Someone, somewhere came up with the idea of writing things on balloons and letting them go. Might be wishes, messages for the dead, or anything else somebody wants help with. I suppose that is a more modern take on incense. The ancients believed that as it wafted into the air, it carried their prayers up to the Gods. Balloons might seem like a more fun update to this ritual. Except for that pesky gravity thing. What floats up and away from you, floats down somewhere else. Perhaps in a lake or ocean where it can injure or kill wildlife. Maybe in someone else’s yard, where they have to pick up your trash and dispose of it. Just such a balloon turned up in my yard last week.

On one side of the balloon, written in Sharpie marker: “My Dreams

-          I dream to fly

-          Be a pharmacist

-          Open up a pharmacy

-          Support my family

-          Not to be rich, but to get money I need

-          To get two twin girls.”

On the other side was: “Please take these things away from me!

-          Hate!

-          Unusual sleep!

-          Proud!

-          Bad words!

-          Not letting people learn

-          Hurting others

-          Steal

-          Hide stuff from people

-          Not kind!

-          Lying”

Now, how about that for a character-creating workshop? Here are the hopes, dreams, and bad habits of an actual person, as they perceive them. Although, I would suggest that if you have honesty issues, a pharmacy is probably a dangerous choice for you. Especially if you have problems with unusual sleep.

Now, I am all for self-improvement. None of us is so perfect that we can’t make ourselves better in some way or another. But I have a suggestion. Instead of degrading the environment to upgrade yourself, try writing the things you want to have/want to banish on a piece of paper. Either burn the paper and bury the ashes or just bury the paper and let it compost in the soil. That’s a much more environmentally friendly alternative to the balloon ritual. That and your innermost wishes don’t end up on somebody’s blog.

        

During my K-12 years at school, I had a few awful teachers and a few excellent teachers. Most were somewhere in between. One of the excellent ones, Mrs. Williford, died last Wednesday. I had Mrs. Williford for Texas History in 7^th Grade and American History in 8^th grade. She had a little black dog named Miss Foo, who was always up to something. Mrs. Williford was funny and dramatic and had a way of making history come alive – some great adventure that actually happened, instead of it being a desiccated list of the names of long-dead people that had to be memorized for a test. In 8^th grade, we held a debate. We did some research and chose whether we were Torries or Whigs. Then we had to defend our position. There were three of us Torries (looking back, I suspect one guy just did for the sake of being contrarian). It was an exercise in critical thinking. Most people didn’t get it. They chose Whigs. Why? “Uh…I’m American?” But I appreciated it. I thought it was exciting and I probably learned more about American history than at any time before or since.

 

We expect junkies and alcoholics to die young and probably miserably. We aren’t surprised when violent criminals end up face down in a pool of their own blood. So why is it that someone who is smart, kind, talented and a just all-around great person gets cancer and has to live the last few months of her life constantly having to adjust her pain meds just to get through each day? There are lots of schools of thought on this. I think it is because everyone on this world is here for a purpose. A mission. The wisest and strongest souls are the ones to take on the hardest assignments. Maybe they need that final bit of tempering to move up to the next level. Perhaps they need to gain a certain perspective. Personalities fade. Bodies fail. But that eternal spark of the Divine that is in each of us always loves, always knows, always remembers.

 

So rest in peace, Mrs. Williford. I’m sure you got an A+ on your end of life review. You & Miss Foo have that cosmic teacher’s textbook now.

        

Day 7, Tuesday, July 27, 2010

We went over the bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge vista point. It was 60°F and breezy. Found a parking garage near where we wanted to go and started seeing the sights. First stop was Hyde Pier. They had a variety of historic ships, most of which were under restoration. The Balclutha, a full-rigged ship, was built in Clyde, Scotland in the 19^th century and contained multitudinous plaques informing us of the hardships sailors endured. British ships were “hungry,” but American ships were know for brutal captains. The exhibit in the hold showed some of the types of cargo the Balclutha typically carried. Sacks of “wheat” (actually, foam cushions) provided the seating for a short movie about the ship. I got a book on knots in the gift shop.

