My Leap of Faith, Literally

Although my departure from Placerville will be heart wrenching, I must continue on my journey.

I seem to recall having an adventurous spirit somewhere inside me. It appears to have been put in hibernation mode since maybe, 2004. Funny thing is, I didn't realize it had been sleeping until I heard,... "The Call of the Wild". Adventure, here I come! This is my response....

Monday morning I will be driving down Highway 49, into Gold Country. I will be entering Calavaras County (home to the Jumping Frog Contest) and spending the day at the Moaning Caverns. This visit will include a cave tour and an afternoon of Zip Lining. Yes, I will be Zip Lining at the Moaning Caverns. The video above is a sneak peak of my next adventure. I call it, "My Leap of Faith".

Monday's Destination: Angels Camp, Ca

Childhood Best Friends

How many of you are still in contact with your childhood best friend? If you are, then you will understand the importance of having an almost life long friend. If you're not, technology today will allow you to find them easily. I have one suggestion, find that person. It's important to have someone who can bring you back to the days when your life was a little less complex and worrisome, and a time when silliness and laughter were so much more present. It is this person who has the power to look at you in the eyes as you are raising your children and say to you, "Remember when you did this?"

A childhood best friend is the one you walk to school with in matching uniforms, have overnighters with, brush and braid each others hair, ride double on bikes with (she always got the handlebars), eat an entire 12 inch submarine sandwiches at one meal and never worry about fat or calories, share new dance moves with, lay around all day watching soaps or do absolutely nothing and have the greatest time doing nothing, share clothes with, make chocolate chip cookies, or Tik's cupcakes in the afternoons to have ready for your dad when he gets home from work, be thankful that she has a cute and cool big brother who is a musician and has lots of cute and cool musician friends, share boyfriend stories with, get your drivers license with, and then, when she finds the love of her life, you reluctantly, but lovingly let her go with him to begin creating their life story together. Did we have fun? Yes we did, and we were always kept safe. We were blessed to have great parents that were always in the wings supervising us. They even trusted us enough to send three 18 year old girls, unsupervised, to Hawaii, which since then has become archived as, "THE FAMOUS TRIP"! It was actually we three girls who founded that slogan..., "What happens in Hawaii, stays in Hawaii".

To this day, I can honestly say, that not one day in my life has gone by since we became friends when I have not thought about her.

So everyone, meet the Mingles! They will be my weekend visit from Friday night through Monday morning.

Destination: Placerville

Frances, Can You Fish?

The answer is...., yes. I've been known to hook a fish a time or two, but that was back in the day. I was better at helping everyone net them in. And boy, could I clean a fish as you can see in my photo.

My fishing experience began in my young days, and with my father. He had no idea how to fish, but he had this fishing pole that seemed to always come along on our family beach vacations to Ensenda in Baja. At dusk, you could see Dad walk down to the shore, bait the line and cast. He was usually unsuccessful. Then, a few years later, I seem to recall a couple of fishing experiences with Aleen my dear friend.

Finally, I met the Master, Randy. A fine fisherman. One of our first dates was fishing. So our family spent lots of time on the lakes along the upper Highway 395 for several years. It was magical being awoken by a huge showering of fireworks above Lake Crowley, signaling it was time to drop your lines in the lake.

So will I be fishing this trip? If I get a hankering. However, I will be stopping at several cities to enjoy the sites. I will set out early Wednesday for Lone Pine (taking in a view of Mt. Whitney), then to Lee Vining (I will have lunch at the Whoa Nellie Deli), then Independence (where Chinatown was filmed), Mono Lake (maybe kayak on the lake) and Bridgeport for some horse back riding. I would love to hear your suggestions for this stay.

Wednesday/Thursday Destination: Mono Lake/Bridgeport

Next Blog: Meet the Mingles

Kernville! Why Kernville?

The Trout Season Opener

Those of you who knew me prior to September 10, 2004, will remember just how important Kernville, Ca was to my family. Those of you who came into my life after September 10, 2004, will soon understand.

