Finding Friendlier Wildlife

          Our next adventure is a very short drive down the highway to The Arboretum on June 28th, .  I heard that our region is supposedly under a heat wave warning, but I can't figure out what that means.  Every time I check the weather it is in the upper 80s or low 90s.  When is this heat wave going to hit?  Does it somehow skip our little town?  Are they wrong and the heat wave won't come?  Silly me, how was I supposed to know that in SoCal 90s are considered a heat wave?  At home right now they are getting mid 90 degree days and haven't had rain in a while.  To me, that's summer.  Sure 90 degree days aren't the typical summer weather but it happens often enough that it isn't a massive surprise.  As a kid it seemed like it was always super hot when we wanted to play outside, and the only time we would allow ourselves to be kept indoors was if the heat was over 100.

          Apparently my tolerance for heat has changed since I've grown, and I'd rather not go out if the temperature is in the upper 80s.  However, I'm in California.  Everyone says the heat out here is different, it's a "dry heat" or something, which makes it sound like it should be more bearable.  So when the temperature is supposed to be in the low to mid 90s I say sure, let's spend a few hours outside looking at exotic plant life.

Ha. Ha. Ha.

          As the housekeeper and I discuss the following Monday: heat is heat.  It's the same wherever you go and it doesn't feel any better just because people call it a "dry heat."

          We leave for the arboretum after lunch and the sunscreen accidentally remains on the table with our plates.  The first thing I notice, though, is the beautiful peacock roaming freely outside the grounds beside some large, pink flowers.  The first thing D notices are two lizards, one sunbathing on a palm tree trunk and the other running through the grass away from us.  We try to get as close to these animals as we can without them running away before we realize we really should head inside and see what we'll be paying for rather than spending all our time near the parking lot.

          We buy our tickets and head in.  Peacocks are calling from several directions.  Just how many are there in here; why don't they leave?  Peacocks can fly, and one is outside the grounds so I'm guessing the others can get out, too.  We begin our world plant tour by heading through Africa and Australia.  The plants are grouped by appearance and we explore the spiny area which offers no shade but plenty of horror movie inspirations.  Now we notice how miserable the heat is, and the sun makes it all the worse.  Without sunscreen I foresee my turning into a lobster by tonight.

          Sadly the heat and sun act as accelerant for our feet and we speed through the beautiful flowers and plants in search of our next shady reprieve.  The greenhouse full of orchids is also full of humidity that the fans blow over my  head but D is tall enough to enjoy the breeze.  We don't spend much time in the greenhouses or anywhere, but I am obligated to stop just long enough to get a few photos.  I don't think D would let me leave without plenty of pictures.

There are so many minnows in these ponds. I wonder if the turtles eat them.

          The strange thing about my body is that I seem to be intolerant to my own sweat.  I break out in small itchy hives everywhere I sweat and scratching only turns them into large, unbearable welts.  I learned quickly to leave them alone until I can shower the sweat away.  I've told D about this but today is the first time he sees for himself.  Thankfully he takes pity on me and understands when I don't want to hold his hand and I definitely don't want to be touched.  He even lets me set the pace and asks before taking routes that could extend the trip.  We are here to see as much as we can, so I make sure not to let the itchies prevent us from seeing too much.

          D's favorite spots are the ponds full of turtles and large fish.  Thankfully the biggest one is near a shady area so we pause to enjoy the shade, breeze, and animals.  A bee is stuck in the water and several minnows are trying to get it.  A turtle swims toward us along with some large fish.  We wonder if people sometimes feed them and that is why they don't seem scared of us.  There are more turtles in a pond that can be seen from a yin-yang patio, and some ducks and large fish in a pond across from a waterfall.  I can certainly see that this place would make an ideal wedding venue.  All the photo ops!  I'd just look for a cooler day.

          I love the waterfall, too, but I am amazed when I spot some huge, vertical lines I've only seen in other people's photos: bamboo.  I don't know what it is about bamboo that I find so magnetic but it draws me right in.  Despite the uncomfortable heat we take time to enjoy this amazing plant.  It comes in many varieties, too!  As we continue around the last circle I grabbed shots of the different kinds of bamboo.  We hold hands happily as we head for the exit and on the ride home I dream of a cool shower.  After the itchies are gone I see that I got lucky and only the tops of my shoulders are red.

