Okay, blog followers, I admit. I've been neglecting this blog! But we have been so very busy, and those of you who look at Facebook have seen an occasional picture from me. (Let me know if you want to be my friend on Facebook - I'm not too active there, though). So I'll catch you up to date with some pictures.
We love our gig here at San Clemente. The weather has been amazing this winter! We hear how bad its been in South Dakota and Lake Havasu, smile and tell each other how glad we are to be here! The job has been interesting. Here's a picture of our campground from the hills to the north, looking off towards Camp Pendleton and the ocean. San Mateo Campground is on an access road to Camp Pendleton, but in December we had torrential rains which did so much damage with sinkholes and such that the road got closed (my bike is leaning on the concrete barricade). So no base traffic all winter!
Then two weeks ago a holding tank for the sewer exploded - this 1 ton concrete vault lifted up a half foot into the air, sending the asphalt flying. So camping has been restricted to about half capacity because of the sewer problems, making our job to check the campground quicker!
I volunteer at the San Clemente State Beach visitor center, which is only a couple of miles from here and the center office for this area. One of my jobs was to put together a powerpoint show on the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps here, and another group of shows on what's in bloom. They are shown at the Visitor Center. I found music to play in the background and had one of the campground hosts narrate the CCC show from the script I wrote. I have been taking pictures of flowers, identifying them (with their Latin names) and finding out if they are native or not to Southern California, then putting them in the powerpoint show. Now those of you who really know me, know this has been a wonderful project for me, since I love wildflowers!
Also, Ron and another camp host got together and made these awesome boxes for the visitor center (one of my ideas, got it from Custer State Park, I think) where you put your hand into the hole and feel whatever is in there and identify it for sure by lifting the lid. We've been putting in starfish and sea shells. Kids (and adults) love it!
Another thing I got to do was lead a nature hike down this trail, which required a lot of preparation on my part since I had to learn what the names of the plants and such were that we were looking at! And Ron gets out to meet the campers by picking up trash when we are on duty.
I've included some pictures of the critters we see here. The squirrel is not as innocent as it looks, and is really a pest here. The seagulls on the beach also freak me out when they all take off at once, like in this picture of Ron detecting (probably because I watched Alfred Hitchcock's movie "The Birds" when I was too young). And this egret (I think!) was so graceful out there dancing in the waves. The gulls obviously can't read very well at the fish cleaning station.
We have had the opportunity to get with family while out here. Saw David and Joanna (but no recent picture, sorry), Rhonda (again, no recent picture), my niece Becky and her family, Mark and Jan (we're eating out in the middle of winter on the restaurant's deck overlooking LaJolla beach!), and John and Elizabeth with William in Vegas. Also, we have sure had a blast meeting new folks and making friends! All of these times we cherish so much!
And of course, some amazing and beautiful sights are all around us. The statue is at Dana Point, picturing the seamen who came here in the 1830's and swung cowhides over the cliffs we were standing on to the trading ships below. The arches are from a hotel begun in the early 1900's that was never finished because of the Depression. My bike is at the overlook at San Onofre State Beach just a few miles from our campground looking north towards the nuclear power plant (you may have heard about it in the news). I feel so privileged to be here and enjoy this place. Wish you were here!
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