, to finally a large room in the ‘new wing’ with a great view of the Bodmin Moor. The staff knew us as the ‘traveling Americans’. The owner told us that only the night before the guest in that first room had stood up from the bed and felt a hand push him back, twice. We walked through the dark pub, up the winding stairway to our room, named after one of the characters in Du Maurier’s book, and entered our room. It could very well have been the source of many unusual phenomenom. Being in the old section, which dated back 400 years, the floor slanted inward so much that you could imagine yourself shipboard stuck on the roll of a wave. It was great. After a visit to the pub, I don’t doubt that the previous guest had fallen down.
A man who disappeared on his birthday on the moors. The Inn is hundreds of years old, and definately has an atmosphere.
Original stonework and chains At the Rancho Guajome Adobe in Vista, I havethe feeling that the house is like an older woman who was dressed in her finest, hair done up, back straight and proud, welcoming guests to yet another party at her fine home. At the Jamaica Inn, with its slanted floors, swaybacked roof and settled walls, I had the impression of an old, mostly toothless hag, one eye squinty, the other pierceing you with its gaze to see what you’re worth, and cackling at your dismay when you shudder. Wonderful!
Dining in the dark; makes you want a mug with a glass bottom! There was a microclimate that surrounded the Inn; it was always colder, foggier, rainier and windier than even the coastal areas both North and South. We’d awaken to crummy weather and defiantly brave it to visit a garden or ruin, and find the weather a lot better once we left the area! Our last night there was the beginning of the intense gale-force winds. Flag poles were outside our room and they beat a strong tattoo all night. In the morning I pushed the window open against the wind to have a look, and wasn’t surprised at the flag that had beat so furiously in the storm.
The Jolly Roger The moor is not the wild, heath-covered marshy area one would expect anymore. It has been cut into squares for farmland, lined with hedgerows or stacked stone walls. It still is beautiful. The radiant green of British and Irish fields can’t be explained, just loved.
Bodmin Moor through our window. We didn’t have time to hike to the standing stones there, and tried twice to walk to the Dozmary Pool, the legendary home of the Lady of the Lake who kept King Arthur’s sword. We had heard that the ‘bottomless lake’ of legend does, indeed, dry up, and there is another lake that claims the sword as well, so we didn’t feel too badly about missing it. We walked across a field, sinking into wet spots, imagining Jane Eyre collapsed on a moor, and all the other stories and legends surrounding these fascinating places. I was glad to be close to safety!
Yes, that's fog behind the museum The Jamaica Inn does brisk business as a tourist stop, particularly for busloads of ghost-seekers. They visit the Du Maurier museum, the gift store, and have lunch in the dark pub.
On the telephone booth, the only spot of color in the courtyard. There are figures from the book lurking the corners, some of which speak to you when you press a button, and stocks in the front yard.
The harried heroine of Jamaica Inn, and touch of Poe with the cask of Amantillado A ghost log sits next to the guest register for reporting any supernatural activity, and it is quite full.
The ghost log I was mildly disappointed in not being spooked; however, if any ghost had tried to wake me up they would have been disappointed, for I was too tired to care!
Spooks! Any adventure is enjoyed even more after you are safely home. I loved staying at the Jamaica Inn, soaked up the atmosphere, the grey stones the fog and all the corny spooky stuff set around the Inn. The name Jamaica Inn allegedly came from all the rum that was smuggled through. A plaque on the floor of the bar commemorates a spot where someone had been murdered. I wouldn’t have missed staying there for the world!
-
Top Ten Air Travel Tips (for now, anyway!)
In the last four years I’ve done a little traveling. I’ve flown and drove in England, Scotland and soon Cornwall, and flown to tour Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Also I’ve been traveling back and forth to Oregon to see my daughter in college. I’ve learned a few tricks; I’m sure I’ll learn more the hard way each time I travel. Here are ten tips that I find useful and perhaps you may, too:
1. Don’t rely on travel agents to do the right thing.
For my first vacation four years ago, I made a trip to my AAA office. Since I was traveling to England, they couldn’t help me except for booking the plane flights. I looked into all kinds of tours, and finally gave them all up and booked our lodgings, rented a car and off we went under our own sails. We stayed at interesting places and received good rates, too. However, the travel agent booked our return flight to the US and the connecting flight home so closely together that it didn’t take customs into consideration and our flight was gone long before we even collected our baggage (which also goes through customs.) Fortunately it wasn’t one of the major flights. Look online and find the configurations of the airports, and see how far it is to get from one terminal to another, especially if you must switch airlines. Remember that you have to check in at the desk when you change airlines, even if you’ve been ‘checked through’ at the beginning. Otherwise your luggage will be enjoying a tour of your destination while you await another flight. I overheard one woman frantically calling her travel agent because her plane landed in San Diego but her connecting flight was booked from Carlsbad airport, and she didn’t know. After a frantic and expensive taxi ride she found the plane was late, which made everyone miss all connecting flights. She wasn’t happy.
