New Year in the River of Grass Part I

For the 2009 - 2010 new year, we headed off to the bottom of the continental U.S. to visit the Everglades National Park. On our

way down, we stopped at Myakka River State park, where the Florida ecology was already in evidence. Here we spotted alligators and egrets, before we headed of along one of the trails that cuts through the live oak and saw palmetto-ed terrain, which was alive with lizards. After walking through the forest, we got above it by visiting the park's canopy walkway. Because Florida is so flat, views like this don't come often. The 25 foot elevation walkway lets you walk among the spanish moss covered branches, while the 100 foot tower situated on one end gives you a sense of the landscape as a whole.

After grabbing some frozen custard at a ice cream cone shaped Twistee Treat, we found an empty beach to wander along and ring in the new year, and came across an abandoned wood carved duck bottle opener, which might have come in with the tide, we couldn't decide. The next day, we rambled on to Big Cypress National Preserve, and a walk on the Gator Hook trail. The trail was a bit rough and weedy, but we hadn't gone far before we spotted what we thought was a bittern in a marshy patch, but when I looked over pictures later, I decided it was really a juvenile green heron, which looks similar in the face and neck, but doesn't have the right body feather pattern.

After our short hike, we headed over to the Oasis visitor's center, which has a boardwalk overlooking the ditch that was dug to build up the road. Such ditches follow alongside many of the roads in this region, and are filled with water and alligators. Here, we had the normal compliment of egrets and herons, plus a few anhinga hunting in the water. The anhinga is probably one of my favorite Florida birds, because it is so fun to watch swim under water in their hunt to spear fish with their beaks. Of course, there are a lot of interesting and beautiful birds in Florida, so it is hard to choose only one.

Just a short drive up the road brought us to the Everglade's Shark Valley Visitor's Center. Here we were filled with wonder as tourists ambled along a paved walkway which was paralleled by an alligator filled waterway. Several of the alligators were sprawled right along the very edge of the asphalt. I was surprised at the total lack of concern most of the tourists showed the nearby predators. I watched as a handful of children tossed small pieces of wood onto the back of one gator, standing not more that 6 feet from it. Maybe they don't think they are real. But they are. As we walked along, we saw turtles surfacing for air, one of them bearing the marks of it's predatory neighbors. All sorts of birds perched hear and there. There was a snake sunning itself in a flattened patch of grass that was an alligator's preferred spot, and we even found a huddled, squeaking pile of baby alligators. Along the way, we ventured down the Otter Cave Hammock trail, which leads through the hammock along a limestone path, where the rock has had small tunnels eroded through it.

Shark Valley is at the top of the park. We now headed to the bottom. We arrived at Flamingo just as a storm began to roll in. We took an uneventful stroll around Eco Pond, and headed for the visitor's center just as the rain began to fall. We looked at the somewhat meager exhibits until the rain passed, then wandered over by the Marina, where we heard we might see an American Crocodile. And when we looked down among the slips, we did spot a crocodile, who rather than floating passively like the alligators, turned about in the water to watch us with interest.

then it was back along the road to Snake Bight trail. No, that's not a typo, this straight trail through a tunnel of trees leads to a bight, a sort of bay on a bay. But it was growing dark quickly at this point, so we didn't make it all the way to the end before turning back that night. When we returned in the morning,we were greeted by a small flock of ibis and spoonbills feeding in the mud and shallow water. After a quick stop to investigate a Mahogany hammock, which is basically an island of trees in the sea of grass, we headed on to the gumbo limbo and anhinga trails at Royal Palm.

Moments like this

Somewhere south of the port city of Olbia, in the island of Sardenia, we sought the beach. We had some time. If I had to guess, it was just north of Tanaunela. We had yet to really stick our feet into the Mediterranean. Technically, this was the Tyrrhenean Sea. Oddly, Italy little touches the Mediterranean itself, being mostly surrounded by the Tyrrhenean, Adriatic, and Ionian seas. Still, the waters wash the same, and we were looking for a little break. We parked in the lot for a somewhat busy beach, and headed down a nearby rocky shore.

The cumulus clouds the size of the island, if not the world were floating in the afternoon light. The water was blue, but full of shadows. And there was a man singing. His skin was tan, his head balding and somewhat grey. He was neither thin nor fat, but had the muscular body of old aged men under loose skin. This was readily apparent because, as European men will, he was wearing a speedo. Tied around the fabric of his left hip, and weighing the speedo down uncomfortably, was a yellow plastic grocery bag. He went along, shin deep in the water, pocket knife in his right hand, scanning the barnacle covered rocks, prying away mussels, adding them to the bag, singing, in that same strong but worn voice that you could see in the skin and muscle.

