Thing 1 went off to camp in August, his first real sleep-away experience (he did attend a day camp last summer that had one overnight). The camp he went to (Catalina Island Camps)is on the island. It's a very nice place and we know the people who run the place because they have a son Thing 1's age. Drop-off for most kids attending is at the San Pedro ferry terminal. I talked to Holly about whether we should just drop Daniel off at camp, or if we should take him over to San Pedro, and she said that meeting your cabin mates and counselor at the terminal and the ferry ride over was part of the experience. So on Monday, Thing 1 and I boarded the 8am ferry for San Pedro. Once on the mainland, we went shopping for camp supplies - assorted clothing, toiletries, etc. Then it was over to McDonald's (of course) for lunch, and then back to the ferry terminal for drop-off.
We met his counselor, and found out he would be in the Tugboat cabin. We met some other boys and their parents. At last the time to board came, and off they all went to their boat. I killed another hour and a half, and then caught another ferry back to the island. A long day of travel for all of us.
During his week at camp, we sent emails to Thing 1 through a web service, but, alas, we never heard back from him (despite sending him off with 5 postcards). The camp did post photos every day, and a few even showed Thing 1 having a good time. Some of the activities Thing 1 did were swimming (every day), archery, riflery (BB guns), climbing wall, hiking, sailing, slicing (that's being dragged behind a motorboat on a floaty thing), campfires with skits, kayaking, snorkeling, and bouncing on the giant floating trampoline.
Thing 2 felt very special all week, being the only boy in the house. He got to watch the movies he wanted, didn't have to share toys, and had Mom and Dad all to himself. But he did say several times that he missed his brother, especially at bedtime.
All too soon, camp was over. Sweetie drove over to pick him up (rather than go through the ferry rigmarole again). The first words out of his mouth were "Can I go back next year?" He came home without his water bottle, his bath towel, his swim shirt, any of his toiletries (including the bag), his sleeping bag stuff sack, the post cards, or the disposable camera. Sigh. Fortunately, we live close by and can probably rummage around the lost & found.
So all in all a good experience for everyone - no separation anxiety on either end (parents or kid), lots of fun for the camper, and a little peace and quiet for the kid who stayed home.
During this time, Sweetie was teaching a class over at the Wrigley. It was a college-level class for high school students. They had ten days at WMSC, and then ten days on a tall ship sailing around the Southern California bight. Sweetie just covered the land part, but it did keep her busy. Long days of teaching and then preparing for the next day's lectures. The other teacher and the TA's were very nice. The kids for the most part were smart and engaged. Many were from private and/or boarding schools back East; some had been chosen for their academic merit from more modest backgrounds. This led to some interesting and world-view broadening conversations, no doubt. They studied oceanography and marine biology and did a lot of snorkeling and even a small research project in those ten days. It was exhausting, but Sweetie enjoyed it enough that she's interested in doing it again next summer.
More soon about our trip to Illinois and the start of another school year...
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Rumblings and birthdays
So we have now experienced our first California earthquake. It really wasn't much here, even though we were only ~60 miles from the epicenter. I was sitting at my desk and there was a back-and-forth, back-and-forth motion. It couldn't have lasted more than a few seconds - just enough to get that 'what is that?' feeling. I immediately tried to call Sweetie, but, of course the phone lines were jammed. I didn't realize that it had been a much bigger quake on the mainland. The Things were a little freaked out by it, but like I said, it wasnt' much.
Both Things have had birthdays recently, Thing1 turning 8 and Thing2 turning 5. Thing1 got a boogie board which we took to Shark Harbor last weekend to try out. It took a little while for him to get hang of catching waves, but by the end of the afternoon, he was getting some pretty good rides. I had to try it out, too. It was fun, although I did get a lot of sand in my suit. Today we are having a combined, belated birthday party for the Things. Since there are a limited number of kids in town, everyone's invited. It'll be a simple fun-on-the-beach, grill-some-food party.
Tourist season is really in full swing here. The harbor fills up every weekend, and there are many people visiting the lab and wandering around town. Despite this, it still seems quiet here (except Friday and Saturday nights, when we can quite clearly hear the DJ at the bar until about 12:30am).