Also when booking online through TripAdvisor, Expedia, Travelocity, or any of the other dot-coms, keep comparing. TripAdvisor compares costs of flights from many different organizations, but try going through the airline’s website. For my upcoming trip to Cornwall, TripAdvisor came up with roundtrip for two at over $5,000. I almost dumped the whole trip. I went outside, visited the chickens, cooled off, then came in and checked United, where I have the Mileage Plus program. The trip came out to roughly $2500. Still a lot of money, but half of what had been proposed. Plus I earn mileage for the trip which I can use when booking flights to and from my daughter’s university. If you want to do it right, do it yourself! The best laid plans can go awry with one late plane or a little fog over San Francisco (I try to avoid changing planes there), so go with the flow.
2. Bring dental floss
When we went on an 8-day boat tour of the Galapagos Islands, something inextricable wedged in my teeth. On a small boat for eight days, I had no way of obtaining floss. My gum swelled and was distracting. I wish I had brought dental floss. Besides its regular use, dental floss is strong enough to be used as string or thread to tie up or on errant clothing, luggage tags, bandages, and much more. Plus it has its own built-in cutting device that isn’t considered a weapon.
3. Leave lots of time to switch terminals.
If you have an International flight, you will probably have to go to a different building entirely than the domestic flights. You’ll probably have to not only walk a great distance with your luggage, but take a tram to the other building. It can take 45 minutes from gate-to-gate if you are a fast walker and the tram isn’t full, and then you must check in at the desk and deal with your luggage again. So when booking your flight, make sure you leave a lot of time between flights.
4. Read reviews of airports.
Often when you book flights online, the information given is a pack of lies. Reading reviews of the airports and flights may give you tips about surprises that would have completely messed up your trip. For instance, a flight into England with a connecting flight to somewhere else in Britain may not even be at the same airport, and the fine print or initials may escape your notice. In fact, for many flights you must travel from Heathrow to Gatwick airports, and reviews say that with traffic it could take a couple of hours to travel, plus going through customs, gate check in, etc. Some flight packages say there are only one or two stops, but actually there is a third hidden one where you must deplane and board another. This happened in Bogotá, Columbia on the way to Ecuador. Machine-gun –bearing, camouflaged soldiers stood guard all throughout the airport since it is such a hotbed for drug smuggling.
5. Pack as little as possible, under 22 lbs.
You really don’t need to bring much: you aren’t moving. Bring a bar of soap for washing yourself and your clothing and invest in some good travel clothing that dries quickly. An excellent way to dry wet clothing is to lay it flat on a towel, roll the towel up, then with a partner or by stepping on one end, wring the towel as hard as you possibly can. The clothes inside will be just barely damp and will have a better chance of drying overnight hung out in the bathroom or over the heater in the room. By packing light clothes and washing often, you can get away with a small rolling suitcase and another small bag or purse or backpack, neither of which need to be checked as luggage. Keep the weight of a bag to 22 pounds or under if you will be traveling on small aircraft because many have weight regulations. Leave a little leeway for souvenirs on the return trip. Besides, waiting for your luggage to magically appear can add half an hour or more to your airport time, and if your luggage is lost, getting it back can be chancy.
6. Switch to solids or powders if possible; use tiny plastic bottles for everything else.
Liquids must be in containers no larger than 3 oz, and all liquid containers must fit neatly in a sandwich bag. I have no problem with security regulations because that is what must be done to try and protect us from the crazies. To make life easier when traveling, use creams, solids or powders when traveling to keep the liquids to a bare minimum, and transfer any liquids into small plastic travel bottles that you label clearly and put tape over.
