Long, full day around Penn/Grass Valley/Nevada City/Ananda Village

Today, Aunt Mary had a lovely young woman on the bridge over the Yuba River take a picture of us all together. She texted it to me. I saved it to my phone. My phone is hooked up to my computer. All of the pictures I took today are available to load to this blog, but I can't get the one I saved from text up here. I guess I'll see if I can post it on FB. If y'all have any thoughts ...

I generally wake up around 5:30 or 6:00, depending on when I go to bed. This morning I slept in till 6:30, took Remy out, fed him, had some non-grain granola and a heated up cup of decaf with coconut cream. Then I hung out on the computer for a while. When the rest of the household was up and at 'em, I had a shower, and then we departed for Kathy and Richard's (my cousin and her husband) near Ananda Village, waaayyy up a mountain.

But first, we had a stop at the Yuba River. Ahhhh! It looked cold, but there were people swimming. The water was beautiful! It calls to me. Here are the photos from our first encounter of the day with the Yuba River.

We watched the fellow on the rock in the center of the last picture for a bit, hoping that he wouldn't choose to dive in there. You can see the white water just upstream of the big rock in front of him. We were concerned that the water would be very fast and deep where he was. Once we all felt comfortable that he was just sunbathing, we got in the car and continued to Kathy and Richard's.

Talk about your curvy, steeply up and down, mountain roads! It's quite a drive. And then there's the gravel road that leads up to their house. I'm sure they're always grateful to arrive home.

Kathy was in the process of preparing a wonderful lunch for us when their landlord and neighbor, Gary, stopped by with a box of chocolates. We all sat in the living room for a while and had a great conversation. Remy curled up and went to sleep on my lap. When Gary left, lunch preparations continued, and we were served curried paneer on green salad with a basil, garlic, cashew dressing. Wow! And accompanying that was a flowery lemonade. Here's a picture of the outside of Kathy & Richard's house, but it doesn't give you the flavor of it at all. The downstairs houses the bedrooms and bathroom, as well as a music/sitting room. Upstairs is the most delightful, colorful yet relaxing and spiritually peaceful living space -- open kitchen, dining and living room.

If you looked out the windows you see above, you'd be gazing out from the top of the stairway. The boat belongs to Gary.

After lunch, we took two cars to go to Ananda Village. I rode with Kathy and Richard and had all the landmarks and important points shown to me, and I got to hear something of the story of Ananda Village. Kathy and Richard have been there for about 20 years. Kathy teaches in the school, and Richard works at Dawn Publishing, which is an Ananda business.

Here are photos from the Village.

Looking out from one of the windows of the chapel beneath which Kriyananda is buried. The vista was amazing, and the space was so quiet that my ears tried to create sound.

Gazebo on the grounds of Ananda Village.

The Village is truly that, a self-contained community with a store, school, and other businesses, as well as meeting spaces that can be reserved by outside groups, and a couple of shops with beautiful spiritual items for sale. (I bought some cool stuff!)

When we left Ananda, we headed back for another view of the Yuba, this time including a hike along a ledge overlooking a popular swimming area.

If you look closely, you may be able to see swimmers in and around the glorious, clear green water. After we hiked along the ridge, we descended to put our feet in and get Remy a drink. Then we met up with Mary and Ward and headed off to Nevada City for wonderful Thai food on the cool, inviting patio of Sopa Thai Cuisine. 

I'm pooped. I'm finishing up some laundry and heading to bed. Hope to bike tomorrow before things get rolling.

Lake Wildwood

Lake Wildwood is the name of the gated community in which I am currently staying with my Aunt Mary and Uncle Ward. Our main activities of the day involved getting into Penn Valley so I could get my oil changed, my bike lock cut off, and my car washed. We had some lunch at a great little deli right next to the car place, and then we traveled on to Grass Valley to just walk around the town and see what's what. This activity included the purchase of a few more trinkets for my kids, and ice cream. Then we stopped at the co-op, and I got a few staples for my upcoming trip to a place near Yosemite.

