Around Here – End of Summer

Yesterday was the first day of fall. Our weather is cooler, especially at night, and I think we are done with the air conditioner until next summer. I celebrated with a big pot of chili.

The past few weeks have been mellow. – just doing the days, as usual.

Some beach trips…

Some local hikes…

Some good food…

And, a fishing/camping trip for Chris…

A very fun puzzle…

And lastly, a very big deal. Thirty Stark Family members gathered together last weekend to celebrate Marian’s 96th birthday. The party at the park was close to perfect. We have many good pics, but I will share just a few.

Lassen Volcanic National Park & Lake Almanor Trip

We are just back from a week in Northern California. We split our days between Lassen Volcanic National Park and Lake Almanor. Both were new territory for us. We were in this area in 2021 but had to detour around the park and lake due to the Dixie Fire. We saw lots of devastation from the fire, but also much rehabilitation and recovery.

After a quick overnight with The Tomsics in Danville we drove to Lassen. The drive was marked by beautiful views but also many stops (thankfully, most quick) for road work. We finally made it to Chester where we had a late lunch and then headed to the park.

We got a recommendation for a hike from the visitor center. We took the Mill Creek Trail to a fall and were out about two and half hours. I look ok in the pic below, but I think the altitude and a bit of hypoglycemia took their toll and I was wiped out by the time we got back to the car. I recovered quickly with some food and downtime.

We stayed at the Village at Highlands Ranch. It is out in the middle of nowhere, so had few amenities (no internet, no phone service, limited food options) but we were very happy with our room and loved the fairly short drive to the park. The across-the-road views of ranch land were beautiful.

Before further exploring the park, upon a recommendation from the Tomsics, we headed north to see Burney Falls and the Subway Cave. The falls are self explanatory and spectacular. Subway Cave is an underground lava tube. It is a one third mile long cave, pitch black inside (strong flashlights are essential) with a very rough lava floor. Pictures do not do it justice.

We spent the next day and a half exploring and hiking around the park. You look one direction and see total burned devastation and in the other direction, green meadows. We saw beautiful lakes, hydrothermal areas and snow on Lassen peak. There were no bugs, few people and lots of water in the lakes and streams.

We hiked a fair bit but had some nice relaxing moments as well. We found delicious blended iced lattes at the visitor’s center and cooled down with some creek foot soaking.

We left Lassen and headed to Lake Almamor. Our friends, the O’Briens, have a place on the lake. We rented a small cabin nearby and spent the next few days with them.

We hiked at Walker Lake and Chris got a little fishing in. We took a couple of boat rides and had a short swim in the lake (not too freezing, thankfully). We boated to lunch one day and had very, very good dinners at local eateries and at Suzy and Pat’s place. These were a couple of very relaxing, enjoyable days.

And to end, a story… We were having a dinner at Il Lago, on the patio, when a couple drove up in a vintage VW bug. Pat and Chris commented on the car’s beauty to the owner. He tossed the keys to Pat and told him to take it for a drive. They hopped in and Pat took it for a little spin. This was memorable. Our dinner was also memorable.

We left Lake Almanor with the intention of staying overnight in Mammoth. We got to Mammoth early and decided to head further south. We ended up driving all the way home – a little over eleven hours (a unusually long day on the road for us). We were well fueled along the way.

We have checked off another National Park and experienced a few more days of lake living. We had a great week.

Summer Days

It’s been hot here. Outdoor time has decreased. The sunsets are pretty though.

This was a fun 1000-piecer called, “Piece and Love Marrakesh”.

Summer lunch and summer dinner.

We did one early morning hike with me sporting my new nonslip hiking sunglasses…

…. and we escaped the heat last Thursday night with a beach bonfire at Bolsa Chica (sweatshirt weather – nice). The night included Scrabble, sandwiches from Firehouse Subs, and a sunset.

Our last “outing” in July was a morning trip to Santa Monica. We roamed around north Santa Monica. After close to 10,000 steps we pulled out our camp chairs and found a shady spot in Palisades Park. We spent an hour or so reading/people watching. Santa Monica never fails to entertain.

The usual 5pm view around here – C reads; I cook.

Mid-July

From looking at my July-so-far photos I see mostly outdoor time and food. Plus a few friend meet-ups and some theater. Good so far.

