My mother from Canada made the return trip to Bakersfield from Washington, with us. She did this last year as well, it saves her the anxiety of flying the “friendly skies” (well, she finds flying these days rather stress provoking and I can’t say as I blame her, with all the new security measures in place, especially intimidating for our senior citizensi) and riding back with us allows her to enjoy the scenic views of three States in leisurely, relaxed comfort.

One of our first excursions was a day at CALM, or California Living Museum in Bakersfield. I wrote about CALM in an earlier post, as Corey had spent a day working there with the outcrew. The day was sunny and warm, and we were surprised, on a Monday, just how busy the zoo was. There were 3 school bus loads of children running around helter skelter and clearly having great fun! A zoo staffer I talked to said they are always busy with bus loads of school kids, with many schools in the nearby area.




I think the “critter” my mom enjoyed the most was a crazy-eyed roadrunner…he had a small mouse in his beak and was strutting back and forth in front of the barrier to the large turtle habitat he was enclosed in, he had what looked like a Mohawk hairstyle, the top tufts sticking straight up, and had such a direct stare…he’d jump up and down in front of us with his “prize”, proud as punch, as if to say “look at this! Look at what I have! Come, join me for lunch!“ It was hilarious…he followed us everywhere he could as we wandered around the entire enclosure. Double click on this picture to get a real "feel" for the little fella.

Other days we would visit Barnes and Nobles for morning Chai teas and scones in the Starbucks café area, to sit and relax as we broused books and magazines at our leisure (how she loved to do this!); in the course of the time she spent here we took in 3 matinee movies and I think the one she enjoyed the most (surprising herself even!) was the new Pirates of The Caribbean; we shopped in four of my all-time favorite thrift and consignment shops where she found enough bargains to fill her suitcase to overcapacity (!); we wandered the plant nurseries at Lowes Stores; lunched at assorted salad and sandwich shops (her favorite being Sequoia for its wonderful Cobb salad); and yet found hours and hours to just relax around the pool and enjoy the trees, flowers, butterflys and birds in my own backyard. As she prepared to fly out Wednesday morning she expressed her pleasure at the wonderful visit she’d had, that the past two weeks had passed in a blink! As I write this she is no doubt over at Bunny’s or Mary’s first thing this morning (next door neighbors) regaling them with stories of her adventures.

Spring at the cabin

It was time once again for our twice yearly return to our cabin in the woods back in Washington State. We were both surprised at how quickly the last six months have passed, since our last trip back. We set out on a Friday afternoon, my husband had put in extra long days through the week to allow for his taking off work early this day. We overnighted in Roseburg, Oregon, a lovely, small town in southern central Oregon and by late afternoon the next day had arrived at our sons home in northeastern Oregon. What made the weekend we spent with them extra special this year was that it was Mothers Day weekend. Amy and I were both treated to wonderful cards and gifts, a day of bowling (something I haven’t done in years but was SO much fun), shopping and sightseeing. It was bittersweet taking our leave early Monday as they all left for school and work…the “sweet“ part being within a few hours we’d be back at our beloved cabin.

We somehow managed to pick a "perfect" (weatherwise) week...skies were clear and blue, and temps in the mid 60's, one or two days low 70's (F). We enjoyed one day of light rain, an excuse to stay inside and enjoy the warmth and coziness of our retreat. The week passed in a blink of an eye, we relished the peace, the quiet, the gorgeous scenery. Sadly we were unable to see local friends this trip, with the "to do" list we took back with us, our days were filled, and evenings all too soon found us tucked into bed, dreaming of mountain wildflowers and streams. Well, MINE were.





We were excited and thrilled to see our “flock” of bald eagles is growing in leaps and bounds. We counted at least a dozen Golden Eagles and at least 4 bald eagles this trip. Seems just a few years back there were just two, a pair of Bald Eagles, "and then, there were more"... We spent countless hours observing them as they would fish the lake, play and chat amongst themselves, sit in the tall evergreens watching over their domain…at times I’d look up, WAY UP, to see them being slowly carried aloft on air currents seemingly miles above.

"Climb up on some hill at sunrise. Everybody needs perspective once in a while, and you'll find it there." ~Robb Sagendorph