7. Put all pharmaceuticals into plastic zip-lock bags, liquid or not.
Something will spill. Count on it. A lid will pop off or something will break, and then toothpaste will be all over your jeans, or nail polish all over your medications. I put soap and razor in one plastic baggie (the soap will be wet when I put it back in), medications, bandages, Imodium, travel sickness pills, daily small baggies of vitamins or daily medications, and any other dry stuff, into another plastic bag. Toothbrush and paste and floss go into another. When in the hotel, I put the bag with the soap in the shower, the bag of toothbrushes by the sink, and the other bags on the counter so everyone with me can get at them. It is so easy to pack up and keep anything wet or breakable from contaminating everything around it. I have also been told that putting your passport, license, and money into a plastic zip bag is a wise thing to do, so in case you survive a crash landing in the ocean, getting home will be very easy because all of your important things have been waterproofed. I haven’t done that. I’m taking my chances.
8. Be polite and kind to airline personnel, particularly those at the gate.
What an awful job! As bad as working at the DMV. These people are smiling through gritted teeth while being insulted and harassed and cursed at by people who are suffering through their travels. These scapegoats have loved ones and sore feet and car trouble, just like everyone else. Be nice to them with a smile, especially if they are grumpy looking. They are probably that way because the last guy just made life hell for them.
9. Drink lots of water.
By the time your body tells you it is thirsty, you are already a little dehydrated. Travel dehydrates the body. Drink lots of water, even if you need to squeeze down the aisle and cram yourself into the tiny lavatory because of it. All those germs your body is trying to get rid of will be washed away better, your digestion from the strange food will be eased, and swelling and aches from sitting so long won’t be so severe when you have adequate water in your muscles. Tea, coffee and alcohol dehydrates, so drink pure water.
10. Bring your own food.
It is no longer a given that you will receive a meal on a flight, or even the so joked about packet of peanuts. Many flights offer nothing, or just beverages, or have a selection of horrible foods to purchase. Often boxed lunches include a cold sandwich, a packet of salty pretzels or chips, a packet of cookies, and more condiments than you could ever hope to use. Being vegetarian, it is very difficult to eat adequately on long flights that don’t offer standard meals. However the vegetarian food when we do get it has been pretty good, all-in-all. Since I used to travel with children and with my mother who needed to keep her blood sugar up, I’m used to baking small muffins or sandwiches the day before the trip. I try to make things that will last several days. Even after reaching our destination we’ve resorted to eating our snack foods for several days between meals. For most people who are used to fast food and eat meat, it is easier to buy from one of the stores at the airport and carry it onboard, but I find home cooked food helps keep tummies stable.
Hopefully these tips can help if you aren’t already familiar with them. If you like to travel, don’t put it off. See what you want to see while you can. Time flies, and so should you.You May Also Like
Traveling Again: Oahu
-
Hiking Santa Rosa Plateau
One of my planned, “this shouldn’t be too long” hikes turned into a 9.5 mile hike today at the beautiful Santa Rosa plateau. My daughter and our hiking friend Alex and I enjoyed the day a bit longer than we had planned. We could even purchase AR-15 magazines for the rifles we had for hunting. However the chaparral and the oak grasslands are spectacular in any season. We saw a tarantula, many tarantula hawks, a three foot and very fat old Pacific rattlesnake who crossed our path. Also red tailed hawks, kites, bush tits, Bewick’s wren, meadowlarks, scrub jays, chickadee, sparrows and goldfinches. We set out at 1:30 and took a lot of time while photos were being taken, then stopped at the beautiful visitor’s center to look at their new outdoor displays of rocks and the art show that is still being held inside. Then we began the way back taking a trail across the street on which we’ve never been. We arrived back at the car at about 6:45. Although I hike fairly frequently, a hike of this length was a little more than I expected. I also had been wheelbarrowing and spreading mulch this morning before breakfast (14 loads). Good thing I didn’t go to Zumba! I’ve fed animals, made three meals including baking scones this morning, and now I’m moving like a crab with a rash. My hip and legs seem to be receiving signals different from what my brain is sending. I’m making the ‘old man sound’ as I struggle to stand. So please forgive the lack of photos and more creative post. My body isn’t going to forgive me today’s exercise (especially that last half mile uphill to the car!) in the near future. Neither, I think, is my daughter!
-
Hiking Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve
Ancient god face in wood Today my daughter and my hiking buddy Alex spent almost five hours hiking a seven-mile trail in the stunning Santa Ysabel Preserve. Alex and I hiked the Kanaka Loop trail before, taking less time, but today we stopped often for photographs of the abundant birds, insects, plants and incredible views.