My cousin Kathy and her husband Richard came over for dinner. Aunt Mary had another event, so Uncle Ward and Richard prepared the salmon they had brought, I made a salad, and Kathy prepped the salmon and made the broccoli. We had a lovely meal and then sat around talking until after Aunt Mary came home.

It's lovely being with people I know and who know me, in the midst of traveling alone. Uncle Ward suggested this evening that I stake out the people to see all around the country and then just keep circling, year by year, repeating my visits. Hmmmm.

I promise to take some more photos tomorrow. We'll be seeing some more wild areas and visiting Ananda Village, where Kathy and Richard have lived for 20 years.

Northern California

I found a cute little cafe in Klamath Falls yesterday morning. Its website advertised breakfast and, to be fair, they did have quiche; but I ended up with an unsweetened chai and walnut/raisin gluten-free cookie. I'm trying to get myself to the place where being hungry is better than eating grains. At lunch, I stopped at a 4-star Yelp recommended Mexican place in Redding, knowing full well that it's almost impossible to eat Mexican food without corn. I had two delicious chicken tacos (no cheese!), and two enchiladas (cheese). Both were made with corn tortillas.

Since I've observed a rash around my eyes after eating corn prior to this, I wonder if my current eye problem might be grain-related. As of this morning, I'm going to try to be strict with myself, at least for a few days, and see if it clears up the eye problem. Of course, it's already somewhat better after not wearing my contacts for a day. Hmmm ...

I arrived at Mary & Ward's (my aunt and uncle) about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. They live in a beautiful, gated community. Google led me to a street that came up to a chain link fence, on the other side of which was obviously the community, but which I could not get through. I enlarged my map and found another entrance, then followed the instructions from there. The house is huge. I was given the option of sleeping in the guest bedroom on the main floor, with my own bath, or having an entire apartment to myself downstairs. I chose upstairs because I want to interact with them, not be all by myself in the downstairs.

We had a lovely meal together and lots of conversation. Mary and Ward are students of contemporary philosophies/theologies and very interesting to talk with and listen to. After all my time alone and visits with others, it has been affirming to talk with them and remind myself of the journey of openness and acceptance that I'm on. It helps to remember that I'm making my choices daily that will take me where I need to go to learn whatever it is I need to learn. I don't have to have a plan. I don't have a plan.

I would like to find a place for an oil change (for the car) and a massage (for me), but so far no luck. The oil change places in these small communities are booked up at least a week out. Haven't heard back from the masseuse yet.

I'm excited that I get to see my cousin and her husband this evening (Kathy & Richard). They've lived out here most of their life together, and I have seen them very rarely. Their grown son lives near LA, so I hope to be able to see him in another week or so when I head down that way.

The picture below is of a mountain peak rising out of the clouds as I drove between Klamath Falls and Penn Valley. I think it's Mount Shasta.

It rains in Portland. Surprise!

I started the day at The Chestnut Tree Motel, where the singularly unhelpful desk clerk had been unable to recommend a restaurant or an area for supper on Tuesday evening, so I didn't even bother about breakfast. Instead, an Internet search revealed several possibilities, and I chose this one. It was a very good choice.

Not only was the food excellent (Greek omelette with some of the best sun-dried tomatoes ever, and nice, soft feta cheese), but they had a locally sourced chai that was not too sweet. After I ate, I asked the young women at the counter for advice. "I'm only in Portland for a few hours, and I've never been here before. Where should I go to get the flavor of Portland?" They recommended 3 possibilities, figuring I could possibly fit them all in.

Construction blocked some of this entry to Portland's Chinatown.

The Chinatown gate, above, was glimpsed at a stop light on my way to the Pittock Mansion. If you've ever been to the Hearst Castle, this was the Portland version. I didn't go inside. It wasn't very big, if you compare it to Hearst. I could see a harp through the living room window. But I would have had to wait for the place to open and pay $10, so I just went to the viewpoints and looked at the gardens.

In case I haven't mentioned it before (and I think I have), the climate out here is amazing for flowers. From Kingston to Portland (so far), everything is in bloom, and the air smells so lovely!

