Out of California and into the winter-world of upstate New York

WATKINS GLEN, New York, USA - And just like that, we hopped on a Jet Blue plane Thursday night and Friday arrived in Syracuse, NY where a Hyunda Sonata (no Nissan Cubes this trip) waited as our chariot to take us home.

For me it was slightly more than a 41-year absence. It was August 1970 when I left in a blue VW van, landing in Napa in mid-October after hitting more than 10 states in an odyssey, looking for who-knows-what, even now.

But the trip home was quicker. Our two California vehicles (my vintage Nissan pickup truck) and our Mexico-veteran Isuzu Trooper were loaded onto a car carrier Wednesday afternoon, a car carrier driven by two Russian guys with accents (and haircuts) right out of central casting. They arrived here in Watkins Glen at noon, with six more deliveries here on the East Coast.

The black car is our rental, the other three our NY fleet

Landing here also is the first time since the turn of the 21st Century that Admiral Fox and I have owned a home with virtually everything we own in one place. I say virtually, because the Pink Flamingo in Arroyo Seco still has some of our 'stuff' but not much.

When Dustin and Sylvia drove the Trooper (aka Troupey) out of Mexico last spring, they brought a carload of items, now resting either with Dustin in tony Connecticut or here at North Glen.

Duplicates - make that triplicates - of sooooo many things are popping up.

And at Brother Dan's shop in Big Flats, we have two palettes of boxes and assorted household stuff yet to bring here to look at.

Perhaps we'll bring it all to the house for Christmas to open the boxes then.

Sasha with friend

Last night - barely awake after very little sleep on the plane the night before - we went out for dinner to Maria's, a local joint where I go to talk politics sometimes. There we had a great fish dinner with amigos Gary and Sue and their son Jeff. Then we traveled over to visit amiga Amanda at her house. (Ok, we went there to visit Sasha the dog, too.)

It was a nice entree back to the community. And, not to let any snow accumulate under our boots, tonight we head up to the increasingly famous Hector Wine company (in Hector, of course) for a glass or seven of wine and to listen to the band 'Buford.'

No, that's not a typo... and I hear the group is quite good.

We awoke this morning to a light dusting of snow and all day have watched the flakes coming down. Very little is sticking, so at this point, it's picturesque and not pain-in-the-ass. We're set though - I found all my winter gear and my boots have been waterproofed!

Here's a winter view of the lake from our deck and our winter-covered hot tub which might get pressed into service.

And at the bottom is a short video of this morning's snow... Set to music, of course.

A trip to the Camp Connell - where cold is really cold

CAMP CONNELL, Calaveras County, Calif., USA - We zipped up the mountain from Sacramento last night, arriving an hour or so after dark, just ahead of some cold weather.

Rain greeted us in Angel's Camp (15 miles from here) and for a few minutes, I thought we would be running into snow and sleet. It rained hard enough that I think a new set of windshield wipers is in order. We'll go home tomorrow when it warms up - and no rain is forecast.


Temperature at 11 a.m.

It's always fun to visit Sanders and Pat here and it was a nice night of music, wine and great food. And this morning, the day dawned sunny and bright - at least as sunny and bright as it can be with this many huge trees surrounding the house.

So after the requisite three cups of tea (a la Greg Mortenson), the Admiral and I took a foray out around the countryside, ending up at the Camp Connell store where the locals were sipping coffee (and some sipping beer).

Admiral Fox - got her ears frosted up on the walk there and checked out a few of hats they had on sale.


No ear coverage


Ear coverage - great. Style - not so great

The Camp Connell store is a microcosm of the community - and the place to visit if you want to check out what's going on. Need a handyman to fix the gutters on the house? Check the store. Need to know about the snow in the pass? These people will know.

Later today, we will make a foray to a slightly lower elevation to visit amigos Randy and Karin, amigos from here as well as Mexico. Randy and Karin will be coming to Mexico for two months, living in a house near the church in La Manzanilla.

And, of course, we will likely make another walk down the hill to the Camp Connell store this afternoon, too, when it's time to join the locals for a cold beer.

Brrrrr....


Camp Connell store

Spanish in the morning means Mexico can't be that far off

SACRAMENTO, Calif., USA - In a dream last night, I was having a conversation with my amiga (and neighbor) Azucena in Arroyo Seco about where to plant some palm trees and whether her husband, my amigo Chon, could help.

And we were doing it all in Spanish - a sure sign that my mind is drifting east and south, muy rapido.


Chon and Chena

The weather in Sacramento is not helping me stay focused on Northern California zip codes, either.

In the last week, the temperatures have plummeted, forcing me to, gasp, wear long pants instead of shorts. Last fall, I wore shorts right through until we headed out of the driveway. This year, the 45-degree mornings convinced me that I should be wearing something warmer.

The other thing not helping is moving my Mexico photos from one computer to another. They are like old friends, and, of course, many of the photos are of friends.

Think about being cold and looking at the photo below.

How many days until the Admiral and I are in Mexico?


Beach at Boca de Iguana, north of La Manzanilla