Our Southern California Vacation (2004)

Synha aka The Boy Synha is a purebred Blue-Point Birman who happens to biologically be Luv's nephew (who, sadly, had to stay at "Pete and Mac's Resort for Pets" back home with Jazmyn; don't be too sad for her, the place is like a spa!). Luv's half brother, Legacy, is Synha's dad. Mark and I had him for a few years before giving him to Howard and Sue. He wasn't playing well with the rest of our girls, but he has mellowed into a fine gentleman these days. Insistent, to be sure, but a gentleman nonetheless. Those are my arms in some of the pictures. He was "helping" me with my evening stretch routine and licking the ice packs for my knees.

Howard and Sue's House The house and wonderful views are of and near Howard and Sue's beautiful home in Inyokern. I think they have about 10 acres and a nice, big house with astonishing views in all directions. Mountains, mountains, mountains all around. Those weird ceiling shots were of the cool design above the chandelier. They didn't show up terribly well in pictures. By the way, the thing Howard is so joyfully displaying is a big, thick piece of metal he and his trusty gun(s) obliterated. Very impressive.

Thursday, January 15, 2004 Mark and I drove to Laguna Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano on our first day in California after we flew into John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA, early in the morning before driving up to Howard and Sue's house in Inyokern. (Howard and Sue weren't able to play with us that day--something about having jobs at China Lake as civilian chemists--a likely excuse!). That last shot is of a street sign for a College Boulevard in Southern California. We live very close to a Kansas College Boulevard, so we were amused. The third to the last picture is for us avid fans of the "Monk" TV series. Adrian Monk loves his Sierra Springs.

Friday, January 16, 2004 Friday we started slowly by looking around Ridgecrest/China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center. The military equipment (the first of which is a harpoon penetration test!) was in the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center Museum. That was the ONLY part of China Lake we were allowed to take pictures of (China Lake is named for a dry lake bed located on CLNAWC premises). China Lake is most famous for inventing the first heat-seeking missile, the Sidewinder.

Saturday, January 17, 2004 Trona Pinnacles and Death Valley (Day One). We went to Trona to see the Trona Pinnacles (and smell its infamous smells--think lots of sulfur), which have apparently been used in many movies and tv shows. In Death Valley that Saturday, we saw: Charcoal Kilns (huge dome-like structures that were used to make charcoal in the 1870s), Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station (where we got our Death Valley National Park passes), Devil's Cornfield (land with little sprigs of scrub brush coming up every so often), Furnace Creek sign, Devil's Golf Course (jagged salty formations that signs warned could cause serious cuts and broken bones--of course, Mark had to go a long ways out!), Artist's Palette (wonderful, colorful mountains that seem to change colors every other minute).

Sunday, January 18, 2004 Death Valley (Day Two). On our way to Death Valley the second day, we made sure Howard and Sue wouldn't miss us too much by taking an inordinate number of pictures of scenery along the way (the black lava rock, a single Joshua Tree, snowy mountains). We also, of course, had to stop for FRESH JERKY and dried fruit in Olancha (there were dozens of signs with that creepy, round-faced kid advertising FRESH JERKY for miles and miles before we actually got to Olancha--the suspense was killing us) and the view from the McDonald's in Lone Pine (which is in Owens Valley). That day in Death Valley, we saw: Father Crowley's Point (where the Death Valley pictures begin after the McD's sign--we took a few pictures of Mark and me and Howie and Sue with the beautiful scenery), Ubehebe Crater (Impressively Large crater in the ground--those little dots at the bottom are those hardy souls who opted to hike down to the bottom... and back up again!), Scotty's Castle (not wheelchair-accessible, so we only saw the outside of the buildings), and the Salt Water Flats of Bad Water Basin (some nasty-looking water--wonder why it got its name--and salt water pentagons).

Monday, January 19, 2004 Maturango Museum and Petroglyphs. Monday, we visited the Maturango Museum and nearby Rock Art in and near Ridgecrest, CA. Ridgecrest is the closest small city/big town to China Lake. Ridgecrest and China Lake's Petroglyphs are world-reknowned. Especially the ones actually on the China Lake base, but those are only available for a couple of tours per year, which are hard to get passes to see. China Lake is a naval base, after all! We were able to take a bumpy trail in our 4X4 rental SUV to see some nice examples of petroglyphs. It was really cool. That's a bit of an understatement. Thankfully, our trusty guides, Howard and Sue, knew where to look.

Tuesday, January 20, 2004 Travelling solo back to the airport on our last day, we took a slight detour to see a large stand of Joshua Trees near Lake Isabella and the Kern River (which looks more like a creek, I must say, but the valley and mountains surrounding it were gorgeous) on our way to Bakersfield. That drive was really lovely. Then, we drove south to Orange County. We took some pictures of the barbed wire (we assume to deter graffiti artists) underneath highway signs and a sign for the Slauson Cutoff for those Johnny Carson fans out there. The last shot is a hardly won one for Mark. The John Wayne Airport has its statue of John Wayne OUTSIDE of the airport and all of its various, nefarious security. Spend a few seconds appreciating his courage and his struggle to get to it! Getting TO it wasn't really the problem, but getting back to his loving wife and his boarding pass was a bit trickier.