Sunday Thoughts // No. 5

No. 5 // May 18-24, 2015

+ This week started off pretty quiet. Blog post writing {and planning ahead so things actually publish when they should?!? What is this "prepared" madness? Who are you and what have you done with Sam?} and errand running were the only interesting things happening. We DID impulse-buy two pounds of blueberries at Costco and then proceeded to eat half of them on the way home. Heh.

+ I accompanied the parentals to this year's East Bay Regional Park Volunteers Appreciation dinner at Cull Canyon Wednesday evening. I wrote about it last year; this year was exactly the same {except they did tri-tip instead of fajitas, which the padre was very excited about}, but with much colder weather. Why so cold, California? Toying with our emotions... eighties in January, fifties in late May? Boo.

+ Janelly had a craving for Korean food mid-week and asked if I wanted to go out for lunch Thursday, to which I obviously answered "OF COURSE." We made an adventure afternoon of it.

+ The rest of the week was very lowkey. Yardwork and cleaning random sections of the house that haven't been touched in ages {hello, weird 1970s bar counter in the breakfast area that's been storing dog stuff for the last fifteen years. Do you think it's maybe time to clean/organize you? Yeah? Me, too}. Ooh, I also cleared the desk in my room! Doing computer work while NOT sitting on my bed is kinda weird now. O.o

+ Waffles were made Saturday morning. A lotta waffles. Nomnomnom.

Typography // Read More by Dr. Seuss

 

"The more you read, the more things you'll know.

The more you learn, the more places you'll go."

-- Dr. Seuss

{photo taken at Coyote Hills Regional Park}

Adventuring // Lake Chabot Marina in Castro Valley

Walking the dog in the heat of the day.

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Who: Daddy, Zoe, & I

Where: Lake Chabot Marina in Castro Valley

When: Friday at 1PM

The Place: Ah, Lake Chabot. Another little bit of my childhood. Turtle watching, duck feeding, wild berry picking, dog walking, fish spotting... It's one of those places that is just there and doesn't seem that big a deal because you grew up around it. But it's actually pretty cool.

They've recently redid parts of the recreational areas of Lake Chabot, so now there's an exercise playground {you know, the cool "exercise" equipment that kids love to play on?}, the picnic tables are all new, and handicap access is much smoother.

The barbeque pits and picnic areas are always reserved ahead of time on the weekends, so remember to contact East Bay Regional Parks if you want to have a get-together here. Parking is pretty easy, but if you would rather not pay, there's usually street parking right outside the entrance. Paddleboats, canoes, motorboats with awnings, etc, are all available for rent on site as well, but walking the trail {singular, not plural} is usually what we do.

Lake Chabot's one trail {at least I'm pretty sure they've only got one... heh} is a loop around the lake. I've never walked all the way around, but I hear it's relatively easy. If you start walking near the docks, on the shady side of the lake, it's more hilly and it can get pretty hot since the wind blows over the hill to your left and skips right over you. If you start walking on the far side of the lake first, there are less trees, but the wind is cool and the trail is decently flat.

There's a dam and marshes and an island, too. And lots of birds, including an eagle's nest somewhere, so I've heard.

What We Did: Zoe's been a little stiff these days since she's getting older, and the quick stop-start of running her in the backyard has been hard on her joints. So Daddy and I decided to take her for a walk to get her exercise instead. With the dog's creaky joints and Daddy's sore knees, the flatter, cooler side of the lake seemed the better bet.

Though she may be getting older physically, this dog still has the mentality of a puppy, so it shouldn't have surprised us that she wanted to trot/jog during this "walk." Luckily, her urge to sniff everything was still intact, so there were frequent pauses and she didn't get too out of breath. Everyone we passed by loved the fact that she was wearing her Doggles {doggie sunglasses}. What a cool kid.

We walked about a mile and a half in, to Raccoon Point {it's unlabeled and there's no sign indicating its existence, so you just have to know, I guess}, and then turned around. All the small docks we saw along the way were barely in the water because of this major drought and the water level being so low. Be on the lookout for cherry trees along the side of the trail-- you can figure out where they are by all the fruit and pits on the ground beneath the overhanging branches. We didn't try any, but they must be pretty good because someone is eating them.

Tips: Just a few suggestions...
+ unless you're having a party or a large get-together, the weekend isn't actually the best time to go to Lake Chabot. It gets pretty crazy out there with so many people around and small children running wild and untrained dogs off-leash {they're supposed to be on-leash, but you know how that goes}. Best time to walk around is on weekdays really. Or early in the morning, if weekends are your only option.

+ the blackberries usually ripen during the summer. However, with all the remodeling they did this past year, the berry vines were cut back significantly and are just starting to grow back now. So there's nothing to pick just yet, but I'll keep you updated.

