I gotcha!

It turns out that some of the stereo types about California are true! All the women are a size 3, tan, and in great shape, everyone drives a convertible and everyone owns a boat and/or has a pool! HA!! I wish! It does seem like everyone (but us) owns a boat though,  and for good reason. There are several lakes in the area and lots of sunshine and mild to hot weather.
  Luckily, we have managed to make our way onto a couple boats and enjoy the water. So, we set up a weekend to take out our land lords party boat and wouldn't you know it; it happened to be the very weekend Ian and Aden were going to a completely different lake to go wake boarding with the church youth group. I was a little bummed when I learned they wouldn't be joining us (wink, wink). Truth be told, they did want to come with us to spend the weekend fishing and complaining, I mean swimming. We were fortunate enough to take an excursion to Lake Sonoma earlier in the week with a life long water skiing family, and they were quick to teach Ian and Aden (and Melanie for that matter) how to wake board. With their new found confidence and abilities, they opted to go wake boarding with their friends instead of camping on a boat with mom and dad. I think that is the first time that they have chosen to go with friends instead of us. (yeah!)

  Off to Lake Berryessa we went. It was about 100 degrees out and the water was the place to be. Keep in mind that we were in big party boat, not a ski boat, but what an awesome way to spend the weekend. We went from cove to cove exploring and swimming. Apollo was less enthusiastic at first about wearing his life jacket and even less excited about getting in the water... at first anyways. Mid day, Apollo climbed up onto my lap, while I was driving, and fell asleep. We decided to shut down the motor in the middle of the lake and let the boat drift. We spent the next few hours swimming and sun bathing, while Apollo slept.
  Lake Berryessa is pretty large. We headed up to the north western arm of the lake. There was a lot less people in this area. We found another little cove to dock the boat and take a swim. This time Apollo was happy to go swimming. To our surprise, he was eager to get into his little floating swim suit, and impatient when he had to wait on us to get him in the water. He learned to kick, splash, and bob up and down.  We worked on holding our breath and blowing bubbles in the water. We were astounded at the major advancements Apollo made that day.

To date, one of my favorite things that Apollo has learned, is the manner in which he has learned to communicate his trust he he has in us as parents. A couple weeks ago, while camping at the coast, and climbing over rocks, Apollo would stumble, and as he would fall, I would catch him and say "I got ya.". He immediately repeated the phrase back, "I gotcha". Now, when we hand him off to one another in the water, he says "I gotcha". When he is uncertain of himself, he grabs on to you,"I gotcha". Even at night when he wakes and wants to be held, "Dada, I gotcha" or of course, "Mama, I gotcha". I am a sucker for this, and I just melt when he says it.
  Potty training is in full swing, so of course, Mr potty frog, got to spend the weekend with us. Apollo loves to pee in his frog and has about as good as aim as Ian and Aden...actually, I think Apollo has better aim...much better. He has been working on number two as well. I would dive into ice cold water if I had to, to get off the boat when this happens. After all, I am allergic to poop.
  As the sun started to get low in the sky, we found a little deserted cove to make camp for the night. We cooked some hot dogs and carne asada for dinner, on a little portable grill, had an hour long dance party courtesy of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, and then made up our bed for the night. We blew up an air mattress and placed it between the seats. It must have been 85 degrees at 10:00 pm. Too hot to sleep. We laid on the mattress and looked at stars, and shooting stars, the moon, planes and satellites. I have not slept in the open air probably since I was a teen. I mean to say, not in a tent or motor home, but under the stars. It was amazing. The only sounds to be heard were crickets and the occasional splash of a fish in the water. As the moon set, the star light became more intense and the reflection on the water was gorgeous. Morning came fast and so did the heat. We were up at 7:10 am, had a quick breakfast, and pulled out of the cove. I love the water early in the morning. It is like glass. We were surprised to see that very few people were on the lake in the morning with such pristine conditions. It wasn't until almost 11:00 am that we began to see more than a hand full of skiers out and about.

