This Really Is, The Last California Blog

OK, this really is it. The last blog post before I leave California and fly with my Grandparents back to their home in Alabama.


Haha, okay, so this picture isn't beautiful, but this place brought me so much pleasure I had to share it with you. Every Monday at this restaurant you can get two taco's for a dollar, and they are really good! We ate them every Monday and I was always very satisfied.


This is my Cousin Douglas.


OK! And that's it, we are ready to fly to Birmingham, Alabama. Here you can see my Grandparents looking as sharp as ever.


I love flying. Looking out the window, the free drinks, the entire experience is really something else. I often imagine what it would be like for someone flying for their first time, and how much we take a thing like flying for granted.


It's funny how small these mountains look, when you know they are huge! They look like you could just step over them... or be a really short hike.

Last Hike In California

I went on one last hike with my Grandfather before our time in California was up. It was a nice hike, albeit hotter then when we had that fog to protect us. Still, it was interesting seeing the same area without the fog.



There are supposed to be some woodpeckers in these trees. There was a whole family of them hopping around, they were really cute.



I'll miss this country when I'm gone.





My Grandfather had a name for this, I forgot it. Something to do with Africa. He said in Africa there are things that look just like this, a small hill of dirt with a few tree's on them.

Uncle David's House

Recently, on my trip to California, I got the chance to visit my Uncle David. David has recently had a stroke, and that has not been easy, but he has been recovering quickly and we all really have a lot of hope for him. He is committed to getting better so we have a lot of hope for a speedy recovery.

Uncle David has a beautiful home. He has lemon trees and a number of other plants that he grows in a farm next to his house.


This is the driveway leading to David's home.


And here is a shot of the front gate and his front yard. Wonderful gardening!


When this is in bloom it is a sea of purple flowers.


Here is the entrance to David's home.


This is my Aunt Gene, looking very beautiful.


And my Uncle David.


A brother and his two sisters!


One more shot of their fabulous front yard.


My Grandad liked this tree, he called it a "Banana Tree". I like it too.

Lizard-On-A-Rock

OK this is probably the least exciting picture in awhile. But hey, it's my blog and I want to post it! I'm sure this lizard could be anywhere a lot of lizards look like that. And, I'm sure it could be on any rock, because a lot of rocks look like that! (Well, I guess it is more of a slab of concrete but I like calling it a rock)

Hey, at least it ain't Lizard-On-A-Stick!

Ants Attack!

My Grandfather and I went to go hiking close by my Aunt's place. He went one direction, and I went the other. Well, I really was supposed to go with him, but I went the wrong direction. I was supposed to hike down into a nice shadowy gorge to follow along a stream and go ahead of my Granddad while he birded. But instead I got a little confused and went UP instead of DOWN. And boy did I go up! I climbed and climbed up a very steep hill, it was great, and boy was I surprised when I got to the top.


Looking out over the land behind me. I'm not quite up the hill yet. That row of tree's you can see past the road, is where my Grandfather is.


When I got to the top, I got this great view of my Aunt Betties neighborhood! Yeah, you can easily tell all those houses look the same.


But the biggest surprise happened when I tried to climb up to the top of a rock to get an even more panoramic view of everything around me. I went to climb, and I saw that there was something on top of the rock. It was kinda moving around, I thought to myself, "What is that?" and I realized; "Holy -_-! Those are ANTS!"


Covering the top of this rock (and others around it) was a swarm of flying ants! Imagine all their bodies swarming around in one mass, the sun glinting off their carapace, and they didn't just stay on top of the rock; they were swarming all around.


I took as many pictures as I dared (I tried to get closer but they kept landing on me, and I wasn't sure if they would swarm or not so I kept my distance) before running away.

An Enchanting Hike Through "The Plateau"

In California my grandfather and I went hiking. And what a hike it was! It was one of the most memorable and enchanting hikes I have ever been on. We left early in the morning to catch the cool part of the day. The fog was out thick this morning, and that is what really made this hike something special. I have always liked weather that changes the entire atmosphere and look of a place, I like to look out into my backyard when it rains or snows, and now I find a new form of weather that radically alters the environment: fog. It lie like a thick blanket, protecting us from the heat of the sun.

This place reminds me of somewhere in New Mexico. A lot of this environment is similar to New Mexico, just thicker.

I like trees and natural things; they are always beautiful and never get old. Often art can be beautiful as well, but sometimes it isn’t, but a tree can never get ugly or cliché.

My Grandfather walking among the more shrubby parts of this trail. California seems to have a lot of these shrubs, and they grow pretty thickly. I can really see how those Californian fires get going, this stuff would burn really easily and spread quickly.


These trees are really something.


This is terrible, but to us this looked like a hanging tree. Awful, I know.


It's great how thick the fog is!


More trees.


I really like this shot. Simple, but elegant, and has a great use of space in it.


More of that shrubby stuff.


At first I thought this ball of spikes (filled with big seeds) was some sort of plant. Then I realized it was a vine (and therefor probably some sort of parasite).


I like this picture for obvious reasons. Almost seems like someone planted these flowers on purpose. A very nice hike! It really makes you appreciate the natural world. Sometimes you really have to get away from the city to do something like this, you forget what it is like, being in nature. You get used to the noise of the city too. It's very nice listening to... nothing, or the chirp of birds and the crunch of your own feet, but nothing else.

Californian Fog

I'm sure you have heard of the famous California fog, and I am here to tell you that it really does exist! One morning I woke up and the fog had rolled in thick and good. It was really enchanting and I quickly went to go explore it.


This is the house right across from my Aunt Betty's. They have kind of a cactus thing going on in front of their house. It doesn't look too bad, though I am not really into suburbs.


This is the forest-y area next to my Aunt's house.


We have snails just like this in Albuquerque. But hey, it's a Californian Snail!


Looking up the street you can see the fog better.


I walked around in that woody area and explored the fog more. The strangest thing started to happen though. First one pest control truck came by, then another, then another! Then I walked further down the trail, and I saw about four more pest control trucks parked in front of a house! I wondered if it was like, their main staging area or something like that, but it seemed like a regular home. I would have taken pictures but I suspected they might have been mafia or something. Wouldn't want to get this nice new camera broken! (Though it would be a good test of just how strong it really is.)


Yeah these are the same bunny rabbits we have in New Mexico. I have a friend in New Mexico who says he would eat them if it wasn't illegal! Though, now that I think of it, perhaps it is not illegal to kill rabbits in your home city? Could it be they are a pest, and it would be like squashing a cockroach? I don't know. You couldn't shoot them, or use an arrow, but maybe you could club 'em. Legally.


There are some nice working farms around here.