Both Things have had birthdays recently, Thing1 turning 8 and Thing2 turning 5. Thing1 got a boogie board which we took to Shark Harbor last weekend to try out. It took a little while for him to get hang of catching waves, but by the end of the afternoon, he was getting some pretty good rides. I had to try it out, too. It was fun, although I did get a lot of sand in my suit. Today we are having a combined, belated birthday party for the Things. Since there are a limited number of kids in town, everyone's invited. It'll be a simple fun-on-the-beach, grill-some-food party.
Tourist season is really in full swing here. The harbor fills up every weekend, and there are many people visiting the lab and wandering around town. Despite this, it still seems quiet here (except Friday and Saturday nights, when we can quite clearly hear the DJ at the bar until about 12:30am).
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Visitors and vacation
We had our first visitors to the island. My Mom and Dad and Auntie N came for an exhausting time. For the visitors, the visit started with a flight to LAX and a stay overnight in a local hotel. The next day they caught the noon ferry to the island and we met them at the dock. That afternoon, we took a hike to the end of Catalina Harbor and looked at the ocean. Thing2 got tired on the way back and had to be carried partway.
The next morning we went kayaking over at WMSC. Thing2 was quite firm about being scared of going, so he and Sweetie stayed behind.
Grammy and Grandpa took up one boat, Auntie N paired with Thing1, and I had a boat to myself. We paddled around the point, looking at the kelp beds and fishes below, to a place called Blue Caverns. This is a cave that runs through an outcropping such that, when the tide is right, you can kayak right through from one side to the other. There was a tall ship there as well letting kids (probably some sort of camp experience) paddle through in pairs. We had hit the tide just right, and paddled through both ways. Then we headed out to Bird Rock. Thing1 was gold-bricking pretty badly at this point and was told there was no lunch for those who didn't paddle. On our way out, we saw a sea lion sticking its head out of the water. Bird Rock was not as stinky as it sometimes is, which was nice. We went all the way around and then headed for the little cove next to Big Fisherman (I'm not sure what its name is) because sea lions often sun there on the rocks when it's low tide. But it was high tide, so we headed back to the boat ramp.
That afternoon we toured around the lab a little bit and then drove out to Middle Ranch.
We did some sightseeing at the Shark Harbor overlook, and then stopped to see Tachi, the captive Catalina Island Fox. These foxes are thought to have been brought over by the Native Americans who lived on the island and have evolved to be very small. She was sleeping in one of her little hidey-holes when we got there, but very obligingly aroused herself and wandered around her enclosure checking us out. Grammy and Auntie N really liked the fox. We also stopped by the eagle cage. Both of these were good stops, because we didn't see any other foxes or eagles on our trip.
The next day, we drove to Avalon. We stopped at the Airport in the Sky for lunch (bison burgers - yum!)
and then drove down into town and wandered over to the Casino (not a gambling casino - it used to be a large dancehall, back in the days of dancehalls). There is a little museum in the lower level. We met one of the docents, Jeannie, who was very enthusiastic about Catalina history. Next it was off to the botanical gardens. It's been around for about 80 years and has a great collection of Channel Island species and succulents (think big cactuses). We also climbed the William Wrigley Memorial, where his body was at one time interred. Then it was back across the island. We made one stop to hike out to an overlook above WMSC, and then it was back home.
We weren't exhausted enough, so the next day we went snorkeling. Again, Thing2 raised objections, so I stayed with him (looking around a little close to shore) while the others splashed around.
I've always thought that in a wetsuit, everyone looks like a superhero. Unfortunately, everyone looks like a dork in a snorkel mask. But we saw lots of cool fish, some of which we were even able to identify! (Garribaldi.) For lunch we picnicked at Ben Westin beach. To get there, you have to drive to the trailhead and then hike 1.7 miles to the beach, but when you get there... We had the beach to ourselves. The surf was pounding, the kids were running around getting rolled by the waves. It was great. And to top it off, we only had minimal whining on the hike back to the truck.
Friday was our day of 'rest'. We packed up some camping gear and boarded the ferry for the mainland. We stayed overnight in a hotel so the boys could swim in a pool and took off the next morning for Joshua Tree National Park. On the way there we drove through a massive wind farm. And then the temperature began to climb. It turns out we once again planned our vacation during a heat wave.
