Hello again to all my friends and family members.
This weekend I did not go on a trip but had a wonderful time.
I'm in regular email communication with friends Sue, Suesan and Joe and my ex-student and friend, Elena, in Moscow, my friend Lynnaire in New Zealand - and now my friend Marie is back in town after visiting family on the East coast for a month.
It was Joe's 37th birthday so Saturday after supervising students at the college, I took him out to a movie and dinner in Burbank. We saw "GI Joe." Wow! It was great - a futuristic goodies and baddies movie with a wonderful plot, forbidden love, and both Moscow and Washington DC saved from destruction. There was violence but it was all part of the story and not just for the sake of violence.
Then we went to The Granville organic restaurant and had a great meal - sweet potato fries, lobster bisque, and Joe had seared tuna while I had rainbow trout. It was a truly delicious meal.
Today, Sunday, Joe persuaded me to go bike riding with him. I got my bike several weeks ago but had not been on it since buying it. We put both bikes in the back of my Volvo wagon and drove to Santa Monica beach, found free parking in town, and rode the short distance to the Santa Monica pier where we could get the bikes down to the bike trail.
The concrete bike trail runs along in the center of the sand for miles. It's two lanes, each wide enough for 2 bikes abreast going in each direction - and is shared by roller-bladers belting along on their in-line skates.
We rode along for miles - all the way to Venice beach and back to the pier again and then in the other direction from the pier and back again. Lovely to have the sand on each side and the waves breaking a short distance away.
It was very hot and I drank two full bottles of Smart Water during the ride.
We made our way back to the car and loaded the bikes again and drove home. We had done 15 miles on our bikes - not bad for me for the first time on a bike in many, many years. Joe confessed that it was the longest ride he has done also - so I guess I did pretty good.
On the way home in the car, Joe asked me if I had a bird cage I wasn't using. I did have one and told him he could have it.
After we got home I was exhausted and hot so had a sleep. I woke up just before Joe called. He asked if he could come over and get the bird cage and arrived at my place shortly afterward with two baby parakeets (budgies) in a cardboard carton. He'd been to the store and purchased then right before calling me.
We got the birds set up and he decided to call them by the names of two of his early girl friends!
Hmm!?
As he also brought his bike to my place when he brought the birds along, I had to walk his bike the short distance to his place while he carried his new "family members". They are very cute!
It's going to be an early night for me tonight so I'll catch up with you all next week.
Love,
Barry
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Weekend of August 22 & 23, 2009
It was a good week. Things went well at Hubbard College. Two weeks in a row now we have had a student complete the full degree program (and another will complete this coming week).
I am also in email communication with Elena (our completion last week who returned to Russia) and with Weber from Taiwan (where he had to return due to the visa situation).
On Thursday evening I met my friend Sue Z. at the Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean for an enjoyable hot chocolate and talk - and on Friday evening I went to dinner at my friend Suesan W's place and we helped each other out with some matters that each of us have some expertise in. I haven't seen anything of my friend Joe L. this week as he is on an 18 day straight work project.
I decided to be really energetic this weekend and leave on my trip Saturday after work at the College and to get as far north as Big Sur, far up the California coast.
Although it is 3:30 the College closes on Saturday, it was 5:00 pm before I was on the road north. At that time of day traffic on the 101 Hollywood/Ventura Freeway was heavy and slow so I turned off to the 170 to Interstat 5 (Hollywood/Sacramento Freeway) going a bit further inland and then turned onto the 118 Freeway west to the coast (through huge vegetable and orchard plantations). It was a fast run and I joined the 101 again much farther north at Oxnard where the traffic was lighter and much faster.
I crossed from Ventura County into San Luis Obispo county and Saturday night about 8:30 pm, just as it started to get dark, I reached the city of San Luis Obispo.
By 9:00 pm I had found a parking spot by the down-town certer and located the central movie huse and bought a ticket to "District 9" science fiction movie. I found a great little restaurant that made the most delicious chicken burritos and satisfied my hunger then went and watched that crazy movie. I can't figure out why they always think aliens with such highly sophistocated equipment would be such unsophisticated and crude creatures.
