Santa Cruz County Fair, Watsonville, Ca

Saturday: (09/18) We started with a visit to another old lumber store that is closing. They evidently have been at it a while and everything is now 75% off. We managed to find a few things that they still had that we needed.

We all headed down to Watsonville after lunch to the Santa Cruz County Fair. It's still a nice fair, not like our own. We looked around at the crafts, talked with some of the crafty people, peeked at the animals and all the usual fair things.


This 1906 steam powered car is in the antique farm equipment museum at the Santa Cruz Fair. We really liked the vegetable art.


We watched the Sea Lion Encounter show presented by the Moss Landing Marine Laboratory, part of the University of California.


And of course, we watched the Alaskan Pig Races.


The Rocket's K-9 Comets Frisbee Dogs. They were amazing.


We chose this day to attend the fair because the comedian Gallagher provided the main show of the evening. We saw his show a number of years ago at the Flint Center in Cupertino and it's at least as good now. He spent lots of time talking  to the attendees, signing autographs, and posing for pictures before the show. He seems to really like his audience. The show lasted an hour and a half and he proved he definitely is a clear thinker and spent the show trying to educate us.

PBJ English muffin for breakfast. Tidbits from the Hong Kong Bakery in Downtown Mountain View for lunch. I had a couple of pork stickers, Dawn had a moon cake, Lou had a pork bun. Dinner was corn on the cob and garlic fries at the fair.

Planting The Garden

Friday: (09/17) Lou warmed up the leftover steak and baked potatoes and fried some eggs for breakfast. Ernie and I started by erecting a fence around the new garden spot and it's nice new soil. Lou was busy most of the day replanting the berries and tomato plants. I did some final root and tree removal and more digging. Hopefully I soon actually be setting up forms, but not tomorrow. It's another day of play. We'll be off to Watsonville to the Santa Cruz County Fair.

Lunch was cottage cheese and fruit for me and french break with fondue for Lou and Dawn. For dinner Lou and I went to LUU Noodle House and shared our usual combination chow fun with a couple of eggrolls and an avocado smoothie. Dawn and Courtney were out shopping and had dinner at Cecelia's Mexican Restaurant down the street.

Another Day In Paradise

Thursday: (09/16) Or at least a nice day. Lou dropped me off at the Caltrain station and I caught the 7:30 train. It only takes an hour to get up to San Francisco. I then caught a Muni light rail train down throught the Bayview area to Sunny Dale near the Cow Palace, an old fairgrounds on the South End of San Francisco. I got a couple of donuts there at the Happy Donut for breakfast. I then explored the area including John McClarren Park and finally came to the Lower Mission business district. I got a burrito for lunch there at the Taqueria Renia's at Mission and Mt Vernon Sts.


I then walked up Mission Street to downtown, then out to the bay on market Street, then along the Embarcardero to Filbert Street. There is a nice stairway up the hill where Filbert Street would be if it could go up such a steep hill. There are wonderful gardens all the way up to Coit Tower at the top of Telegraph Hill.


More flowers in the gardens on Filbert Street.


I enjoyed watching the green parrot flock that lives there. They like the gardens too. The parrots were roosting on a wire above the Filbert Street gardens.

I went up to Coit Tower to try to get a view out over the bay but ended up in the clouds so no views. I came down the hill into North Beach and through China Town. I got a couple of egg tarts on my way. I then returned to Market Street and caught an antique street car that runs along Market Street. They have been reconditioned and are actually better then the new ones. IN the Castro district where it turns around i waited for a different trolley then rode it out toward the other end getting off at Pier 39. I then walked up Stockton Street returning to North Beach at Washington Square and got a piece of the wonderful pizza and a beer at the Golden Boy Pizza shop. I then called it quits and caught the #30 bus back to the train station. I caught the 7:30 train back to Palo Alto. Nice walk-about. I think I've now covered a good portion of the City of San Francisco.

Lou was busy taking the toad in to the shop for repairs and getting it back. The radiator had a leak and was replaced. The heater fan was looked at and it requires replacement but would cost $1000 to replace. Seems high for a fan motor but it is an old car. Needless to say we'll get by without it for a while and someday i may do it myself. It may be a good time for a newer car? Lou and Dawn went out to Marie Calendar's for dinner. Some kind of deal on new ypork steaks. They brought half of it home.

