Where have all the starfish gone?

barnacles with lone mussel

callas

Dangerman

half moon gate

what is this fish lurking beneath the seaweed? Best guess: sculpin. Ate another fish while we watched

whale gate

yellow fields..Wild shamrock?

tidepool

maze

glare during my eary morning run

hummer

passionfruit blossom

seals

Some how I never timed going to the local tide pools right during previous visits. Well not this time. I memorized the low tides for the beach near here, conveniently one of the top five tide pools in California. Not all tides are equal..the super low tides only happen once or twice a month (best for viewing tide pools..on the flip side the super high tides occurred during Hurricane Sandy making things way worse).

But the day was perfect..warm, not windy. I had already run though tough running right into the rising sun, felt good to turn around. Other people can read tide tables too so we were not alone though people helped each other out finding creatures. Only one star fish!!! And it was in a dangerous area so I couldn't see it. They are dying from something known as star fish wasting disease. They have been dead for months points south and it's going up the coast killing every one of them. I hope it spares Oregon. We saw all variety of snails and anemones. A few crabs and that one strange fish looking like an elongated yellow toad. He was about 6 inches long.

So where are these good tide pools. Number one listed was in Laguna Beach. I've been to the town, not the tide  pools. I've been to the Asilomar tide pools in Monterey though not at the best time. There's some in Santa Cruz though not rated as highly as these, the ones in the Fitzgerald Reserve. But it was fun looking for interesting life. At one point the tide was coming in and I was afraid that Steve would be cut off by being on a cliff. The area right outside our viewing area is the home of the Maverick Surfing competition where 50 foot waves form. Not today though.

After lunch, we went exploring again. Back to the lighthouse to look for whales but it is the wrong time of year. The are in Baja California raising their young. Next month they will go by this point on their way to Alaska where the food is. The place is very pretty with lots of deep pink ice plant in bloom. The hills going there were covered with yellow shamrock..pretty. We took a break and went to Pescadero for fancy coffee and their garlic artichoke bread fresh from the the oven. Tasty. Then a long hike in my inappropriate foot wear to yet another harbor seal preserve.

We returned very tired especially me as I had been up since 5 am.

Today..to the other side of the Santa Cruz mountains.

Warmth, flowers and the sea at last!

Reservoir for all of San Francisco and San Mateo counties surrounded by walking paths

I love this beach house in Miramar

ice plant not in bloom

red wood of manzanita tree

moss

seals

sedum

seals from above

Steve at cool sushi restaurant

sunset from my brother's deck

 So we are here away from the thundersnow storm yesterday and drivers in a snow rage shooting at snowplow operators for blocking them in. No snow here! Flowers!!!! Blossoms! Green! Warm Sun!
It does this winter weary soul good.

But things never go smoothly. Just as we were leaving for the airport with little time to spare as it was, I get a call saying the plane will leave a half hour early!! Great time to tell me. Rush, rush, rush. Big line just to check-in luggage, big security line made easier at the last second when we were told we were prescreened and could skip most of the line. ( and why were we prescreened? Our history of taking many flights without incident?) But wait...one of Steve's bags goes missing? Hurry..hurry..where is it? They had taken it aside for  additional screening. His swiss army knife was it. They were not amused. He could check it in ( and stand in 2 more lines, would he need to pay for it?) as the plane was boarding or give it up. I said he had to give it up and he pouted the rest of the day. I had given it to him 30 years ago. They were boarding as we got there made more time consuming as they switched planes at the last second so we could be crammed in even more and had to give us all new seats. But we all boarded in time for the new departure and then we just sat....and sat and sat. Finally they admitted the captain was missing but not to worry, he would be replaced..soon. And then he showed but another staff member needed replacement..and then we left the gate but stopped for a long time as a check engine light came on. They were debating over the loud speaker whether to go back to the gate but then the problem was solved and our very bumpy ride was on its way.I guess it took a while for them to realize all their venting about the poor service record of this plane was audible for all of us to uneasily overhear. We were in the way back, so far back they ran out of food for us. When I complained, the flight attendant snapped..how do you think we feel..and bring your own food. So we were late and another long line at the rental place but at least their up selling was minimal. They did their usual trying to presell gas at $3.90 a gallon claiming it was $4.50  in San Francisco. They are betting you won't use it up. We stupidly fell for this trick once making the gas cost us $6 a gallon. Meanwhile gas at Costco less than 2 miles away was $3.47, almost Michigan prices.

I wanted to sit outside for lunch facing the beach but no..grumpy Steve said too much sun. Too much sun..how can that ever be! But he sat under an overhang. We first went to Moss Beach where there is a marine reserve to look at the seals. We will go there later today for tide pools ( I have the low tide times memorized) Ran into an Amish family enjoying the seals..how did they get there? We walked on top of cliffs through forests, which put Steve in a better mood though he likes to stand right on the edge of eroding cliffs.

We were tired when we got to my brother's house. We didn't want to go out again. I drank some wine as the sun went down. His house is high up on a hill overlooking the ocean.