By the time we got to the southern entrance to the park it was 114°F. Not much chance of seeing any wildlife at that temperature. We drove north through the park, hopping out to read signs, walk through the cholla garden and climb on rocks. Thing2 turned out to be a great lizard spotter, finding a big collared lizard sitting in a crevice. That evening Grammy and Grandpa were smart enough to stay in a motel; the rest of us camped. We were, in fact, the only people, uh, brave enough to camp that night. The rest of the campground was empty. I think the temperature had dropped to about 100° by 9pm. We worked on the Things' Jr. Ranger badges. We made a small campfire and had s'mores. This was interesting because the chocolate bars had completely melted, so we cut off a corner of the wrapper and squeezed it out like toothpaste. It was hard to sleep in the heat. And then the full moon came up. About 4am it actually started to cool off, but I wouldn't say it was a restful night of sleep.
The next day, Grammy and Grandpa's rental car wouldn't start. They spent the morning dealing with that
(they did get to go to Palm Springs...) while we did some more visiting in the park. We foolishly decided to take a short hike. I mean, hey, it was only 95°! Once we convinced the Things that climbing every rock in site was not a great idea in this heat, the whining from Thing2 began. We still had another 3 1/2 miles to go. It was a hot hike, made extremely tedious by intermittent tantrums. But the rock formations were quite striking. We decided that we had proven our toughness and left Joshua tree to meet Grammy and Grandpa for lunch.
But vacation wasn't over. Not yet. There was one final stop: Channel Islands National Park. We drove to Ventura and stayed overnight. The next morning we took a ferry over to Santa Cruz. Oh they tried to scare us off with talk of four foot swells at 7-8 seconds and unusually strong morning winds, but we were on a mission. The boat had a school group on it that was having a grand old time - for the first twenty minutes. Then it got quiet, and then the barfing began. Sweetie, Auntie N and I had all taken dramamine, Grammy and Grandpa have strong stomachs (or wills), and the Things have never shown any ill effects from the sea, so we were all alright. But we were all glad to get off the boat. We hiked one trail that took us up for a look over the channel.
The water was rife with whitecaps. This is where I took a picture that must include whales. Then we hiked back down to the campground and had a picnic lunch. A passing ranger told us where we might see the elusive Island Scrub Jay, so after lunch we started another hike, but we misinterpreted the rangers directions. Sweetie and Thing2 turned back at this point (a wise choice). The rest of us continued the Death March. The trail started to go up. Then it went up some more. Then it really started to climb. I wasn't sure Grammy was going to make it. Thing1 was a real trooper, not whining one little bit the whole time. Finally we made it to the top. I took a picture of some distant valleys that I'm sure includes an Island Scrub Jay or two. From there it was all down hill. We got back to the beach to find Thing2 filling the ocean up with rocks. The ferry was back (a little late and noticeably empty). The winds had kicked up even more, but now we were traveling with them, so the ride back was much smoother.
We were barely able to stand up at this point, but we had a farewell dinner, and Grammy and Grandpa and Auntie N headed off. We headed back to San Pedro. Vacation was over. We all had a great time, but I'm not sure I could've taken another day of it.
The next morning we went kayaking over at WMSC. Thing2 was quite firm about being scared of going, so he and Sweetie stayed behind.
Grammy and Grandpa took up one boat, Auntie N paired with Thing1, and I had a boat to myself. We paddled around the point, looking at the kelp beds and fishes below, to a place called Blue Caverns. This is a cave that runs through an outcropping such that, when the tide is right, you can kayak right through from one side to the other. There was a tall ship there as well letting kids (probably some sort of camp experience) paddle through in pairs. We had hit the tide just right, and paddled through both ways. Then we headed out to Bird Rock. Thing1 was gold-bricking pretty badly at this point and was told there was no lunch for those who didn't paddle. On our way out, we saw a sea lion sticking its head out of the water. Bird Rock was not as stinky as it sometimes is, which was nice. We went all the way around and then headed for the little cove next to Big Fisherman (I'm not sure what its name is) because sea lions often sun there on the rocks when it's low tide. But it was high tide, so we headed back to the boat ramp. That afternoon we toured around the lab a little bit and then drove out to Middle Ranch.
