winifredcreamer

This is Jeopardy!

Driving in from the north to Pasadena we missed most of the rush hour traffic and arrived around 6 pm. Unloaded most of the car at Amanda’s house, since she and Jimmy are the inheritors, willing or unwilling, of our miscellany. They are rewarded by getting our leftover kitchen ingredients and picnic supplies, and stuckContinue reading “This is Jeopardy!”

Mendocino to LA, via the Monterey Aquarium

We left our wonderful house in Little River, CA (thank you Eckhart, Birdie, Jenna and VRBO) to head south for LA and then Barcelona. Down by a couple of boxes, the car was still packed to the doors. I gave up on the bird feeder–after the raccoon visit it was held together with fishing line.Continue reading “Mendocino to LA, via the Monterey Aquarium”

Mendocino area highlight reel

Best trail: Anyplace on the California Coastal Trail Best day hike: Pygmy Woods/Upper Fern Canyon loop, Van Damme State Park Best guidebook: The hiker’s hip pocket guide to the Mendocino Coast, by Bob Lorentzen Best coffee shop: Moody’s, Lansing St., Mendocino Best beach for collecting abalone: Van Damme State Beach, Little River; Mendocino Headlands, MendocinoContinue reading “Mendocino area highlight reel”

And Away We Go

Mendocino has been a blissful environment, yet tomorrow we leave. Yesterday, I put some of my beachcombing shells back in the water. In addition to packing, we spent our last day beachcombing on one of the best beaches yet, the Mendocino Headlands. I found a lot of abalone pieces, but left them in place forContinue reading “And Away We Go”

The World Beyond the Trees

All summer we’ve walked on the California Coastal Trail (CCT) and related paths that run along the coast. At Jughandle State Park, I followed a trail away from the bluffs toward a cluster of pine trees where I thought there might be some woodpeckers, but the trail was actually a deer track and gradually narrowedContinue reading “The World Beyond the Trees”

The Relentless Beachcomber

Not many people have the chance to go beach combing as often as they would like, we usually do this occasionally while on a short vacation. I’ve now had three months when I can go beach combing almost as often as I like. I can collect anything I find, with the understanding that at theContinue reading “The Relentless Beachcomber”

Birdfeeder on a bad day

We’ve been having a great time watching the birds on the bird feeder and successfully shooed away the squirrels. We met our match today…. Here’s the raccoon that visited yesterday, shook the feeder and ate what fell out. Here’s the bird feeder this morning…. Empty. And there was no seed left on the deck. HeContinue reading “Birdfeeder on a bad day”

More of Everything

This week I finished making the appointments that I will need during our brief stay in the Chicago area in mid-November. We’ve also dug deeply into our “Hikers Hip Pocket Guide to the Mendocino Coast,” a wonderful book, and found paths that we had not yet visited and small beaches to visit (see Jonathan’s FacebookContinue reading “More of Everything”

Mendocino/Cabot Cove?

We walked along the beach and took photos of the town. Tonight we watched the intro to an episode of “Murder, She Wrote”, now that we know it was filmed in Mendocino, not a town in Maine. Many of the buildings look the same now as they did when the series was playing, 1984-1996. WeContinue reading “Mendocino/Cabot Cove?”

Bird surprise 8.13.15

We are having fun with birds. Not only did we see a new bird on the beach, and a bobcat, but when we came home Jonathan was watching the bird feeder and said, “Get your binoculars, there’s a new bird out here.” It was a family of red crossbills, male, female and 3 chicks. TheseContinue reading “Bird surprise 8.13.15”