Back At The Fence

Friday: (09/10) I spent the day finishing the sprinkler relocation. Final connections final back filling, wiring, and re-programming the timer. I also cleaned up some debris and loaded the car for a trip to the dump. Doesn't seem like much but it filled the day.

I went to pickup the car from the mechanic. He said that fixed a couple of things and it now starts. We get to drive it over the weekend and see if it is fixed. Confidence?

I warmed up a bunch of leftovers for breakfast. Pepper steam omelet, home fries with sausage, BBQ ribs, and a little pepper steam sandwich. Dawn made some sweet and sour mushroom and chicken soup for lunch. Lou made beef Welington with baked potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner.

Saturday: (09/11) After our morning tea and breakfast under the arbor, I took the the load of dirt in the car to the dump. I returned and loaded the car with concrete and made another run to the dump. With the easy part done, I prepared another load of dirt for the dump. This took a little while to complete because I seperated the good from the bad so I can back fill around my new fence base later. It all was screened to leave just the good dirt. Then I took that load to the dump as well. I topped off that load with some other junk for the dump. I then loaded the car with another load of dirt, this time from the new garden spot to be. It's almost dug out, just a couple of more loads should do it, possibly tomorrow.

Cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast. After I had completed loading the second load, we enjoyed some dutch babies for my second and Lou and Dawn's first breakfast. Lunch was left overs, couscous with Swedish meatballs, tuna blintzes and avocados. Lou fixed beef burgundy over noodles for dinner.

Sunday: (09/12) I started with a trip to the dump. That was followed by periods of reloading the buickets and three more trips. The garden spot is almost excavated just a couple of inches to chip off on the last half. Lou was busy weeding the flower beads.

Maple sugar oatmeal with yogurt for breakfast. For lunch. Lou fixed steak and eggs with fried potatoes with peppers and onions. For dinner we went out to Chili's Restaurant. Lou and I had ribs, Dawn had Cajun chicken pasta, and Courtney had a hamburger.

Monday: (09/13) Another day at the salt mine, I mean garden digout. I dug out  three loads of dirt and hauled two to the dump. Another waits for tomorrow. It is now to final depth and ready for the garden soil to fill it up. Lou was busy cleaning up and organizing her sun room.

Leftover breakfast potatoes and sausage for breakfast. Ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch. Chicken, cabbage, sweet and sour soup with garlic toast for dinner.

Tuesday: (09/14) After another delivery of dirt to the dump Ernie and I trimmed a few limbs off the bay tree that will be removed. We had some room left in the compost barrel. Lou and I went up to Redwood City to order our new garden soil. It will be delivered tomorrow. On our way home we stopped and test drove a Jeep Grand Cherokee. We've decided to get a used jeep before we leave this fall. This one has low mileage and is in excellent shape. Could it be the one? Stay tuned.

We almost had waffles and sausage for breakfast. Only one waffle made it out before the waffle iron died, so the rest was pancakes. A California omelet at the Talk Of Broadway in in Readwood City for lunch. Hamburgers dinner.



Wednesday: (09/15) I watched an episode of Perry Mason on TV waiting for a call from the garden center about when they would be delivering our garden soil. They didn't call so i called them about 09:10. The dispatcher said the delivery window was between 9-11. thanks for the notice. I moved the RV out of the driveway. About 10:00, the driver called and said he was on the way. When the truck turned the corner onto our street i knew we had a problem. It was a semi, a very big truck and trailer. Our new garden spot is in our side yard just behind where the RV is parked. Getting back was no problem, dumping would be due to the two trees on the lot line. Fortunately the driver accepted the challenge and dumped the 1o cubic yards in the hole we had dug, or at least about a third of it in the hole, the rest adjacent to it. he only broke two small limbs off the trees. A 40 foot dump trailer raises up about 40 feet to dump. The going up didn't break them, it was the pulling forward to dump that did. Then he was off and Ernie and I shoveled about 8 yards of the soil into the hole. It took a couple of hours, faster than I thought it would. It just fit, not my normal success at estimating. Now Lou and Dawn can get busy planting the winter garden.

