We Be Skull Painting!

After the Oceanside Mission event, we jammed down to Adams Ave. in San Diego for a "class" in skull painting in the Dia de los Muertos tradition.  The classroom was the front patio of Cafe 21.

Crystal, was our teacher -  she was excellent  -  no pressure, step by step.  She led about 25 of us, encouraging us to try our own variations.

Gail is all set, and her painting is flawless so far.

Having the class at a cafe was good for their business!  Everyone was enjoying the drinks!  It should be noted that due to the small tables, and 3+ hours of class, there were a few casualties.

 

 

 

 

Fun - the operative word!  Felice Dia de los Muertos!

Dia De Los Muertos Event

Yesterday, Gail and I took in the big Day of the Dead event at the California Mission in Oceanside.  Immigrants, mainly from rural areas in Central and Southern Mexico, have brought their cultural traditions northward.  They have nothing to do with Halloween, but are a way of remembering and paying respect to deceased loved ones.

The morning started out foggy, but soon warmed up.

This is the oldest pepper tree in California.

The inner courtyard of the mission had many altars to remember dead family members.  All those marigolds are believed to lure the spirits of  dead loved ones to the altar.

Those bread loaves were very ornate.

This was the entrance to the car trunk altars of several different car clubs.

This altar was for a son who died at the age of four months.

The altars always include some of the honored person's favorite foods, sports items, vices, etc.

An altar for a breast cancer victim.

A very custom car with 5 flat screen TVs!

 

A unique blend of religion, traditional customs, and modern culture!

The mission has been beautifully restored.

Besides folklorico dancing, there was a contest for Catrina Princesses, and King.  This girl was later crowned princess!

 Another girl with her mom?

The little kids were really cute!

The judges compare notes.  The emcee here was asking the audience, "Who is from Oaxaca?  Who is from Sinaloa?  Who is from Guanajuato, etc.? The audience cracked up when a woman yelled out, "Bakersfield!"

The winning princess!

 The mission cemetery.

 There were many booths.  This one was for a funeral home! 

It was time for us to jump on the I-5 and head to Cafe 21 in San Diego for a "class" on how to paint skulls.  Adios!



Life, Death, and In Between

 

 

 

   

 



HAPPY OCTOBER!

Night Visitors

Penelope decided to go feral and refuse to come in the house yesterday afternoon, which happens every few weeks.  Three times, she has stayed out all night, occasionally taunting us, and then fleeing into the brush.  Such was the case last night.  We were especially tense, however, after hearing a coyote uproar in the neighborhood around 7:15 in the evening, and a Great Horned Owl hooting above the yard the night before.  Gail was up most the night, and I didn't do much better.  Looking out the back door throughout the night proved to be an eye opener.  We had visitors!

 Our first visitor, a possum, was tipping seed out of the bird feeder.  He stayed here, balanced on the fence, for at least 5 hours.

Next was a masked bandit checking out cat treats outside our kitchen window.

"Hmmm, maybe I'll come back later for a nap on this fine fainting couch."



 "Oooh, I've got to get one of these for the cubs!"

 

"Beware, I am a Zombie.  I will eat you!"

 

 "Hmmm, you could have invited me for dinner.  Any leftovers?"

I tell you, this raccoon had no fear.  When I stepped outside in my robe, he ambled right up to me, driving me back into the house.  Oh, and Penelope?

She came back at 7:00 in the morning like some wild teenager.  P-Girl, you are so grounded!

Search for Fall

There is no fall in San Diego.  Sure, the shadows get a little longer, the days a little shorter, but tropical / desert landscape continues on the same.  Soooo, we decided to take a few days to live among the trees up in mile high Idyllwild. about a two hour drive northeast.

 Idyllwild is in the forest on the southwest slope of the San Jacinto Mountains.  Yes!  Some turning leaves, thanks to many native Black Oaks, and planted maples.

One must be prepared to brake for Sasquatch in these parts.

Lily Rock rose up behind our cabin.  We took one bike ride -  the steep roads, however, lowered the fun factor.

Lily Rock, also called Tahquitz Rock, has a roughly thousand foot face, and is a symbol of Idyllwild.  Tahquitz Peak is higher (8,750 ft.), and hidden by Lily Rock in this picture.  The next day, we hiked to the top of the peak.

 

For you, Nick!  We didn't expect to see snow in town from last week's storm, but there it was!

 

 This was our cabin, cozy, and isolated among the trees.

Our cabin with glowing stove and Halloween lights.

Tuesday, we spent most of the day hiking the Devil's Slide Trail, a 3,000 foot gain to the top of Tahquitz Peak.  There was more snow the higher we climbed. 

 

We found a great view spot for lunch.  It was almost warm in the exposed areas.

 

 Resting after lunch and enjoying the view.

Rabbit tracks, we think.  We met a couple from Carlsbad who turned around ahead of us because they thought they were seeing lion tracks.  When they showed them to us, we were sure they were dog or coyote tracks.  They resumed their hike to the top.

 

The snow began to get hard and icy where it had been packed down, which made things a little dicey near the top.

 

 

The nob in the middle of the photo is the top of Lily Rock.  The bare granite to the right is Suicide Rock.  Idyllwild is between the two and a little further down the valley.

 

 The lookout tower has been restored by volunteers but is no longer in service.



 This summer the Mountain Fire burned the whole southeast side of the mountain.  Idyllwild was evacuated for several days and around 30,000 acres were burned.

 





The inside of the lookout tower has a green motif.

 

It's a wonder one of us didn't land on his arse going back down.

 

The rocks, trees, and snow reminded us of the Sierras.

 







 After a soak in the spa we went out to Cafe Aroma for fine dining and music by a jazz trio composed of music instructors from the local arts academy.  The base player had played with Miles Davis.

 

 Gail updates our journal.

At night from the spa we heard screech owls, saw a shooting star, and enjoyed the full moon.  During the day we were entertained by chipmunks, squirrels, and Stellar Jays.

 

Gail added her magic touches to our little deck.

On Wednesday, we left the cabin with the goal of checking out Fulmor Lake a few miles up Highway 243.



 





At a roadside vista point we spotted what I think is a Banded Rock Lizard.

 

We had Fulmor Lake to ourselves since it was closed due to the government shutdown.  Shhh! Don't tell anyone we sneaked in!

 

 

 Halloween starts early for us.

We named our wild man pumpkin Hubert (French pronunciation) after the owner of the Cafe Aroma who chatted briefly with us. 

 

Hubert, lording over the cabin.

 

Dinner!  Gail's tortellini soup was complimented by a fine Temecula 2011 Wiens Family Cellar sangiovese - excellent pairings all around!

 



Our cabin property had this amazing tire swing cut from one tire!

 





 22 deer have been stationed around Idyllwild, each one painted by a different artist.

 

 

On the way home we stopped at a metal sculptor's (Dore Capitani) sculpture garden.  Wouldn't you like this in your front yard? It was actually made by another artist.

 

Continuing the metal theme, we stopped at The Vail Lake Resort where Ricardo Breceda makes his huge, amazing metal sculptures. You might remember seeing pictures I posted last year of his sculptures in the Anza- Borrego Desert.  These are outside of Temecula.

 

There is a Zombie festival going on there this weekend.

 

Well, it's back home for us, and the kitties are oh so glad.