  Apollo had turned into a fish by the second day. "Swim now?"..."Dada, swim?"..."Mama, go swim now?". We swam, and swam, and swam. Apollo was all about sitting on the edge of the air mattress and kicking and splashing.
  We slowly made our way back to the marina. Taking one final swim, this time with shirts on as Melanie and I both over did it a bit with the sun, and the spf50 seemed to have little effect at this point. I would like to say that Apollo has a nice tan and no sunburn, though.
  We cleaned out the boat and headed off to the truck, wishing we could stay for another day.
  Apollo, some times so eager to go with the flow, put in his two cents as we headed down the dock; "Good bye boat, good bye lake, good bye big pretty boat...dada, I gotcha"

Ocean Cove

An unexpected benefit of living in this area, is the ever changing wildflowers. It is a seemingly non-stop display of color and shape. For the most part, the wild flowers in our immediate area have given way to blooming native trees and shrubs, not to mention all the non-native plants in peoples yards that are blooming, as well as the roses here which bloom profusely. However, the coast has been in full display since January.

  One of our favorite sections of road is, Highway 1, just north of Jenner. This area of road is very windy. It climbs up several hundred feet above sea level and gives you amazing views of the coast. Amongst the jagged cliffs, and grassy hill sides, is the ideal setting for all types of wild flowers. Every time we drive this section of highway, we are constantly amazed a what is blooming. The call it a highway, but it is not much more than a two lane road that has locking gates on them for when the weather washes part of the road away. For my Oregon family and friends that might think I am putting Oregon down by remarking on the beauty and amazing places California, just know that had I started this blog when I still been living in Oregon, I would have written extensively, Oregon's beauty and splendor as well. In fact, one of my favorite areas and most beautiful places I have ever been, is the area of the Cascades just west of Hoodoo; where the pines meet the cedars and fir trees and there is volcanic rocks jutting through the greenery to give it some contrast and definition. I love the smell of the firs and cedars there after a light spring rain. Truly one of the things I miss most about Oregon.     

 We decided last minute that we would take a one night trip in the RV to check out a campground we have been wanting to got to. As the weather was to be a little on the cool side, and we had been camping or out on a boat every weekend for a month, Ian and Aden asked if they could stay and not come with us. Melanie said I was not allowed to jump up and down when she told me, so I opted for a back flip followed by a reenactment of Kevin Bacons' footloose dance instead. This did not score me any points with the wife, but I was excited to not have to deal with negative teen attitudes for the night. In my defense, I am sure the boys did their own victory dance as we drove away from the house. They probably sat, ate and drank on the "forbidden" couches, and watched movies all night.

 The campground we went to is called Ocean Cove. This place rocks! It is nestled amongst redwoods and coastal pine and and the campground it self sits atop a bluff. There is a beautiful cove here with lush thick kelp beds and rocky shore lines. Ocean Cove is 45 miles from our house and has the cheapest rates of any campground we have been to so far. There is no hook ups for RVs, no real designated parking for your RV, trailer, or vehicles. Most sites have a fire pit and picnic table and is surrounded by grass on which you can park on any way you see fit. We chose to camp next to the edge of the cliff and away from the trees. This place is a private campground and caters to fishermen. There is a boat launch that is a one vehicle wide "S" curve that drops a 150 feet in about 1/4 mile, and you have to back down the whole way. The launch site is mostly rocks about the size of grapefruits. This is why you only see small  fishing boats and kayaks here. 

We are getting pretty good at RV camping. After I get the motor home level, Apollo and I start to build a fire while Melanie get things unpacked. Apollo takes his fire building serious. He likes to bark orders (another trait he learned from his mom); "Dada! put that hot!" as he points into the fire pit. As I use the hatchet to make kindling he gathers the pieces and throws them in the fire pit. Once we are done with the kindling, Apollo knows right where to find a lighter to get the fire started..