I'm not sure what this is. It was in the gardens at Pittock Mansion. I was intrigued, so I took a picture.

A particularly healthy rose bush on the north side of the mansion.

Looking down the hedge, trying to give you the idea of how overwhelmingly rosy and gorgeous it was.

Gazing out over the city of Portland. It was raining -- imagine that, rain in Portland! It did that off and on all day. Mostly it rained when I didn't have my umbrella with me.

Remy doing his version of Vanna White displaying the rose bushes.

View to the north.

One of many beautiful fronts in the City Center area of Portland.

More flowers - these in front of a home near the City Center. 

This hydrangea and the one in the next photo were on opposite sides of the same front yard, about 6 or 7 feet away from each other. Neither is pink or blue. Both are purple, but the purples are quite different.

The menu from Salt & Straw ice cream makers in the City Center. I had the Fermented Cherries. I took the picture so you could see all the unusual selections, especially dill pickle, which was something my brother, Jim, had from House of Flavors when we were kids. 

A testament to creativity!

Driving out of Portland. More traffic. I don't think I like cities very much. Or maybe I just need to learn how to use the public transportation systems.

Speaking of public transportation, do you see that tower in the center of the photo. It supports a cable car system. I saw one passing over, but I didn't have a chance to photograph it.

Driving along past Upper Klamath Lake, and the fields of water on the other side. Sun broke through the clouds from the west and cast pieces of rainbow on the mountainsides. Impossible to photograph while driving, or maybe even while not driving.

The lake was so high -- or the road was so low -- that I had visions of driving along a dike in Netherlands. Once again, 3 transportation methods lined up next to each other: water, rails, and road.

More mountains and water.

Sun getting low over Upper Klamath Lake

I can't believe I missed the chance to see Glacier Lake. I guess it will just have to be on my bucket list for a while longer. I saw signs, but I thought I was heading in the right direction. Once I got to Klamath Falls, I realized that I would have to go back an hour and a half to see it, and my trip takes me on south this morning.

I'll be wearing my glasses today, instead of contacts. I have apparently developed a sty on the inside of my right eyelid.

While we're on the subject, I want to make a few observations about injury and pain. I've been hurt a lot, but I've never broken a bone. I've had sore muscles, contusions, abrasions, messed up places that took many chiropractic adjustments to fix, and Crohn's. I have a high pain threshold, so I tolerate most things pretty well and keep going while they heal. 

The muscle soreness I experienced after descending Mount Walker led me to a new realization: pain can be debilitating. I know. Duh! Maybe I'm just good at forgetting pain, the way a mother does after the childbirth experience has passed, enabling her to do it again. If it remained fresher in my memory, I would eat better and maybe (probably not) be more careful. 

But as I tried to negotiate stairs and ramps (and even flat walking on Monday), I flinched and twitched. I tried to will myself to walk normally, but the nerve reactions had their own opinion of how I should move. I tried to imagine what it would be like to have that kind of pain all the time. I know I would work with biofeedback and various things to control it, but it would be at best limiting, and at worst completely debilitating. My hat's off to you, those of you who have fibromyalgia and other diseases that keep you in constant pain. 

I'm happy to say that my own muscle pain is gradually subsiding. I am actually starting to walk normally again, even on stairs. If I can remember the code to the new bike lock with which I locked the bike onto the rack in Portland, I'll have a little ride later today to get those muscles loosened up.

I should have WiFi tonight, so I'll write again later. On to Penn Valley, CA, and the arms of more beloved and rarely seen relatives.

Portland

Today was another "not-quite-what-I-expected" day. I soaked in the hot tub again while Dianna had an online meeting this morning. (She's been working in Winnipeg, and I just lucked out that she was home in Portland to help her husband with some medical things. So, in Winnipeg, the meeting was at 8:30 a.m., but for Dianna, it was at 6:30 a.m.) I applied some Arnica to my sore muscles after the soak and a subsequent shower. By the time I was done with that, Dianna was done with her meeting, and we had some breakfast together.