He came from up the coast, passed us, down towards the swimmers and gone. Along the way, a man with a long rod and a long line fished.

Where I go, I see many great things. Ruins and Museums, Mountains and Rivers. And they teach me my geography and history better than any book ever has. And there is value in that. But it is moments like this when you find the unexpected, common thing in far places that makes the weary standing, walking, driving, flying of travel well, well worth it.

the Palermo hostel incident

We arrived on the outskirts of Palermo looking for our hostel, Baia del Corallo We easily found the bus stop it was supposed to be next to, but driving up and down the road, we saw no signs of the hostel, though we did find one other bus stop. Finally, we noticed a small sign on an equally small parking lot next to the first stop. It looked like it belonged to a small powerhouse of something next to the stop. Hung on the chain link fence surrounding the lot was a small sign for the YHA (Youth Hostel Association) We realized this was it. What would have been obvious to a backpacker coming off the bus was a little hard for us to find. Leaving the car outside the fence, where there was just enough room for a car, we entered the lot and saw steps leading down away from it.

The hostel consists of several little bungalows sprawled down the slope of a sea cliff. Surrounded by trees, it's a quite, well camouflaged place, at least until the water's edge bar gets going. Finally settling in to our room and bringing out car into the lot, we walked down the hill into this little stretch of seaside resort.

Wandering past several restaurants where seafood was understandably the food of choice, we finally came to a little ma and pa outdoor diner type of place. They served up hot sandwiches, more substantial than the average panini, and of every variety. Jake settled for the American, basically a cheeseburger panini. I was embarrassed to be unable to communicate, but the people running the shop took good care of us.

As we wound our way up the darkening street after our meal, we stopped in for some gelato from a little shop, and picked out spumoni. At this point, I had never had nor heard of this flavor, and I described it as mint chocolate bubble gum. I've never had any quite so good since.

florida panhandle

Our first introduction to the Florida Panhandle was Pensacola, where our route south deposited us. We didn't find much of interest here, and wound up swimming at Henderson Beach State Park in Destin on our first day in the area. The red, dangerous current flag was flying, and the waves were good. We wore ourselves out boogie boarding. I'm glad we got a chance to use them again. the last time we used them was several years ago at the outer banks. The sand on the beaches around Destin is pure white and is so fine it actually squeaks when you scuff your feet. There was little trace of sea life. No shells or crabs, just some sea weed and birds.

We had lunch at the Destin Diner. The food was good home style stuff. Jake has country fried steak, I had Italian meatloaf with marinara, and we both had hash browns and fries for sides. Service was awful, despite the fact that there was almost no one there, but you can hardly hold one bad server against a place. We had dinner at a place called Bobos or Bozos, or something like that. It wasn't in Destin, but further east. They had a children's dance contest including the cha cha slide and the chicken dance and a kids limbo competition. Then the fellow orchestrating all this sang some memorial day appropriate songs. It was pretty fun actually. the food was good, we had a chicken sandwich and a burger though, because the prices here are outrageous. I wasn't too surprised that beef and even chicken ran high at about $18 for the cheapest steak, $16 for chicken, but I thought, gee, maybe that the seafood would be cheap?? no... it costs as much as steak.... that's why we had sandwiches. They were only about $8 each.

We had hoped to stay at the campground in the park, but as it was full, we contented ourselves to use their showers. This was pretty much the way it went for the next few days. Every campground was full, so we slept in the car every night, and just used the showers in the parks to keep clean.

