WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING?

Well, we haven't been sitting aground gathering dust. After the Mojave Road trip, we stayed home about a week and started getting restless again. We headed out to the Anza Borrego Desert and spent a week at the Agua Calente campground. On the weekend some of the kids and neighbors showed up. Randy's boys, Ryan and Nathan along with Grandpa, took several hikes exploring the desert. The main focus was to see how many bugs and lizards we could find. One day Cathie and I took off hiking and came across this abandoned windmill, now being used as a perch and nest for a couple of Ravens.

Saw lots of flowers on the hikes we took. I was figuring that by April, we wouldn't see many but that wasn't the case.

FLOWER COLLAGE

Also took several bike rides. One day Cathie took me and my bike north of camp dropping me off about 20 miles away. The idea was to ride south back to camp. Why south you ask? Well south is always down so I figured it would be an easier ride. It turns out it wasn't exactly down hill all the way, but with a 30 MPH wind at my back, I rarely had to pedal. I usually experience the opposite and have to pedal into the wind.

After a week at the desert, it was time for a change of scenery so why not head for the coast.

JALAMA BEACH CAMPGROUND

We discovered, well actually it's been there a long time but it's new to us, Jalama Beach in Santa Barbara County. Located about 15 miles from Highway 1 just south of Lompoc, it is on a stretch of undeveloped California Coast. The campground is run by the county parks department and is a 1st come 1st served and by arriving on a Sunday afternoon, we had lots of campsites to pick from. Beside not being able to see any development north or south, there is no cell phone reception, which is a good thing. So for a week we relaxed, read books, took long walks on the beach and counted the cars on the trains that rolled by. It doesn't get any better than that.

SUNSET AT JALAMA BEACH

As for me I'm still sailing. I finished 4 semesters at the local college, the last class in keel boats. I've also been getting to crew on my instructors boat when he races in the Beer Can Race each Wednesday evening at The Coronado Yacht Club. The photo below is the start of a recent race. It gets pretty crowded at the starting line, with near collisions and close calls the norm. On occasion two boats get too close and actually run into each. As you can see from where the photo was taken, our skipper, Dave, elects to hold back to reduce the cost of boat maintenance.

CROSSING THE STARTING LINE

WHY CATHIE DOESN'T POST ANYTHING TO THE BLOG.