I don't know if I should wait a while and let the impressions from our trip to California age like the wine the state is famous for, or put them down in a hurry before I forget them. Maybe I better start now. I may forget where I left the bottle aging.
If you look at a topographical map of California, there's a huge valley, surrounded on all sides by mountains, running from Redding in the North to Bakersfield in the South. The upper portion of this is the Sacramento Valley and the lower portion is the San Joaquin Valley. Fresno is smack in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley and the geographical center of California itself.
Terrain: Flat, flat and flat. There are mountains in view to the East and West (on clear days), but I doubt that there's a variance of 10 feet of elevation in the Clovis/Fresno city limits.
Vegetation: all dead or green, green, green. Jason pointed out that if it's not watered, it doesn't grow. It does not rain from late April to November. At all. But if you do water, or irrigate, you can evidently grow anything. From the air I saw hundreds and hundreds of acres of orchards and vineyards. Some estimate that 10% of the United State's agricultural production comes from this area.
Inside the Fresno/Clovis city limits: The northern section of town is modern, pristine, and very chic. I'm told the southern section of the city is not so much so. We didn't go south very much. In fact, that seems to be the case for many who live on the northern side - everything they need is near them so there is never a need to go to the southern parts of town. We did go to Old Town Clovis one evening for the Farmer's Market and Track Meet. Yes, smack in the middle of funnel-cake vendors and vegetable vendors they were holding a pole vault meet. Now that's something you don't see in Texas. Even in Austin. Don't know who won the vault but Jason came away with some of the sweetest fresh corn I have ever tasted.
New house: We loved Julie and Jason's new house. Lovely area, beautiful yard, spacious house, cool (literally) patio and pool. I kept telling Barbara we needed one of those - patio with a cool breeze, that is. And they did pick out new drapery material.
Good Eating: In addition to the excellent grilled chicken, sweet corn, wonderful fresh fruit and other good things to eat at the Lockes, we covered all the culinary bases from steak, pizza, Mexican and Oriental to the ever-popular In-n-Out burger. And topped it off a couple of evenings at Yodigitys.
Sightseeing: In addition to the natural wonders of Fresno itself, we took a trip to Yosemite. Julie could get a job there as a guide. More about that later.
College Church: Wow. What a great congregation. Friendly, caring people, a great praise team, and how about that new preacher?
All in all, a great place to visit. And a nice place to live.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Monday Meanderings - Aug 10
Too busy wandering to meander.
I will say that while seated in the food court of a local arcade, where the boys were blasting away on giant video games, we were idly watching a televised Poker championship...
He said: "That's what I could do. Play poker. It could be both a hobby and a means to supplement our retirement income."
She said: "I think you have to be beyond looking in the dictionary to see what hand beats other hands before they let you play on TV."
Can't argue with that.
I will say that while seated in the food court of a local arcade, where the boys were blasting away on giant video games, we were idly watching a televised Poker championship...
He said: "That's what I could do. Play poker. It could be both a hobby and a means to supplement our retirement income."
She said: "I think you have to be beyond looking in the dictionary to see what hand beats other hands before they let you play on TV."
Can't argue with that.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Another story for my Grandchildren...
Poor Skeeter. It was hardly fair to gang up on him like that. But I should start at the beginning.
I was in the minority when I was in college in that I had a car. I had a job at a radio station on the far side of Abilene, so I needed reliable transportation - thus the car.
One weekend I was to fly to Dallas, so I left my car keys with Skeeter, my roommate, so that he could have the benefit of the car while I was gone. However, unknown to Skeeter, I left another key with Thayne, who lived next door in the dorm (and later became my brother-in-law). And the stage was set for a very disturbing weekend - for Skeeter.
Wherever the guys went in the car that weekend, it was never found in the place Skeeter left it. If they went to eat, someone moved the car down a block during the meal. Movies? Where's the car? I left it right here!
Thayne kept switching co-conspirators so that Skeeter would not get suspicious that the same person was always missing - and it worked well.
When I got home Sunday evening, Skeet handed me the keys and said, " I don't know where your car is. I left it in front of the dorm, but I know without looking it's not there now. And don't ever lend me your car again." and he walked out.
Just another story that needs to be recorded in the family history.
I was in the minority when I was in college in that I had a car. I had a job at a radio station on the far side of Abilene, so I needed reliable transportation - thus the car.
One weekend I was to fly to Dallas, so I left my car keys with Skeeter, my roommate, so that he could have the benefit of the car while I was gone. However, unknown to Skeeter, I left another key with Thayne, who lived next door in the dorm (and later became my brother-in-law). And the stage was set for a very disturbing weekend - for Skeeter.
Wherever the guys went in the car that weekend, it was never found in the place Skeeter left it. If they went to eat, someone moved the car down a block during the meal. Movies? Where's the car? I left it right here!
Thayne kept switching co-conspirators so that Skeeter would not get suspicious that the same person was always missing - and it worked well.
When I got home Sunday evening, Skeet handed me the keys and said, " I don't know where your car is. I left it in front of the dorm, but I know without looking it's not there now. And don't ever lend me your car again." and he walked out.
Just another story that needs to be recorded in the family history.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Another timewaster!
