Leap Year!

Happy Leap Day, everyone! Today, I:

- got to deliver a Leap Year baby... May you celebrate many pseudobirthdays, baby girl!

- reflect back on Kelvin's marriage proposal (initially with earrings [after the movie Leap Year, when Amy Adams' character's boyfriend gives her a nice pair of earrings but not the ring she'd hoped for] and then with the real ring)!

Did you know...
From MSN.com: "Four hundred years ago, women weren't allowed to propose marriage to men… except on leap day. While the source of this switcheroo isn't 100 percent clear, folklore traces the tradition to fifth-century Ireland, when St. Bridget supposedly complained to St. Patrick that gals were sick of waiting around for their procrastinating men to pop the question. Patrick consented to a leap day role reversal and, by some accounts, also declared that men who declined the proposal would be fined." Any proposers out there?

See you in four years, February 29th!

Petrolia and more of the Lost Coast

This weekend, we made a day trip to Petrolia, CA, a town named after California's first oil boom in the 1860s. Petrolia sits at the north end of the "Lost Coast," which includes Shelter Cove, a town we'd visited about a month ago. Petrolia is in an area as remote as you can get. The town is at the end of Mattole Road, a long and curvy road (with no phone service) leading from Ferndale to the coast which swings past many farms and cow pastures and which gets no phone service (which I realized when I tried to connect with Ellen, a co-worker, who lives in Petrolia). We had beautiful weather driving out, and it was a great experience!



(view through the windshield)


We hiked part of the Lost Coast Trail, along the beach, part of the way to the Punta Gorda Lighthouse (which was operational from 1911- 1951). Despite these sunny skies, rain started pelting down on us and we had to run back; we did not make it the 3 miles there, although I'd really like to sometime! Pepper did great off-leash, enjoying the sandy trail, but required a bath later that night as she was reaalllly dirty.



We stopped in Victorian Ferndale for the general store's famous hotdogs on the way back, and then visited the cute dairy town of Loleta, where we bought a few different cheeses at the cheese factory (for me, not K to enjoy!) and scones from their famous town bakery. MMM!

This is a shot from our walk the next day in Eureka's Sequoia Park (doesn't it look like a veritable redwood forest?) :)

Arcata Scoop

I had perhaps the best ice cream of my life last week. Our friend Alyssa had told us about the local Arcata Scoop, which makes organic ice-cream, and we finally tried it! I can practically subsist on ice cream/frozen desserts, including gelato (on my trip to Italy with Laura in 2003, we must have had gelato 3 times per day) and was super excited to get to try this local stuff. It doesn't matter that it's (still) winter here!

Here is a blurb from California's Redwood Coast website which explains this awesome shoppe!

"Located near the Arcata plaza, Arcata Scoop is the perfect place to have home-made organic ice cream with friends and family, especially after a walking tour in the town in a sunny day. This popular spot provides various traditional and innovative flavors for both non-vegans and vegans, including non-dairy Strawberry, Lemon Poppyseed, and Vanilla Honey Lavender. The magnificent marriages of freshly made waffle cones and delicious healthy ice creams attract many customers, especially parents with their little kids. In addition to ice cream, children will also enjoy themselves at the custom-built little play corner where they can pretend to serve ice cream and ring up on the register. This locally operated ice cream store also reflects how eco-friendly businesses benefit residents in our environmentally-friendly community, emphasizing sustainability in every detail of their business, including spoons made from potato starch."

I tried a scoop split amidst Vanilla-Peanut Butter, and Earl Grey (delicious!) while Kelvin tried their Cookies n' Cream and Coffee, served in a "waffle bowl," a unique take on the traditional waffle cone. The company has a facebook page where they update their daily flavors... check it out!

I also rode on the mini-carousel horse intended for small children.



As there are tons more flavors we have to try (Strawberry, Jalapeno, Creamsicle, and the Vanilla Honey Lavender) we will definitely be back soon!