She had lots of work to do, so I packed up and went on my way. I headed to I-5, which goes pretty much straight south to Portland. First, there was the rain -- spitty rain, drizzly rain, showering rain, and drenching downpour rain, with periods of no rain and even a ray of sun or two. This continued for most of the trip.

For those of you who know the area, after at least 45 minutes of stop and go traffic we encountered a semi lying on its side (plus strobes, tow truck, and road trucks with flashing arrows on them) just north of exit 82. It finally occurred to me that, since we were moving so slowly, this might be a good time to call the Healthcare Marketplace and take care of some business. The phone call was easily sandwiched into the stalled time, and I even had time to get bored after it was finished.

As I got closer to Portland I thought, "I'm really not seeing very much of the beautiful countryside. Perhaps I should get off the expressway." I exited to Main Street at Vancouver and kept going south. Remy and I took a break in downtown Vancouver and had a burger at Old Ivy. There were few people but the food was good, and the server was very personable. I only had 30 minutes on the meter, though, so we didn't hang out for long.

After lunch, we continued south, but when Google was sending us back onto I-5, the voice said, "There is an accident in .6 miles." I didn't want to just sit in traffic again, so I took a different road, stopped at a coffee place and read my book for a while.

I noticed that I was becoming more and more irritable with Remy and with just stuff that was happening. That was when I remembered that I had gone to bed without my CPAP last night. I was so tired and sore, and I was reading in bed. When I was about to turn off the light, I realized I hadn't brought my CPAP in from the car. I didn't want to wake Dianna and Bob, and I was ready to simply tumble into sleep, so I decided it would be okay for one night. It wasn't. I'm exhausted. And I felt like I had a sore throat when I woke up this morning, too, because of the snoring I undoubtedly did all night.

After coffee, Remy and I stopped at a Petco -- still looking for a replacement for the bike basket, which they didn't have -- and at Target to replace the bike lock I left hanging on the rack on the back of the car till it fell off, apparently. In the meantime, I had made a reservation at a local hotel, The Chestnut Tree, and we headed there, crossing back over the Columbia River to the north and driving alongside it, then recrossing the Columbia further east.

The hotel isn't in a really cool neighborhood. Those hotels were $200 and up per night. But they upgraded me to a suite with a kitchenette and lots of space (that we don't really need). Also, the kitchenette doesn't have any dishes or a microwave, so I can't really use it without buying a bunch of stuff.

When I left Tacoma this morning, I thought I'd arrive in Portland in the mid to late morning and spend some time walking around the town, but as the day progressed I realized that maybe my legs weren't yet ready for a big day of walking. I'm still recovering from Mount Walker, and while today was better than yesterday, I'm still pretty sore.

I guess that means that I'll see what I see tomorrow, and then I'll continue south toward Penn Valley. For tonight, I don't know if I'll go out again. I'm almost finished with the last Harry Dresden novel -- there's still a book of short stories I'll probably read -- and I'm bushed. I hate to spend an evening in a hotel room when there's an interesting city out there to check out. We'll see how it goes. Perhaps a hot bath and a little nap, and then maybe I'll have some energy for sightseeing.

Tacoma

I bid a fond farewell to Dick and Nancy this morning, hitting the road about 9:30 a.m., I think. I drove south along the west side of the Sound toward Tacoma. The scenery along the way is as green and glorious as everywhere else I've been in the area, and the Tacoma Narrows bridge is stunning.

When I arrived in the University Place area of Tacoma, I knew that my friend Dianna and her husband would not be home yet, so I Google searched a department store where I could finally purchase a racer-back bra, so I would be able to wear some of the summer tops I had brought with me, once I get to the warmer climes of northern, and especially southern, California. After that, I sought out a bike shop near Dianna and Bob's house, but it wasn't open.

By the time I had run those errands, they had arrived home, and I continue on to their abode.

The view from the corner of the driveway at Dianna & Bob's house.

The view across Gig Harbor, as observed from the hot tub.

Sunset as viewed from the front window.