When we woke up, we were a little tired from swimming, so we headed inland to Rocky Bayou State park, and explored 2 of the trails there, the Rocky Bayou trail, and the Puddin Lake trail

The first trail led amongst live oak and saw palmettos, and was covered with unnumbered scurrying lizards. There was also a smake, and a frog along the way as well. the Puddin lake trail was a good deal more interesting. It led along a marshy lake, and in the low branches of a tree we spotted an anole, a bright green lizard with a pink colored fan on his throat, which he would open as he bobbed up and down doing pushups. Just a short ways further we saw two large birds of prey in a massive stick nest at the very top of a dead tree, which reached well beyond the tops of the living trees around it. We both jumped to the conclusion of bald eagles, but binoculars revealed that this was a pair of osprey. After watching them for some time, we continued on the trail and saw a turtle crawling up from the small lake, covered in fresh mud, and also a few dear in the undergrowth just across the water. We spent the remainder of the day reading along the shore of the lake here, and then headed down towards panama city.

in panama city they have a nice little park, I believe it is called oaks on the shore. We went down to a beach there and saw many many hermit crabs and fiddler crabs, and Jake picked up a couple empty shells to bring home.

then we ate at the treasure ship, which is a full size replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind. Why yes, it was delighfully touristy, tacky, and yet... unrefined. the prices here were better by a couple dollars. I got the steak (fantastic) and Jake got the mahi mahi fried fish basket (pretty good) and we split half and half.

we realized when we returned to the car that Jake's empty shells weren't so empty, and we returned them to their beach. After that we drove way down to Port St. Joe and spent the night again in the car.

In the morning we headed to St. Joseph's Peninsula State Park. There were only gentle waves here, and the water was a murkier green. There were lots of shells here. We then headed to the inland side of the peninsula, and walked a trail along the shore. Here, the brown pelicans were diving like crazy. The water on the inside is beautiful. The sand bars in the water cause the shades of blue to shift with the depths and create a kaledescope of every cool shade. There are streaks of bright green and pools of dark blue. we also saw more fiddler crabs, and spent quite a lot of time watching them gesture and fight. we also saw a dried and dead horseshoe crab, but no live ones. We stopped for pizza at Hungry Howie's pizza and subs. This is apparently a Florida chain, as I've never seen them elsewhere. The pizza was about pizza hut quality/style. We also stopped for a Shrek Shake at McDonald's... they are good, and disgusting looking. We wound up driving back up to Panama City in search of better waves.

We found some waves at Saint Andrews SP. here they were crashing, and Jake finally persuaded tired me to boogie board some more. The waves were huge, but broke unpredictably. I did manage to ride a few almost all the way up the beach though. Mostly I just got knocked about a lot, but it was still great fun. At one point a little cruise ship turned in towards the beach, undoubtably giving dolphin tours as about 4 dolphins immediately appeared near it. Finally we headed back to the showers... only, there were no individual showers, just the exposed shower heads every beach has. Despite the fact that their website claims showers are available. So I did the only sensible thing. I washed and conditioned my hair in the sand showers available. About this time a pirate ship rounded the corner and appeared in front of the beach, and about this time we headed for home. We stopped before leaving the park to check out some wild alligators in a pond, with an island of brushy trees in the middle. the trees were weighed down with Great White and Great Blue herons. a few possibly green herons,and snowy egrets. Great Blue Herons are definitely the most aggressive of the bunch. All these birds were nesting. The alligators barely moved.

We stopped for some quick dinner at Whataburger, another small chain. The food was ok. We made it into southern Alabama by night, and finished the drive home in the morning. we made a brief stop in Decatur for some BBQ. and to stretch our legs at a park there. Once home, we did the final thing that was "included" in our vacation: we saw Pirates 3. very good. But if you didn't like the second one, you probably won't like this one. it's full of action and special effects, and borders on the ridiculous. I think there will be a sequel. I'm not sure if it was a happy ending or not. You'll have to see it and decide for yourself.

Cathedral Cove

The town of Hahei, on the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island, has some spectacular beaches. From a parking lot near the sea, a trail leads down to several bays and coves. Along the way, the trail passes through flax and fern, and even a small corner of pasture. The ferns were so thick that some children were using them as very effective camouflage. We skipped a stop at Stingray Bay in favor of reaching Mare's Leg cove, and the Cathedral Cove beyond it. The two are connected by a cave, which was very prominently featured in the early part of the Narnia movie Prince Caspian. Both Beaches are absolutely beautiful. White sand, surrounded by high cliffs, and fronted by some of the bluest water I have seen, and this even on a somewhat overcast day. We stayed briefly to explore, then made our way back, this time taking a slightly different route that led us through some unexpectedly mossy and dark forest.

Blue waters from the trail


Fern tree forest


Children in the Ferns


A Spot of Sunshine


Cave connecting mare's leg and cathedral cove


A Mossy Route Through the Forest

Cape Canaveral: Lift Off!