Shasta!

We finally took our first trip to Mt. Shasta! The mountain, CA's fifth highest peak and part of the volcanic Cascade chain, is visible for hundreds of miles around and we have been meaning to visit the immediate mountain area for some time. Despite our (well, my) anxiety about traveling on the highway 299 that curves east to Redding, we made it there safely in about 3.5- 4 hours, and had a really a fun "winter" weekend.

We found pet-friendly lodging and brought our pooch along, which provided us (and her, we hope) much entertainment. Enjoy the photos!

Mt. Shasta City Park (home to the headwaters of the Sacramento River)


Pepper meets snow for the first time! (she slid around a bit)


Kelvin wanted to take her down the kiddie slide... check out this sequence:




(yup; he somehow launched off the slide onto the ground; luckily, neither he nor our dog were hurt)

We had a spectacularly clear day with views like this!


We spent a morning snowshoeing around the Bunny Flats, part of the mountain's base (around 7000 ft).


We initially were carrying Pepper in the sling, but after a bit, let her roam with us, and she had a fabulous time trekking in the snow! It was not super powdery, so she was able to plod along on top without falling in too deeply and did a great job of staying close to us.







Do you like her sweater?! :) It was pretty cold up there!


"Pepper does Shasta"


In the afternoon, we headed past the town of McCloud and did some snow-hiking to Lower Falls. Kelvin felt the need to hike down all the way to the falls, while I stayed behind the upper guardrail, taking pictures.



The Mt. Shasta region has a number of lovely mountain lakes. I'll take lakes & mountains over beaches/coastline any day!

Lake Siskiyou





Castle Lake is an alpine lake at 5200 ft which freezes over (almost) completely in the winter, allowing visitors to walk (nervously) on it. We'd like to go back in the summer.




Mt Shasta (14,162 ft)


I tried night skiing at Mt Shasta Ski and Snowboard Park, but as there hasn't been a whole lot of fresh snow, the conditions weren't the best. Ice & darkness weren't the best combination; we'll have to go back when we have a better layer of powder.

In any case, we really wore Pepper out. She decided to sleep, not on her doggie bed, but rather curled up in my luggage next to the bed :)



The next day, we took her to Shastice Park, another great city park with a large enclosed area. We were a bit spoiled up there-- there are no true dog parks in Arcata. Pepper is actually quite obedient and so we feel pretty comfortable letting her off the leash and letting her frolick around.

Action shot




On our way out of the region, we stopped by Dunsmuir, an old railroad and Gold Rush town, and home to (supposedly) the "best water on earth."


We ate lunch in Redding, the closest "big" city to us (pop. ~89,000, 2.5-3 hours away) and and visited Sundial Bridge.



Fisherman in the Sacramento River


Fun times!
I realize that about 95% of our photos have our doggie in it... but she is a huge part of our life now!

Latest Quake

From the North Coast's Times Standard:

(Staff writers Thadeus Greenson, Jessica Cejnar and Grant Scott-Goforth contributed to this report.)

"A magnitude 5.6 earthquake near Weitchpec on Monday afternoon gave North Coast residents a jolt and rattled some nerves but did little damage.

It seems Ray's Food Place in Hoopa may have borne the brunt of the shaking, with jugs of juice, jars of pasta sauce and other items toppling off shelves and into the aisles, according to store manager David Gillan. Out on the coast, no damage was reported, aside from a few pictures falling off walls and the occasional item tumbling from a shelf.

According to the United States Geological Survey, the quake hit at 1:07 p.m., striking 17.5 miles beneath the earth's surface, six miles west of Weitchpec, 18 miles northeast of Trinidad and 31 miles northeast of Eureka. While initially recorded as a magnitude 5.3, the quake was soon upgraded to a 5.6, with shaking being felt for about 12 seconds.

The shaking was reportedly felt from Brookings, Ore., to Redding to south of Ukiah.