 

After lunch in Ghiradelli Square, (where we saw a chocolate making demonstration) we had planned to take the trolley. There was a 1 hour wait, so we got on one of the hop on/hop off bus tours. The bus was a double-decker, open top model. It was nice going around in the fresh air and having the guide tell us what we were seeing, although his rendition of the Rice-A-Roni song left something to be desired. We got off the bus at Chinatown and walked up Grant Street. Near the gates, there were nothing but tat shops. By the end, the shops were so authentic that I didn’t dare go in for fear I’d buy dried goose webbing or something, as everything was labeled in Chinese. I had the feeling that there was much more going on than just friendly women selling “Chinese Health Balls.” There seemed to be an undercurrent of the mysterious. Or maybe I’ve just watched too many movies. Caught the bus again near Coit Tower and headed back to Golden Gate Bridge. Poor Alex crashed out and slept most of the way. Back at Ghiradelli Square, Andrew and the kids admired the fountain while I made a chocolate acquisition. The children have come up with a “fun car game” called SmackWhack where they try to slap each others’ hands. At least they aren’t fighting.

 

We had to get up early Wednesday to get rental car turned in etc. Trip back wasn’t too bad, although our plane was delayed in Phoenix and we got back over an hour late. Traveling is fun, but it’s good to be home!

        

Day 6, Monday, July 26, 2010

We had planned to go straight to San Francisco from Sacremento. But we’d found the abbreviated mine shaft exploration at Empire Mine to be less than satisfying. Kimberly really wanted to go to Sutter Gold Mine, where visitors donned hard hats and went down into the mine. It didn’t take much for her to convince her parents, as we were already leaning in that direction, anyway. This trip required some back-tracking and the GPS navigator helpfully took us to a random spot on Hwy 49. After stopping at an ARCO station for directions, we eventually found the mine. The fact-filled tour was fun. Our guide said he was a 6^th generation miner. According to him, the term “goldigger” originated when the “widowmaker” pneumatic drill was first invented. Miners would inhale the silica dust and develop “white lung.” Life expectancy was 3-4 yrs. Some women made careers out of marrying and inheriting from these miners. While we didn’t learn enough to apply for mining jobs, we got a good feel for it. Miners today certainly make a lot more money than those 100 years ago, and technology has increased productivity, but it is still dangerous work in a damp, dark environment. The tour was great, but we were glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel! After the tour, the kids had a good time sifting for gems in the sluice box.

 

We stopped in Sutter Creek for a snack. It was replete with wine tasting and antique shops. And beds-and-breakfasts. The wall near where we parked was made of dendritic limestone.We found an ice cream parlor that had not only ice cream, but all sorts of old-fashioned toys, games and candy. Just for grins, we went into a wine tasting shop. Some shops had multiple brands, some were brand specific. This one carried Scott Harvey wines. The young lady behind the counter was apparently used to much more sophisticated vinophiles than us. We were just trying to keep the kids from stuffing pennies down the heating vent on the floor while she was talking. We did buy a bottle of “One Last Kiss” rosé. I told Andrew we should have walked in and asked, “Howdy, miss. You got any of that Boone’s Farm strawberry? Or maybe some Mad Dog?” I think she might have fainted.

 

Since we were already out of the way, anyway, we decided to make a side trip to Grinding Rock State Park. It was where the Miwok tribe had lived prior to the gold rush. They had a reconstructed village, as well as bark houses (looked like wooden teepees) scattered throughout. These could be reserved for camping. A ceremonial roundhouse, still in use today, stands near an impressive oak. A little further away is the museum/ranger station. The People there ground acorns to paste and the holes in the flat rocks there are from centuries worth of people grinding the nuts up. The children were too tired to walk all the way to the re-constructed village, so we didn’t see that, but we did go inside one of the bark houses. Very popular with the spiders.

 

On the way to our hotel in San Bruno, we stopped and got some fresh berries and strawberry milkshakes. They were quite tasty. We declined to stop at the “Bait & Deli” shop. We passed a huge wind farm between Stockton and San Bruno. The turbines were amazing, although Andrew said it reminded him of the Teletubbies, with their pinwheel/windmills on the hills. The kids didn’t even remember that they used to like the Teletubbies when they were younger. The San Mateo Bridge was impressive and our GPS navigator happily directed us to a Safeway grocery store instead of our hotel. It wasn’t entirely its fault, though. The street had a North and a South and we didn’t specify which one. It guessed, but guessed wrong. We finally found the San Bruno Howard Johnson’s and pulled into the parking crypt.

 

After we got checked in, we set out in search of a late supper. Google found a Chinese restaurant (China Family Bistro) that claimed to be vegetarian friendly. When we got there, it was closed. There was another place more or less across the steet – the Zen Peninsula. Seemed to be very seafood oriented (Andrew’s allergic to shellfish), but it had reasonable reviews. I saw a Buddha Jump set menu listed. Surely that would be vegetarian. It was all seafood, with the added ingredient of “goose webbing.” Perhaps it reflected Buddha’s diet before the whole Bodhi tree incident. So we went to Brick Oven Pizza. We were the last customers and they were putting the chairs up on the tables while we were eating. The food was good and we hauled our tired, stuffed selves back to the HoJo. This one was orders of magnitude better than the first one. We even had a glass of our wine in little paper cups. Cheers!