It was a fun afternoon. First, Dianna made me some breakfast for lunch (my favorite!), and then she and I went out to pick up her tenor ukulele, which had come in at Guitar Center. At some point this afternoon, I had a tour of Bob's amazing backyard garden which includes some very interesting tree variations, a grape arbor, raspberries, bamboo, a banana plant, and a beautiful koi pond. 

Dianna and Bob treated me to flank steak, baked sweet potato, asparagus, and mozzarella salad for supper, followed by hot tubbing, and then fresh strawberries with real whipped cream. In between, there was lots of just talking about stuff. I fell very comfortable and welcome. 

Last day in Kingston (sigh)

You may be wondering why I'm posting so early this evening -- as I write, it's only 6:06 p.m. I suspect I will be going to bed, or at least getting horizontal, earlier than usual this evening.

The day started off quietly enough, with leisurely breakfast and hanging out looking into Airbnb possibilities for LA. In the late a.m., Nancy and I headed out to see the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. It's a work in progress but already has some very moving pieces. Stated in several places: Let this not ever happen again -- or words to that effect. We talked about how fearful people were after Pearl Harbor, and the fact that there were some Japanese Americans who were signaling Japanese aircraft, etc. Just as now there are some few Muslim Americans who may hold hostile views toward Americans and intend to do us harm. And yet, especially now with better information processing, we must learn not to condemn a large group of people because of the (potential) actions of a few.

After the Memorial, we went to the art museum in beautiful downtown Winslow (still on Bainbridge Island). The museum had a fundraiser last night, so only one of the galleries was open as they cleaned up. We saw a very interesting exhibit about art books -- book which use the art of the very structure of the book to enhance the content. Fascinating.

I loved this, because I was just responding to a post the other day about how mistakes sometimes help us create unexpected beauty.

A beautiful cloth book about food and the dangers our culture exposes us to through it.

After the museum, Nancy and I had a very nice meal at the cafe adjoining the museum. We had talked about a trip to Mount Walker, but she wanted to check with Dick about weather before we set out, so she called him. His verdict was, "Let's go," so we went back to the house and changed clothes. 

Mount Walker is about an hour from their home in Kingston, much of it back up the way I've been going to Port Townsend and Port Angeles. When we turned off from the familiar route, though, we passed through some very beautiful, wild areas. We drove to the top of Mount Walker, which has two observation points, one to the south and one to the north. Dick took my picture at the south overlook, and I'll post it when I get it from him, but I don't know if you'll be able to see much in the background. What we could see was everything -- all the waterways between Mt Walker and Seattle, and the towns: Poulsbo, Port Gamble, etc. We could even see the white line of buildings of SeaTac airport. And the color was mesmerizing. If it hadn't been for the family enjoying the view with much loud music and noisy chatter, I could have stayed there much longer just soaking it in. As it was, we moved on to the north view.

The north side gave us a view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca, pretty much the area where I went whale watching last week. The sky was kind of overcast, but the clouds were high enough not to impair our distance view much. After we had admired the view, Nancy drove the car down to a parking area at the trailhead; and Dick and I embarked on the downward hike, 2000 feet in 2 miles. 

I sure wish I was still in Kung Fu and Tai Chi shape. My quads were not screaming exactly, but giving up, by the time we got about 2/3 of the way down. We stopped briefly at a hairpin turn, and I realized my legs were trembling. As we continued, I became less and less confident that my quads would help me brake on the downward grade. Nancy hiked up a short way from the parking area, and after I took a tumble, she grabbed the back of my jacket on the descents to help me brake, and thus I made it back to the car. 

I have rolled on the roam roller and taken some homeopathic aids, as well as doctored up a scrape on my elbow. I'm really not too worried about it. It's been a while since I worked hard enough to result in sore muscles. If that's what happens tomorrow or the next day, it's not a big deal. This, too, shall pass. And Dianna, whom I'm visiting tomorrow, said something about a hot tub! That sounds like just the ticket. 

So now you know why I'll be heading to bed early tonight, after another of Nancy's wonderful meals!