The quake was too small and too far inland to spawn any tsunami concerns, according to National Weather Service spokesman Troy Nicolini, and no tsunami warning was issued.

Humboldt State University geology professor Lori Dengler said the quake was a fairly typical one for inland Humboldt County.

”This is a type of earthquake we've had before and we'll have again,” she said. “They're unlikely to do much in the way of damage and probably don't tend to get much bigger than what we had today.”

Monday's earthquake, known as a “down slab tension” earthquake, is connected to the Cascadia Subduction Zone, Dengler said. Gravity is constantly pulling a thick slab of the earth's crust and upper mantle beneath the subduction zone, Dengler said, and the earthquake is caused by the slab stretching as a result of gravity's pull.

Dengler said Monday's temblor was similar to a quake that struck east of Willow Creek in 2008 in that it was widely felt but did very little damage.

The Cascadia Subduction Zone produces three types of earthquakes, the biggest being a rupture of the locked-interface subduction zone, which created a magnitude 9 earthquake in 1700, Dengler said. The subduction zone is also capable of producing strike-slip earthquakes offshore, similar to the magnitude 6.5 earthquake that shook the North Coast in January 2010.

The subduction zone also produces quakes like Monday's “down-slab” event, which are not as common as their offshore counterparts, Dengler said. These earthquakes generally occur on faults that can't be seen from the earth's surface, she said.

”They're an indication that our subduction zone is alive and well,” Dengler said.

Monday's quake was enough to give many in town a good start, but it left the North Coast basically unscathed.

In Arcata, Plaza Grill owner Bill Chino said the quake gave the Jacoby Storehouse a good shake but did no damage.

”We didn't even lose any glassware at either of the bars,” Chino said.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. spokeswoman Brandi Ehlers said no power outages were reported as a result of the quake. Caltrans spokesman Scott Burger said the earthquake sent some rocks falling onto State Route 96 near Hoopa, but he said crews were able to clear the debris without closing the roadway.

In Eureka, some of whose buildings still bear the scars of the 2010 earthquake, no damage was reported, according to Assistant City Manager Mike Knight.

”The phones so far have been silent,” Knight said Monday afternoon, adding that city crews were checking up on some buildings but had not found any damage.

Several hours after the first quake hit, the USGS reported another -- this time a magnitude 2.8 -- striking near the same location at 4:19 p.m., about five miles west of Weitchpec at a depth of 20.3 miles."

I was picking up Kelvin from the Arcata Airport at the time. When I got back to work, everyone was asking me, "Did you feel the earthquake?!" It was really, really windy over lunch (and when walking Pepper). I believe I was in the car when the quake happened; I think I remember thinking that I figured the car was shaking from wind, but I may have felt this one (ever so slightly). Good thing it was a benign one!

Best Valentine Ever

I kind of hate Valentine's day. It is closely tied with Halloween for the worst "holiday" ever.
While I did enjoy the multiple Rom-Coms on Lifetime and A&E this weekend, I am not a supporter of the over-the-top Valentine's Day industry which includes needless calories, sappy cards, and plants that don't stay alive.

I did appreciate a little Valentine's Day humor, though, posted by my sister on her FB page
from the website Happyplace.com.

A hilariously, unintentionally threatening Valentine


Per the caption, "This little girl seems to have accidentally mastered the intimidation techniques of a New Jersey Mafia don. We bet if she'd had a little more room, she would have said, "I love you very much... until I don't, and then who knows? All I'm saying is, maybe you should start letting me have ice cream for breakfast."

HA HA HA!!!