A small pine in the shadow of a fallen giant Managed by the County of San Diego Parks Dept., this open space preserve has two entrances. The West Loop Trail, which is short and mostly easy, is off of Highway 79, and the main entrance and staging area is off of Farmer Road past Julian (http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/parks/openspace/Santa_Ysabel.html ) . Each entrance offers loop trails, and are connected by a portion of the Coast to Crest Trail.
This preserve is the home of ancient oak riparian woodlands,
Out of a storybook 200-year-old sycamore groves,
Two-hundred year-old sycamores stunning views of the mountains and hills west, with a glimpse of Palomar Observatory in the far distance
The View towards Palomar Observatory and equally serene pastoral landscapes of mountain homes, apple orchards and rolling hills in the southeast.
A beautiful valley of apple groves At this time of year the grasslands are pale gold, and ripples travel for acres in the very welcome warm breeze that kept this July day from being overwhelmingly hot.
Rolling grasslands A new experience for us was to walk miles of trail while disturbing thousands of grasshoppers that flung themselves out of the way or took wing to avoid us. It was like setting popcorn off as we walked, trying to not tread on any but also being hit by some misdirected fellows. One took a ride on my pants for awhile until he began to investigate my pants pocket and I had to give him a boost to freedom.
Grasshoppers It was a glorious day for birding; some of the birds we saw were flocks of Western bluebirds, kingbirds, a lark sparrow, a Lazuli bunting, ravens, chipping sparrows, goldfinches, bushtits, both spotted and California towhees, acorn and Nuttall’s woodpeckers, a Northern flicker, a Cooper’s hawk, an American kestrel, Western meadowlarks, brown-headed cowbirds, cliff swallows, Steller and scrub jays, Mountain chickadees, and many turkey families, their brood half-grown and comically awkward. We saw bright red Large Milkweed Beetles on blooming Indian milkweed, a late blooming Summer lupine, and did I mention grasshoppers? Thousands of grasshoppers. Almost the entire hike. A pair of ravens sat in the tall grass to the side of the trail with their beaks open, catching them as they leaped, as did Western bluebirds and others.
A hollow stump that looks like a TV set The Preserve is also home to cattle, and groups of the little ladies and their offspring dotted the landscape. Many bad cow jokes ensued (they’re in a bad MOOd; you can’t HIDE from them, they are UTTERLY charming, we’ve got to HOOF it past them, let’s MOOve it along… well, you get the picture), and although they watched us warily, they gave us no problem and we spoke to them soothingly as we passed by.
Lunch The Kanaka Loop Trail is easy up to the streambed crossing,
Good run-off for July then it goes uphill in areas which are bare due to elevation and past fires, so there is little cover. Many pines have sprouted up and their fragrance in the heat is intoxicating. However twice during the trail up through the trees we smelled greasy french-fries, and have no idea what plant or combination of flowers created that scent. It is an exceptionally beautiful trail and not difficult for the average hiker, but be sure to take a hat and lots of water, and a good attitude towards cows!
-
Ashland, OR and the Sacramento River
- Rotating Tracks
My daughter and I are returning from middle Oregon to San Diego in steps. Last night we stayed in a wonderful bed and breakfast, Country Willows, in Ashland, OR. http://www.countrywillowsinn.com/.
Wisteria adorns the porch We did a little walking around looking at the wonderful poppies that grew in almost every yard,
Poppies and then went downtown to see a modernized version of Love’s Labours Lost in the outdoor Elizabethan theatre. Ashland is the home of the Oregon Shakespeare festival, as well as being a college town, so there were plenty of young people doing avante-garde things in the streets. Every night there is a free performance on the grounds between the three Shakespearean theatres. We listened to a talented group play Eastern European tunes before being seated for the play. Prior to this we ate at Green Leaf restaurant, which overlooks the waterway and has superb local and sustainably raised food, as well as many vegetarian dishes. Oh, yum. What a good meal!
After the play we drove back to the bed and breakfast, and it was nearly midnight, so I didn’t blog and I’m sorry. In the morning Daniel, who is the manager and chef created a wonderful breakfast served by one of the owners. We had sweet potato biscuits, orange and cherry juice layered in chilled glasses, orange and tangerine sections drizzled with raspberry coulis, poached eggs in tomato and cilantro sauce with black beans and fresh local greens, and decaf tea. It was tasty, nutritious, beautiful and creative to look at, and served in a wonderfully decorated room overlooking a pink flowering dogwood. Wonderful!
