"Vegetables are a must on Thanksgiving.
I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."
~Jim Davis
Last Thanksgiving I shot my own turkey.
It was fun.That shotgun going, Blam!
Everybody at the supermarket just staring.
Why track them when I know where they are?"
~Kenny Rogerson
The month of November was a fun month. It began with Harry and I hiking Mt San Jacinto Peak, then an unexpected and fun day of golfing initiated by Steve & Karan, a trip to San Simeon to visit the Hearst Castle with Bonnie, Jenny, Tracy, as a special birthday celebration for Jenny (Quent & Barbara and Ted & Dixie joined us), a hike of the Monrovia Hillside Wilderness Preserve with Espi, a Harley Day-Ride to Cooks Corner to have breakfast and visit with Dale, my first ever professional massage, and bowling for the first time in many years with Dale & Pam. Individual blogs were published for each of these bucket-list activities. In addition I posted blogs recognizing November birthdays, some favorite family photos, an updated planning schedule, an updated name glossary, a memory of travel with Bonnie seeking to hit all the states in the U.S., and a personal memorial observance for Warren. We were unable to schedule the traditional family dinner for Jenny's birthday due to numerous scheduling conflicts.
This blog summarizes other "non-bucket list activities" during the month in the category of Visiting Friends & Family and Miscellaneous Other.
Activities with friends-
A Visit By Quent & Barbara: Our friends Quent & Barbara came to Monrovia for a visit. We always enjoy being with them and we had a great time for a full week. They arrived on Monday and attended the golf tournament held on Tuesday, November 7th, and then relaxed on our backyard patio afterward.
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On Wednesday we drove to Yorba Linda (about one hour south of Monrovia) to visit the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the facility and all the exhibits. At one time the Library was going to be constructed in San Clemente where Nixon had the Western White House known as La Casa Pacifica. However, Yorba Linda offered a deal on the property that included the house where Nixon was born and that cinched the deal for Yorba Linda. The 8.4-acre campus is owned by the private Richard Nixon Foundation and is jointly administered by the Foundation and the National Archives and Records Administration. In addition to Nixon's birthplace and boyhood home, the campus includes the Marine One helicopter used by several presidents, replicas of the Oval Office and White House East Room, and the final resting place for the President and Mrs. Nixon. Nixon was the 37th President of the United States. He was a lawyer (don't hold this against him), a commissioned Navy officer during World War II, and a public official who was elected a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, Vice President, and ultimately President. Despite the fact that he was disgraced in the Watergate Affair and is the only President to resign from office, the exhibits remind us that he accomplished many good things while in office. You can check out the Library at:
https://www.archives.gov/presidential-libraries/visit/nixon.html
Photos below are Bonnie & I and Quent & Barbara in front of the Presidential Library, the main fountain in front of the Library, a view of the gardens behind the Library, and Nixon's birthplace and boyhood home.
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On Wednesday evening Bonnie & I and Quent & Barbara met Susan O at Smitty's Restaurant in Pasadena for a wonderful dinner and a good "catch-up" visit.
On Thursday we drove to Simi Valley (about one hour north of Monrovia) to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. This Library opened in 1991, is on a 100 acre site, and is perched on a mountain-top with sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, valleys and the Pacific Ocean. The Library has more than 100,000 square feet in 24 different galleries. The Museum charts Reagan's rise from local hero and college standout to the glamorous world of Hollywood stardom, to governor of California, and ultimately to the presidency of the United States. The artifacts, historical documents and dozens of interactive displays are really well-organized and presented. The photos below are among the Permanent Exhibitions.
From the left: 1st row - Bonnie, Quent and Barbara by the fountain at the entry to the Library; two photos of the full-sized Oval Office. 2nd row - The actual, full-size 707 Air Force One on display (you can board and tour the aircraft); one of the first major pieces of the Berlin Wall that was brought out of Germany; and the four of us enjoying dinner at The Derby Restaurant in Arcadia that evening.
