November Swimming Plus

 
 
 

Almost mid-November and Alan went swimming and took a hot tub at our campground near Santa Cruz, CA. It was in the high 50s but the pool was heated too.

On California Time

Last time I emailed some of you, we were in Olema -- near Point Reyes -- and we were going to move on that morning. We didn't! After the election and celebrating for the president-elect, we stayed on in the area...day by day. Stayed there five days and had one of the best days on the trip:

We drove out to Pierce Point Ranch and hiked out to Tomales Point (photos in a previous entry), approx 9 1/2 mile loop, lovely weather, just enough other hikers to make it feel not too other-worldly, horseback riders, and free roaming elk. Incredible shoreline, the inevitable birds on rocks and birds flapping and diving trying to catch the sweet spot of hovering (someone else could better describe it both aesthetically and the physics of it).

On the way back to our campsite we stopped at a roadside store, Spirit Matters. When I was in this area in May 2007 it was always closed when my friend Susan and I drove by but I had stopped to take photos of its yard full of Buddha and Kwan Yin statues and prayer flags and stone benches.

Being inside this time was even better than the outside...and Alan and I chatted with the owner...and when I mentioned that I also collect Kwan Yin sculptures (the goddess of compassion) she invited us into her inner sanctum -- and area with her own work in progress (altering sculptures that were broken, with paint and other symbolic embellishments) and into her house where she had personal altars. Over an hour went by...definitely CA time.

That stop was followed by the evening at our campsite. Speaking to our daughter via Skype (online connection) and reading emails and a simple dinner onboard. We both watched TV shows on our computers.

Every morning we would ask each other -- where do you want to go? What's the weather going to be like? Want to stay?

The last day in that area was rainy and we explored Bolinas and Stinson Beach.

Now we are in Santa Cruz. I lived here for a few months in 1975 and yesterday went to the bookstore I had briefly worked in.

Last night we went to check in at a campground that we found in one of our directories. And decided to cancel the reservation (only second time this trip)-- it was a parking lot, tight spaces, near a noisy road and depressing. For a bit more money, we are now in a spacious campground, out of the way, surrounded by trees.
This morning I saw a hummingbird in a large salvia bush and I ate my breakfast out on the picnic table.

We are still moving on CA time. It is after ten am and Alan is first going out for his run and I am considering going to take my shower -- soon.
Leisure ain't so bad!!
After that I think I'll go read and then to the beach. Or the reverse. Who knows?

Gas Prices

I just read that the national average for gas went down to around 2.40 a gallon. Earlier today we paid 2.38 (cash price) but most of the stations we passed were in the range of 2.50.

How much does gas cost where you are -- today? And compared with last week?

Social Networking

Compared to most of my friends, I am in the advanced techno-ability category because I’ve mastered simple word processing tricks, am using Picasa for storing and sending photos, blogging, and making calls via Skype. I did teach online (an herbal medicine class when the AOL campus was open in the late 1990s) and have been a student at ed2go. I was even the Sleep Wizard, and got paid to maintain a sleep resource web area and write an every other week enewsletter, when Wz.com was trying to beat out about.com.

But I know the reality...I am lagging behind. I knew it when I came upon this “Stay in Touch” request at a blog I was reading:

“Email me at- xxxxx(at)yyyyy(dot)com
Friend me on StumbleUpon, Digg and Reddit
Find me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Connect with me on LinkedIn
See my photos on Flickr
Comment on my blogs
Contact me through my website: xxxxyyyy.com

I was initially amused when I read this woman's list – me and most of my friend’s remember when we only had to remember a friend's phone number, landline only. What are all silly-named online links? Well, they are Social Networking Sites.

Social networking is the next step in online connections -- I read on one blog that top social networking sites had overtaken Google in popularity, so this is a major phenomenon -- and I’m not sure if I want to spend the time or have the inclination to learn all about it and then keep up with it all. Who do I want to network with anyway?

Yet now may be the time for me to take the leap. I’ve just received my second invitation to join Facebook (the most popular English language social networking site).

For background, I gathered this info from a techno bog:

The definition of a social network site (SNS):
it allows a person to make a profile, articulate a list of other people and "view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system".

There are 3 types of social networking sites:
Socialising SNS (recreational, for social communication) e.g. MySpace, Twitter
Networking SNS (for non-social interpersonal communication) e.g. LinkedIn (and Ning?)
(Social) Navigation SNSs - social network features to help users find information or resources (e.g. Youtube, CiteULike, connotea).

What do you think about all this? Thoughts, feelings, experiences?

I want to hear from you -- so Stay In Touch. But currently my version includes only at this blog and email (BHpurple (sign for at) aol (dot) com – written out to discourage spammers).

On the CA Coast - Afternoon

 

 

 

 

Another Day Along the Coast -Morning

 
 
 

We left the lovely Olema campground to drive south down Hwy 1. Just hitting 60 degrees and sunny. Pictured is our first coastal stop along the way.

Where is Bolinas?

It's hard to find Bolinas, CA. It is rumored that the locals keep taking down the signs that would direct people from the main road into town. We passed by it and had to backtrack, checking our map. The only hint, the street sign that says Olema-Bolinas Road. But after a few hundred yards from that turn, there is a T-intersection with an official yellow traffic sign -- with an arrow pointing in both directions. Which way to town? Your guess is as good as ours.

After finding Bolinas and parking our vehicle, we strolled the main street with the intention to stop in a few shops and have some lunch. I didn't doubt the rumors of inhospitable townsfolk when the shop clerk of the first place I walked in started ordering me around -- please, don't close the door but open it just a little (is this the right angle, mam?) and after I walked over a discolored floor mat she instructed me to wipe my feet on the wood floor. I left quickly...

It got nicer after that but I don't think that the town was as friendly as Stinson and certainly not as inviting as we have found Point Reyes Station. We had a great lunch at the Coastal Cafe and I had a special visit in Emmeline's Watercolor Studio -- and apartment; the artist from Provence.