We did some sightseeing at the Shark Harbor overlook, and then stopped to see Tachi, the captive Catalina Island Fox. These foxes are thought to have been brought over by the Native Americans who lived on the island and have evolved to be very small. She was sleeping in one of her little hidey-holes when we got there, but very obligingly aroused herself and wandered around her enclosure checking us out. Grammy and Auntie N really liked the fox. We also stopped by the eagle cage. Both of these were good stops, because we didn't see any other foxes or eagles on our trip.The next day, we drove to Avalon. We stopped at the Airport in the Sky for lunch (bison burgers - yum!)
and then drove down into town and wandered over to the Casino (not a gambling casino - it used to be a large dancehall, back in the days of dancehalls). There is a little museum in the lower level. We met one of the docents, Jeannie, who was very enthusiastic about Catalina history. Next it was off to the botanical gardens. It's been around for about 80 years and has a great collection of Channel Island species and succulents (think big cactuses). We also climbed the William Wrigley Memorial, where his body was at one time interred. Then it was back across the island. We made one stop to hike out to an overlook above WMSC, and then it was back home.We weren't exhausted enough, so the next day we went snorkeling. Again, Thing2 raised objections, so I stayed with him (looking around a little close to shore) while the others splashed around.
I've always thought that in a wetsuit, everyone looks like a superhero. Unfortunately, everyone looks like a dork in a snorkel mask. But we saw lots of cool fish, some of which we were even able to identify! (Garribaldi.) For lunch we picnicked at Ben Westin beach. To get there, you have to drive to the trailhead and then hike 1.7 miles to the beach, but when you get there... We had the beach to ourselves. The surf was pounding, the kids were running around getting rolled by the waves. It was great. And to top it off, we only had minimal whining on the hike back to the truck.Friday was our day of 'rest'. We packed up some camping gear and boarded the ferry for the mainland. We stayed overnight in a hotel so the boys could swim in a pool and took off the next morning for Joshua Tree National Park. On the way there we drove through a massive wind farm. And then the temperature began to climb. It turns out we once again planned our vacation during a heat wave.
By the time we got to the southern entrance to the park it was 114°F. Not much chance of seeing any wildlife at that temperature. We drove north through the park, hopping out to read signs, walk through the cholla garden and climb on rocks. Thing2 turned out to be a great lizard spotter, finding a big collared lizard sitting in a crevice. That evening Grammy and Grandpa were smart enough to stay in a motel; the rest of us camped. We were, in fact, the only people, uh, brave enough to camp that night. The rest of the campground was empty. I think the temperature had dropped to about 100° by 9pm. We worked on the Things' Jr. Ranger badges. We made a small campfire and had s'mores. This was interesting because the chocolate bars had completely melted, so we cut off a corner of the wrapper and squeezed it out like toothpaste. It was hard to sleep in the heat. And then the full moon came up. About 4am it actually started to cool off, but I wouldn't say it was a restful night of sleep.The next day, Grammy and Grandpa's rental car wouldn't start. They spent the morning dealing with that
(they did get to go to Palm Springs...) while we did some more visiting in the park. We foolishly decided to take a short hike. I mean, hey, it was only 95°! Once we convinced the Things that climbing every rock in site was not a great idea in this heat, the whining from Thing2 began. We still had another 3 1/2 miles to go. It was a hot hike, made extremely tedious by intermittent tantrums. But the rock formations were quite striking. We decided that we had proven our toughness and left Joshua tree to meet Grammy and Grandpa for lunch.But vacation wasn't over. Not yet. There was one final stop: Channel Islands National Park. We drove to Ventura and stayed overnight. The next morning we took a ferry over to Santa Cruz. Oh they tried to scare us off with talk of four foot swells at 7-8 seconds and unusually strong morning winds, but we were on a mission. The boat had a school group on it that was having a grand old time - for the first twenty minutes. Then it got quiet, and then the barfing began. Sweetie, Auntie N and I had all taken dramamine, Grammy and Grandpa have strong stomachs (or wills), and the Things have never shown any ill effects from the sea, so we were all alright. But we were all glad to get off the boat. We hiked one trail that took us up for a look over the channel.
The water was rife with whitecaps. This is where I took a picture that must include whales. Then we hiked back down to the campground and had a picnic lunch. A passing ranger told us where we might see the elusive Island Scrub Jay, so after lunch we started another hike, but we misinterpreted the rangers directions. Sweetie and Thing2 turned back at this point (a wise choice). The rest of us continued the Death March. The trail started to go up. Then it went up some more. Then it really started to climb. I wasn't sure Grammy was going to make it. Thing1 was a real trooper, not whining one little bit the whole time. Finally we made it to the top. I took a picture of some distant valleys that I'm sure includes an Island Scrub Jay or two. From there it was all down hill. We got back to the beach to find Thing2 filling the ocean up with rocks. The ferry was back (a little late and noticeably empty). The winds had kicked up even more, but now we were traveling with them, so the ride back was much smoother.We were barely able to stand up at this point, but we had a farewell dinner, and Grammy and Grandpa and Auntie N headed off. We headed back to San Pedro. Vacation was over. We all had a great time, but I'm not sure I could've taken another day of it.