The movie finished about midnight and by 1:00 am I had located a safe place in the brightly lit parking lot of a Union Bank and was falling asleep in the comfortable bed in the back of my waggon.
I woke after a good sleep, found a place to clean up and discovered the beautiful coast-line I had planned to travel was completely fogged in. I would not see any of the beauty if I continued with my plan to travel the coast northward. So I made the decision to barrel up the freeway and get as far north as I could and then go over to the coast and come down the coast instead of going up coast - hoping that by then the fog would have cleared.
On the way I took a detour to see the little old-west style town of Santa Margarita and went on to see Lake Santa Margarita and take some nice photos there before continuing north again.
I made it all the way to Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula highway, so from there I went west and reached the city of Monterey on the coast (about 100 miles further than Big Sur where I had originally planned to reach).
I had a good look around Monterey, went out on the huge (smelly - comercial fisherman) "Fisherman's Warf", drove through Cannery Row with its old quaint buildings and then started south along the incredibly beautiful but rather angry Monterey Coast towards Big Sur.
As I had hoped, the fog had cleared and it took me a very long time to get 100 miles south to Big Sur - as I kept stopping the car every few miles to take photos of the magnificent coastal views.
Big Sur was a total contrast! Not quite on the coastline due to the extremely ruggard nature of the coast at that point, Big Sur is a little town set amongst magnificent, tall, tall, green trees. In bright strong sunshine, I drove the road cut through this immense forest of ancient living beauty and was enthralled by the feeling of life that it emanated.
The road joined the coast again and I made detours here and there to check out beaches and views and take photographs and eventually made it back to San Luis Obispo after visiting the beautiful beach at the city of Morrow Bay.
At San Luis Obispo I immediately found the same restaurant and once again enjoyed their wonderful chicken burritos.
By now it was dark so there was no more sightseeing and I started the 200 mile drive back to Los Angeles on the 101 Freeway. I'll have to sightsee the coast between San Luis Obispo and south to Santa Barbara (the previous northern most point reached last trip) on another trip.
I got home at 10:45 pm having traveled 735 miled since I left on Saturday evening. (As San Francisco is only another 136 miles from Monterey I know I could easily do that trip on a 3-day holliday weekend).
I had a very good nights sleep after a rather exhausting but very satisfying trip.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Love,
Barry
I am also in email communication with Elena (our completion last week who returned to Russia) and with Weber from Taiwan (where he had to return due to the visa situation).
On Thursday evening I met my friend Sue Z. at the Tea Leaf and Coffee Bean for an enjoyable hot chocolate and talk - and on Friday evening I went to dinner at my friend Suesan W's place and we helped each other out with some matters that each of us have some expertise in. I haven't seen anything of my friend Joe L. this week as he is on an 18 day straight work project.
I decided to be really energetic this weekend and leave on my trip Saturday after work at the College and to get as far north as Big Sur, far up the California coast.
Although it is 3:30 the College closes on Saturday, it was 5:00 pm before I was on the road north. At that time of day traffic on the 101 Hollywood/Ventura Freeway was heavy and slow so I turned off to the 170 to Interstat 5 (Hollywood/Sacramento Freeway) going a bit further inland and then turned onto the 118 Freeway west to the coast (through huge vegetable and orchard plantations). It was a fast run and I joined the 101 again much farther north at Oxnard where the traffic was lighter and much faster.
I crossed from Ventura County into San Luis Obispo county and Saturday night about 8:30 pm, just as it started to get dark, I reached the city of San Luis Obispo.
By 9:00 pm I had found a parking spot by the down-town certer and located the central movie huse and bought a ticket to "District 9" science fiction movie. I found a great little restaurant that made the most delicious chicken burritos and satisfied my hunger then went and watched that crazy movie. I can't figure out why they always think aliens with such highly sophistocated equipment would be such unsophisticated and crude creatures.
The movie finished about midnight and by 1:00 am I had located a safe place in the brightly lit parking lot of a Union Bank and was falling asleep in the comfortable bed in the back of my waggon.
I woke after a good sleep, found a place to clean up and discovered the beautiful coast-line I had planned to travel was completely fogged in. I would not see any of the beauty if I continued with my plan to travel the coast northward. So I made the decision to barrel up the freeway and get as far north as I could and then go over to the coast and come down the coast instead of going up coast - hoping that by then the fog would have cleared.