 

Andrew’s Highlights: Sacremento, gold country, Empire Mine, navigator fiasco, panning for gold, Tahoe traffic jam and $6 million house, rail museum, weird curators, death drive to SF, mine tour, Indian village, real fruit cappuccino milkshake.

        

Day 5, Sunday, July 25, 2010

We stopped at the Nevada State Train Museum on the way out of town. Just missed the steam train ride. But there were a couple of train tables that kept the kids entertained while I bought the fridge magnet and a tee shirt for Andrew – he’d run out of short sleeves.

We drove around the north side of Lake Tahoe. We’d hoped to get out and look around, but it was heaving with people and parking was scarce. And it was raining. At one point, we took a wrong turn and ended up in a tony neighborhood. One of the houses was for sale and Andrew picked up a flyer, just for giggles. It was a mere $6 million. We did stop for lunch in Truckee at what promised to be a local/organic deli. But it was under construction, so we went to the Mexican place 3 doors down. It wasn’t bad. We sat underneath one of those optical illusion pictures. Depending on how you looked at it, it could be a golden goblet, an elderly coupe embracing, or a man playing a guitar for a woman with bowls on her head. We would have stopped at Donner Pass park, but the ramp was closed. Irony of the day: billboards for Donner Trail Fruit Market.

Next stop: Empire Mine State Park. They had a tour with historical re-enactors. I thought it was good, although the rest of the family thought it was a bit too long-winded. In the kitchen, “Katie,” the housekeeper, told us all about her fancy “new” stove with a built in waffle iron. This prompted Alex to raise his hand and begin a detailed explanation of all the waffle makers in all the breakfast bars of all the hotels we’d been at so far. At least the others on the tour thought it was cute. We self-toured the rest of the grounds and went down the short way we were allowed into the mine shaft. Then, we bought pans and headed out to Yuba Creek to pan for gold. I found two tiny flecks, but whether it’s gold or Fool’s Gold, I’m not sure. Talked to a nice family, who gave us gold panning tips and some interesting local info. After we changed the chilly kids out of their wet clothes, we headed for Sacremento. It seems to be a much less popular tourist destination.
 

        

Day 4, Saturday, July 24, 2010

A tour bus full of people was also staying at our hotel, and there was a huge line for breakfast, so we got a later start than we had intended. First stop, the Tunnel View vista area (it is right by Wawona tunnel). From that point, you can look straight down the valley, including Bridalveil Falls. My cell phone camera really doesn’t do it justice. After taking some photos of the kids perched on the rock wall, we backtracked up to Tioga Road, across the park to Tuolumne Meadows. It is a 39 mile drive, and some parts are very scenic. In places, I could have opened my window and touched the rocks as we drove by. Some areas had been burned. Charred trees haunted the landscape and tiny green sprinkles of plants stretched up for the sun. We stopped at White Wolf for a drink and to stretch our legs. There was a beautiful alpine meadow. I half expected to see Heidi and her little white goat coming out of the forest. A bit further along, the terrain became more rocky and less foresty, although there were still trees. We stopped at Olmsted Point for a look around and a leg stretch. Then we made the final push past Tenaya Lake and out of the park. I was surprised to see seagulls at the edge of Yosemite. As we went down the mountain, we came to Mono Lake and all was explained. California Gulls fly in during the spring to nest and raise their chicks. Mono Lake is fed by twelve mountain springs, but it has no outlet, making it a salt lake. Odd stalagmite formations called tufas appear in and around the lake. At the visitor’s center, the kids got “Adventurer Tools,” which have a neck cords and came in one piece that could be broken down into a compass, a mirror, a magnifying glass, and a small storage compartment. They are also very effective for hitting parents and other people in line.

 

Saw a huge fire on the way to Bodie. Hoped it wasn’t Bodie that’s on fire!

 

As it turned out, Bodie was not on fire. But we did have a bit of a kerfuffle. The entry gate was cash only and we had a dollar and some change between us. We had to give the park ranger our contact info and get a special envelope to mail in our fee. I asked if they took Paypal, so I could send it from my phone, but they didn’t. Just as well. I couldn’t get a signal in Bodie anyway. We had just under an hour before the park closed. The old buildings were creepy and sinister. The whole place just had a bad juju. I thought the old buildings and the history was interesting, but I didn’t like the feel of it. The park was crawling with friendly, helpful rangers. Actually, they live there. Which made it seem almost like going to a stranger’s house and wandering around in their back yard. While they’re watching you.