Country Willows Bed and Breakfast Today we drove to Sacramento and are staying on the Delta King riverboat on the Sacramento River http://www.deltaking.com/.
Historic Riverboat Warning 
- Paddlewheel
It is an historic real paddlewheeler which is now stationary. We strolled old town Sacramento which is all tourist shops in old storefronts, including about five candy stores.
Old Sacramento against the new Miranda spotted a train museum and we went in about half an hour before closing. I was expecting model trains and photographs… oh, how I wish that we had more time! The museum had full historic trains parked in it, along with life-sized displays surrounding them showing their point in history. The docents were incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share their knowledge, even though it was the end of the day. If you ever come this way, spend about two hours at the Sacramento Train Museum http://www.csrmf.org/. They even have a sleeper car that you may walk thorough that is rocks like when it was on the rails. Even people who aren’t big on trains will be awestruck by what they’ve accomplished here. None of my photographs from inside came out, and we were rushing through so I didn’t take many.
Afterwards we ate at one of the small shops then spent time outside of our stateroom watching the two bridges move for tall boats. The drive-across bridge raised and lowered, sounding a loud horn to let cars, pedestrians and bicyclists know that the bridge was going up.
The Bridge about to rise 
The Hornblower River Cruise slides under the bridge On the other side of our boat there is a train bridge that spins to allow a boat through.
Watching trains cross the trestle 
The Train Testle Swivels Very, very cool. We watched trains go past as well.
From the other side of the river we could hear the crowd shouting through a ballgame, and occasionally there were rowdies shouting or playing music at speaker-cracking volume from their boats as they cruised past (if they do it in cars, they do it on boats). It was pretty quiet for a Friday night. The stateroom was very comfortable; we made tea and drank it at the small table outside our room and watched the swallows swoop after moths in the sunset.
Sunset Tomorrow is an eight-hour drive home. It was a fun week, traveling solo, then celebrating my daughter’s finishing her second year at OSU with some new mini-adventures. Fortunately, I always love being home, too. Travel creates great perspective on homelife. I love both.
You May Also Like
Traveling Again: Oahu
-
A Thousand Miles
Honk if you love geese! I intended to write yesterday, but the place where I stopped didn’t have Internet. Sorry! I left Fallbrook just before daybreak on Monday.
Five o'clock AM on Hwy 15 I saw beautiful clouds at dawn.
Dawn-kissed clouds I also saw a lot of car butts.
An hour inching behind car butts Ah, the roads to Los Angeles. I’m a seasoned car traveler now. I have my backpack next to me, one audiobook loaded with a couple of spares and some music CDs within easy reach, as are snacks, a water bottle, tissues, and my camera with the viewfinder turned out. I try to snap photos without taking my eyes off the road. Some photos turn out not so good.
Almost got it... Some turn out okay.
Mt. Shasta Stopping only twice for gas, I was on my eleventh hour driving when I encountered rain with low visibility and decided that enough was enough. I passed by many spots advertising places to stay; some I would have turned in for but was blocked by one of the ever-present trucks kicking up rain spray and edging precariously close to the middle line on the twisty, narrow stretch of I-5. I really wanted something with a nice view with a restaurant close by, but I was willing to stop for almost anything by that point. I saw a sign and pulled off and over I-5 through tall pines looming in the rain. Then suddenly I found myself looking at Shasta Lake and the Bridge Bay Lodge! I started to laugh! If I had planned the stop it couldn’t have been better!
Beautiful in the Rain They had a room… in fact, it was nearly empty, and a restaurant that wasn’t cheap but did offer vegetarian entrees. The rain set in, but I walked around a little before heading to bed. I made sure that I didn’t leave any food outside the door!
I'm not in San Diego anymore.... I watched a little television… I don’t have TV at home and haven’t watched it in about 16 years… and was shocked at how absolutely stupid and time-wasting the shows were. And I was switching between the History Channel, A&E, and National Geographic! I was horrified, and turned it off.
I awoke to a clear warm dawn, and what had looked like this the night before:
Dock in the rainy dusk now looked like this:
Dock in the morning And like this:
Dawn on Lake Shasta 
Out on the Lake 
Family outing 
Houseboats I was so thrilled. I’m sure the place is a zoo on the weekends, and I had a quiet night only because I had no neighbors, but it was food for the soul.
Flotilla of Canada Geese After having food for the tummy (breakfast is my favorite meal!)