After lunch I attacked the bay tree. I removed the last of the limbs and cut the main trunk in a couple of big pieces. My little battery powered chain saw used about four battery charges to do the job. Unfortunately, the bottom of the tree was bigger than my chain saw so ther was some chopping required. Then I removed the stump by splitting it to pieces with a wedge. It all went rather well.

I'm taking the day off tomorrow with another trip to San Francisco.

Pizza from Pizz'a Chicago for lunch. Ernie fixed meatloaf, oven potatoes and fresh asparagus for dinner.

Another San Francisco Walk-About And a BIG Fire

Thursday: (09/09) Lou dropped me off at the Caltrain depot on California Avenue where I caught the 08:11 train toward San Francisco for a walk-about. Since there is no real plan on my walk-abouts, I actually got off in San Bruno looked around on "The Avenue" which is old San Bruno then walked South to Millbrea stopping for pancakes at Camino Corner Cafe in San Bruno.

then back North through the Tanforan Shopping Mall then on up to South San Francisco, the next train station North of San Bruno possibly a seven mile walk. On the way I stopped for some pancakes for breakfast in San Bruno at Camino Cafe. That walk was just an appetizer. I then caught the train on to San Francisco arriving after noon.


I caught a bus on to the North Beach area in the City looking around on Columbus Avenue. Most of the restaurants in the area are too high priced for my comfort but I did find an excellent place for some outstanding Chicago style pizza on Green Street just off Columbus. Above left the Golden Boy Pizza is about the size of a wide bus, corrugated tin roof with counter and wall table seating. Really quite nice. The pizza was great.  Of course cable cars pass by in the street.

I continued on my tour by catching the bus on to the Marina area and walked on to the Presidio along Chestnut Street, a street with lots of shops that parallels Highway 101 or Lombard Street through San Francisco.


I looked around on the Presidio near the Old Letterman Army Hospital which is now a digital arts center where Lucas Films has offices. They did a good job of making the new buildings look like the old army buildings. As I left I hiked up the hill to Pacific Heights and walked back toward downtown along Pacific Avenue. Some nice views from there. I then walked up Polk Street a few blocks then back toward the Presidio on Union Street, a ritzy shopping area known as Cow Hollow.  Above the Palace Of Fine Arts seen from The Presidio.


I then returned to Van Ness Avenue and walked on up to the waters edge at Aquatic Park by Fort Mason. Aquatic Park was clear but Coit Tower was hidden by fog.

I walked from there toward Fisherman's Wharf via Ghiardelli Square, The Cannery and Fisherman's Wharf.


I had to stop at the Mechanical Museum. They have all sorts of interesting mechanical entertainment devices. I like the player pianos and music boxes. I exercised several machines with my quarters. Actually they do a lot more than sound like pianos. More like the whole band with drums and bells.


More pianos. I had to listen to them all.

I then thought it was time for dinner so I returned the few blocks back to Golden Boy Pizza for more. As I was enjoying my dinner at 6:30pm a news flash interrupted the football game on Golden Boy Pizza's TV. A high pressure gas line had burst and was burning up the town in San Bruno. 38 homes destroyed, 7 damaged. My morning walk was near this area. It's a good thing I was there in the morning. Timing is everything! Fortunately it was far away from the rail line so the trains were running normally. Interstate 280 was closed for a while. As I passed San Bruno at 9:00pm on the train I couldn't see the flames but evidently it was a lot more tame than when the gas was still on. News reports said it was a 30 inch high pressure gas line. A number of years ago we worked near the same gas line as it passed through the Stanford University Campus, though the lines there were an 18 inch and a 12 inch line side by side, as i remember. We had to install a new traffic signal standard and had to hand dig the hole for the foundation because we were within a foot or two of the lines. No explosion then. It will be interesting to find out if the line just failed or was persuaded to burst by someone digging.

On another occasion, an 18 inch high pressure water line burst under one of our roads. That caused water to shoot over 100 feet in the air and bury nearby cars under three feet of water. It also made a crater 20 feet deep and eliminated a four lane road. However there were no flames and most people swim more easily than they burn. It was really rather amusing that that water line was in front of the water district offices and it was their cars that were damaged. There is nothing amusing about loosing your house or life though.

Hot August Nights, Not!