Conclusion: It's weird to even consider this adventuring because to me it's just Lake Chabot. *shrugs* Like, what's the big deal? But having realized how great exploring your own neighborhood can be, I'm looking at this local spot with new eyes and it's pretty impressive. There's a lot to do and I'm glad it was around when I was a kid. I guess I didn't know how good I had it, huh? (:

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Lake Chabot Marina
17600 Lake Chabot Road
Castro Valley, CA 94546

Adventuring // East Bay Regional Parks Volunteer Dinner 2014

^ The entire cabana area was filled with tables & chairs to fit all the staff & volunteers. ^

 ^ Evening swim, anyone? ^

^ The schedule. ^

^ What a colorful table we had! ^

 

^ Mother showing off the new handkerchiefs everyone received. ^

 

^ A normal family picture! With our friendly, neighborhood James {Captain of the Mobile Fish Exhibit} ^

 ^ Because everyone needs a "weird" picture, right? ^

 ^ Obviously the parentals have gotten used to me following them and taking their picture ^

Celebrating the 80th anniversary of the East Bay Regional Park system and another successful year of volunteerism in the parks.

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Who: The Parentals & I

Where: Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in Castro Valley

When: Wednesday at 5:30 PM

The Place: I grew up right around the corner from Cull Canyon-- during Summer Day Camp, we'd spend a whole day there, playing in the sand and swimming in the lake {or in my case, getting hit in the face by a fish the one time I worked up enough nerve to stick my head into the murky water. How I wish I were kidding. O.o}.

When I think Cull Canyon, I think singing "Thank You, Mr Bus Driver" before disembarking hot yellow school buses, ninety degree weather, an intense aroma of sunscreen {ugh}, the gritty feel of sand EVERYWHERE, and watching the "big kids" swim out to the dock on the other side of the lake. Basically, it reminds me of elementary school.

So it's always trippy to go back for an official event.

That being said, Cull Canyon really is a great place for a family day trip during the summer. From what I can remember, the lake bottom is pebbles, so it's nice on tiny feet, and it's pretty shallow even a decent distance from shore. There's a buoy cord that lets you know when the water starts to get deeper and it's an easy swim {or at least the "big kids" made it look easy-- I haven't swum there since, like, first grade, when I wasn't allowed into the deeper water, so... *shrugs*} from shoreline to floating dock. And there's usually a lifeguard on duty.

Parking shouldn't be a problem since the lot is pretty big and, even if it gets full, there's tons of street parking. The bathrooms are huge and airy {compared to your average park bathroom} and even have changing stalls that make getting into and out of your bathing suit super easy {everyone knows that a long car ride home in a wet swimsuit is not the business}. Plus, as you can see from a few of the photos up there, the cabana area is perfect for large parties and get-togethers.
 
The Event: The Volunteer Recognition Dinner is an annual event for the park service; this year, however, things were extra celebratory because 2014 is also the 80th anniversary of the organization. Whoot whoot!

Most of the park volunteers and event attendees are retired seniors, which means dinner is early, speeches are short, and there are a lot of cute, smiling, older people everywhere. It's pretty fun. No one is really out to impress anybody else and they've all gotten to know each other well over the years, so it's a very relaxed, very happy environment. Lots of laughter.

Dinner was cooked and served by EBRP staff as a way of thanking the volunteers for their service this past year. The food was quite excellent; kudos, team! And since everyone there is pro-parks and pro-preserving-open-spaces and pro-saving-the-planet, all the plates, cups, bowls, and utensils were compostable. Gotta love being green!

The table centerpieces were potted, California native, drought-resistant plants that were raffled off to one lucky winner per table. I have a photo of my cousin and her Cleveland Ragwort {which she appropriately dubbed "Cleveland"}, but she might kill me if I posted it... *hee*

Other Observations:
+ There were posters along all the cabana pillars with lists of people and how many hours they volunteered so far. Daddy was on the 101-200 hour list, while Mom was on the 51-100 hour list. Yay, parentals!

+ One lady had her name under the "40+ Years" list. She had been volunteering with the parks for the past forty-three years. So impressed.

+ Hearing some of the things that volunteers have accomplished in the past twelve months was pretty cool. And as a person who enjoys numbers {when in statistic and infographic form}, I also enjoyed the breakdown of hours given, people involved, and parks impacted.

+ Sit near a heat lamp and preferable with a view of the people with the microphones. It gets cold at Cull Canyon in the evening and you don't want to spend an hour and a half staring into a wooden pillar like I did.

+ I initially wasn't sure about going to this event. I don't really know anyone and they're all significantly older than me. But I was surprised at how easily conversation flowed and smiles were exchanged and how comfortable I actually was once there. So either this says something about how friendly the East Bay Regional Parks' volunteers are, or it says something about how grandma-like I really am... Either one is pretty valid, I think.