- I love a silly name
off I went for the last four hundred miles to Corvallis, through absolutely gorgeous scenery. Tomorrow I give my hinder a break and don’t plan to do much driving, but help my daughter move out of her dorm in the evening after her last final and then head for home on Thursday.
I very much enjoy being out on my own. Although I planned the way back with my daughter with reservations for a bed and breakfast and tickets to a Shakespearean play in Ashland, OR the first night, and on a restored ferryboat hotel on the Sacramento river the second night, I like the spontenaity and roll of the dice of just driving unplanned. If I had no animals at home, I’d do what I had asked friends to do the summer after high school graduation (they all had summer jobs!) and drive the USA. I love the freedom. I love the thought that no one knows where I am. I love the fact that I could end up sleeping in the car or in a dive if my luck ran out, or in a wonderful place such as I just found myself at Shasta Lake. As long as I can share it with all of you!
Sparkling Water -
Until Next Week….
I’m about to do the drive from Fallbrook, CA (in San Diego County) to Corvallis, OR again. Almost exactly a thousand miles. I’ll be back home in six days (I’ll be blogging as I go, though!). However, the day before a trip I get a little crazy. I whip myself into a cleaning and organizing fury. Part of it is that I like to come back to a clean house. Part of it is that I have a lot of animals and I want to make sure that they are all as set up as possible with food, water and clean bedding, even though they’ll be taken care of on a daily basis while I’m gone. Part of it is that I get a kick out of multi-tasking and coordinating, and I burn off a lot of pre-travel worry this way. I shop and stock up on animal food, I do laundry, hauling wet sheets and rugs out to the clothes line and back in again. I cook, take out recyclables and trash, pack and blog. I soak and scrub cat and dog dishes, I sweep the walkway (why? I don’t know. It will be gunky by the time I get back), I clean out the last of the honey that is dripping from crushed comb and give the bucket to the bees to clean up. (Straw on the bottom keeps the bees from becoming stuck in the honey and drowning.)
Bees cleaning up honey I water everything. I wash the dogs and their bedding. I leave unnecessary notes.
It is wise to keep out of my way on the day before a trip.
Work will go on in the yard while I’m away. I’ll tune in next week to find out the answers for….
Will the lower pond be filled, and not look like green tea?
Pond algae Will these palm trunks become a bridge?
Bridge pilons Will these fancy new stairs made from cement chunks lead to something?
New Steps Will the jasmine hedge still be blooming?
Jasmine Hedge Will the giant sunflower ever look up? Will the vining vegetables take over the property?
Garden Growing Will whatever is eating the stairs leave any to walk on?
Chewed Steps Will the subterranean irrigation lines be buried?
Irrigation lines Will the kumquats ever get cuter? (Impossible. Too fun a name, to say and to spell. Go ahead, say it: “Kumquat, kumquat, kumquat.” See? Cute name for cute fruit.)
Kumquats These and other questions will (in all probability) be answered next week. Stay tuned for the answers… same bat time, same bat station.
You May Also Like
Native Insects and IPM
-
What is a Weed, Anyway?
Weeds are plants that grow where you don’t want them to. It is a label given with purely human whim that often interferes with nature taking care of its animals and soil. Unless you are removing invasive species, weeds have a purpose and can not only be useful medicinally, but also are indicator plants of how healthy your soil is.
In the February 1989 issue of Organic Gardening, I wrote an article called Selective Weeding. In it I described how weeds with deep tap roots not only break up the soil, but are nutrient ‘miners’; they take up minerals from down deep in the earth, send them up to their leaves, and then leave them on the soil surface when the leaves die, which improves the quality of the topsoil for other plants to thrive. Around here, wild radish is the most notable weed that does this although it is invasive, but it isn’t the only one.
Other weeds make good groundcover, such as purslane. Purslane needs fertile soil to thrive, so when you see it, you know there is good soil. It is also edible and a good source of calcium, iron and Omega-3 fatty acids…. a real plus for we vegetarians who don’t eat fish. Lamb’s quarters also grows in highly fertile ground and is very edible. Red clover also loves fertile soil and it’s importance to the pollinator insects is vital. Clover roots set nitrogen in the soil and is often used as a cover crop.
Plantain (Plantago major and not the banana) is naturalized throughout North America and I guarantee that everyone has seen it whether they know it or not. The variety with rounded leaves in a rosette is a common lawn weed, and the variety with long, lanceolet leaves with long veins that grows by waterways is much larger. Why streams and lawns? It thrives in soil that has low fertility and high ratio of water. Plantain makes an excellent salve for stinging nettle rash, insect stings and some say poison oak rash. If you brush against nettle while hiking you’ll know right away because it releases chemicals into your skin that burns for awhile and then dissipates. Look around for plantain, break a leaf and roll it between your fingers till it releases the juice and apply to the site.