Friday: (08/27) Lou fixed breakfast burritos for breakfast. Then it was time to strip the forms from the fence, do some back filling and start re-erecting the fence. Lou made a mixed fruit cobbler which we had for lunch. Dinner was some of Dawn's sausage vegetable soup with olive bread, roasted peppers and a sliced cucumber from Dawn's garden.

Our weather has changed pleasantly to almost cold.

Saturday: (08/28) More breakfast burritos this morning. I finished putting up the fence boards though I had to just tack them up since I need more screws to complete it. i also started to back fill our side of the fence. This activity was interrupted by the need to clean up and go downtown to an art festival. It's a nice one because all the art is actually made by the vendors not China resales. Some quite creative stuff. There was also some chalk art again. The weather was very much like fall, windy, cool to cold and the leaves that had been on the trees were dried and blowing everywhere. This seems a little early. We had popcorn for lunch. All this strenuous activity caused me to need an afternoon nap. I could have worked all day with no problem but relaxing is tiring. Lou fixed baked potatoes with Swedish meat balls in gravy and a fig, fennel, Greek olives and cheese salad.


Street art under construction.

Sunday: (08/29) We went downtown to breakfast. Yesterday on our visit to the Art Festival I spotted a new restaurant, the Crepevine. Yes, it's the same place I've been enjoying on my visits to San Francisco. We didn't know it had opened here as well. Same great food. Lou and I shared an El Paso (corned beef hash and eggs) while Dawn had the Florentine savory crepe.


We looked around at a few things again especially at the Italian Street Art chalk drawings now finished and soon to be washed off.  Seems sort of futile.


Such Detail.

I worked doing some more back filling on the fence and digging out the bad dirt in the garden filling up all my 5 gallon buckets getting ready for a trip to the dump. Lou made some couscous with peas and shrimp for dinner.

Monday: (08/30) Oatmeal for breakfast. Lou was off to a doctor's appointment. I started the day with a trip to the dump with a load of dirt from the garden spot. Just a couple of more and then we can refill it with good soil. After that I started to clean out and rearrange the green house to move the plant shelves away form the fence so i can rebuild the fence. On the way home Lou check a bunch of thrift stores and picked up some groceries including a chicken which we had for lunch with some cottage cheese and peaches. Then the real fun began. Lou Ernie and I cleaned out the garden shed and moved it away from the fence. It will be replaced after the fence is rebuilt. We succeeded it getting the shed moved but tomorrow we have to go through all the stuff we removed from it putting some back away in the new location and getting rid of most of the stuff (junk). For dinner we went out to LUU Noddle House for some Combination Chow Fun plate and some egg rolls, our usual.

Tuesday: (08/31) Bye bye August. We started with some Don McMuffin's for breakfast. i started by reinstalling the floor and shelves in the garden shed. We had some big piles out in the yard to go through and try to stuff in the relocated garden shed. We worked all day and made some progress but there is still some stuff to go through. This was quite  like a delayed spring cleaning since it's almost fall. Of course, it's needed some cleaning for many, many years. We took a break for lunch and drove up to Redwood City to the Chavez market for a torta and nachos. There is a Goodwill drop there s well which we tried to utilize but, our luck, the door to the trailer couldn't be opened so we had to get rid of our load up the raod at St Vincente De Paul. We called it quitsa little after 5pm and I fixed some chili sizes. for dinner.


All the stuff from the garden shed filled the yard until the shed was moved and refilled.


The garden shed at it's new home. It used to stand next to the green house (above right).

Wednesday: (09/01) PBJ toast for breakfast. We finished putting things away and now have our lawn back and the garden shed at it's new home. I needed to visit the hardware store so we went over to lunch at the mi Pueblo market in East Palo Alto. I had a torta Cubana and Lou had some BBQ ribs. We then stopped by Home Depot for a new maul and some PVC pipe fittings. I broke the handle on our mattock this morning and I also need to move some sprinkler pipes. It was another HOT day so when we returned we didn't go back to work outside. Lou fixed some tuna stuffed tomatoes for dinner. After dinner i went out and did a little work but it wasn't very cool yet. I installed the temporary fence to keep the dogs in the yard when I remove the old fence that';s being rebuilt. I also braced up the green house roof. Part of the fence being rebuilt is one wall of the green house. Fortunately it got dark so i quit for the day.

