Do you want to go camping this weekend? I didn’t have to think on that too long. Camping sounded great. We packed our gear after washing off the massive amounts of dirt on the car. All ready to go, we headed northeast. Through the orange orchard and into the mouth of the mountain. We winded alongside the Kern River for at least 20 minutes before we were back on cliff-free and safe roads again. If only I could have stared at the mountains more. But had I done so, we would have drove right off into the river and then the sign reading “250 died since 1968. Stay out of River” would have to be changed. We drove though to Kernville where we stopped at the local brewery where I tried a Jalapeño Hamburger and a glass of their freshly brewed beer. Yum yum. From here, Holly drove us up into the mountain to the redwoods. We parked our car, paid the $5 fee to leave it there, and headed across the street to the trail leading into the forrest. And then I saw it. My first redwood tree. You hear about redwood trees and how big they are. And you even see pictures of them. But until I stood next to one, I never realized. They are awe-inspiring. Just amazing things. I tried to take a picture of it, and by the time I got the whole tree in my sights, it didn’t look as big because I was too far away. We walked for 2 miles through the forrest. Along the way we spotted several redwood trees. One of which is the very large headstone of Holly’s grandmother whos ashes were spread along the bass of the tree. As we walked up to the tree with the large clearing around it, you could feel the trees presence. It was amazing. Gavin had his sticks and was unafraid. He walked into the trunks of the trees. He asked questions about why they were burned. He was very respectful to the trees, the forrest, to Holly and her grandmother. As we walked away from the tree, Gavin in m arms, I heard him whisper, “Bye”.

After our journey through the redwoods, we drove back to Lake Isabella where we found a campsite and pitched tent. We got the perfect spot on top of a hill overlooking part of the lake and the fireworks. It was a beautiful day. One that was followed another. I woke up alone in the tent. I stepped out into the breeze and looked around. I saw Holly down by the lake front waving. As I met them down by the lake, Holly holds out her hand and asked me if I knew what the little speck resting in it was. I bent for a closer look and just then the wind blew it away. An anticlimactic revelation that there were gold flakes in the lake, which gave it an extra glittery look. California truely is the golden state.

After packing up, we drove into town for breakfast and bears. We found a cozy little place to enjoy eggs and buscuits and gravy. Mmmm Mm. As for the bears, we couldn’t find any real ones, so we went to the bear store and checked out the wooden ones. Very cool. From here, we welcomed a drive home. Back through the mountain along the Kern River of death. This time on the cliff side of the road. I tried my darndest not to drive off. Needless to say, I succeeded. Yay. We made it home. It was a short trip, but what a great one. Truely awesome.

Last night was supposed to be open mic night for me. I was gonna go out for the evening and enjoy a beer and guitar playing. Then I started getting a bit dizzy. You feel hot, Holly said. She grabbed the thermometer and jammed it in my ear. 101.3Ëš. The other ear: 101.3Ëš. Damn. No open mic night for me. I lied on the couch until about 9. Then meandered home and plopped into bed. This morning I got scones delivered to my door along with a hug from my favorite son. Now I lounge around the house deciding which movie I want to watch for the millionth time. Turns out it was Pirates of the Carribean. As I laid in bed this morning, Moura decided that I didn’t feel well and instead of poking holes in my arms and face like normal, she kept her claws retracted. Such a good kitty. But that didn’t last too long. Once I was out of bed, all bets were off. Oh well. My fever is going down anyway. Now I just feel weak. I’m good if I lay down. But standing is not a pleasant thing to do. I guess I’m making up for not being sick on Father’s day. Although this is not as bad of a sickness as the one I was in fear of getting father’s day.

On Saturday morning Holly found out and informed me that “Trainwreck“ was going to be performing at Fishlips that night. Tickets were $10. So before going to pick up Holly, I stopped at a local record store and picked me up a ticket. When I got there, I found out that there were going to be a total of 5 bands playing. Totally worth it. 4 of the bands were local, but were pretty good. And then there was Trainwreck. They were awesome. Good energy. Funny. And totally rocked. It was really cool because all the bands that played, including Trainwreck, just sat around and hung out with everyone after they played. In other words, I got to sit around and chill and talk with Kyle Gass for the night. Along with the other band members. They were really cool. They had a mini “Slash” guitarist, a overall-wearing drummer, a Village People-like Lead singer, a young 70’s style bassist, and a wig-wearing KG. lol. It rocked. They sang “Footloose” and “What a Feeling”. How much more rocking can you get than that.

On Saturday morning I also took Gavin bowling where we played one game before Gavin smushed his finger between two bowling balls and then wanted to go. It was a fun time though. We had a corn dog, some chicken strips and some fries for lunch.

Well, I’ve had Moura now for 2 full weeks now. She is a ball of energy and claws. I bought her wuite a few toys ranging from balls with bells in them to the classic mouse on a stick. I even bought her a scratching post. And what is her favorite toy? ……..Flesh. Mine in particular. Of course I am home all day working so she climbs all over me. Up my back, over my arms and on to my neck. She has left her marks. But she is awesome. She is mostly litter box trainded. That is to say she is 100% potty trained if you don’t count night time when she decides she is too lazy to get off of my bed to use the litter box. Theres nothing like washing sheets every day. But she is getting better. It’s getting less. She is so cute though. Gavin loves her. And Moura likes the energy of a 4 year old. So here are some pictures of Moura’s 2nd week with us. Oh, and my arms after play time.

About a week or so ago, I wanted to take Gavin swimming in our pool. But It seemed that all his bathing suits disappeared. So I took Gavin to
Target, knowing that if I did we wouldn’t have time to swim, to buy him a bathing suit. Before we left, he collected all his quarters, dimes, nickels and penny’s from around the house and decided he was going to buy a toy for himself. He kept describing to me what he wanted, but I couldn’t tell what he was talking about. But when we got there, he brought me to where his toy was that he wanted. It wasn’t really a toy. It was a snorkel and mask. So we picked him up a snorkel and mask. The cashier wasn’t the happiest, but Gavin paid for it with his sandwich bag full of change. He was very proud of himself. And I was right, we didn’t have time. We then went to pick up Holly. But a few days ago, I finally got to bring hime to the pool. He put on his new shark bathing suit and snorkel and mask. Then we walked to the pool. At first he wasn’t sure he wanted to use them properly. Having to put his face in the water in all. Not his favorite. But I tricked him. lol. I told hime to stand up straight (which he can do now in the shallow end) and just bend his head so only the mask was in the water. And before he knew it, he looked like this:

And like that he remained for a good hour. He was so excited. He could see the dirt and my feet and hands and the other kids. Oh yeah.

Here is him on mother’s day at the mall.

And here he is at the furniture store helping mom to pick out a couch.

lol. Holly didn’t get that couch. But she did get one. And she had to call her friend J to come with his pick-up truck to get it home. It’s a nice couch. And such a great price. When I get a couch, I’m so going there. Anyway, I followed closely behind in the momma car with Gavin while Holly and J drove carefully home in the truck.

So there is new couch, kitten (Moura), snorkel and mask (90-100Ëš days) and chocolate. Things are pretty good. I am enjoying life and am happy.

It’s been 5 days now since we went to Ashley furniture to look at a couch for Holly. We arrived there at 8:30pm, which was about half an hour after they closed. The parking lot was empty accept for our green VW. Walking back to the car, “Is that a bird or a cat making that sound?” Holly crossed the parking lot followed cautiously by me and Gavin. When she reached the opposite corner by the dumpsters, a little kitten cam running out making all kinds of noise, and went right to Holly. Poor little thing was starving. And so it was that I have a new addition to my home. A companion. Say hello to Moura.