          That night D introduces me to the Magic Shell ice cream topping and that makes all the cares of they day melt away as the chocolate syrup solidifies on my Triple Play ice cream.  Saturday is a lazy day since D has a video chat meeting.  We go out to lunch at Olive Garden and enjoy unlimited soup, salad and bread sticks.  Their chicken and gnocchi soup is the best.  Sunday will be our next day of adventure and we'll be off to see a completely different variety of wildlife.

Adventuring in California: Meeting the Local Wildlife

          When you live in the Midwest and don't often leave the state, you hear about the most interesting parts of the other states without knowing exactly what is true or what has been exaggerated simply because it makes a better story.  I am not a fan of poisonous spiders, they are very interesting to study in a book, on the Internet, or in a jar, but I'd rather not meet one roaming freely.  By poisonous, I mean the ones known to cause people harm.

          My grandma was bitten by a brown recluse which made her very sick and left a white scar on her forehead about the size of the tip of my pinky finger.  I don't want to see a brown recluse myself.  Television likes to broadcast about dangerous creatures, too, again because they are interesting, and another poisonous spider popular in stories is the black widow.  I've heard of it living in the southern states like Texas and in the western states like California.  Supposedly they live all over and you need to check your shoes before sticking your feet into them, and never sit on a guardrail as they live inside.  Sometimes really unlucky people will find poisonous spiders in their bathroom towels!

          For anyone who lives in those states or knows more about them than I do you might laugh at that.  As I've grown up I've begun to realize that just because you hear about something, doesn't make it true, and just because a shark bit a surfer doesn't mean all surfers or even many will ever get attacked.  So the tales and warnings I've heard are probably exaggerated.  My mom was nervous about me coming out here because she's heard of mountain lions, bears, spiders and snakes that live in California and aren't afraid to harm us.  Well I listened to her fears but accepted them as fears of a mother.  I probably won't see anything dangerous out here except perhaps one of those infamously bad celebrity drivers.  I feel that I'm in more danger on the roads out here than in the mountains or among the wildlife.

          D and my first adventure out here is a walk around the block and down the street.  I want a better look at the mountains.  We end up leaving toward the end of sunset so I couldn't really see the mountains, but I do stop to admire all the blooming flowers.  I wonder if flowers bloom for a much longer period out here rather than the short day/week or couple week blooming time some flowers have back home.

          As we are walking along the sidewalk we pass through a spider string and brush it away.  Soon we see a huge bug flying about and I get really excited.  It doesn't look like a bee or anything harmful, it looks like a super-sized June bug!  It keeps flying out into the road and back toward the light of the buildings, and I can't catch it midair.  It finally lands high on a wall behind a bush and is sadly out of reach, but at least I know it is just a beetle so if I see another I can catch it without fear of getting bit or stung.  We walk down under the highway and realize there is no good spot to get a picture of the mountains so we turn back.

          Another giant beetle is by the building and this time we catch it.  Oh how cool it is!  I wonder if it is the exact same type of June bug we have at home or if it is a close relative because it is at least 3 times larger than some that I've seen.  D and I both hold it and joke about keeping it as a pet.  Instead I try to place it on a clump of flowers for a photo but it falls right off.  I take a couple more flower pictures and move on.

          I'm trying to get a picture of each kind of new plant I see when I spot movement at the top of a long plant.  I take a couple flash pictures to reveal a giant yellow-ish spider making a web.  D and I watch it in amazement then remember the web string we walked through earlier and I think we both shudder a little.  Neither of us wants one of these guys hitching a ride on us.... ew.

          We move on and I stop to take fewer pictures as I am now feeling slightly creepy crawly at having seen that bugs out here definitely are bigger than at home.  And they say everything is bigger in Texas!  If Texas has even bigger bugs, my visit there will be very brief and I will only visit areas that are so heavily trafficked no giant bugs will want to stick around.

          We are back on our street talking about how creepy and huge that spider was when I notice a familiar shape near the ground.  About two weeks before, we'd visited the Brookfield Zoo, a fantastic zoo for anyone to visit.  If you are ever in Illinois and looking for something to do, go there.  You will not be disappointed.  They have exhibits of all sorts of animals from around the world: elephants, hippos, rhinos, alligators, crocodiles, otters, birds of all kinds, fish of all kinds, chameleons and other lizards, colorful snakes, Galapagos turtles, and all sorts of fuzzy animals, even a few bugs to be seen.  The shape I see reminds me of one of the bugs.  I stop D, turn around and bend down to have a closer look.  No, it can't be.  It's not possible that this bug would just be chilling here below a drainpipe.  I get a better angle and find the mark that proves my instincts correct.

