UC DAVIS ARBORETUM

Who would have thought that just 28 miles from our house & a mere 15 miles from downtown Sacramento, the University of California at Davis would have a huge arboretum winding through the campus?

Lou did his online homework researching the 3-1/2 miles of trails along a creek, through groves of redwood, oak & acacia trees & various flower gardens. Even though it is still February, we decided to check it out yesterday to see some of the early spring blossoms. It didn't disappoint.

If I didn't know better I'd swear this trail through the redwoods was way up along the northern California coast not a few miles from the city of Sacramento.

The bark on these redwoods has an interesting texture.

The California Redbud was just beginning to sprout. It should be amazing in another few weeks.

We decided to come back again in March or April since many of the plants aren't yet in full bloom. There were quite a few plants beginning to blossom but my guess is that it will be spectactular in late spring or early summer!

Not sure if these were cherry, plum or apricot blossoms forming - all three are in the park.

The acacia was gorgeous with its bright yellow puffy blooms!

One of the paths along the creek that will be shady once the trees leaf out.

I have such fun looking for interesting photos & there were plenty of opportunities/

We saw several birds but this egret was the only one who stayed still for a picture.

This is one of my favorite pix with the different varieties of grasses.

Several types of flowers were already blooming in the White Garden among others. It surrounds a wooden gazebo & looked like it had a hundred different types of only white flowering plants. I'll bet it is beautiful in late spring! White flowers always amaze me with their intricate simplicity.

These little clusters of white flowers were already popping out in February.

This looked like some sort of daisy but didn't have a yellow center.

We talked about being in awe of all the varieties of flowers there are in the world.

GOLD COUNTRY GETAWAY

A couple weeks ago we decided to join a Christmas gift with an early Valentine’s Day celebration. Lou’s sister had given us a gift certificate for a cave tour & zipline ride at Moaning Cavern up near Columbia which we combined with an overnight stay in the gold country .

We had ridden a zipline in Costa Rica about a decade ago that consisted of 10 separate lines through the jungle! This was much tamer but it was still a wild ride since I’m a decade older as well. J Thanks, Judy!

After suiting up in our lovely ziplining attire we crossed a suspension bridge to the launch tower.

Lou being attached to the zipline & briefed for our adventure.

I'd say these next two pictures are pretty damn good considering we took them of each other from side by side ziplines as we were careening down the hill at speeds up to 45 miles per hour!

Not only did I manage to get Lou in the photo but I also caught the landing point on the far left. That's the line I was zipping down in the upper left.

Lou captured this shot of me about to be caught at the end of the 1500 foot ride. I was coming in really fast & just shut my eyes.

I found a great bed & breakfast just two blocks from downtown Columbia. This is the off season so we checked the weather for a couple weeks & made a last minute reservation when it turned sunny. Since it was our Valentine’s Day present to each other, we splurged & stayed in the Wine Cellar Suite – with rock walls, a living room, two bedrooms & a huge bathroom complete with Jacuzzi hot tub!



The large parlor of our Wine Cellar Suite at the Harlan House Bed & Breakfast.

The entire downtown of Columbia is a restored California State Historic Park. We had the town almost to ourselves since it was midweek in the winter – much more fun than being packed with people.
  

The Columbia Hotel is a highlight of Main Street.



The interior of a restored historic building in Columbia.

The two story school house on a hill across from our bed & breakfast.



A street corner in the gold rush town of Columbia.

On the way home we stopped at all the little gold country towns along Highway 49. It’s a detour we had been planning to take for years & finally did it.

Angel's Camp of Mark Twain's frog jumping fame.

Some old buildings in Mokelumne Hill.

The recently restored National Hotel in Jackson was beautiful inside, too.

PLAYING CATCH UP

Geez, not a single blog post in the month of January & half of February. I must apologize. There is no excuse but there are explanations. We returned from our cruise, jumped right into the holidays & I've been playing catch up ever since. Hopefully, things will settle down now.

Perhaps, the best & biggest recent news is that our adorable little sweetheart is now walking! She stood on her own one day, took her first tentative steps the next, then a couple days later took a few more. One week ago today she walked across the room & hasn’t slowed down since! She walks everywhere now, no more crawling for Charley Ellen. It is so cute & she is so pleased with herself. Amazing!

Our Charley is on the move!

Even though our 49ers lost the Super Bowl, it was a helluva run in the playoffs. They did a great job & we’ll get ‘em next year. Congrats to the Ravens – they were a better team on Feb 3^rd.  Personally, I still think Jim Harbaugh was wrong to replace Alex Smith when he came back from an injury, but that is my opinion & I’m sticking to it!

We had some minor camera issues so the Super Bowl pix aren't up to our usual standards, but you get the idea - there was lots of red.

At this point she would hold one finger & walk all over. About a week later she took off by herself.

We had our token Ravens fan - Allison likes them since Michael Oehr from the movie, The Blindside, plays for Baltimore.

Most of my stress this past month was due to the fact that I have been immersed in yet another caregiver search for my father. It seems no one stays beyond 6 – 8 months lately. BUT I am optimistic & hopeful that we have found a wonderful, young woman who may turn out to be the best one yet. Her name is Jolene (yes, her mother was a Dolly Parton fan) & she seems genuinely happy to be taking over next week.

I cannot tell you what a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders with the promise of a fresh start with a new caregiver. As I shut the door when she left after hiring her, my father exclaimed, "I think we hit the jackpot with that one!" I sure hope he's right.