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The most impressive part of our Library tour to me was the Special Exhibit of the Titanic which is only at the Library from May 27, 2017 to January 7, 2018. This is a fascinating look using audio, written material, and photographs, of this ill-fated ship thought at the time to be unsinkable.
During mid-December our family will take a trip to the Library and visit all the exhibits, including the Titanic. I plan to write and publish a more detailed blog about the Titanic Exhibition at that time. The photo below shows us next to one of the Titanic rescue row boats. You can check out the Library at:
https://www.reaganfoundation.org/library-museum/
On Friday the Coverts joined Bonnie & I and Jenny and Tracy for a 3-day trip to Hearst Castle. We stayed two nights in Cambria, drove to San Simeon to visit the Castle, and visited Solvang Sunday on the way back to Monrovia. This visit to Hearst Castle is covered in a separate Blog.
Miscellaneous Other -
On Sunday evening, Quent and I went to Rubio's Restaurant for take-out food for dinner and bumped into David Pitts and his wife Laura. David is the son of our long-time friends Cary & Carolyn. David said his dad had given him the 7-pin I distributed at my 77th birthday party because he (David) had a fixation with the number seven like I do. I asked him about it and he has me beat by a mile. He was born 12/7/67. He weighed 7 lb. 7 oz. and was 17.5 inches long. Birth time was 7:37. (You'll note that there are seven 7's in his birth information). He played little league baseball as a kid for 7 years and wore #7 jersey every year. He proposed to his wife on May 7, gave her 7 diamonds, and they were married on January 7th. Their first daughter when born weighed exactly 7 lbs. David teaches high school choir and begins all their performances at 7:07 pm. He'll never be 77 in a year ending in 7 like me this year, but I would rather be 50 like he will be on December 7th.
Family Visiting -
Griffin's School Program - On Friday November 17th Bonnie & I joined Heather D & Sean at the Holly Avenue Elementary School to watch Griffin (and his classmates) perform in a school presentation. The presentation was called "Gallery of Greatness" and consisted of students in his class standing in the cafeteria, in costume, playing the part of some of America's great people. The procedure was for parents to walk around the room and talk to the students, who would play the part of their character, explaining all about their history and their accomplishments. This was a really neat idea and a great way for the students to learn some history. Griffin was Chuck Yeager, and told us where he was born, where he went to high school, about his time in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot, how he was the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound, and how he is now in his 80's but very active in community affairs. In the photos below from the left: 1st row - Griffin as Chuck Yeager (with Sean & Heather D in the third photo); 2nd row - First photo is a "screen shot" of a tweet from the real Chuck Yeager -- you can see what Sean tweeted about Griffin being Yeager, and Yeager responded immediately saying, "Good, I get tired of being me, so for today I'll be ...........; next is Bonnie talking to Neil Armstrong, then Bonnie and Alexander Graham Bell. 3rd row- Bonnie talking to a second Neil Armstrong; then Betsy Ross; and the last is Benjamin Franklin.
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Brief Visit with Curran - On Saturday we had a brief (very brief) visit with Curran who was home for a few days from Arcata where he is attending Humboldt State University. He is applying for an internship next summer in the field of communications and is hoping to go with one of two companies; one in New York and one in San Francisco. He looks good and seems to be enjoying life and his studies.
Thanksgiving - Bonnie & I, and Tracy and her dogs (Dottie & Frankie), spent Thanksgiving this year at our Cabin in Big Bear. Bonnie and Tracy prepared a great meal and I poured the wine (I did help with the cleanup after dinner). The weather was clear and cool in the mountains (unlike the record heat in Los Angeles), the food was terrific, and it was a really enjoyable day! Jenny and her family, and Heather D and her family, spent Thanksgiving with the in-laws this year.