I figure since this is the only one we've seen in three weeks, that I can finally show you, Mom.

          Hello Mom, do you like my new friend?  Our first walk out and about and we find a black widow spider.  I am certain I will have nightmares tonight.  We are now feeling absolutely creeped out from this excursion and our minds start playing tricks on us, making us feel like things are crawling on our skin.  We quickly head back to our apartment; we can't reach the safety of our room, away from all these bugs, quick enough.  But can we make it back safely? Noooo, as D bends down to scratch at an imaginary itch a large bug scurries across our path and disappears into the grass before I can tell what it is.  My best guess is a very big cockroach.  We only have small American cockroaches at home that come in from the farmer's field.  I've never seen one this large that wasn't on television.

          That's it, we've had enough, we are heading inside, possibly showering away the creepies, checking under the covers one more time and we are never living here or going out at night again.  Ok, so that's admittedly over dramatic, but California did just get a big strike against it in my book.  I am still freaking out a bit, I can't believe I just saw an actual wild black widow just a block from where we're sleeping, when I send my California cousin a Facebook message telling him about our discovery.  I love cousins.  He comes back with the best response: first, he's never seen one in all his years living in Santa Monica; second, he warns me not to start thinking about the spider crawling into the room, up the bed, onto my feet and making its way toward my face. Ah, evil humor, what else is family good for?

Our hunt for a mountain view resulted in this.  I must try again somewhere else.

          Despite the excitement we both manage to sleep quite well with no dreams about giant spiders attacking us.  We only go out at night for groceries, though.  I think we'll save the rest of our adventures for daylight.  I just hope I don't see any of the other "monsters" my mom warned me about!

Hello from California!

          Yes, you heard right. This small town, Midwest girl is spending six weeks enjoying the sunny skies, sandy beaches, and so much culture that California has to offer.  I am here with D, and he is the only reason I am here.  D is working at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena for the summer as part of his fellowship.  He came out here last summer without me and we didn't enjoy those weeks apart at all.  So this year I begged and pleaded for him to agree to bring me along, and he finally said yes.  Ok, so maybe I didn't have to try too hard to convince him, and here we are!

I can see these mountains by stepping outside the hotel.

          One June 26th I met D at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport with my bags in my hands and many suppressed butterflies trying to flood my stomach.  I have never flown before and the thought of it is quite terrifying.  For the first time in my life I am living 100% in the moment.  As I told my dad on the trip to the airport I am not feeling nervous about the flight because it doesn't exist, yet.  3 seconds from right now does not exist or I would be too nervous to handle it.

          D's big smile at seeing me makes relaxing a bit easier to accomplish although thoughts of the next thirty minutes start to stress me out.  I tell my dad goodbye, wish him luck on finding his way back home (driving in O'Hare is madness) and D and I head inside.  The first thing we must do is drop off our check bags, then head through security.  I try very hard to memorize each step since I will be on my own for my flight home.  I am coming back early to make it to my friends' wedding.  Checking our bags is easy and the line for security is right there.

          Getting through security is a bit crazy just because I feel rushed and I have no idea what the rules or expectations are.  What am I supposed to do?  Where is my stuff supposed to go?  Am I sure no one will try to grab anything of mine while I'm not looking? I am most concerned about one very small, very important item going missing.  I take out my laptop and put that in a bin, I put my book bag on the belt, my shoes, and my carry on bag.  D goes through security first and some of his tools from school get confiscated.  Oops, he forgot some machining tools were at the bottom of his bag and security doesn't like them.  I double checked all of my pockets so I shouldn't have anything with me that I don't know about, and none of it seems potentially dangerous to me, so I am not surprised when my stuff makes it through just fine.  My back jeans pockets set off an indicator so a TSA agent pats my pockets and swabs my hands with something before telling me I can go.  I am so curious to know what was on that swab.