We got to camp a little late in the evening Friday so we did not do too much exploring until Saturday. Apollo is quite the party animal. That kid does not like to go to bed early. When I say early I mean 9 to 9:30pm. For him, early is 10:30 pm, normal is 11 pm, at least the couple weeks have been that way. Camping in the RV, you can just forget about Being asleep before 11:30 pm. First you have to go through the whole "Apple G the Luchador" body slam phase, then we go through the giggling incessantly at every thing stage, and then once you convince him to lay down, we start the whole naming food that I want to eat right now phase which I covered in my previous, Good Night blog. It is really cute, but now he answers himself; "cookie?...sleep. apple?..no, sleep!" Its a fun little game and you cant help but laugh at him even after 30 minutes of trying to get him to fall asleep.  I have noticed how much Apollo loves waking up with both his mom and dad by his side. Most days I am long gone by the time Apollo wakes, so it must be a real treat for him to know that he gets to spend the day with his dad. I am floating my own boat here a bit  but you can tell by how excited he gets that he knows its going to be a good day. As with all good days, they must come to an end. This day ended too soon for Apollo. After spending a couple hours playing in the dirt and sand on the hill side, there was now way we load this little dirt monger into his car seat for the ride home. We had to lock him in the RV while Melanie mad him a bath in the sink. It was a very traumatic end to the day; lots of tears and screaming "Outside! DADA! OUTSIDE! Please!"  Oh wait, did someone say bath?

Holiday Boating

Here we are in Northern California, going on one year since our big move from Bend Oregon. So much has happened this year and I cant believe how fast the time has flown by. One of my favorite holidays in Bend, was the 4th of July. An all day BBQ at Aaron and Michelle's followed by fireworks on the butte, followed by our own display of less than legal fireworks, that sometimes rivaled the city of Bends display; being the largest firework show in Oregon, that is saying a lot!

   Somethings about moving away from great friends, for the lack of a better term, "suck". Its tough finding new friends that you thoroughly enjoy and can spend a lot of time with and not get sick of them. At least we are making the best of what is available to us in this new place. I am whining a bit, I know, but maybe it is because I feel a little guilty now about all the fun opportunities that we are seizing upon, that have come our way. I have a sister-in-law that hates Californians and California and thinks we all suck! (there's that word again) One Californian that does not "suck" is our Landlord. He owns a big 14 person party boat and keeps it moored at Lake Berryessa during the summer. He has been offering to let us use it anytime we want as it just sits there most weekends unused. We finally took him up on it and headed to the lake on July 3rd. The weather was awesome; 88-90. The boat holds up to 14 adults, which may sound big, but for some reason, 2 teenagers can make the Taj Mahal seem too small. Sarcasm aside, there was plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy each others company.

  For those of you that have boats or spent time on boats, you may understand this next part. I have found that there are two kinds of boaters; recreational and redneck. Now the rednecks may think they are recreational, sportsman types, but having spent many fishing trips to the Oregon coastal rivers fishing for Salmon and the like (with redneck boaters), redneck boaters are definitely in a different class. You could argue that fishing and boating is not comparing apples to apples, but here is the difference: Redneck boaters are high stress, usually "pissed off", and think they are way tougher than they are. Recreational boaters, are a lot more laid back, happy to be on the water, wave at everyone as they pass,etc. Don't get me wrong, there certainly is plenty of egos on both sides; we all like to think we have the nicer, better, or faster boat. I only bring this up as last weeks trip to Lawson's Landing was full of the Redneck boaters. One prime example of the attitude I am talking about is; I was next to the pier, watching two sets of boats making their way to shore to load onto their trailers and pull the boats out of the water. The redneck boat was long and low and had faux brown grasses hanging off the whole perimeter of the boat.

 The seats in the boat were brown camouflage and the driver of the boat and his 2 buddies on the shore with their Ford truck complete with compensator lift kit, were all wearing brown camo coveralls. The second group had an older fiberglass boat, definitely not a sportsman boat.  The second groups boat had been waiting nose up on the sand for his truck and trailer, as the second groups truck and trailer pulled onto the sand, the first group pulled in and cut the second boat off from his trailer. The second boat backed out, turned and headed to his trailer in between the rednecks trailer and and boat, which was still about 120 feet out in the water making its way in. As soon as the redneck boat driver saw that no one stopped to wait for his grand parade up to the shore, he accelerated and headed right for boat two, all the while cussing at him and yelling racial slurs. His buddies on the shore chimed in. Of course he did not ram boat two, he just wanted every one to know how tough he was and that he was disrespected by someone who wasn't as cool.