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Dale & Pam, Michael, and Kevin & Heather H, along with their kids Sydney, Regan, and Mason, also spent Thanksgiving weekend in Big Bear. They came to our cabin on Friday afternoon and we had a lot of fun visiting and walking in the forest behind our cabin. Below are a few photos taken during our walk. Photos from the left: 1st row- Mason with Dottie, Tracy, Regan, Sydney with Frankie, Michael H, Dale (with Kevin behind) and Pam; Regan, Mason, Sydney, Kevin & Heather H; then Michael H, Pam & Dale. 2nd row - Frankie, Heather with Dottie, and me (Ron); the Lightning Tree - we've taken many photos over the years at this tree - this is the first time I've seen that the top of the tree has fallen off; the last photo is Sydney riding in a newly hung swing in the forest directly behind our cabin - I don't know who put it up. Regan and Mason are in the photo, and you can see Kevin looking up into the tree to make sure the branches are strong enough to hold Sydney (Dale had previously been swinging so I doubt there was a problem).
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Friday morning I went upstairs into the Cabin side-loft and drug out a Christmas tree (from the very back behind years of accumulated Christmas decorations) to take down the hill for Jenny's family to use. This is a "fake tree" (but a good one) with lights on the tree and the one we had used the last few years we celebrated Christmas at the Cabin. Later in the day, after visiting with the Dale Hadfield clan, and having seen the boxes and boxes of "stuff" in the loft that we will never use, Bonnie, Tracy and I spent a few hours doing some house cleaning. We looked through everything in the side-loft and segregated it into what could be used by someone in the family, what should be given to a thrift shop, and what should simply be taken to the dump. This is a job that needed to be done someday, and it's great to have it behind us now. And it was really helpful to have Tracy assist in reviewing everything. Saturday we made a trip to the Dove's Nest Thrift Shop and to the dump. Two days ago the loft was literally filled from floor to ceiling with boxes and other stuff. The photo below shows the loft as it is now (and should be a surprise to anyone who has seen the side-loft in recent years).
Saturday morning Tracy and I took the dogs for a walk in the forest behind the cabin. We stopped by Art H's house and he joined us for a while. We came across a "Pirate Bear" out in the forest (see his peg leg and left paw-hook).
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Sunday morning I went for a short hike in the forest. Over the many years we have had our cabin (over 40 years now) our family and friends have hiked to a destination we called "The Bench" which is a short distance up in the forest to an overlook of the lake. Many times the young kids went with us since it was not too long or too steep. When I arrived at the overlook this morning to my disappointment and frustration, someone had removed the bench. It makes you wonder why -- what were they trying to prove or accomplish? Below is a photo of Tracy (with Dottie), Griffin and Jen at the Bench a few years ago, and then the photo of the same spot that I took this morning.
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Surprise a Stranger- Just for fun I've been giving a gift of $7 to a stranger on the 7th day of each month (or another day if the 7th doesn't work) with a brief explanation as to why I'm doing it (I'm sure they think I'm crazy). I attach an explanation note to a 5 dollar bill and a 2 dollar bill. This month we played the crazy Ron Hadfield Year 77 golf tournament on the 7th. After golf we all met on the patio for breakfast and the waitress, a young woman named Kelly, waited tables for the entire group. The cook had trouble keeping up, but Kelly did an excellent job of taking care of us. I told her my story regarding the number 7 and gave her my note and $7. She was very appreciative and exclaimed, "My lucky number is 7 -- I was born on the 7th!" (btw - I did give her a nice tip when paying the bill).
Good Deeds- I have an objective to be more aware of the opportunities to do good deeds. I'm sure that opportunities are all around me, but I seem to have difficulty recognizing these situations - but I'll keep trying. I was at the ATM the other day and an elderly woman approached and asked me to check her balance - so I pushed her! -- Ha Ha -- That's the best I could do this month.
Bitcoin- I follow the stock market, and although Bitcoin isn't a stock, the frenzy it has caused in the markets during November is really interesting. Bitcoin has rocketed higher by as much as 1,070% since the beginning of 2017, and with significant volatility. This reminds me of the Dutch tulip mania in the 1600s. I wonder if there will be a similar collapse.
November was an interesting month, with lots of fun activities and visits with friends and family members. I'm looking forward to an active and fun month in December.