This morning, after each of us took care of things that had to be done and the cats frolicked on the suitcase, Nick and I packed up the Prius (the red one this time) and headed on down Highway 101. Unlike the October trip with Jacey, the weather was fabulous. Nick and I didn't talk as much as Jacey and I did but I only see her once a year. But his car has a six CD player and we listened to Heart, Creedence and Bob Seger.
Of course we stopped in Gilroy for the Jelly Belly factory but this time no Belly Flops were purchased. I had remembered that I'd not packed a baseball cap, just in case there's sun. Got a funky gold and black one at the Fox outlet store for $7. I know nothing about them except they have a cool logo. I'm calling it my glitzy trucker hat. Photos will appear somewhere.
Knowing our dinner plans, Nick had packed lunch.. Nick had been that way while I was at Nikon school and knew about the Pacheco State park. We had our picnic there. We even paid the self-serve parking fee because we know how much the park system is hurting. It was lovely, the two of us and a lot of birds. The latrines are actually quite decent and there was water to wash hands.
We're down here in Santa Clarita so Nick can enter the USOF Trail Orienteering Championships tomorrow. Sunday is a regular meet. Trail O is very cool. It's more thinking and less physical. That's because it's designed for those who cannot go off trail and there is a paralympic class. Able bodied orienteers love it because it tests their map reading skills. I've always hoped that people with mobility issues would learn about it and get more excited. When I was working with some groups with disabilities, I did try to publicize it. But, as usual, I digress. On Sunday there's a standard meet. Then we move down to Anaheim for the obvious reason. And that and what I hope to write about tomorrow are how Nick lured me into coming along.
Vegetarians, dieters and those who are not serious carnivoires should move along to the next paragraph. One of the great things of traveling with Nick is he finds stuff. So, he found the Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill and once we were settled in at the hotel, off we went. Yummm. We tried not to get too much food, explained to waitress Rachel that we wanted the beef ribs and the chicken and ended up splitting a combo meal. Yumm. The ribs were great, the chicken was almost as good, we ate too much and each had a glass of good wine. Nick had Jacob's Creek Shiraz from Austrailia and, of course, I had Zinfandel, Opolo Vineyards, Paso Robles.
The plan now is to go to sleep early!! Isn't that amazing? Like 11:30 so we can pop up early and get breakfast and go to Vasquez Rocks. I've got a new membory card for my camera, tested it out, battery charged and I know how to set the lighting for cloudy and how to over- or under-expose. I'm ready!!
Love,
Esther
Esther
© 2009 Esther A. Heller
No comments:
Post a Comment