I found out in 1987 that I had absolutely no understanding of this thing called a MAP. Randy, a skilled map reader, knew maps inside and out. Why did I need to understand them? He always did the driving! He was so good, he even understood topographical maps and had a huge collection of them. To me, TOPO maps where over sized pieces of paper colored with various shades of green , that took up tons of space. They always had to be "rolled, not folded".

Anyway, Randy and I were "reconnoitering" for some hunting property and long story made short...we bought 11 acres with a small rustic cabin on it. He named it, "The Ranch". Within a few years, we bought 21 more acres above us. The Ranch was Randy's favorite place, and our boys spent many a weekend there. Although we bought the land to hunt on, we never did because we came to love the wild life there. The Ranch is located in the Piute Mountains, right outside of Lake Isabella. This area will be one of my Day 1 stops while driving to Kernville.

Kernville was home to the Annual Burt Family Spring Trout Season Opener. Each year, we would rent a kitchenette room for our family at McNallys. McNallys is the home of the "World's Famous Steaks" and located in Fairview. Over the years, Randy fished the Kern with yours truly, our 3 sons, my father, my nephews, and many of our boys friends. It was at the Kern that I realized Casey, our middle son, was a true fisherman, like his father.These were great times for our sons.

PS: Yes, I saw the movie Psycho, and I took the Universal Studios tour of the Bates Motel; but, if the room I rent has WiFi, it can't be that bad!

PSS: I have a new friend, Ti, who has jumped aboard to help customize my Blog. Thank you Ti!

Decisions, Decisions

I am finding out the hard way that map reading is not as fun and easy as people say it is. I mean, the way I am reading the map of California, there are absolutely no gas stations along Highway 395! My luck, there are probably a million, (as Randy would say), "pit toilets". When I rule the world, and when Tyler graduates from Geography College, I will order him to begin creating maps that contradict Columbus,....(ie., the world is not round but flat). That way, I have a better chance of getting to my destination.

NEWSFLASH!

I had a visit from my brother Mike yesterday. I showed him my travel plans and after he commented..., "That's a lot of driving in one week!". I thought about it and decided he was right. I have add two more days to my vacation.

My new start date is Tuesday, August 10, 2010. First stop, Our Lady Queen of Angels Cathedral in Los Angeles for an official "Frances Takes A Vacation" Candlelighting Ceremony.

Tuesday Afternoon Destination: Kernville, Ca.

My first solo trip that is not work related.

The Project:

• Travel Parts of Southern, Central and Northern California in my 2006 Red Convertible Beetle, by myself, for one week.

The Goal:

• 1.) Visit my childhood best friend Karen, her husband Tim, their children, and all of Karen's extended family who live in Placerville and nearby cities.


• 2.) Find the perfect bowl of oatmeal along my route.

The Challenge:

• I have no map reading skills! None! Zero, Zip!

The Risk:

• Leaving her sons alone for one week in LB and coming home to possible mayhem and disorder.

The Plan:

• I will be leaving my home in LB, Cali on Wednesday, August 11th at 8:00am. My son Casey will be Base Camp Chief at our home headquarters. Each evening, I will be blogging a summary of each days events for my life archives and also for your entertainment. I will be visiting a few places that were significant for Randy and I, spend time with my friends, visit my nephew, but I will also be adding a few new adventures that I will claim as my own.

My Oath:

• I promise to call Casey twice a day so my location is known at all times, I promise not to stray from my planned itinerary (unless I simply can't resist), I will keep my cell on at all times, I will not pick up hitch hikers, I will rest when I am tired, I will eat when I am hungry (yes I am counting points while on vacation), I will lock my doors, I will take my top off during the day, I will pull my top up at night, I will not let the gas tank get below half, but I will have an adventure!

Your Job:

• Enjoy California with me, make comments, give suggestions, share your stories and keep and eye on Casey and Tyler.