  This brought back memories of my fishing trips to the Siusalaw river in Oregon: No one smiled. There was the occasional "How you doing Bob" or "Did you catch any yet", as you saw the same faces week after week and really wanted to know if the other guy was doing better than you. Then, just as soon as that boat (the one you just greeted) passes by, you talk smack about them. God forbid that the other boat lands a fish as they pass or are even in the general vicinity. Then you have to listen to; "He got my fish! He drifted over into our lane so I would have to move further to the right, and nabbed my fish!". Of course I left out the obligatory swear words, but feel free to insert any that you would like, in between each word. I wish I was exaggerating, but I am not. Okay, so I just went on a tirade that has taken us far away from my original line of thought (a trait that I acquired from Melly). Back to the "Happy" recreational boaters. Now when you are on a lake in a ski boat, house boat, party boat, jet boat or even fishing boat, it seems everyone is smiling and happy, and waves to one another as they pass. This fits right in with Melanie's personality as she is yet to meet a stranger, and thinks that everyone is her new best friend. She loved all the waving and "WooHoo's". She would stare anxiously towards the next boat just waiting until they were close enough to see their faces, and as soon as anyone looked our way, she would wave like it was a long lost friend in the next boat. It was very fun for me to watch her start to wave and then realize that no one sees her or is not waving back, and she would slowly start to bring in her arm as if embarrassed with that uncomfortable feeling of when some one waves and you wave back only to realize they were waving to the person behind you. Alas, they would turn their heads, see us and wave and then Melly would re extend her arm and wave vigorously.                                                  

  There is something to be said about spending the day on the water on a boat. The sunshine, fresh air, and just being outside makes you want to smile (unless you are a teenager). Apollo was very charming and in a great mood all day, with the exception of his mom sticking him in a straight jacket and then throwing him into the ice cold water! Mean mama! "Coooooold! Juice cold, mama! No juice, no juice!" (All liquids are juice even though Apollo knows one from the other and can say water or milk, he still likes to call them all juice).

   I had to remove my poor hypothermic baby from the water, and warmed him back up. Poor little guy, he is tropical like his father and cant stand the cold water. Melly, Ian and Aden will all tell you that the water was pretty warm, which may be the case...if we still lived in Oregon. I am talking 80 degree water before I call it warm.

  A little nap and a stroll around the lake and it was time to dance. There is nothing like a little impromptu dancing to lift the spirits. Toddlers are so committed and uninhibited when they dance. Anything goes. It is the pure joy of feeling the music. He has some pretty sweet moves, and some day I promise to post more video of him dancing. Late in the day it was snack time. Apollo, being a grudge holder like myself, felt compelled to share his snacks with everyone but Aden. We all thoroughly enjoyed this. "Apollo, give a piece to Aden". He would take a couple steps toward Aden, look at him and turn and walk over to Ian and give him Aden's piece. This happened about 6 or 7 times. I am not sure what Aden did to make Apollo not share with him, but Apollo sure remembered. Aden decided he better spend some time bonding with his little brother, and so the two of them stood at the front of the boat acting like airplanes with arms extended and the wind in their hair, and making plane noises. I am sure Aden is back on the "share snacks with" list. As the day drew to a close and the sun was low in the sky we decided to head back to the marina. As we pulled into the slip, the neighbors in the slip next to us were delighted to help us with the ropes and were very happy and pleasant (recreational boaters). We cleaned up our mess, wiped down the boat, loaded up the truck and headed home.

  We are very fortunate to have people in our lives that are so willing to help out and others that are so generous that they would lend us their boat. I am not so sure that I would do the same. Maybe it is because I was born in California, and Californians suck,or maybe my landlords are not really Californians. Well, there is still that slight possibility that not all Californians suck, and people are just people. There are good ones and bad ones, kind ones and mean ones. We are just fortunate enough to have a couple good ones around us, and we live in an area of really nice people, and very friendly neighbors.

  I will take it what ever it is, cuz its summer time, and the living is easy.