Nettle is another great plant even though it stings in self-defense. The chemicals that sting are water-soluable, so if you pick young nettle and soak it or cook it like spinach, you have a green that is very high in Vitamin K, protein, calcium, maganese and potassium. Nettle soup is commonly served in other countries. Nettle is an indicator plant of soil that is high in nitrogen and phosphate, which explains why it often grows around abandoned buildings and farms where there has been animal and human waste. Nettle is the host plant for many butterfly species as well.
Poison oak has a place in our native forests as well. It is a plant which happens to give off a chemical that humans find irritating. It produces berries that birds rely on, it provides shade in the understory to hold in moisture and give safe harbor to many animals, it is beautiful with its bright green spring growth and dark red autumn shades. The entire plant produces an oil that gives most people a rash, which doesn’t begin to irritate the skin for several days. Thinking about the substance being an oil will help you consider how to deal with it. If you or your dog brush it, the oil will transfer to your clothes, skin or your dog’s fur (another great reason why you shouldn’t let your dog run off-leash in natural areas!), and transfer again when it is touched. If burned, the toxicity is increased and you can inhale the fumes and become critically ill. If you think that you’ve brushed against poison oak, wash your clothes separately from the rest of the laundry and wash your skin well. There are many products on the market which help dissolve the oil, such as Technu, which is a wash for just after you’ve touched the plant. On hot days the plant’s oils carry in the air so people who are very sensitive should avoid poison oak habitat in the summer.
Weeds that indicate compacted soil, which is low in oxygen, are bindweed (looks like a small white or pink morning glory), quackgrass and chicory with its tall blue flower. Chicory’s deep taproot mines the minerals and breaks up the soil, and bindweed covers the soil providing some shade and protection against more compaction and dropping leaves over an extended area for mulch. Quackgrass secretes a chemical that supresses other plant growth as it travels via rhizome, breaking up the soil surface and carpeting it for protection.
Dandelions, a weed of childhood fantasy, of back-country wine, of spring tonic greens, are happy little plants that lawn owners ruthlessly kill. They grow in many soils, but are indicators of acidic soil. Henbane is a sign of alkaline soil.
Whether you keep your weeds, selectively weed, or eradicate them all, you should at least learn what they have to tell you. A good list of California weeds is at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/weeds_intro.html .. An extremely valuable book that I have used so often when conducting hikes (and there is always a little girl that asks what every little plant is along the way), is Roadside Plants of Southern California by Thomas Belzer. It has photographs, descriptions and whether the plant is native or not. Another book is the Natural History of Vacant Lots by Matthew Vessel et al. These are wonderful guides for all the plants that fall between the cracks of most plant ID guides.
Just remember that plants communicate to you, and each have a purpose to fulfill. Whether it be as a mineral miner, a canopy or shade plant, a pollinator and food source, a nitrogen-fixer, a soil breaker, a mulch plant, each is doing something to help build earth fertility. Plants that are non-native take the place of the ones that are native and important to an area and its habitat, supplanting perhaps a plant that is the host for a particular butterfly. Be enlightened when doing yardwork. Feel free, though, to eradicate any Bermuda grass that you see, because it is a weed against which I have a personal vendetta! Happy gardening.
-
Idyllwild Photos
Boulder-studded hills This last weekend’s retreat to Idyllwild became extra special with the advent of April snow. I started out from Fallbrook at two o’clock, following my GPS through our granite-studded hills and golden-flowered valleys. As I drove through the Anza plateau in the beautiful afternoon sunshine, I started seeing glimpses of my destination, which the forecasters indicated would be snowy.
Snowy mountains Listening to my audiobook, occasionally holding up my camera to take photos through the windows (thank goodness for digital photos! All those random shots I can delete instead of pay to print and then throw out!) I reached the turn-off for Idyllwild and tall pines. I passed red gambrel barns, peaceful horse ranches, and then the first downy flakes started swirling around. I gave out a hoot to myself. Although I was born in New Jersey, my dear mother told my dear father that she never wanted to shovel snow again in her life, and they moved our family of five children West when I was five. I’ve visited snow a handful of times at Palomar when growing up, or with my children. Up until I drove through snow and ice in Ashland a couple of weekends ago on my trip to Oregon, I had little experience with it. Or did my Prius. On approaching town there was snow on the sides of the road, and it was swirling in large flakes.
