Surprise! We're in San Diego!

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, on our trip down we flew into San Diego. This is because you can't just hop a plane to Yuma directly. There is just a 2-3 hour drive involved, that is just the way it is. Last year we flew to Phoenix and drove from that direction. Aside from seeing cactus and laughing a little too hysterically (we were tired, we fly on the red eye) at the sign outside the federal prison that tells you not to pick up hitchhikers , there wasn't much for Dave and I to see. Sandy agreed with us on this and so this year we decided we would try the other direction - from San Diego. When we flew in on Christmas morning there was not a lot to see or do, as most things were in fact, closed. Something about a holiday or something like that. So, we (Sandy, Paul, Dave, & I) decided it would be fun to buzz out of Yuma early in the day so we could explore San Diego a little bit before heading back to the rain/snow of Seattle/Portland. This is what we found:


The ocean! Big curling waves! If you look carefully you will see actual genuine surfers!


Lots of wonderful white, sandy, beaches! We found ourselves in Ocean Beach to be exact (for those of you who know San Diego, I just know that I wasn't too far from the airport and I was next to the ocean).

We walked along the beach, soaking up the warmth of the sun (which had mysteriously been missing from the desert...go figure!)


We found a flock of sandpipers. Now, I don't like being too close to birds, but Sandy likes them. So, she followed the sandpipers for awhile and I watched from a safe, comfortable, distance. I have to admit that I can't recall seeing sandpipers live in person on a beach before and they were pretty cool...for being birds.


Ocean Beach has the longest pier on the west coast, or at least the sign says it does. We headed out onto the pier and came across this young fellow - a pelican! I don't think I've ever seen a pelican live in person anywhere and although it is a rather large bird with quite the intimidating hook at the end of its beak this guy was really cool!! I kept thinking of "Finding Nemo", a movie that I love and where the pelican is a truly good guy.

This guy was really used to people - look how close Sandy got to him! He had people snapping his photo all over the place, a regular movie star! At one point we actually saw him take flight, which was really neat to see. Then at one point, to avoid being crowded by Sandy he took flight and landed right next to me...so much for my safe, reasonable distance! At the end of the pier on the top of a building we found this fellow:


Another pelican! This guy was clearly older - look at his colors on his beak and neck! His eyes were a lot more intimidating. He was neat to look at but this guy I REALLY gave a lot of space to! His beak has even more of a claw end to it!


After the beach we hopped back in the car and drove up to Pt. Loma by the lighthouse. This afforded us some amazing views just as sunset was beginning. This is a view of the city of San Diego.

This is a view looking down at the naval yard beneath Pt. Loma. San Diego is a huge navy town, no surprise really. We really had fun during our short visit to San Diego! In the future when we go to Yuma we are definitely heading through San Diego. And, we are going to try to spend a night there so we can explore some more of this beautiful city!

Farewell to Yuma

Greetings from the Yuma Territorial Prison! For our last full day in Yuma we paid a visit to this historic landmark in Yuma. Dave, Sandy, and I had actually been to the prison before, we went last year on our trip to Yuma. But, Paul was unable to join us last year and we didn't want him to miss out on all the great history!


Here is my father-in-law Dick walking the halls of the old cells. The prison really is an interesting place. As a teacher though my favorite part is how at one point in the prison's history it was used as the Yuma High School. Due to this unusual history the mascot to this day of Yuma High School is the Criminal. The Yuma Criminals - I kid you not!


The prison grounds also overlook the mighty Colorado River. It doesn't look quite so mighty here, but none the less it is the river that carved out the Grand Canyon so there was definitely might in its past. We will be heading out of Yuma tomorrow to visit family in the Pacific northwest. It has been a fun six days in the desert!

The Birds of Yuma

Today we visited the Paradise Casino, but I failed to get any photos of it. It was pretty cool, it was my first time in a casino. I won a little money, but then promptly lost it. Sandy won $86! She is much luckier than I. After the casino we went to eat lunch at this really cool restaurant in Yuma that has live birds flying around. It was a really neat place and the food was wonderful! It was Julieanna's Patio Cafe. If you're ever in Yuma, you should check it out!

Here is a blue parrot. My knowledge of birds is shockingly bad, so please forgive me bird lovers out there!

Here is a peacock. He went strolling by while we ate and decided to rest here. Peacocks are majestic and so lovely!

Here is a red parrot. He is resting on a sign that says, "Please do not feed or touch the birds". They are not going to get any argument from me on this:


Here I am with the red parrot. Did I mention I'm afraid of birds? This was as close as I was going to get and I'm pretty uncomfortable in this picture. The beaks scare me. I don't know why. I think birds are amazing creatures, I definitely think they are important to the planet and should continue to exist, I just don't want them too close to me. I have been attacked by sea gulls before, it happens every summer when I'm walking Winston by our local lagoon. But, my fear pre-dates this, being attacked every summer just adds to the fear really.