If Facebook is just not wiling away the hours for you, here's another suggestion. Go to engrish.com and check out the mutilated syntax and incredible spelling of signage and packaging around the world. Here are some samples:
Of course, what you do not see are the attempts by engrish speakers to communicate in Japanese or Chinese. I wonder why?
Of course, what you do not see are the attempts by engrish speakers to communicate in Japanese or Chinese. I wonder why?
Monday, August 3, 2009
Monday Meanderings - Aug 3
I mostly listen to Classic Rock in the car, and Pink Floyd is certainly part of that genre. But compared to the entire body of work for Rock in the 70's and early 80's how often should a Pink Floyd song show up on the rotation? Not that often right? Unless Mom gets in the car. If Mom and I start out somewhere it is not a question of if Pink Floyd will show up - it's which PF song will play. I can understand on XM - I mean they do broadcast from satellites and everybody knows that the government is secretly spying on us with satellites and Google Earth and the like... but this has been going on since back when a local station played classic rock. Mom gets in, turn it up. It's gonna be Pink Floyd.
The Austin streets are such an interesting part of the weirdness that marks this city. Coming home the other day I stopped at an intersection and the driver of the car next to me jumped out of his car, ran around to the passenger side front window and then ran back to his seat with his cell phone in his hand. I'm guessing that it was on the roof when he started, slid down to the windshield washer well when he stopped, and he got lucky.
At the very next stop, the door of the car in front of me suddenly opened and a back-pack came flying out onto the street. Then an angry man jumped out, grabbed the back-pack and started off on foot. The people in the car yelled something at him, but he didn't look back. Keep Austin weird, Dude!
After commenting about how many water bottles were used and tossed (literally) in the Tour de France, we saw a few interesting water bottle incidents. In the first, reporters were interviewing Lance just before his individual time trial and he was hydrating like crazy during the interview. When he finished one bottle he tossed it into the roped-off spectator area and you expected fists to be thrown in the mad scramble for that bottle.
On another occasion, he was passing through one of the many spots along the Tour where the spectators were pressed in WAY TOO CLOSE, and he simply handed an empty bottle to one of the loonies running alongside him; the guy was so startled it looked like he was going to tumble head-over-heels for a moment. Later, out in the countryside, another rider took careful aim, launched an empty - and scored a direct hit in the back of an open hatch-back auto parked beside the road. I hope it was really empty.
Barbara says - Well, before I finished it, I was calling it Book Without End, rather than World Without End, but I did finish it. If someone asked if I liked it, I think I'd say, "No", but I did finish it and I've been known to stop in the middle, especially with a book club book. I did decide a couple of things about life in the 1300s: 1) I wouldn't have wanted to live then, and 2) I especially wouldn't have wanted to be a woman who lived then.
Another he said/she said story --
Background: He (and she) have realized that she has a funny sound that she makes without really recognizing she's making it, and he has been bringing this to her attention when she does it by repeating it. Thus, this occurred:
She - hmmm, hmmm.
He - humm, hmmm.
She - Well, at least I know where I'm going.
He - But you go weird ways.
She - I go ways you think are weird, because I think it's a better way to go. You go weird ways because you have no idea where you're going.
He - Hummm.
The Austin streets are such an interesting part of the weirdness that marks this city. Coming home the other day I stopped at an intersection and the driver of the car next to me jumped out of his car, ran around to the passenger side front window and then ran back to his seat with his cell phone in his hand. I'm guessing that it was on the roof when he started, slid down to the windshield washer well when he stopped, and he got lucky.
At the very next stop, the door of the car in front of me suddenly opened and a back-pack came flying out onto the street. Then an angry man jumped out, grabbed the back-pack and started off on foot. The people in the car yelled something at him, but he didn't look back. Keep Austin weird, Dude!
After commenting about how many water bottles were used and tossed (literally) in the Tour de France, we saw a few interesting water bottle incidents. In the first, reporters were interviewing Lance just before his individual time trial and he was hydrating like crazy during the interview. When he finished one bottle he tossed it into the roped-off spectator area and you expected fists to be thrown in the mad scramble for that bottle.
On another occasion, he was passing through one of the many spots along the Tour where the spectators were pressed in WAY TOO CLOSE, and he simply handed an empty bottle to one of the loonies running alongside him; the guy was so startled it looked like he was going to tumble head-over-heels for a moment. Later, out in the countryside, another rider took careful aim, launched an empty - and scored a direct hit in the back of an open hatch-back auto parked beside the road. I hope it was really empty.
Barbara says - Well, before I finished it, I was calling it Book Without End, rather than World Without End, but I did finish it. If someone asked if I liked it, I think I'd say, "No", but I did finish it and I've been known to stop in the middle, especially with a book club book. I did decide a couple of things about life in the 1300s: 1) I wouldn't have wanted to live then, and 2) I especially wouldn't have wanted to be a woman who lived then.
Another he said/she said story --
Background: He (and she) have realized that she has a funny sound that she makes without really recognizing she's making it, and he has been bringing this to her attention when she does it by repeating it. Thus, this occurred:
She - hmmm, hmmm.
He - humm, hmmm.
She - Well, at least I know where I'm going.
He - But you go weird ways.
She - I go ways you think are weird, because I think it's a better way to go. You go weird ways because you have no idea where you're going.
He - Hummm.
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