Friday, June 13, 2008
End of school-year excitement
Today was the last day of school. There have been a few special events leading up to this momentous day. First was the 20th anniversary party for Two Harbors Elementary School. In 1998 the school was established so the little kids in the community wouldn't have to ride a bus 90 minutes to Avalon and 90 minutes home. Many VIPs and former students and teachers showed up. It was a nice party, punctuated by the current school kids performing 26 Miles Across the Sea on ukuleles and singing You've Got a Friend in Me.
Soon after was the annual school sleep-over, which was combined with the awards banquet this year. We all went over to Howland's Landing, had some dinner, gave out some awards, ate some s'mores, watched improvised interpretive dance with a s'mores theme, got ready for bed, and then didn't sleep because it was so exciting to be staying overnight. The next morning, the groggy parents ate pancakes and then left the kids to have a day of fun at the camp. Everyone was exhausted after this one - especially the teacher (God bless her!).
This morning we had an early Father's day breakfast down at the snack bar and then the kids had a field day before cleaning out their desks until the fall. Mrs. Barney was an excellent teacher, and we're very glad she'll be back in the fall.
I should mention at this point that Sweetie has returned from her trip east mostly tanned and mosquito-bitten. It's very good to have her back. You can tell the Things are excited to see her becuase they're acting particularly crazy. Maybe I can convince her to post some pictures from the trip...
So what could top all this excitement? How about office furniture? My co-worker John and I got new office furniture, and, since we live on an island, it came unassembled so we spent the last week putting together desks, bookshelves and cabinets. But it's all done now and the office looks spiffy.
What? You say office furniture isn't exciting? Okay, how about a shed? Yes, a shed for our backyard. It also came unassembled, so as soon as I get the lumber for the foundation (which should come tomorrow) I will erect it in our backyard, and THEN we can clear the camping gear our of the office closet so we can put kitchen stuff in it! We will also be able to de-clutter the backyard!
Huh? That's not exciting either? Well, I've got one more project that even the not-easily-stimulated should enjoy: gardening. We got in seeds and planters and we're ready to garden up a storm in the backyard. I've even talked to the facilities guy about switching out the sprinkler heads for drip lines. This should keep us busy for a little while and may brighten up our barren dusty backyard until they install our patio.
So that's a lot of news for one day. Hopefully there will be some exciting news in the near future...
Soon after was the annual school sleep-over, which was combined with the awards banquet this year. We all went over to Howland's Landing, had some dinner, gave out some awards, ate some s'mores, watched improvised interpretive dance with a s'mores theme, got ready for bed, and then didn't sleep because it was so exciting to be staying overnight. The next morning, the groggy parents ate pancakes and then left the kids to have a day of fun at the camp. Everyone was exhausted after this one - especially the teacher (God bless her!).
This morning we had an early Father's day breakfast down at the snack bar and then the kids had a field day before cleaning out their desks until the fall. Mrs. Barney was an excellent teacher, and we're very glad she'll be back in the fall.
I should mention at this point that Sweetie has returned from her trip east mostly tanned and mosquito-bitten. It's very good to have her back. You can tell the Things are excited to see her becuase they're acting particularly crazy. Maybe I can convince her to post some pictures from the trip...
So what could top all this excitement? How about office furniture? My co-worker John and I got new office furniture, and, since we live on an island, it came unassembled so we spent the last week putting together desks, bookshelves and cabinets. But it's all done now and the office looks spiffy.
What? You say office furniture isn't exciting? Okay, how about a shed? Yes, a shed for our backyard. It also came unassembled, so as soon as I get the lumber for the foundation (which should come tomorrow) I will erect it in our backyard, and THEN we can clear the camping gear our of the office closet so we can put kitchen stuff in it! We will also be able to de-clutter the backyard!
Huh? That's not exciting either? Well, I've got one more project that even the not-easily-stimulated should enjoy: gardening. We got in seeds and planters and we're ready to garden up a storm in the backyard. I've even talked to the facilities guy about switching out the sprinkler heads for drip lines. This should keep us busy for a little while and may brighten up our barren dusty backyard until they install our patio.