The restaurant also had a mariachi band. Paul decided to join in on the fun!
Back at the house my mother-in-law Joanne wanted to learn how to knit. Here I am helping her with her first project - a garter stitch scarf! She really got the hang of it quickly and had a lot done by the time our trip to Yuma ended.
One thing Yuma has lots of is beautiful sunsets! Here is one example. Most evenings we went for a walk through the neighborhood to enjoy the spectacular show the sun and sky were putting on for all of us!

Christmas in Yuma - At the Tank Farm

Ahh - Christmas in the desert. We flew from Anchorage to San Diego on Christmas Day, stopping in Seattle to pick up my brother-in-law Paul, and then drove for three hours to Yuma to spend Christmas with the family and the cactus. The next day our first desert adventure was to the Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG the locals call it) to the tank farm. Basically this is a park/display of sorts out in the open air that features a lot of previously used and tested military equipment. At YPG that is what they do - test military equipment. One other cool thing that they do at YPG is they film the Tatooine scenes from Star Wars! Maybe we'll run into R2D2 or C3PO?!

We had a lot of fun at the tank farm exploring all the different equipment! Here Brandon schools his Uncle Dave on the wheels of this missile launcher. See, the wheels are round, they are very green, and they have a track on them. At 2-1/2 Brandon has all this - do we have a future military career before us??
Paul takes a moment beside the Sherman Tank to make a statement for peace.

Dave shows how one would drive the tank.


I pause for a moment to shout, "Fire ze missiles!"


and Dave tries to hold down the right wing.



There was a spot where the display appeared to have been removed. So Paul saw this as an opportunity to create his own living art display....


But Brandon decided it was a good place to show how fast he can run. Go Brandon, Go!!
All in all a good time was had by everyone!

Christmas Comes Early to Me!

So, I live on a downward sloping hill. I love my house, I love my neighborhood, I love my town, I love that I live in Alaska where winter means snow. However, what all of this also means is that anytime it snows a measurable amount, say more than a couple of inches, my little car gets stuck trying to get up the hill and out of the neighborhood so I can get to work. Every winter this causes me some trouble. My little car is a Nissan Sentra - 1994 - it is a GREAT car in many, many ways. But, not great in the snow on a hill. So, I came to the conclusion a few years ago that my next car would have 4 wheel drive. I didn't know when that new car would happen. It happened this year! I was able to get this:
This is me at the dealership with the salesman of my new ride - a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid! In green! My favorite color! Dave has appropriately dubbed it, "The Green Machine", which has a lovely double meaning, and reminds me of my youth in the 70's. After determining that I needed 4 wheel drive, I decided I wanted a hybrid. I did a bunch of research and I talked to the dealership a few times, and decided that the Highlander Hybrid was the way to go. I special ordered this car for me and then had to wait for it to be built and sent to Anchorage.

I fist selected this car in June. It took me awhile to finally put down a deposit on it in November. I'm very happy that it is finally home with me in my garage. No more stuck on the hill for me!

Photos of F.O.

Okay, I wrote about my finished objects last week and here is the photographic evidence! Below are the socks I made for my mother-in-law:


This is the detail of the heel flap - called the honeycomb style:


These are Meida's Socks from Interweave Knits 25 Favorite Socks book. I made some modifications for them, so here they are:
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Flamingo Stripe
Needles: US 2 (the pattern calls for US 1)
The pattern calls for 6 repeats of the lace on the leg before doing the heel flap, and I only did 4 because my mother-in-law prefers short socks. Also, the gusset is done by decreasing every row in the pattern - has a neat look to it. I didn't do this though, I decreased every other row. Partly I did this because I felt that it gave the sock more give and stretch, partly because I didn't realize that the pattern decreased every row until half way through the gusset on the first sock. Finally, the pattern has you decrease so that there are 2 stitches less on the bottom of the foot than on the top, I kept the number the same so there was more give and stretch. I'm dating this post with the date the scarf was finished...I am writing it much later than that so even though both of these items are Christmas presents, the intended receivers have already received them.

The other object that I'm very proud to have finished is the Peacock Lace Scarf, which I've taken to referring to as Lisa's Scarf. Here it is finished and all blocked out:


Here is a detail of the 2 lace patterns included in this scarf. It has taken me over a year to complete this project and I'm so proud of it! It has been the subject of other posts involving Winston (see archives from August 2007) and there was more than one time that I didn't think the scarf was going to make it. I guess I deserve a pat on the back for sheer determination... or is that stubbornness... pig-headedness...??? I'm not sure, but look at the pretty lace!

Details:
Yarn - Debbie Bliss 100% silk
Needles - US 6
Pattern - Peacock Lace (Lisa's Lace in my mind) Scarf pattern I received from my class at Yarn Branch

In case you missed it, this is a gift for my friend Lisa. She has told me repeatedly that she loves her scarf and I'm so pleased. One of the weird things I worry about is that I'll make something for someone and that they won't like it or use it. I don't have to worry about this with Lisa. I can tell that she really likes it.