Monastery Beach and 40 MPH Winds

Just some pictures from last weekend on the way to Big Sur to get some sunset pictures. We stopped at Monastery Beach because the waves looked really large.

Wow, the surf looks rough. that kid way off to the right kept trying to get into the surf with his Boogie Board, but the surf really was kind of rough, and the winds did get to 40 MPH. He gave up after 10 minutes.

The kids playing Old Testament "I will smite Thee!" I think she really wishes she had this power.... Oh, and world famous Bixby Bridge is in the background.

The only one willing to pose in the cold to get her picture taken! As you can see, Big Sur was a bust, as low clouds came in, and Fog parked itself off the coast.

Scariest Christmas Decoration EVER!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year... except when people put up pure, uncut nightmare fuel for Christmas decorations.

This either a Nutcracker or Toy Soldier, or both, put up at Candy Cane Lane in Pacific Grove. We have been going for several years now. Although the decorations don't change much form year to year, it is still nice to see an entire neighbourhood put up Christmas decorations.

Still...

This thing is huge. It is about 12 feet tall, with floodlights for the eyes. Few things have cared me as much.

On The Road Again: San Diego, May 2008

Here are some more of our travel photos. In May of 2008, we ventured out to the end of the state, San Diego. They are supposed to have better weather than the Central Coast, but when we wee there, it was no better than Monterey County. It even rained just a bit while we were there. We managed to stay in Oceanside, right next to Camp Pendleton. It was a bit of a drive from San Diego proper, but it was closer to our objective of Legoland, pictures of which will be up shortly.

We got to San Diego the weekend of Pentecost. We went to Holy Angels Byzantine Catholic Church for Divine Liturgy. This church has to bee seen, and is well worth a visit. The entire Church has Icons covering it, even the ceiling.

The Pastor of Holy Angels is Father Robert Pipta. Here he is processing in right before the Anaphora, the Consecration of the Wine and Bread into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This part of the Divine Liturgy is known as the Cherubikon, the Hymn of the Cherubim. Green is the colour for Pentecost for Eastern Catholics, signifying the newness of the Church at Pentecost.

You don't need to go to the San Diego Zoo to find wildlife. CSU San Diego will do. Or the field surrounding Holy Angels Church. This is right outside the Parish Hall, right underneath the Church.

Nearby is the first Mission in what is now California (In Baja California, there were 23 Missions established by the Jesuits and Dominicans. The Missions in present day California were established by the Franciscans), Mission San Diego. Mass was still going on when we arrived, and there were a lot of people (It was Pentecost, after all). We maaged to get a few pictures, went to the gift shop, and then went to get lunch at a Jack-in-the-Box. As San Diego is the headquarters for Jack-in-the-Box, they are all over the place.

We then headed on over the the very nice Maritime Museum. This is the HMS Suprise, a replica of the HMS Rose. This was built in 1970, and was used in the movie, Maste and Commander. Behind is the Soviet Diesel Electric Submarine, B-39. It more than likely hunted some of the very ships that were ported at the Naval Base in San Diego. The Soviet Boat had a crew of 78, but how they stayed on board without going crazy is amazing. Superior Soviet psychology I guess.

Inside one of the ships.

There were exhibits of many types of boats, including fishing boats. There are many in San Diego of Italian ancestry, and they worked the fishing trade there, and they did in Monterey. On many of their fishing boats, they made altars on which Holy Mass could be celebrated, and niches where statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary would have a place of prominence, and where prayers could be offered to God for protection.

A model of a World War II ship.

Included with the admission we bought, which was really reasonable, was a 15 minute ride around San Diego Bay. Even from a mile away, one could see just how huge the USS Ronald Reagan is. I think the bay cruise was actually more than 15 minutes, as there were not not many people on board.

The inside of an old Ferry Boat.

A view of Coronado Bridge from the boat cruise.

The USS Midway, now a museum on the San Diego Water Front. We did not get a chance to visit here, but we definitely want to go back and visit some more things in San Diego. There is Comic-con, the San Diego Zoo, Mount Palomar, Tijuana near by, and much more.

Hey if any of you Navy people get stationed at San Diego, we are going to visit you so much, you are going to get sick and tired of us. If you are not already.

Well, this is just the Sunday from this trip. The next day we went to Homeschool Days at Legoland. On the way back, we visited some of the Missions.

Those pictures will follow in the next couple of days. Thanks for looking!

Homeschool Field Trip to the Aquarium

Thursday the 12th marked the first Field Trip for the San Juan Bautista Homeschoolers. Of we went!

Watching the waves.


Aren't they cute!

Tis early in th emorning, there were hardly any poeple at the Aquarium, and the tourist buses had not left the hotels.

You could actually get up close tho the Sea Otters at their exhibit.

Why do some fish just look angry?

One of the students at the tide pool. This one was slippery instead of bumpy.

The fog on the Monterey Bay can get so thick sometimes that even the Sharks need to turn on their Fog Lights.

Tropical Fish.

Penguins at the Aquarium.

There is a Sea Horse exhibit at the Aquarium. Here is a Sea Horse that 'evolved' to look like seaweed. So just how did that happen?

Three happy girls in a clam.

Two happy ladies in a clam.

"Help! It's eating us!"

More of the students at one of the exhibits.

Here, everybody is wondering what happened to the Cetacean Institute.

Group Photo!

All in all, a nice time was had by all. Pictures by Ramon Mendoza (mostly).

Don't Try This At Home: Stuff I Do When I Am Bored

I get bored sometimes. Sometimes I do productive things with that boredom, like learn another language. Sometimes I stick things in Microwaves that perhaps isn't food and don't belong there.

Did you know that if you stick Christmas Lights in a Microwave at Full Power for about 10 Seconds, that they light up in different colours, even if they are a sting of White Lights? Check it out....

This would be a fun science experiment for school credit if somehow I could figure out why they turn different colours.