 

On the way out, we could see the fire had gotten much bigger. The baleful red sun glared out from behind billows of charcoal smoke, a single malevolent eye. The trip to Carson City was uneventful. Poor Alex fell asleep in the car and it was hard to wake him up when we stopped in Gardenville for Thai food. I had to try the house special – “Evil Jungle.” It was quite good. Carson City was a mix of charming, old-fahioned town and garish casinos. Andrew couldn’t remember the name of our hotel, so we just followed the navigator. It was a little bit like a blind date. “In 800 feet, your destination will be on the right.” We were relieved to find a Hampton Inn. The kids didn’t like the smell of Nevada. It was kind of sage-bushy and dusty. Reminded me a little bit of incense or smudge sticks. I had a terrible time going to sleep. Residue from Bodie, I suppose.

 

Andrew’s highlights: Death drive Yosemite II, Mono Lake, brushfire, Bodie, ghost pics, Nevada, breakfast line, death drive, super explorer tools, death drive, Tuolumne Meadows, Thai food, East Sierra, death drive.

        

Day 3, Friday, July 23, 2010

We started with a drive to Yosemite National Park. Cold coastal fog gave way to hot, toasted hills. Miles and miles of golden brown farm land. Signs for Cherries-Oranges-Artichokes! are replaced by Cashews-Pistachios-Nuts! I’m curious about the town of Los Banos. Wondering if we should have a restroom break just because.

 

Drove past our hotel at Mariposa. While trying to turn around, we stumbled upon the Mariposa Historic Jail. It only had five rooms – one for misdemeanor prisoners, one for felony prisoners, two solitary confinements, and a sweltering upstairs exercise room/gallows entrance. On the misdemeanor side, one of the prisoners had drawn a picture of a buzzard smoking a cigarette. On the other (felony) side, there was a picture of a dog by the same prisoner. Our guide didn’t say whether the art was by Henry Ivy, the last man executed there in 1879.

 

Yosemite. Crowded. We visited the valley on the first day. Our idea was to park and take the shuttle to see the various high points. But by the time we waited in line for the bus, then the bus sat in traffic, it was quicker to walk. We left the valley loop and headed down to see the sequoias at Mariposa Grove. Saw a big beautiful doe standing by the side of the road. Mariposa Grove was much less packed. The trees were amazing. On the way back to the parking lot, we were stalked by a grey fox (he was trying to get across the trail and was looking for a break in the groups of hikers). There were lots of crows, robins, and Stellar’s jays. The ground squirrels weren’t quite tame, but they weren’t too bothered by people, either. Kimberly had a bad nosebleed and had to go to the bathrooms to wash hands. The composting toilets were perhaps a bit over-capacity and it was truly rank. Alex kicked up dust on the trail the entire way and was technically too filthy to get in the car, but we couldn’t just leave him there. We saw two more deer on the way back to the hotel.

 

Andrew’s highlights: Mariposa Grove; Grizzly Giant; Tunnel Tree; wrong turn in valley, causing a repeat; Plankton sound-alike competition, very smelly composting toilet, Kimberly running through restaurant, shouting “Mommy had to help pull it out with toilet paper!” dry, hot, kind of boring in the middle; fox sighting, Mariposa Jail; $25 hats in Yosemite shop; filthy Alex with light barely making it through his light-up shoes.

        

Day 2, Thursday, July 22, 2010
Had a disturbing dream featuring Nickelodeon cartoon characters. Started out as Franklin and Bear having an argument about volunteering in school. For some reason, sullen Bear refused. Franklin didn’t understand. Then the story continued, but now the characters were Backyardigans. Tyrone (older) and Pablo were brothers and the story was from Pablo’s POV. Tyrone started spending lots of time alone in his room. Pablo invited other Backyardigans over to play. Tyrone had booby-trapped the house and rigged up explosives on a timer. Others Backyardigans had to avoid the traps and defuse the bomb. They succeeded but then their parents (parents from Fairly Odd Parents) came home to find Pablo, Uniqua & Austin restraining Tyrone. Tasha had gone for help. Parents decided to move to NYC. Characters became Wonderpets. Mingming sent a postcard to Linney, saying that Tuck was tetting professional help and they were in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn.