On the last weekend in may of 2008, we headed off to Florida with tickets in hand to watch the launch of the shuttle Discovery from the Kennedy Space Center. We used Thursday night and Friday morning to make the drive down, taking our time to stop off at Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach as well. In New Smyrna we stopped for some great burgers at Breakers, right on the beach. After filling up, we headed a little further south to the Cape Canaveral National Seashore. Most of the areas were closed due to the next days launch, but we were able to park in a parking lot just off the main Turtlemound Road.

Walking over the dunes to the beach, we were excited to get into the water. The beach was shaped into quite a steep slope, and the power of the water was immense. Each wave lifted us into the air, and, quite often hurled us a bit up the beach. Jake was having the time of his life. I, however, was quickly tired, and was further discouraged by the seaweed in the water, and before long, inside my suit. Finally I was too exhausted to be sporting any longer, and we returned to our belongings on the beach. As we headed back towards one of the dune crossings, we noticed several men down the beach, who, though a little too far away to tell for sure, appeared to believe it was a nude beach. Apparently this happens sometimes in this area when the beaches are not crowded. After showering and changing, we were ready to continue on.

Having our fill of the beach life, we continued south hoping to spot some manatees at a viewing platform located at the Haulover Canal, carved through the isthmus north of the land mass occupied primarily by the NASA launching and landing facilities. When we arrived, the sun was near to setting and the water was inky and impenetrable. We had all but given up when we did witness a manatee spouting, but it was gone before we could really fix our eyes on it. A little disappointed, we returned to the car and, finding the road to the south blocked due to the next days shuttle launch, took the long way around to Titusville. In Titusville we hunted out a spot for dinner, being across the water from the very brightly lit shuttle, waiting patiently on its launch pad. The place we found was Paul's Smokehouse, where Jake tried a swordfish steak, and I stuck to the regular kind. The food was OK, but not fantastic.

The next morning, we woke early and returned to the viewing platform to continue our hunt for a manatee. We spent long minutes waiting and searching the murky green water, and had just given up when a dolphin swam into the channel. He entertained us in the way dolphins will, and we spotted a large moon jelly swimming/floating in the channel. The dolphin continued to circle in the area, and then, suddenly right beneath the railing of the platform we saw a manatee! She was moving along the bank, stirring up its muddy edge as she grazed on what water plants were growing there, She moved up and down the bank, creating distinctive pairs of smooth spots in the water above her whenever she moved close to the surface. They were like a shadow of flatness above her, created by the gentle down current as she flicked her tail and sank lower again. As she moved away from the bank, we watched her come to the surface briefly a few times to breath. Finally, and she and her dolphin herald moved on.

Finally, it was time to head to the space center, to enjoy the complex and watch the launch. We joined the long line of cars moving into the parking lot, and used our tickets to get through the gates. We arrived just minutes to late to take the last bus leaving on a tour of the facilities, which was a real shame, because it represented out only chance to get fairly close to the shuttle before launch. This made me a little angry, since we had waited to arrive at the time that our parking ticket said we should, and therefore missed out on this opportunity. Still, there were plenty of other things to see and do at the complex. We watched an 3d IMAX movie filmed in space which was my first ever, and was really very moving. We visited an interactive show where a few mad scientists educated the kids. It was perhaps a little too childish, even for us. We went on a simulation of blast off, which was fun, and another "ride" where we walked through hallways from one animatronic scene to the next. We also took some time to go into the shuttle they have set up, and examined some of the rockets placed around the area. Overall, the Kennedy space center is most worth visiting when there is a launch going on. It the day were not ended by that massive roar, I would have been rather disappointed by the experience.

Eventually the time did come, and from out location, which was not the best available due to my forgetfulness with regards to buying the tickets the day they went on sale, we could not see the shuttle where it sat on the platform, but there was a large outdoor monitor set up. As the clock ticked down, we waited in silence, then as the shuttle lifted off on screen, it became visible above it, almost as if the digital version had become reality. As the NASA chatter continued, the rocket climbed silently into the sky. Then came a dull vibration, the preliminary shock waves, which were felt rather than heard. Finally the sound reached out ears as the shuttle shot high into the air. We all continued to wait until the shuttle itself had made the separation, then cheered as a group with childish delight. STS 124 had successfully launched. You can find out more about the mission HERE. There aren't too many things which inspire a sense of patriotic pride in me, but this is definitely one of them. The shuttles only have a little more time left before they are replaced by a new launch system, so see it while you can.