On the way I took a detour to see the little old-west style town of Santa Margarita and went on to see Lake Santa Margarita and take some nice photos there before continuing north again.
I made it all the way to Monterey County and the Monterey Peninsula highway, so from there I went west and reached the city of Monterey on the coast (about 100 miles further than Big Sur where I had originally planned to reach).
I had a good look around Monterey, went out on the huge (smelly - comercial fisherman) "Fisherman's Warf", drove through Cannery Row with its old quaint buildings and then started south along the incredibly beautiful but rather angry Monterey Coast towards Big Sur.
As I had hoped, the fog had cleared and it took me a very long time to get 100 miles south to Big Sur - as I kept stopping the car every few miles to take photos of the magnificent coastal views.
Big Sur was a total contrast! Not quite on the coastline due to the extremely ruggard nature of the coast at that point, Big Sur is a little town set amongst magnificent, tall, tall, green trees. In bright strong sunshine, I drove the road cut through this immense forest of ancient living beauty and was enthralled by the feeling of life that it emanated.
The road joined the coast again and I made detours here and there to check out beaches and views and take photographs and eventually made it back to San Luis Obispo after visiting the beautiful beach at the city of Morrow Bay.
At San Luis Obispo I immediately found the same restaurant and once again enjoyed their wonderful chicken burritos.
By now it was dark so there was no more sightseeing and I started the 200 mile drive back to Los Angeles on the 101 Freeway. I'll have to sightsee the coast between San Luis Obispo and south to Santa Barbara (the previous northern most point reached last trip) on another trip.
I got home at 10:45 pm having traveled 735 miled since I left on Saturday evening. (As San Francisco is only another 136 miles from Monterey I know I could easily do that trip on a 3-day holliday weekend).
I had a very good nights sleep after a rather exhausting but very satisfying trip.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Love,
Barry
Monday, August 17, 2009
Another Sunday outing at last
Hi y'all,
I didn't get away anywhere for a couple of weekends due to a long study cycle required of all staff at the College - and other deadlines of my own for my future business preparations.
I did however get a couple of very enjoyable Saturday dinners and great communication and business help at Suesan's place and I did get in a visit to Katie at Kingsley Manor.
At the College, our beautiful Russian trainee, Elena, has completed all her training and returned to Russia. She gave me a lovely thank-you card for all I'd done to help her and included her email address so we can stay in touch. I will miss her a lot.
Sadly, one of my young Tiawanese students who I also have a high affinity for, had his visa-extension request refused and had to return home to Taiwan. Weber is a very playful being and as he is only 18 he risks being pulled into a year's military service in his own country before he can reapply for another visa to come and complete his studies. That would be unfortunate.
This Saturday my friend Sue Z came back from a month away visiting her daughters on the East Coast and as it happened, Saturday was also her birthday. We went out to dinner at Out-Back Steak House and had an enjoyable time. Sue got to open her present from me and as I had arrived before her and let them know it was her birthday, they presented her with a yummy birthday desert - which I got to help her eat!
On Sunday I set on on the Hollywood/Ventura freeway north and went direstly to Carpintaria where I had left off my trip north last time. From Carpintaria I headed north again along the coast roads and found a small secluded beach to get an hour's sun and listen to the niose of the surf. There were only about 8 other people passed by the entire time I was there.
Then I headed north again past orchards and berry fields and then along a beautiful, almost deserted coast road with amazing mansions with big grounds and lush trees. They were all seaside properties and were the only thing between the sea and the road I drove on. How wonderful it would be to stay at one of those places for a while. I think it is the most tranquil place I have yet encountered on my coastal trips. Huge lush trees overhung both sides of this lovely, long country-style road and filled the yards of those amazing homes.
I continued on and soon made it to Santa Barbra - famous California beach-front city. There was a huge arts bazar all along the shore line so I parked and walked the entire distance one way and then back again - and then walked on to the huge pier and went all the way out to the end. There is traffic and parking and shops on the pier itself.