Thursday: (09/02) maple sugar oatmeal, banana and yogurt for breakfast. I exposed some water and electric conduits that need to be relocated. Then I started removing the fence. Then removed some trees (weeds) that were on the neighbors side and in the fence line. The bay tree there has a thicket of little trees all along the fence. I removed all thta would be in the way and shredded them to put in the compost barrel. I'll remove the entire parent bay tree later. It's 3/4 dead and the only half living limbs hang over our yard. I was going to remove them but then there would just be a 20' tall stump remaining so the neighbor agreed to remove it all. Lots of small ones ready to take over the job. My new mattock that I bought yesterday didn't last long, five stocks and the blade was bent at a 90 degree angle. In the evening I returned the mattock to Home Depot and picked up some other things there, not another mattock though. I did stop by OSH and get a stronger looking one there. That's where the old one came from and it lasted 10 years.


A cheap mattock bent in half on the first blow.

Friday: (09/03) The day started with tea under the arbor in the back yard. I was heading to the San Jose house to meet the termite inspector. We have a maintnace contract with the exterminator and every so often they redo a full inspection in addition to their normal quarterly outside checks. I collected some things that I'd need for other tasks at the house. One task was to make a small pallet to keep extra salt pellet bags off the floor. Once all loaded, I was off. I stopped and picked up a chorizo breakfast burrito at La Victoria. I completed all my tasks before the inspector arrived. His fuil inspection took about three hours, more time than I anticipated. I then headed up to Newark toward Harbor Freight Tools store. On the way I stopped at a Walmart to get more screws for the fence. They have the cheapest screws but our local store was out and there doesn't seem to be such a thing as restocking the shelves at that kind of store. I also picked up a snack wrap and sundae for lunch. Then I spent a long time at the Harbor Freigh Tools store looking for a spade blade for my jackhammer. I knew they'd have one but the first couple of employees I asked had no idea and then I saw what looked like the manager and he had no problem directing me to them. Of course I found quite a few other things I needed as well. On the way to the store I noticed a Tapioca Express shop so i stopped and got an avocado ice bubble with perls (sort of an avocado milk shake or smoothie with tapioca balls). That completed lunch quite nicely. I then hurried home to beat the traffic. Lou Dawn and I then took a long walk. Lou had fixed pepper steak for dinner. Our neighbor Meile came over to join us for dinner. Since I hadn't done much work i worked outsite until dark rebuilding the doors on the old garden shed so it will last a while longer.


The garden shed is gone, the temporary fence in installed and there is a tree to remove.



Some things have to be relocated to make way for the rebuilding of the fence.


All the tomatoes are ready to be planted in the garden spot. The yard looks pretty nice even with all the turmoil.


The new water softener and water heater in San Jose.

Saturday: (09/04) Dawn and Lou were out at the mountain art festival in Woodside today. I went out shopping for some sprinkler system parts. Of course, being so choosy, I got some parts here and others there. Some stops were necessitated by the pitifully stocked Home Depot and Lowe's stores. Some had nothing that i needed and others i bought out for my little project. I also had lots of fun with the car. It isn't  starting correctly. At mot stops, I started with just some extra cranking but when i stopped for lunch, it would start, at all. I enjoyed my lunch and fortunately PBS had some good shows on so my 35 minute delay wasn't too bad. Fortunately i tried a few times after the very last time and eventually it started. With it started, and since I had another stop to make further down in San Jose at another store trying to complete my material collection, i decided to head on down. If it didn't start, it wouldn't cost more to have the materials towed home in the car if needed.  Fortunately, it started nicely and I made it home with my catch of the day.

I did only a little work relocating the water line from the green house.

Lou said the toad was acting up again. the temperature gauge said the engine was hot. Since they were in the hills, mountains to those on the East coast, It could be true but usually is a bad connection in the wiring. So now we are down to no reliable cars. Our older car is having a problem starting which appears to be the ignition switch.

Lou tuned the leftover pepper steak into a breakfast omelet. I stopped at the House Of Eggrolls for lunch. Their egg rolls are the best and I added some shrimp. Lou made hamburgers for dinner.

Sunday: (09/05) I took Lou and Dawn to the train station. They were off on to Belmont to a Greek Festival. They say it was great. Evidently the church is a work of art with all the interior walls finished glass mosaics. And they say the food was great especially if you like lamb.