So that's a lot of news for one day. Hopefully there will be some exciting news in the near future...
Wolf
Our final Pack meeting for the year was held the first Monday in June. Thing1 received his Wolf badge, three Arrow Points, and the Bicycling belt loop. He was very excited, as was Thing2, who found a kid his age to play with during the ceremonies.
Unfortunately, Sweetie missed the ceremony because she was still in the Bahamas. This also means I don't have any photos to post.
On to Bear!!!
Unfortunately, Sweetie missed the ceremony because she was still in the Bahamas. This also means I don't have any photos to post.
On to Bear!!!
Homecoming
So this post is a bit belated, but Kevin is back home. We went over to Avalon to pick him up on May 30 after two weeks at the vet's. I was expecting a really large bill, but Dr. Denney treated us as well as he treated Kevin, so much so, that I feel the need to encourage people to support his clinic through the Catalina Island Humane Society. If you are moved to contribute to this cause, please do so. Kevin and the probably hundreds of other cats treated by Dr. Denney thank you.
So we took Kevin home and Thing1 wanted to take him out and play with him immediately, but I thought maybe we should let Happy get used to having another cat in the house, so we kept him in the carrier for a few minutes so they could sniff each other. There was a little bit of posturing, but no real unhappiness, so we let Kevin out. Those two cats jumped right on each other and started rolling around, biting and chewing and chasing, and they kept it up for at least 3 solid hours. Happy was so happy to have someone to chew on, and Kevin seemed glad to see her, too. Then they fell asleep in a little pile of cat.
So now Happy is no longer attacking our feet, hands, hair, etc, which is pleasant news. Although both cats have recently begun climbing our legs when we're sitting at the table (or sometimes just standing in the kitchen). This is slightly painful when we're wearing jeans, and downright diabolical when we're wearing shorts! They are also moving away from simple wrestling games to chasing games, which are fun to watch.
One other thing I've noticed is that even though two cats only eat twice as much food, the mess in the litter box seems to have quadrupled.
Ah, kittens.
So we took Kevin home and Thing1 wanted to take him out and play with him immediately, but I thought maybe we should let Happy get used to having another cat in the house, so we kept him in the carrier for a few minutes so they could sniff each other. There was a little bit of posturing, but no real unhappiness, so we let Kevin out. Those two cats jumped right on each other and started rolling around, biting and chewing and chasing, and they kept it up for at least 3 solid hours. Happy was so happy to have someone to chew on, and Kevin seemed glad to see her, too. Then they fell asleep in a little pile of cat.
So now Happy is no longer attacking our feet, hands, hair, etc, which is pleasant news. Although both cats have recently begun climbing our legs when we're sitting at the table (or sometimes just standing in the kitchen). This is slightly painful when we're wearing jeans, and downright diabolical when we're wearing shorts! They are also moving away from simple wrestling games to chasing games, which are fun to watch.
One other thing I've noticed is that even though two cats only eat twice as much food, the mess in the litter box seems to have quadrupled.
Ah, kittens.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tragedy
I'm sure many of you have by now heard about the helicopter crash in Two Harbors. Here is our story of it, which is peripheral. Saturday mornings I usually sleep in until 8am and then make scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast, but this morning was different. For one, we were out of both eggs and bacon. In addition, we had plans to take the 2pm ferry to the mainland, so we couldn't laze about like we normally do. To help matters along, I also wasn't feeling well - something I ate, no doubt. So I was dragging myself around, trying to figure out what we would eat, when I turned on the radio to the local NPR station. I was half listening as I puttered around the kitchen until "helicopter crash...Catalina island..." filtered it's way into my ears. And just as I was assuming it happened near Avalon, I also heard "west end...Two Harbors." I immediately tried to call our friends who live on the WMSC campus because there's a helipad there and I thought it might have happened while someone was trying to land there. I couldn't reach them, and then heard a large helicopter fly over our house, so I poked my head our our front door to see a Sheriff's Department helicopter landing in the large field behind the Isthmus Yacht Club. Walking down to the end of our housing cluster, I could see the the pumper truck, the Baywatch rescue vehicles, another rescue helicopter and a black scar across the field. This happened less than half a mile from our house! I think the pilot did a heroic job of not crashing in town. I don't know if he was one of the survivors, but God bless him, either way.