The next day, we returned to the space center, as our tickets provided a 2 day pass. This time we took the bus tour, and witnessed the now empty launch pad and the now crushed stone that had shouldered the weight of the shuttle as it was moved from the
assembly building to the launch pad. Here we also checked out a Saturn V rocket, massive when compared to what is used to launch today. Then we continued on to see the landing strips for the shuttles, before returning to the space center. As a bonus, along the way we saw roseate spoonbills, ibis, and wood storks. After the bus tour, we stopped by the Astronaut Hall of Fame, a separate facility, included in the Kennedy Space Center admission. As we waited to enter, we were asked to join a tour, since they had room. We did, at first thinking it was a free tour provided by the museum, then realizing it was a commercial tour group. I can only wonder how those who had paid for the tour must have felt. The leader did provide some good info, but was mostly looking to entertain. And he kept referring to himself as the bad boy of dolphin tours. That was a little strange. Eventually we had to go, and returning to the car began the long drive home.

Overall, the wildlife and beaches here are beautiful, and the space center is the go to place for a hands on feel for the history that has happened here. But nothing beats timing a visit here to coincide with a launch.

CA 06: Point Reyes, Muir Woods, and the Rock

Point Reyes is a great place to explore some of California's beautiful shoreline. The first thing we did when we visited was drive to the farthest reaches, to visit McClures Beach, where we walked a narrow path down to the shore. The path wound between small hills covered in a dozen different kinds of flowers. Around a bend we finally came into view of the sea, white capped and dark blue. Once we were down on the sand beach, our only company was a family with some small children. It was very quiet and peaceful with only the sound of the ocean and a few birds. There was a small stream cutting through the sand and flowing into the ocean. I became distracted with digging trenches into the the pebbled stream bed, and well could have spent the whole day there, but Jake pulled me away, and we loaded back into the car and headed towards the light house. Along the way we spotted some of the Elk which are kept in a reserve here, with cattle inhabiting much of the rest of the point.

There's a visitor's center on the cliffs above the light house, that you have to walk a little way to get to. On the particular day we visited it was extremely windy, and it was something of a struggle to walk into it. By the time we reached the visitor's center, our cheeks were stinging. Outside the visitor's center is a whale skull on display, and I scanned the water for whales, but I fully realized I wouldn't be able to make them out with all the white caps, unless possibly if one decided to beach itself. The very nice lady inside the visitors center told us that we couldn't go down to the light house because the wind was too high, but she was more than willing to sell us the California Audubon book we'd been looking for all week, and finally found on the gift shop's shelves. It was a cold and cheek stinging walk back to the car after that. We drove a little way to the elephant seal overlook, and though it wasn't as impressive as what we had already seen on our first day, it did provide good viewing for these unique animals.

We were starved at this point, so we stopped and had some BBQ chicken pizza at an adorable little shop just outside the park. The building looked like it belonged on the New England coast, not thousands of miles away near the opposite shore. It was called Priscilla's Cafe. The website claims the food is organic, and I can attest that is was very fresh.

After our lunch, it was on to Muir Woods, a redwood forest north of San Francisco. The forest was dappled in shadow and light from the branches high over head, and we explored along long winding wooden board walks. Horsetails and sorrel grew among the thick trunks, and a small stream with trout flowed between the trees. From the gift shop, I was able to pick up gold plated redwood needles to add to my Christmas ornament leaf collection, and then it was time to head off for our evening cruise to the most infamous U.S. prison: Alcatraz.

At Fisherman's wharf, we had enough time to grab some ice cream before hopping in line for the cruise. As we arrived onto the island, the sun was surround by a pleasant glow as it began to set. There were enormous sea gulls everywhere on the island. The park rangers split us into smallish groups and escorted us up the hill to the doors of the prison, while explaining some of the history of the island and buildings. Once at the prison, were were given audio devices, and given our leisure to walk about and listen to history. after we had finished with the audio tour, we had a little time left to explore the facilities on our own. I guess one thing that surprised me was how beautiful the island is, and how beautiful the view of the city. Finally, we were herded back onto the boat, the city now lit, the sun gone, and the boat turned back towards the city's shores.

CA 06: A day at the Beach and more

In 2006 we took a week to explore the southern 2/3 of California. We began in San Francisco, and worked out way south through LA to San Diego, then headed inland to the deserts and mountains as we worked our way north again, finally returning to San Francisco.