Tessa must have gotten a hold of mama's phone and called me before 6 am. But as soon as the sun came up, we went to Miramar for Steve to eat and me to run. So, so pretty. I then got a bite to eat eating in the gardens, we went for a beach walk, then back for a shower. For lunch, we walked around the cute town of Half Moon  Bay, about 5 miles from my brothers. I bought a beautiful top from a boutique and we had a bento box at a very interesting sushi place. Beautiful decor. I had spicy plum wine. The streets are lined with murals and guava trees with their red brush bristle blossoms. And then we headed inland for a hike along the reservoir created by a rift valley due to the San Andreas fault that runs along side of it. Very pretty.

What state fits you?

Above: scenes from Michigan

I've taken a few of those Facebook Buzzfeed quizzes: what breed of dog would you be? (pitbull), what city should you be living in? (Portland) and the last one, at least that I was willing to waste time on, what state should you be living in? Kansas!!! All of this is based on how I like my coffee, what my favorite fast food restaurant is, music choices, etc.

But Kansas would be way down on the list on places I would like to be though my brother lived in the 'nice' part for 3 years to earn his doctorate. I was in it for a microsecond as Route 66 comes close so we deviated briefly just to say we were  Kansas. Way, way, way down on the list would be all the southern states with their stone age politics. But most of the West Coast would be fine by me if I had ready access to my grandbabies. They are here, however so we choose to live in our island that is Ann Arbor, surrounded by a sea of reality as they say.

I got a call from a friend the other day excitedly asking me if I knew any Iowans. She had recently read a novel featuring Iowans and concluded they were special. Well I am descended from a branch of Iowans as my father's mother's family was from  there. Why Irish and English immigrants chose to go there, I have no idea. And an ex-neighbor just moved there recently (one of the diaspora from being pfired). She initially landed in South Carolina which did not suit her at all (N word was a bit too common in every day conversation) but feels at home in Iowa. As her town is featured in this year's Ride Across Iowa, I have been invited. And then there is the journalism professor from Iowa who wrote the book (literally) on TNBC that I was asked to edit. So if I had to live in the middle of the country, Iowa would be fitting. At least they celebrate bicyclists.

Six more inches! As soon as I typed that the storm was a no-show, it showed. At least it spared me while I drove way out into the country.  Accidents galore though my son seems to have safely made it. I can usually avoid driving in the worse weather but I spend much time worrying about crazy semis who pay no attention to conditions and take many people down with them as they crash on the freeways that my children end up on in their long commutes. The worst winter ever!

Do people select where they live based on their personalities? To a certain degree but there are so many constraints these quizzes ignore: cost of living, weather, suitable jobs.

In the meantime Michigan can be beautiful.
Below: our street from a year ago

Annabelle Valentine

Annabelle herself with her special valentine's wagon full of treats followed by her mom

Back of the wagon

Today I made the trek to the SW corner of our county to have my hair done at the home of Annabelle Valentine. A snowstorm was supposed to hit us at the same time dumping yet another 3-5 inches on top of the 6 feet and counting snow we already had but it either isn't coming or is late so I guess I am lucky. Long range forecasts indicated today was the start of 40-50 degree weather but the joke is on us because it was close to zero again this morning. Too much of this blog has been polar vortex oriented but this crappy weather has dominated our lives way too much. At any rate, I plan to escape this soon and didn't want the sun shining on my roots.

There is a book called Love Ruby Valentine about a little girl who decides to bring Valentine cheer to everyone she can, which made then 4 year old Annabelle think that she can do this too. During her first year, she distributed cookies and valentines to everyone she encountered in their small downtown community. For some, this was their only Valentine. Two years later, she has expanded her efforts to a Veteran's hospital and a family homeless shelter bringing on her own kind of cheer. The community in turn has donated goods and services to her one child mission to spread love. Lots of work for a little 6 year old girl. I am fortunate that her mom was able to work me in before I left.

In the past, I have scheduled trips out there when snow was not an issue. They have a long, hilly driveway off a small country lane. And they seemed to have gotten even more snow than we have. I wish I had taken photos of the mailboxes sticking out of the 8 foot drifts. As it turned out, I had no problems though the strong winds are whipping up miniblizzards at road level. I didn't run the gauntlet of her chicken flock. They are safely huddled in their coop. But it is fun to just schmooze for 2 hours while I get my hair done.

Earlier in the day, we had Ms. Tess as her brothers were off with Shanna to see the Lego movie along with every other kid out on winter break. She picks up things so quickly..quite a bright, sweet little girl.We watched the ice dance finals. Our team came in 8th overall though his roommate took the gold. Fun to watch. The mom was shown in the stands. It was her birthday. She used to sit with me as we watched our sons play soccer in the adult league..fun talking with her and now here she is on a much bigger stage than a blanket in Fuller Park.

Hot. Cool. Yours. Weirdest motto ever.

Michigan from afar

This is us all covered with ice

After the short program, our favorite ice dancers are in 8th place. So many of the pairs, including the foreign ones, train in Michigan. Who knew Michigan was the ice dancing capital?

Yesterday's cooking adventure: molten chocolate lava cakes at Naomi's request. She made them and I cleaned up. With the leftover egg whites, I tried to perfect my French meringues..taste good but I need to invest in a bag to pipe the dough onto the sheet.

We had a visit from Allie and her parents..so so precious. Between our travels and theirs, we might not see them for several weeks. Julie and her mini-me

From warmer times:

Anza-Borrego badlands with Salton sea

The Block of the Discord

My bad hair circa 1982

When Shanna visited from LA