Chris and I roamed around Huntington Beach last Saturday. It was a cool, overcast morning. We walked out on the pier, down Main Street and through all the PCH hotels and shops. We got coffee and then lunch and loved the cool ocean breeze.

Another Saturday this month we explored the new West Coyote Trail in Fullerton.

We parked near the Equestrian Center. An rodeo competition was just getting underway.

Two notable meals out were at Blue Jam in Santa Monica with the Cutters and car dining at our fav, In ‘n Out. And is our usual habit, we picked up fish tacos from Baja Fresh on Taco Wednesday.

Food at home included fried rice (inspiration curtesy of L) and mini pizzas. I made banana bread and a cherry clafoutis, neither attractive enough to be photo’d, but both yummy.

The below were the last requiring hand washing. Our new dishwasher was installed by Chris (a more challenging job than usual as the countertop had to be modified) the next day. It’s a beauty, and quiet.

L and I spent a warm Thursday morning exploring the South Coast Botanic Garden. We will go back on a cooler day.

We went to lunch after at a little place in Torrance and L gifted me with these beautiful dessert plates. I love them, and am feeling the need to expand my tableware to include more green.

A backyard pic, a fire pic, and tomatoes.

Around Here – June

It’s been a mellow month. Except for our short camping trip to Morro Bay we have been home, just doing the days. Our yard has a lot of color.

I worked on my cross stitch.

I made a cake for Chris to take to James Hardware for a birthday celebration.

I met up with UCLA friends downtown at Pine and Crane. We enjoyed Taiwanese food and lots of good conversation.

Chris and I spent a Saturday morning downtown. We wandered through the Flower District and had breakfast at the Grand Central Market.

After a few years of poor tomato crops, for unknown reasons, things are looking better this year.

I loved this National Park puzzle.

We have been taking advantage of the cool, overcast June days and getting as much outdoor time as possible.

My wildflower collection is growing.

Chris made delicious egg sandwiches for dinner…

…and I made salmon and roasted potatoes and tomatoes and sautéed spinach with raisins another night.

Our backyard continues to be pretty. I took these pics just before sunset.

And one more of the front yard.

Morro Bay Camping Trip

We are just back from a 3-night getaway to the Central Coast. We camped at Morro Bay State Park. The campground is ok. It is on the edge of town and attracts many people. It is in need of a little spruce up, but our site was awesome. We had a spot with neighbors only on one side and a good view. We choose to have a “camping lite” experience. This means we kept it simple by taking only a small amount of food for breakfast and picnic lunches and bought snacks and dinners out. We also set our campsite up minimally – only our fire pit and two chairs along side the tent trailer. We also had electric and water hookups. We could easily charge our tech and use our sound machine to block evening noise and we had no worries about lights or water. Next time we can bring our espresso machine.

On day one we walked all over Morro Bay, ate fish and chips and roamed the farmer’s market. We walked down to the Bay to see the sunset and then polished off a mini carrot cake.

Day two started with a morning hike up Black Hill. This trail is an out and and back with about 600 feet elevation gain. We then drove north to San Simeon where we had a picnic lunch and explored the shops and winery and a took a beautiful walk/hike through Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. Before leaving town we bought olallieberry jam and sandwiches to-go for dinner at Linn’s in Cambria.

On the way back to Morro Bay we did a walk around, as far as is possible, Morro Rock. We then headed back to camp, showered (not horrible – water was hot and showers were mostly clean) and then dined on our sandwiches while catching up on our YouTube videos.

Day 3 started with breakfast in the trailer and then a hike. Both the trails we hiked were beautiful, good workouts but not too hard, and sparsely populated. We both agreed the second hike was one of our top favorites of all time. It was cool, slightly misty and green with lots of wildflowers and views. The trail had ups and downs but nothing grueling and we saw no people. We did hike through high grass and fairly deep sand at times. Those were the minor cons.

We recovered from this hike with a stop at Starbucks and, for Chris, a breakfast burrito. We then wandered through the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve. This place, with its never-ending wooden boardwalks and views for miles, is a hidden gem. It is also home to pgymy oak trees. They range from 4 to 10 feet tall and are old.

We spent some afternoon time back at the camp and then headed back to our favorite coastal town, Cambria. We walked the length of the boardwalk and then had burgers and a giant basket of fries at The Main Street Grill. The fries were top-notch; we ate maybe a fourth of them.

All days ended with a campfire, Kindle reading and old school radio music.