After our arrival in San Francisco and driving south out of town the previous night, we woke up ready for our first day in California. Having been born in LA, but moving away at the age of only 1, I was excited to get to know my home state.

We first went to Point Lobos, which has one of only two natural stands of Monterrey Cypress, the other being just across from the point. We were early arrivals and weighted in line for the gates to open, because I had heard the point could become very crowded later in the day. After entering, we parked and headed straight for a trail through the cypress. We immediately saw some quail in one of the trees, along with spectacular views from the cliffs. With our binoculars, we could just make out the sea lions out on their rock, but we could hear them easily. We walked leisurely along the trail that would through the grass beneath the trees. In a cove on the back part of the trail we saw two harbor seals basking on a rock, and a sea otter sleeping in the kelp beds.

After finishing the cypress trail, we walked down the sea lion path, which leads closer to the shore. There we saw more harbor seals including some babies. We saw another sea otter, this one swimming in the crashing waves near the rocky shore, and we got a closer view of the sea lions. There were also some nesting sea gulls, Brandts cormorant, and some brown pelicans to be seen.

After this we proceeded on to a series of beautiful waterfalls and beaches along highway 1. We saw Pfeiffer falls first, which is down a path through a beautiful stand of redwoods. There at the falls was a Stellar Jay being fed by excited children. I had never before realized that jays and crows were closely related, but this bird makes that connection. It moves and behaves like a crow, but has the comb and striking colors of a jay.

We then proceeded to Pfeiffer beach, which, despite being billed as a favorite beach in the area, has a narrow, windy, and poorly paved road leading down to it. But indeed it was an awesome beach. It is a sand beach, which is C shaped around two rock arches, which almost touch, forming an M. The water rushes in through the arches throwing up spray. While we were there we saw some interesting animals. In the rocks among the left side arch we found sea squirts, crabs, and a starfish. There were also some interesting people on the beach. 2 youngish girls in bathing suits screaming whenever they dared to touch their toes to the cold water, surfers protected from the cold by their wet suits, and a couple of naked children, running about. I always heard California was more free.

Following that we went to Julia Pfeiffer Burns SP (I know! Who are these Pfeiffer people?), which has a beautiful waterfall that pours onto the beach. However, you can not actually get down to the falls, but you do get a great view. Here we saw some ground squirrels and a couple more Stellar Jays, as well as a some interesting purple wildflowers. All of the vegetation here is strange, from the trees, to the flowers, even some of the grasses.

From there it was on to Jade Cove. True to its name, there is jade to be found here, and what's more, it's legal to collect. So collect we did, at our own risk. Jake found a pocket of rocks higher up away from the water, but I, after cautiously setting down the backpack, climbed down the rocks right level with the breaking waves. My goal was a small pool of smaller rocks, polished by the crashing waves. I had observed carefully before hand, and was certain none of the waves were coming in that far. After I had collected half a dozen really good specimens, Jake decided to join me. The water apparently liked him more that it liked me. Until he came down, I had only one wave come in far enough to send a wash of water around my feet. As soon as I was joined, however, by him, the waves began to surround my ankles. I was wearing carpi's, so this was OK. Jake, however, was wearing pants. Then a good one came in, with an even bigger one behind it. I, using my fantastic rock climbing abilities, learned in college climbing a wall with mostly 2x4 squares screwed onto it, latched Velcro like, horizontally to the rock behind me. My husband having taken the same class, but, unfortunately, lacking my cat like reflexes, was suddenly up to his knees in water. After that we returned to higher ground to search for rocks.

After the cove, we headed to salmon falls. This waterfall is really fantastic. The photos really cant do justice to its size and beauty. It is nestled down in a small green valley among large some boulders.

Finally, having completed our busy day outdoors, we were ready for something fancy. So we went to Hearst Mansion, where we had tickets for the evening tour. This is a house built when rich people knew what to do with their money. The house is ornate, but the rooms are mostly small and friendly. The best part of the tour was the many costumed people about the house, chatting, playing pool, reading in the library, etc., which is done for the evening tour only. If only my pictures had come out better. Unfortunately, the outdoor pool, which appears in Spartacus, had been drained due to a leak, but, on the upshot, as our guide pointed out, its a unique shot. The indoor pool was really incredible, but didn't photograph that well at all, being even more dimly lit than the rest of the house.

Thus concluded our first of many days of great adventure in California. For more, stay tuned.