Here is a picture of the scene. The building up on the hill is the Banning House Lodge (the hotel in town). Fortunately it has been wet (of all things - it's late in the season for rain) recently. It rained Friday, and was damp that day, otherwise the field fire could have been worse. At this point at least one victim had been airlifted out. The others were being cared for behind the yellow rescue truck.
There were six people on the helicopter - the pilot and five passengers. Three survived. I found out today that a good friend of ours was one of the first on the scene and helped pull the survivors out of the wreckage. I like to think that I'd be brave enough to do the same, but you don't know until you face that test, and I'd rather not be in that situation. Below is a closer picture of the wreckage. It's hard to believe anyone survived. I've been on one of these helicopters once. There really isn't much to them, which is clear from the remains.
It was a tragedy, and it was very close to us physically, but it was distant emotionally; we had no connections to any of the people on the helicopter (other than I might have flown on that helicopter at one point, or with that pilot), so to us and many of the other Memorial Day weekend visitors, it felt like a spectator event, like watching one of the 24-hour news channels.
There was no reason for us to postpone our trip, so the Things and I boarded the ferry and headed over to LA. This was mostly a trip for fun, so we saw Speed Racer that night (which was better than I expected; Thing1 was so excited during the climactic race that he was bouncing in his seat and clapping). The next day we did some shopping, including a trip to the Toys R Us so the Things could spend some allowance money, and also went to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which had great exhibits, a ton of educational material, sea creature costumes for the little ones, and had free admittance (although they ask for a donation). After that exhausting day, we saw Prince Caspian (pretty much what I expected - very good, but not great). We also had a bit of a junk food binge: little chocolate donuts (sorry for the add, but it's worth it for the higher video quality) for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch and pizza for dinner. This morning it was a quick trip to the grocery store and then back to the ferry. Both boys fell asleep on the ferry within 20 minutes of our arrival. Thing2 actually fell asleep as we passed Bird Rock (which is at the entrance to the harbor).
With all the fun we had over town, I guess this post could have been titles Joy and Sadness, too. Speaking of which, we'll probably be picking Kevin up tomorrow. Oh, and Sweetie called me from Miami yesterday, so she got that far okay. This morning she was scheduled to fly to San Salvador. I've survived the first week of her absence. Two more to go...
Here is a picture of the scene. The building up on the hill is the Banning House Lodge (the hotel in town). Fortunately it has been wet (of all things - it's late in the season for rain) recently. It rained Friday, and was damp that day, otherwise the field fire could have been worse. At this point at least one victim had been airlifted out. The others were being cared for behind the yellow rescue truck.
There were six people on the helicopter - the pilot and five passengers. Three survived. I found out today that a good friend of ours was one of the first on the scene and helped pull the survivors out of the wreckage. I like to think that I'd be brave enough to do the same, but you don't know until you face that test, and I'd rather not be in that situation. Below is a closer picture of the wreckage. It's hard to believe anyone survived. I've been on one of these helicopters once. There really isn't much to them, which is clear from the remains.
It was a tragedy, and it was very close to us physically, but it was distant emotionally; we had no connections to any of the people on the helicopter (other than I might have flown on that helicopter at one point, or with that pilot), so to us and many of the other Memorial Day weekend visitors, it felt like a spectator event, like watching one of the 24-hour news channels.
There was no reason for us to postpone our trip, so the Things and I boarded the ferry and headed over to LA. This was mostly a trip for fun, so we saw Speed Racer that night (which was better than I expected; Thing1 was so excited during the climactic race that he was bouncing in his seat and clapping). The next day we did some shopping, including a trip to the Toys R Us so the Things could spend some allowance money, and also went to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, which had great exhibits, a ton of educational material, sea creature costumes for the little ones, and had free admittance (although they ask for a donation). After that exhausting day, we saw Prince Caspian (pretty much what I expected - very good, but not great). We also had a bit of a junk food binge: little chocolate donuts (sorry for the add, but it's worth it for the higher video quality) for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch and pizza for dinner. This morning it was a quick trip to the grocery store and then back to the ferry. Both boys fell asleep on the ferry within 20 minutes of our arrival. Thing2 actually fell asleep as we passed Bird Rock (which is at the entrance to the harbor).
With all the fun we had over town, I guess this post could have been titles Joy and Sadness, too. Speaking of which, we'll probably be picking Kevin up tomorrow. Oh, and Sweetie called me from Miami yesterday, so she got that far okay. This morning she was scheduled to fly to San Salvador. I've survived the first week of her absence. Two more to go...
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