Summer Escapes

Summer 2018

     We keep wondering how we ended up at home this summer, when the Central Valley is notoriously hot. Why aren't we house/catsitting on the Central Coast where it's cool? (Oh, the owners moved). Why aren't we in Alaska like last year? Why isn't it August yet, when we head to Washington and British Columbia?
Why is it 100 or more every day? Even in a dry heat like ours, 100 is hot!Lucky for us, relief is at hand: Nearby Lake Kaweah is full for the first time since 2006. Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks and the Central Coast are all an easy day trip. So we tried to quit whining and go to the cool! 
     A week after arriving home from our spring trip to Florida (Marilyn), Washington (Doug), South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Arizona, Doug was kayaking at Kaweah with friend George.

A couple of days later, we filled the VW Bus with 2 inflatable and 2 plastic kayaks and headed back to Lake Kaweah with friend Lew and his daughter Natalie.

Natalie and Lew

Natalie, Lew, and Marilyn

Huck and Tom, aka Doug and Lew

Doug got a grand Father's Day present when he and his son, Andrew, kayaked Lake Kaweah. 

Andrew & Devon

Andrew and Devon were in town for a wedding. It was sweltering even in Three Rivers, where it should have been cool along the river!

    Later in June Doug's cousin's daughter Claire was in town, and we headed to Kaweah one last time before the water went down too far. (Kaweah is a reservoir. Note the water line on the hill behind Claire. This is a good article specific to Lake Kaweah but typical of California's water supply: Lake Kaweah Will Fill for First Time Since 2006.)

Apparently, we wore Claire out:-). She made good use of the hammock on our back patio.

    In July, Doug set up camp for a couple of days near Big Meadow in Sequoia National Park.

Have inflatable kayaks that fold into suitcases, will travel! Our newest inflatable--a lighter one for Marilyn. 

     Later in July, we hit Hume Lake in Kings Canyon NP to get Marilyn and her new yellow kayak acquainted. It was a nice calm morning paddling across, but the neck/back gods got in the way, the wind came up, and Plan B was invoked. Marilyn hung out and watched the campers and the "old" boat and ordered hamburgers and shakes, while Doug paddled the new boat back across and got the car. It was amazing how quickly a good breeze materialized, making it a good paddle in a nice boat--but he didn't have a yellow shirt. 

Yellowish boat with a yellow motor--nice. 

Lake was a greenish hue but the camp had hundreds of kids splashing and frolicking. 

     One of the original inflatables (like the orange one in the foreground) will now go to Bellingham, making a pair, available to all to enjoy. 

    The day after we did Hume, Doug met our friend Joel at Avila on the Central Coast for some kayaking out in the ocean. Note the fog--typical summer on the coast.

Then Doug headed down to Ventura and a night aboard the Miramar, a 78-foot wooden ketch that his friend Lew captains.

     The following week, we escaped the Valley heat together for three days in Morro Bay--which we'll get to in the next post.

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