“A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” – Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home
Finally sitting down and taking some time to get caught up on blog posts. As I write this I stare out at a beautiful desert landscape – but that is for another post! So lets back up a month or two and do some catching up……
What better way to wrap up 2017 then by spending time with family and friends enjoying some great activities? After parking the motorhome in Mariposa it was time to spend the last few months of 2017 hanging with family and visiting friends.
One of the first adventures was joining my Mom for a trip to Oregon for her annual cousins reunion. Every year during the week after Thanksgiving a group of Darling cousins gets together in a beautiful location on the Oregon Coast to share stories and fun of being family.
“May the roots of your family tree grow deep and strong” -Irish blessing
The Darling family refers to my great Grandparents Albert and Mae Darling who had 10 children back in the early 1900’s. Many of those family members still live in Oregon and this group of ladies gets together every year. What fun it was to join them and spend time with relatives that I don’t often get to see. Add to that a beautiful location (Oregon Coast) and you have the recipe for a great time.
We could hardly make a trip to central Oregon without a stop at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. As we passed the museum on our way from the airport to the coast at night a glimpse into the glass fronted building revealed the star of the museum, the “Spruce Goose,” Howard Hughes’ flying boat, which dwarfs all of the other air exhibits in the building. So a stop and an overnight stay in the area on our return was an important part of the trip.
“There is no sport equal to that which aviators enjoy while being carried through the air on great white wings.” – Wilbur Wright, 1905
When you enter the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum you drive down a runway, and that’s not where your flight experience ends.
The museum’s mission: To inspire and educate, promote and preserve aviation and space history, and honor the patriotic service of our veterans.
Fitting for a living museum that celebrates aviation’s history, honors veterans service and offers educational programs in aviation. From the many airplanes parked in front of the three buildings, to the beautiful Spruce Goose you see as you travel down Highway 18 to the museum, if you even have a fleeting interest in aircraft or space, the museum will keep you busy for at least half a day.
There were relatively few visitors and we were lucky to have the docent tour all to ourselves. This was by far the most informative and enlightening way to experience the museum, a guided tour led by a volunteer who is a wealth of knowledge about each of the aircraft in the museum. Fortunately the museum remains open as it has been picking up the pieces after the failure of its founder and major funder Evergreen International Airlines in 2013. For now it looks like folks will continue to have the opportunity to see and experience this wonderful facility.
Only a three-hour drive from Mariposa to Sacramento means this traveler can keep doctors and dentists in California’s capital city where I retired just less than two years ago. I have mentioned before that you meet the best people in the pool and I have kept in touch with my great swimmer friends in Sacramento. In keeping with my birthday 100’s theme it was time for Bill’s 60th birthday and our marathon 6,000-yard celebration swim. Possibly my longest swim to date and without having been in the pool for a while it was challenging but an excellent workout. Looking forward to Nancy’s birthday in March when we can do it again!
“A friend is a gift you give yourself.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Lodi, California, 36 miles south of Sacramento, sits astride a major freeway. But every autumn thousands of its visitors arrive by air. They wing in at sunset, their masses dark smudges in the distance that swell in size, like storm clouds gathered in an orange sky. As they swoop into Lodi, their forms take shape: stretch-necked birds with ash gray bodies and bright red crowns. I had to wonder after living in Sacramento for a number of years why I hadn’t made the trip south to Lodi to witness this amazing spectacle, the sunset arrival of the Sandhill Cranes.
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” – George Eliot
Standing a regal four feet tall and boasting a wingspan of more than six feet, Sandhill Cranes can be appreciated by even this neophyte bird watcher. It doesn’t take any prior knowledge to immediately identify these tall, prehistoric-looking noisy birds gathered in awe-inspiring numbers. An estimated 7,000 Sandhill Cranes make their seasonal home in the area, gliding down a migratory path known as the great Pacific Flyway from Alaska to the alfalfa fields of the central valley.
No one knows exactly how long they’ve been wintering in the mild tule fog and Delta grasslands around Lodi, but fossils of these birds date back 10 million years. They are one of the oldest living species of birds in the world.
“Everyone likes birds. What wild creature is more accessible to our eyes and ears, as close to us and everyone in the world, as universal as a bird?” – David Attenborough
Along with the cranes, visitors are treated to hundreds (maybe thousands) of other birds including the beautiful Tundra Swan.
Thanks to Victoria, Pam and Erin for inviting me along for the day that included great company, wine tasting and awe inspiring bird watching. This will be on my list of yearly places to visit and a great way to celebrate the season.
While in Sacramento holiday Star Wars fun with Pam and her adorable twin grandsons Clayton & Cole included a visit to the Capitol Christmas Tree after the new Star Wars movie on the big IMax screen.
The twinkling tree framed by the state capitol and a nearly full moon really made the season special.
“At Christmas, all roads lead home.” – Marjorie Holmes
There is no truer statement especially in my close-knit family. For as long as I can remember Christmas day has included family, friends, gifts, stories, food and shots of Wild Turkey. That last one has created many interesting holiday stories throughout the years (just ask my brother-in-law Johnny), but it’s all good family fun.
“I think the family is the place where the most ridiculous and least respectable things in the world go on.” – Ugo Betti
It wasn’t so long ago that the boys were little scrambling for their gifts and ripping into christmas packaging with abandon. Now they are grown men making their way in the world but still finding the time to be home for the holidays.
Cheers to all and Happy Holidays 2017
Lots to do and keep busy around Mariposa from almost daily Jazzercise classes & lots of hiking opportunities to breweries and tap rooms but the itch to travel was always there beneath the surface.
2018 starts with hitting the road for a few months of RV travel then its time to see the world………
“Travel and change of place impart new vigor to the mind.” – Seneca
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