School's Out!

Well, school is out for the Summer, but today is Jack's first day of YMCA camp, so the transition was quick. I have heard good things about the camp, and Jack loves to be around other kids, so even if he spent the day playing in a junkyard, he'd probably be happy as long as they served snacks. I guess kids these days don't play in junkyards much anymore, but I certainly did from time to time. Perhaps my favorite one was the local Air Force Base dump. I don't remember much about what I may have scavenged there, but I do remember the hulks of some burned aircraft. I did, of course, essentially grow up in a junkyard. Our "lawn" was covered with 6 boats of varying sizes, including a 35' cabin-cruiser; several junky cars and a pick-up, airplane wing tanks, an prefab metal building in pieces, a pile of 11 tons of stainless steel bolts and endless junk from auctions and god knows where else. And the inside--all four floors--was crammed with junk, too. How did I get off on this rant?

Jack and I are doing fine for the most part. We attended a bowling birthday party over the weekend, saw a movie, had a nice Father's Day lunch with the Grammas and Steph, and played or did things. Jack's anxiety about my disappearing continues, however. He wants to know where I am at all times. I went and brushed my teeth or took a shower in the master bath and did not hear him calling for me, and he was upset when I emerged. Not in a big way, but I could tell that if it had gone on much longer he would have been. Time to call the counselor back, I guess.

I attended Jack's end-of-the-year party at school on Friday. Took home another boatload of stuff from the school year. Said goodbye to the other parents. Got tearful when I walked through the empty classroom knowing who, besides the children and teacher, was NOT there for the occasion. Oh...life.

Hate to leave you on a down note, but I don't know what else to say right now.

S







I am booked for the work week, but nothing too awful awaits. I had an awful time last week with some "Inreda" drawers from Ikea. I couldn't figure out how they assembled and mounted. I was framing an angry email to IKEA many times over and it was blue.

Catalina Camping w/update

Hello, Again.

Just got back a few hours ago from a three day camping trip to Little Harbor on Catalalina Island with four other families. Jack and I had a (mostly) great time playing at the beach, hiking the geologically interesting coast, kayaking along the beautiful shore or just hanging out with friends. The beach campground is isolated, a 7 mile ride over a bumpy dirt road, but worth it. No electricity, but we still had everything we needed. The weather co-operated beautifully, though I had some misgivings when we hit heavy rain at 6:30 Friday morning when heading to San Pedro and the ferry. It soon cleared, however and couldn't have been nicer the rest of the trip. Not too hot, Not too cold. The kayaks were rented almost on an honor system, and it was my first ocean kayaking experience. What fun! I was a little nervous at first, but they are easy to paddle and stable. The surf was very mild, which helped, though the cove is pretty much protected. I may post a few more pictures later tonight. I did not take my camera out kayaking, unfortunately. I worried it might not come back, but next time I will take it.

Two girls got sick, which was unfortunate, but Nora recovered the next day and Carina only got sick the final morning. Jim and Eli dealt admirably with a nightmare situation the night Nora vomited. Most parents have done similar things, but they didn't have to take sleeping bags and clothes on a bus 7 miles. Anyway, Nora recovered quickly and I hope Carina does the same.

I say "mostly" great time because the first night there some people were partying until 2 or 3 in the morning. The ranger that sleeps in a trailer there is apparently a heavy sleeper. We think he got reemed by superiors the next day, however, and that night a sherrif's posse arrived at 10 pm and made sure all was quiet.

I especially enjoyed an attempt by the kids to make a swing. It was a challenge because we had no seat for the swing and no rope. Jim found a piece of stout cable and someone came up with the idea of putting a roll of paper towel over it and it worked just fine. The attempt started out with cotton string, but someone found some sturdier twine and a swing was born that the kids played with often.

We had wood delivered to the campsite and a good fire in the morning and evening. Yours truly brought bacon and eggs, something I rarely make at home for myself. Add in the cheese sticks, hot dogs and ribs (the first night) and forget about any cholesterol tests in the near future.

The kayaks were rented, as was a stove, tent, sleeping bag and pad. Even so, I used a folding cart, three bins and a rolling cooler to transport our gear and food. Thankfully we only had to schlep it up or down the gangplanks and a short distance to the "Safari Bus".

The kids played well together. They commandeered an unused fireplace, which provided more fun for them than I would ever have anticipated. Lots of mud/ash pie making and other activities. Kayak oars became bridges across a gully or a "raft" when tied together.

I had my shower, got the smoke out and now prepare to resume a civilized existence. I'm going to add another photo to show the rocky shoreline better. Rarely have I enjoyed the geology and rocks as much as I did there. Curt (a geologist) said that the subduction of the earth's crust was responsible.