Located a T-Mobile and Andrew got his phone sorted out. We had navigation. Went to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum. They have quite a few mummies and a “tomb” that is a replica of Tut’s burial chamber. Kimberly wowed the docent by being able to translate some of the hieroglyphics on the wall. Later on, we came to an exhibit with people on a boat. Some were poling, some were raising a sail and some were just sitting around. Andrew said, “I’d like to be one of the ones sitting around being comfy.” Kimberly replied, “Those are professional mourners! Their job is to sit around and cry and moan. You don’t want to do that, do you?” She was able to explain most of the artifacts – she’d say “Oh, look. There’s a ____. They used it for _____.” Checking the exhibit tag, she was usually right. We were very impressed They had a gift shop I thought we’d never get out of. Kimberly couldn’t make up her mind what she wanted after I told her she couldn’t have the $20 set of canopic jars. She ended up with a red lion. Said it is supposed to be related to the Sphinx. Alex got a black and gold scarab. Outside, they had some plants that might have been Spanish Daggers, with huge amorphous trunks and sharp spiky leaves. The museum has a “peace garden” with a very small Egyptian-style temple and a T-shaped pool with waterlilies (but no goldfish).

We ate lunch at a local pancake shop. Fortunately, Kimberly got enough cherry crepes to feed Alex, who didn’t like his sharp cheddar grilled cheese sandwich. The man who brought our drinks looked like Captain Quint to me. Andrew said he looked like a serial killer, which was a little off-putting, given that it was prime lunch time and we were one of only 3 tables.

We all enjoyed the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  The sun fish has apparently died since the last time I was there. The Kelp Forest exhibit was probably the most colorful and diverse. The Outer Bay exhibit was just water and pelagic fish – sharks, tuna, barracuda and a shoal of small fish that cowered at the bottom. Kimberly couldn’t believe how big the tuna were. The kids loved all the hands-on exhibits. I liked the Jellyfish and the Seafood Watch Café, where they had people dressed up as restaurant staff talking about how dining choices affect sea life. They have a handy wallet-sized card that comes with paid admission (or check their website). The takeaway is that if you’re going to eat seafood, choose US farmed fish. Closed the aquarium and found an Indian fast food place on Cannery Row. Surprisingly, both kids enjoyed the Tofu Masala. It wasn’t long before dark and the kids were desperate to go to the beach. Alex complained that we weren’t going back to the hotel to get swimmies. I told him I didn’t think he’d need them. At Marina beach, it was 55°F and windy. Kimberly collected a prodigious pile of seaweed and Alex enjoyed throwing rocks at the surf, screaming, and running away. We didn’t stay very long. If you are looking for an exercise that works every muscle in your legs, try walking up a sand dune. P.S. – The Steinbeck Center may be in Salinas, but If you love John Steinbeck, Monterey has plenty to offer.

        

Day 1, Wednesday, July 21, 2010
We were entertained by a small sparrow flitting around inside Terminal A while we were having breakfast. Kids were excellent on the plane. Had some trouble finding our hotel – the HoJo Convention Center in San Jose. It was a HoJo, but not all that close to the Convention Center. Eventually, we found it lurking between a note lot and down the street from assorted bail bondsmen. After checking in, we made an attempt at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, but we got on the wrong freeway. Andrew had gotten a new SIM card for his phone on Monday, and it didn’t seem to be working. Therefore, there was no GPS navigation. Found we were near Winchester Mystery House, and since we’d planned to go there anyway, that’s where we headed. It was much as I’d remembered it from last time. Sarah Winchester seemed like such a tragic figure. Her husband and daughter had died. She had no friends. But she did have money – a $20 million bequest from her late spouse plus $1,000 per day from the Winchester Arms Manufacturing Co. A carpenter spent a whole year of his life crafting an intricate floor from four different woods for the guest reception parlor that was never used. Sarah was paranoid and suspicious – she would summarily fire any servants she caught talking about her. But she paid double the going rate of $1.50 per day and allowed servants who had no place to go to live on the grounds and take meals at no cost to them. It made me think of my grandmother – personally difficult, but impersonally generous, the difference between serving up soup in the bread line vs. donating money to the homeless shelter. The house itself is eerily beautiful and the grounds are fabulous. We only did the Mansion Tour on this trip, but the behind the scenes tours are excellent. Afterwards, we went to get supper at Khanh’s Vietnamese restaurant nearby. Food was outstanding, although Alex was afraid of the server, who had on very dark, glittery eye shadow and lots of mascara.

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The Kindle version of Earthbound is live at Amazon.com. The I expect the print version to be live May 27. 

I have put up a trailer for Earthbound on YouTube!

http://www.youtbe.com/watch?v=k7GENoQ1zU8