Murphys Clampers

(Click on the photo for an easy read.)

One side benefit of the trip to Murphys last weekend was perusing a curious wall on Main Street that paid tribute to a group known as "Clampers." The wall itself was called the "E.C.V. Wall of Comparative Ovations." That alone had me feeling that further investigation was necessary.

This one plaque alone was worth my time, just based on the fact that Sir Francis Drake "was a Clamper, but not in good standing because of his propensity to be piratical." (I'm going to mention someone's "Piratical Propensity" real soon.) The Great Hi Ho, on the other hand, who exhibited exemplary Clamper-like tendencies while living, had to wait 300 years after he was dead to achieve recognition. Isn't history great?

Sir Francis Drake and Hi Ho with his fishy offering.

Google helped me find this nice article about the history of the Clampers, written in 2004 by Francis P. Garland. To sum it up, "The plaques pay homage to an eclectic band of men and women who've left their mark on California. Even the saber-tooth tiger is honored." 

My second favorite had to be Elmer "Tusch" Tuschhoff. They just don't make 'em like him anymore...

Tusch graced Clamper gatherings for more than 40 years...I like that. I'll bet that even though his tuba was loud, he'd make up for it somehow with the lilting tones of his tin whistle...I'm guessing that Elmer was hard to miss.

There's another great article about this group that appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. I like this quote at the end, about an infamous Clamper, Joshua Norton, who dubbed himself the nation's first Emperor and got away with it:

"He marched to his own drummer," Sweeney said, "and everybody else pretended they could hear the music, just because they wanted to be part of the band."

That tune seems oddly familiar...

Weekend Away

I drove to Murphys in the California foothills this weekend (a total of 1,000 miles after all was said and done). Met up with my dear friend Stacey to see a Jason Mraz concert at the Ironstone Winery. Her friend Don (who was absolutely great and an easy traveler) joined us.  We enjoyed a pre-show dinner on the Ironstone property prior to the show. It was a beautiful setting and an excellent performance.

We had pretty good seats! I loved being outdoors.

We stayed in a darling cottage in a woodsy setting on a creek:

Took a short walk and saw this:

Had a delicious meal right across the street from our cottage at a tapas restaurant called 498:

Went wine tasting at Twisted Oak winery and another semi-underground wine-tasting room that included this mildly disturbing scene:

Played Scrabble:

Felt completely unplugged and rejuvenated. Put our feet in an icy babbling creek lined with wild raspberry bushes:

Left Murphys Saturday morning. On the way to Monterey we saw a scary car fire on Pacheco Pass, which ignited the surroundings. Firefighters were working hard to keep it contained.

Stayed at Stacey's cute new house and provided computer tech services for WiFi access!

Observed the most precious community gathering in Pacific Grove. A weekly dance class and subsequent "open floor" for all ages and skills. This was the scene through giant barn doors:

Hopped in the car Sunday morning and drove home, happy music blasting the whole way. Exterior temperature over the Grapevine - 104 degrees. Inside the car - 67 degrees. Took around 7 hours.

Missed my doggie, but received some unique photos via email from my daughter of Olive Monroe:

And Pepper Hayworth:

Exhausted, but played my bass for a few minutes...I missed that thing too...the notes seem lower, richer and more beautiful than I remember...I think I'm in love...

Called everyone to say I got home safe.....and Goodnight.

Zone Cruise to Bermuda

For my mother's birthday (39th) I took her on a "Zone Cruise" to Bermuda with Dr. Barry Sears and his group. Is it really a vacation if you travel under the guise of a healthy week of the Zone Diet and seminars? Yes! We were joined by Scott's parents and sisters and had a great time.

Along with Barry Sears, Dr. Julien Bailes, noted neurosurgeon, was also a speaker at the seminars. He worked with the sole survivor of the Sago mine disaster, Randy McCloy, to restore his health and brain function using a therapy that included high dose fish oil.

Though Hurricane Bertha was looming, the weather was beautiful and the seas were fairly mild. The subject of the event was "Build a Better Brain." We'll all be giving their theories a try and let you know how it goes!

Bob & Elliette

The crew managed to capture these, and of course Bev found them!
(Kim & Lisa must've escaped the photo op.)

"39-year-old" Bev and Me (39 too, why not?)

Back from Bermuda

Here's Bob supervising Elliette as she's adjusting everyone's lifejacket straps at Muster. We were all safer because of her attention to detail! She moved through the crowd with an air of authority that allowed her to approach total strangers and spend a few minutes on their straps, chatting reassuringly the whole time. I loved this guy's face, he was such a great sport.

One of many highlights of the trip for me (as in getting to know Scott's family so much better) was Elliette's description of the difference between my calm demeanor during stressful times, and Scott's. We were on a very pleasant ferry boat ride back to St. George's after visiting Hamilton. When describing me, she related several examples that she had observed. She was sweet and complimentary and very descriptive.

When she got around to describing Scott, her example was succinct, "A bug flies through the window----World War III!"

It was such a heartfelt, simple description delivered with such sincerity, and so accurate that it caught me off guard. I laughed until I cried, which produced the same result from both my mother and Elliette. Remarkable and memorable...

Unplugged in the Galapagos

I've been back for a full week now. Back from the life-changing experience of a vacation in the Galapagos with my dear friend Karin. My intention is to go into detail, upload photos and such, but...we'll see. Between us, we've got over 1500 photos, each more beautiful, interesting, haunting, hilarious, and engaging than the next. How to choose a few representative examples?

This was our first experience traveling together, and it was a spontaneous riot of fun and laughter from the first second. (except when she beat me at Scrabble on the plane to Miami...I believe there was gloating...)


In the meantime, here's a photo of us with our new best friend, and the two videos that follow sum up the shenanigans and fun we had!

Here's the video that helped identify the source of a mysterious sound on our balcony deck...keep in mind that we're at sea, skirting the Galapagos Islands. You were only allowed to bring a total of 28 pounds of luggage, including the suitcase itself...

Here's KP pantomiming to the sound
(prior to solving the mystery)...

I love my frien KP! We were easy travelers.