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A Day (or Two) in the Desert

3/9/2022

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After a quieter weekend, with a couple of walks and a trip to a winery in Ojai, we took off Monday morning on a four and a half hour drive to Anza-Borrego State Park where my sister-in-law Harriet and her husband are camphosting.  For a lark, Joanie and I had arranged a stay in a vintage Airstream trailer near the park. More about that later.

We arrived early afternoon and spent most of the afternoon at the campground. Perfect weather allowed for a couple of walks and Ken grilled a tri-tip for a wonderful supper, followed by my first campfire of the season. We even were treated to a visit from Lower Loop Larry, the roadrunner.


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Tuesday morning, we were up and at 'em early and picked up our guide, Harriet, for a more in-depth look at the area. The park has some incredible stone and wood shelters and an ampitheater used for groups and talks by rangers. Some of the shrubs are starting to bloom, including the brittlebush, pictured here.

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No visit to this area is complete without checking out at least some of the 130 iron sculptures by Ricardo Breceda scattered around the desert on private land. There are dinosaurs, mammoths, camels, tortoises and an immense sea serpent, among others. The detail is fantastic. The woman with the cross has a rosary made of stones and iron.

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We also visited the ABDNHA Borrego Botannical Garden in Borrego Springs--a small but excellent display of desert plants. Then back to the park to the Visitor's Center to see the displays about the history of the area, the plants and the animals. Of course we picked up a few souvenirs in the gift shop before we hit the road for the long drive back to Ventura.

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The only fly in the ointment was our lodging. The outside of the vintage Airstream was cute enough with a pleasant sitting area and a nice grill. The inside was another story. Among the things that didn't work: the fridge, the bathroom door, and the faucet in the bathroom sink. There was no light in the bedroom and the kitchen cabinet doors were broken. TV and wifi reception were poor and a tacked up cloth strap was apparently supposed to serve as a towel bar in the bathroom. I do not recommend Palm Canyon Hotel and RV Resort!

Today, we will relax and do pretty much nothing very strenuous. Tomorrow I will spend most of Butch's 79th birthday doing something he loved: flying. Thankfully, the 6-10 inches of snow that was once forecast for my arrival home seems to have been downgraded considerably. All in all, a great trip!
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Of Presidents and Kings

3/5/2022

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We have been busy. On Thursday, we journeyed to Simi Valley to the Reagan Library. I'm a big fan of Presidential Libraries and have been to the Truman, FDR, Lincoln, George W. Bush, Johnson, and of course the Hoover, which is only ten miles from me. They do such a great job of depicting the history of the period. The Reagan seems a little more over-the-top than the others on adulation of the former president but worthwhile nevertheless. We toured Air Force One, saw the Berlin Wall and the Cold War exhibits, and visited the grave site.

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Friday, we snooped around Ventura, first to the Museum of Ventura County. Another love of mine are small, local museums. There are so many wonderful ones around the country. The Ventura museum has a permanent exhibit about the Chumash people who have lived in the area more than 15,000 years. An exhibit called 'Crossing Borders' displays art works by first generation immigrants to the area. There is an extensive display of work by Margaret Garcia. A highlight is an exhibit of quarter-sized figures by George Stuart of people instrumental in the American Revolution. The detail is incredible and included are King George III, King Louis XVI, Washington, Adams, Franklin, Monroe, and Madison as well as Baron Von Steuben, a German who trained the troops at Valley Forge and British General John Burgoyne--"Gentleman Johnny"--who tried to invade down the Hudson Valley from Canada but was too weighed down by the accoutrements for fine living to be effective in staving off the colonists.

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Next we went to the Mission Basilica San Buenaventura, founded in 1782 by Father Juniper Serra. The lovely Church was completed in 1809. After a walk down Main Street of Old Ventura, we returned to Joanie's for a little beading and to rest up for a great supper at her daughter and son-in-law's. Excellent day.

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What Time is it, Really?

3/3/2022

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I probably should have forewarned my body and mind what I planned to do to them the first two weeks of March. On Tuesday I flew from Iowa to California, springing ahead two hours. I have not yet adjusted to that change; I was awake this morning before 3:00. The end of next week, I will fly back and turn my body clock back two hours. Two days later, we will spring ahead an hour again as we switch to daylight savings time. I'm probably too old for this.

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Anyway, here I am basking in sunny California--although yesterday it was only a few degrees warmer than it was in southeast Iowa. I am visiting my friend Joanie in Ventura. Joanie and I go way back. We lived together in a rooming house during my junior year in college and have maintained contact ever since. They lived in Burlington, and our husbands became fast friends, both golfers and private pilots. Our kids were similar ages, and through the years we exchanged visits, recipes, book recommendations, child raising tips, grandparenting experiences, knitting patterns, and redecorating ideas. My son Pat met his wife Jill at Joanie's son Nate's wedding to Jill's sister, so now we are friends-in-law. She lost her husband George in 1991, so after Butch died, we exchanged visits a lot during the pandemic. Several years ago she bought a second home in a mobile home park to be near a couple of her kids and insisted this year that I come for a visit. We drink a lot of coffee, a glass or two of wine, and never run out of things to talk about. It's one of those friendships that all of the money in the world can't buy.

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So here we are, having a great time. Yesterday we went for a long walk in a lovely nearby park and then headed out to explore. We stopped at the visitor's center for the Channel Islands National Park and enjoyed the displays there. We walked out on the Ventura pier and had fish tacos for lunch. A visit to a craft store nabbed us a couple of items we needed for a beading project we're working on. All in all, a great day and more plans for today. Fortunately, none of those plans require that we actually know what time it is.

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    Some random thoughts about writing, camping, and eating.

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