Snowy Road Traffic wisely crept along the icy road. Then suddenly, I was there.
Totem (photo taken on the last day) I’d only been to Idyllwild once with my parents, some forty-some years ago. The only thing I remember was a large totem in the main square. I was startled to see it again as I arrived. It brought back good memories of my parents.
The snow had turned into round pellets, like those Styrafoam balls in Christmas scenes. I sat in my car outside the lodge for a few minutes absorbing the sight.
Round snow Oh, and it was cold. My spoiled San Diego self had to make some adjustments. Over the weekend I ended up wearing all the clothes I brought, mostly at the same time in various combinations starting with thermals. I thought I had mittens in my car but I didn’t, and I shouldn’t have had my haircut the day before, or thought to have brought a knit cap. But it was all okay. The lodge was comfortable, our hostesses treated us like royalty, I shared a room with a wonderful woman and we had a wall between us for privacy. The rooms were themed, and mine was, appropriately, The Library, and was decorated in old books and red plaid, which I love. It was perfect.
Plaid room After checking in and seeing my delightful room, I took my camera out onto the street and walked a circle around to town and back. I had to keep the camera nestled under my jacket to keep it from freezing. I wrapped my blue knit scarf that I bought when Miranda and I were freezing in the Orkney Islands when touring Pictish ruins around my head and neck like a babushka. I’m mature enough to sacrifice looks for warmth. ( At least, most of the time. I guess it depends on who is looking. Hmm, I’m still a girl at heart after all! ) The landscape was beautiful, like a picture postcard sprayed with glitter.
Snowy Trees The silence was so profound I could hear the snow fall. There was wildlife looking for food for their young. A mother Gray Squirrel was eating at a squirrel feeder. The bare spots on her tummy show that she is nursing young. I also saw Steller jays, robins, pine siskins, a flicker, crows, quail, goldfinches and acorn woodpeckers. There were bunny tracks in the snow.
Mother Squirrel That evening we communed by the fire in the lodge after a great meal of vegetarian vegetable soup and fresh bread. I enjoyed my cup of cocoa with peppermint Schnapps, but the caffeine made me sleep only three hours. I wasn’t alone with being tired; several other women had little or no sleep either. Saturday the sun was out and the snow began to melt, causing the streets to turn into running water.
Snow Flowers W e took a walk in the morning, ate macadamia nut pancakes, performed Tai-Chi, Zumba, aerobics, work at a barre, more walking, yoga and Pilates, then another walk into town for dinner. During dinner, it began to snow again, big, slushy wet snow that we hadn’t expected.
Hibernating Dragon It was dark when we finished eating, and we visited a couple of shops that stayed open for our group, then ventured through the very wet snowfall back to the lodge and warmth. It snowed all night again, to make our last morning one of magical landscapes. It was Sunday morning, the sky was blue with soft clouds, the quiet was profound and the snow sparkled as if someone had tossed around slivers of diamonds.
Ice A group of us took a silent walk through the snow and trees, not speaking, but pausing to perform simple yoga breathing and awakening stretches, welcoming the peace and freshness into ourselves and sending our thanks for the moment out to the universe.
Icicles in Bush This exercise enervated me more than any other during the weekend; I only regret that not all of the women shared it with us. (After little sleep on the first night and a series of vigorous workouts through the day, along with all the energy spent shivering, several slept in.) One of the phenomenas of the morning was the rising sun catchingthe snow as it melted from the trees, highlighting the drops as if it were handfuls of glitter. I took many photos of it, trying to capture the spectacular sight, but none of them do it justice. If you look carefully at the photo, you can kind of see what I’m talking about.
Shimmering snowmelt After our wonderful breakfast (pecan maple pancakes!) we headed off down the mountain in glorious weather. I took a last explore through the town, finding a shop that made its own candles, some scented Idyllwild Cabin, and Campfire Smoke, and Citrus Champagne… and they really smelled like their names! I bought some Christmas gifts (beat the crowd! It was snowy outside after all!) and drove out of the snow to home.
- Easter Bunny Tracks
I’m posting more photos on my Facebook page if anyone is interested. The Spring Retreat turned out to be a Winter Wonderland, but I’m sure that it won’t throw the Easter Bunny off at all.