          Made it through.  We check on our flight and see that the flight before us was delayed due to weather so we will have to wait for them to leave and for our plane to arrive, disembark and get cleaned before we can get on.  D and I find a couple empty seats and sit.  I must have looked scared because D keeps looking at me and asking if I'm alright.  I feel alright.  I'm living in the moment.  I am not thinking about flying.  I am not thinking about how on Earth I'll remember everything and be able to find my way home on my own.  I am sitting in an airport terminal with my man, and that is all.  Nothing else is happening and nothing else will happen.  I can be pretty convincing when I want.

Then it poured.

          About twenty-five minutes after our boarding time, we are welcomed aboard.  I now only have my bookbag since they checked my small carry-on for free, fearing there would not be enough overhead space for everyone's belongings.  I just hope nothing happens to it since all my clothes are in that bag.  We get to our seats and I take mine by the window and continue living in the moment.  I take a few pictures of the interior and the view of the tarmac and notice that is raining.  Within minutes the rain gets so heavy that it obscures the air traffic control tower and muffled thunder reaches my ears.  The captain announces that we will have to wait at least ten minutes before we can move.

It is strange having the ground look small and the plane stay fully sized.

          Thirty minutes later the plane is backing up out of its spot and getting in line for the runway.  D goes into zen mode as takeoff and landing are his least favorite parts, and suddenly I am excited.  As I watch plane after plane take off before us I begin to wonder what it feels like to accelerate so quickly and then leave the ground.  Whenever I fly in my dreams I just jump: no super acceleration, no wings, no engines.  It's our turn.  We get on the runway and begin accelerating.  The ground is flying by at a ridiculous rate.  The fastest I've ever gone was around 110 mph on a highway with a very daring driver.  I felt much safer going faster in the airplane than I did in that car, although both are quite the rush.

My first time seeing the Mississippi River. I am in awe.

          The plane tilts back and soon we are flying.  My mouth hangs open as I watch the ground leave me.  Soon people are ants, then cars are ants!  How funny.  I take pictures as I stare out the window, unable to look away except to check that D is still in zen mode.  We are in near constant turbulence but it just reminds me of a bumpy roller coaster so it doesn't bother me.

I adjusted the contrast to make this image easier to see.

          Before I know it, houses and huge warehouses are looking like ants and clouds are below us.  Those wispy clouds that look like piano keys in neat little rows.  I see Dixon, IL a town I've been through to visit my grandparents many times.  I see the Mississippi River for the first time even though I've lived about two hours from it my whole life.  I watch Lincoln, NE pass before we are consumed by thick clouds that obscure Colorado, a corner of Utah, and part of Arizona before I see it.  The Grand Canyon stretches out below us and never seems to end.  We are still in light clouds so pictures are fogged, but I take a bunch anyway.

The Nevada/Arizona border.

          The sun is setting and by the time we see the Arizona/Nevada river boarder darkness is falling so quickly that we get to see Vegas all lit up.  The shadow of distant mountains turns black and suddenly Los Angeles lights up the ground below us.  L.A. and all of the surrounding cities melt into each other to make the largest lit area I've ever seen.  As we descend toward LAX the buildings grow again and baseball fields shine out as bright green areas.  Streets full of cars make glowing and moving snakes and now we are so low that I cannot see beyond a few blocks, a single block, the row of buildings, and now we are landing.

Are those big shadows mountains? Yippee!! I was happy we got out of clouds so I could see more.

          I take a look at the terminal trying to prepare myself for my return visit as we make our way to our luggage.  We get our bags, catch our bus, make it to the rental lot and are finally heading to our temporary home.  The pavement is damp and the streets aren't too crowded but I am busy watching for the numerous palm trees and other strange plants along the road.  We drive through tunnels cutting through hills; that is very different.  When we get to our hotel we are exhausted and starving.  We drop off our bags and make a quick trip to a 24-hour Walmart to get enough groceries to last us the night and the next day.  D has to go to work so I will need food.  We will do the rest of our shopping tomorrow.

          Three weeks later we are comfortably moved in and we've already had many adventures.  I will work on sharing those through the next few posts.  If any of you dear readers have any thoughts on things we should see or try while we're here the next three weeks, please let me know in the comments.  We are in Arcadia but we've traveled to Carlsbad, San Pedro, and Santa Monica so we don't mind a bit of driving to get to a destination.  So far we've avoided going directly into LA for fear of traffic but I'm curious to see what is has to offer as well.  If we aren't able to make it to some of your suggestions this year, there is a good chance we'll be back next year and we will be off on new adventures!