I relocated the electrical from the green house. Then I was able to remove the rest of the fence that is being rebuilt. Then I blasted out one of the fence post bases.

For breakfast Dawn made cinnamon toast and we had some Italian sausage with it. I had a  milk shake for lunch. For dinner Lou completed some chili beans with toast. I baked up a bunch of Italian sausage. Lou and Dawn sample some greak ethnic Greek food at the Greek Festival.

Monday: (09/06) Busy in the yard again. I installed the seven sprinkler valves that had been attached to the fence. They are now in pullboxes. Of course there were a couple of parts that weren't available and today is a holiday so no visit to the hardware store is planned for today due to probable crowds. A task for first thing in the morning to go to the store and finish the sprinklers. Another reason is that the area I'm digging out and breaking concrete gets shade after noon. The area where the sprinkler valves are has shade all day thanks to Lou's suggestion of using the unbrella so it can be done any time.

Lou made sausage gravy over toast for breakfast. For lunch Lou bade a Greek salad (red peppers, onions, and olives). Dinner was couscous with Mexican tomatoes and Swedish meatballs, and international dish.

Tuesday: (09/07) Lou was off to a therapy appointment with Dawn. On the way home they picked up Dawn's friend from Spokane, Andrea with her seeing eye dog O'shea. They also did grocery shopping on the way home. I made a trip to OSH Hardware for pickup some conduit and fittings. When I got home I took our neighbor to an appointment at Stanford. O'shea enjoyed his visit in the back yard off lease playing with Walter and Wolfie.

I trimmed some tree roots and blasted out the rest of the concrete fence base and post bases.


The new sprinkler valves in front of the green house

Cheerios with yogurt for breakfast. Chili beans for lunch. Reese's pieces pudding for an afternoon snack. Tuna blintzes for dinner.

Wednesday: (09/08) I bit the bullit and dug my 30 feet of trench for the relocated sprinkler pipes, installed the pipes and backfilled the trench. Fortunately it was cool with dark clouds and threatening rain all day with a few teasing sprinkles. Of course there was a trip off to the hardware store for a few things, a result of my excellent ever changing plan? Since i didn't have lunch i stopped to pick up a milkshake on the way home.

I fixed potatoes with peppers, mushrooms and sausage for breakfast. Lou fixed BBQ ribs with baked potatoes and steamed carrots.

Sutro Open Space Preserve

Thursday: (08/26) My "walk-about" started as usual with lou dropping me off at the train. A problem with a switch on the track in San Jose was delaying all the trains. My train arrived about 10 minutes late and we arrived 15 minutes late in San Francisco so there wasn't too much of a problem. I made my way to my favorite restaurant near Golden Gate Park, the Crepevine again. After my corned beef hash breakfast I explored the neighborhood South of the park.


I visited San Francisco State University and discovered the Mount Sutro Open Space Preserve which is the top of the mountain above the university campus and also where Sutro Tower, the big TV transmitter tower for San Francisco is located. Interesting to have so much open space in the big city. I went up the North Ridge Trail, wandered around on several other trails and came down the West Ridge Trail. Up on top my head was really in the clouds.

The main reason for the cooling off today was the return of the marine fog which hovered over the city. As I walked up I walked into the clouds which obviously worked because some points on the trail were very muddy due to recent rain. Maybe I should have gotten a hint of  what was coming when I visited the campus and came upon a wonderful piece of art in one of the courtyards. It was a glass brick looking wall that projected moving clouds that was really interesting.

About halfway down the hill I came upon a street with homes perched on the edge of the very steep hill. From that street I took a short cut. There was a steep stairway of what seemed like several thousand steps that eventually came down to the neighborhood below and returned me close to where I started. There were some beautiful homes up on the hill but today's view wasn't too good.


Flowers at a community garden below Mt Sutro.


More community garden flowers.

I enjoyed a donut and tea and watched some linemen for Muni re-rigging the hot power lines for the trolleys.

After having another slice of Goldies piazza downtown I caught the train home. Another day consumed having fun. I've been enjoying these San Francisco "hikes". I can get away into nature but return to civilization quickly if I get worn out, unlike a hike into the wilderness.