I got photos of a man making a sand sculpture of a dragon and its young and also of graceful pelicans gliding slowly just overhead.
Then I went back to the car and drove around the harbor and parts of the city before heading back south. The freeway was packed and crawling along so I took the coast roads again and got along much faster.
At one point I took a wrong turn and and found I was on the way inland to some place called Ojia. I almost turned around but then decided, "what the heck, I'll check it out". I drove for a long time along this twisting and turning mountain road going inland from the coast and up the mountains and down again and then to my surprise I came upon the view of a beautiful large lake, Lake Casitas. I stopped at rather risky places for great scenic photographs and headed down to the lake itself. At the reacreation area I asked the best way back to Los Angeles and the young guy in the camping grounds entry-booth was very helpful with simple directions.
It turned out that it was a different road from the one that lead to Ojia so I didn't actually see Ojia and headen on until I reached the freeway again. At this point it was dark but the freeway was moving fast and I had a fast hour-and-a-bit run back home, reaching here at 9:00 pm. I was tired out but with a feeling of accomplishment.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Love,
Barry
I didn't get away anywhere for a couple of weekends due to a long study cycle required of all staff at the College - and other deadlines of my own for my future business preparations.
I did however get a couple of very enjoyable Saturday dinners and great communication and business help at Suesan's place and I did get in a visit to Katie at Kingsley Manor.
At the College, our beautiful Russian trainee, Elena, has completed all her training and returned to Russia. She gave me a lovely thank-you card for all I'd done to help her and included her email address so we can stay in touch. I will miss her a lot.
Sadly, one of my young Tiawanese students who I also have a high affinity for, had his visa-extension request refused and had to return home to Taiwan. Weber is a very playful being and as he is only 18 he risks being pulled into a year's military service in his own country before he can reapply for another visa to come and complete his studies. That would be unfortunate.
This Saturday my friend Sue Z came back from a month away visiting her daughters on the East Coast and as it happened, Saturday was also her birthday. We went out to dinner at Out-Back Steak House and had an enjoyable time. Sue got to open her present from me and as I had arrived before her and let them know it was her birthday, they presented her with a yummy birthday desert - which I got to help her eat!
On Sunday I set on on the Hollywood/Ventura freeway north and went direstly to Carpintaria where I had left off my trip north last time. From Carpintaria I headed north again along the coast roads and found a small secluded beach to get an hour's sun and listen to the niose of the surf. There were only about 8 other people passed by the entire time I was there.
Then I headed north again past orchards and berry fields and then along a beautiful, almost deserted coast road with amazing mansions with big grounds and lush trees. They were all seaside properties and were the only thing between the sea and the road I drove on. How wonderful it would be to stay at one of those places for a while. I think it is the most tranquil place I have yet encountered on my coastal trips. Huge lush trees overhung both sides of this lovely, long country-style road and filled the yards of those amazing homes.
I continued on and soon made it to Santa Barbra - famous California beach-front city. There was a huge arts bazar all along the shore line so I parked and walked the entire distance one way and then back again - and then walked on to the huge pier and went all the way out to the end. There is traffic and parking and shops on the pier itself.
I got photos of a man making a sand sculpture of a dragon and its young and also of graceful pelicans gliding slowly just overhead.
Then I went back to the car and drove around the harbor and parts of the city before heading back south. The freeway was packed and crawling along so I took the coast roads again and got along much faster.
At one point I took a wrong turn and and found I was on the way inland to some place called Ojia. I almost turned around but then decided, "what the heck, I'll check it out". I drove for a long time along this twisting and turning mountain road going inland from the coast and up the mountains and down again and then to my surprise I came upon the view of a beautiful large lake, Lake Casitas. I stopped at rather risky places for great scenic photographs and headed down to the lake itself. At the reacreation area I asked the best way back to Los Angeles and the young guy in the camping grounds entry-booth was very helpful with simple directions.
It turned out that it was a different road from the one that lead to Ojia so I didn't actually see Ojia and headen on until I reached the freeway again. At this point it was dark but the freeway was moving fast and I had a fast hour-and-a-bit run back home, reaching here at 9:00 pm. I was tired out but with a feeling of accomplishment.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Love,
Barry
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