Single again

Kelvin left on Wednesday for an Osteopathic conference in San Diego and will be gone through the weekend. This is actually (hard to believe!) the first time since we got married that we have spent the night apart! While it is a bit lonely without him here, I have to remember that I spent 29 years being single and did just fine :)

While I don't really have trouble entertaining myself, it is challenging being a single "mother"-- I have had to go in early to work (to round and do a postpartum tubal) and think that our canine child is getting lonely and bored and seems to be missing her daddy. She seems to be acting out a bit (today, when I returned home to let her out over lunch, I found a shoe and two bathmats piled up in her doggie bed as well as a "present" in the entryway). I am contemplating either whole- or half-day doggie day care for the future for one of the days of the week (Wed, Thurs, or Friday) that we are both at work all day, just to make things more interesting for her. I hate leaving her alone, even for a half-day at a time! And, despite my stress at being on OB call but having the responsibility to be able to get home to let her out, it has worked out okay. I hope the weekend goes smoothly.

I have really struggled with maintenance insomnia almost every night since we moved to Arcata (not exactly sure why... but I have slept through the night only about a handful of nights in 5 months), but slept great last night. Coincidence? I never had trouble sleeping before marriage!

Additional advantages of having the house/weekend to myself:
- bed to myself due to sleep issues, above
- unrestricted watching of girlie shows like "Extreme Makeover" and "Say Yes to the Dress" as well as tear-jerking Holocaust dramas such as "Sarah's Key," a very well done French film I saw last night (Kelvin hates watching those "depressing" movies with me)
- CHEESE! I have LOVED eating simple meals for one including mac and cheese (Kelvin hates cheese), a meal I have missed in the last year! I've definitely taken a break from cooking.
- Good books... I have a stack of library books I'm looking forward to reading this weekend (if I don't get called in, that is).

I can't wait for the hubby to return on Monday but it's kind of good to have some alone time once in a while!

Dog Wonder!

Check out this video highlighting the genius of Jesse, an uber-smart Jack Russell Terrier! We recently saw the Oscar-contender film The Artist and were impressed by the little doggie in that flick (also a Jack Russell).



Pepper has mastered the command of "sit," but we are hoping to expand her repertoire of tricks soon (is "shake" the next logical choice?)! Hope you're not too sick of the "doggie" posts :)

The Hunt for Strawberry Rock

We had decent weather last weekend and, inbetween my obsessive Australian Open-watching (did you SEE that Nadal-Djokovic epic final?! It was definitely redeeming after my disappointment with the turnout on the women's side), we decided to do some more Trinidad hiking.

We had heard some things here and there about Strawberry Rock in that it was a good hike with a nice viewpoint, popular with the HSU students, and not far outside Trinidad. However, nowhere on the internet (not even with google!), nor through friends or coworkers could we actually pin down directions to the exact trailhead. We think we got close with a map from Robin, but still don't think it was quite it. We trudged through a few brambles in a pseudo-path which may have been the start of the trail before deciding against proceeding through an unmarked area of woods. Strawberry Rock feels like a legend... maybe someday we will find it.

Since we were determined to get a hike in, we decided to try an alternative trail in Trinidad State Beach called College Cove. The coastline was really breathtaking!







Pepper, fresh from her hysterectomy, got to ride in her little sling most of the way.












We admired these surfers!


We lucked out with our coastal alternative but, if any of you reading this know how to get to Strawberry Rock, please pass on the info!

On Marriage (from the mouths of babes)

I don't usually pass on chain letters/mass e-mails, but figured they are less intrusive when posted in blog form. Here is a very cute list, forwarded to me by my parents, of kids' takes on marriage, which had me giggling to myself and itching to share. Which is your favorite?

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY? (written by kids)

You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.

-- Alan, age 10

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.

-- Kristen, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.

-- Camille, age 10

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.

-- Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

Both don't want any more kids.

-- Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough

-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure?)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.

-- Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.

-- Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

When they're rich.

-- Pam, age 7

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.

- - Curt, age 7

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.

-- Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.

-- Anita, age 9 (Bless you, child)

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?

-- Kelvin, age 8

And the #1 Favorite is.......

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.

-- Ricky, age 10