--

Cull Canyon Regional Recreational Area
18627 Cull Canyon Road
Castro Valley, CA 94546

Adventuring // California Canine Good Citizen Recertification Test 2014

 ^ Zoe was fascinated by this giant, weird-looking brown dog. I mean. There was a HUMAN on its back and it didn't care. What was this madness?!? ^

 

^ Headrest. ^

 ^ These two were best buds. As soon as one got out of sight from the other, they'd both panic and go on alert. Definitely didn't need the joint leash to keep them together! (: ^

 ^ The two Border Collies! Hanna {on the left} is shaved in order to cut down on the amount of upkeep and chance of ticks/pokey weed seeds that can get caught in her fur. I actually have a better picture of this where both dogs are right next to each other and look like twins, but the humans weren't looking at the camera. *sighs* People. ^

 ^ Group shot! ALL THE DOGGIES. And horses. And bike people. Whoot! ^

^ Aaand, she's out. ^

Getting Zoe recertified as an American Kennel Club {AKC} California Canine Good Citizen.

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Who: La Madre, Zoe, & I

Where: Shadow Cliffs Regional Park in Pleasanton

When: Saturday at 8:30 AM

The Place: I've always thought Shadow Cliffs was part of Livermore, but apparently I was wrong. Anyways. This regional park is one of our family's favorites {or at least in our top three most visited}. It's a little off the beaten path {read: in the middle of nowhere}, but that also means it's quiet and there's tons of parking.

There are several lakes that make up Shadow Cliffs: the main one allows boats and is also Daddy's main fishing spot, while the other ones are smaller and harder to access. We heard from someone that there's a dogs-only beach somewhere in here, but we've never been there ourselves. The main walking/running/biking trail is this raised plateau with a great view of the surrounding area and is an easy walk {we've got a senior dog, so this is good info to know}. If you're interested in picnicking or having a party, this is a great place to do so because, again, it's quiet, there's a lot of parking, and there's this flat, wide open, grassy space near the main lake and its docks.

Fun fact, the day camp I attended as a little kid used to spend a day at the waterslides that were next door to Shadow Cliffs. For those of us who didn't want to slide down giant, curvy waterchutes of death {can you tell I wasn't the biggest fan? every time there was a dip on a slide, I would go airborne for a few seconds since I didn't weigh enough to keep the foam mat underneath me down and on the slide. freaked me out like no other. *shudder*}, we could go catch minnows in the shallow beach area of the lake next door. The slides were actually removed a few years back when the company that owned them went bankrupt. Also, I don't think there are minnows at Shadow Cliffs anymore though. Come to think of it, I don't even think Shadow Cliffs had a name back then. Shoot. I'm old...
 
The Event: In order for Zoe to be part of the East Bay Regional Parks' Volunteer Trail Safety Patrol {EBRP VTSP} with my mom, she has to be a certified AKC California Canine Good Citizen. And there's an annual test for dogs and their humans to make sure everyone's still well-mannered and under control.

When everyone first arrives, the owners have to sign in and show verification that their canines are up to date on their vaccinations. Then the waiting begins. One by one, the dogs and their owners are tested on their good behavior:
+ can the dog follow basic commands like heel, sit, lay down, stay, and come?
+ can the dog handle the owner being out of sight for three minutes?
+ can the dog walk amongst a crowd of people calmly?
+ can the dog be around other dogs without barking or growling?
+ can the dog be around moving horses, bikes, and loud sirens/car alarms?

Considering there was somewhere between fifteen and twenty dogs being tested, there were furry friends EVERYWHERE. And as someone who was just there to watch and help out, it was pretty fun. All the dogs were super sweet and petable {well, except one, but that one's been a part of VTSP for so long, it got special treatment and passed even though it basically got aggressive towards everything. *rolls eyes*}.

Other Observations:
+ Technically, the testing started at 9 AM, but we wanted extra time to let Zoe sniff everything beforehand so she wouldn't get distracted during her test by ALL THE SMELLS. Add the half hour it takes for us to drive there and the fact that we also had to run her before we left the house to let out her jitters, and you're looking at a 6:45 AM wake up call. Sigh.

+ I woke up at 7:50 AM. HA. Oops. I went from dead asleep to bolt upright to ready to leave in ten minutes flat. Those who know me are super impressed right about now. Ten minutes to get ready? Never happens. I impressed myself, man.

+ Dogs: two Border Collies, two Australian Shepherds, two Boxers, two Spaniels of some sort, two Terriers of some sort, two German Shepherds, a Chocolate Lab, and several dogs of indeterminate breed.

+ Humans: 95% older Caucasian people...

+ I was amused by Hanna and Zoe. Usually Zoe tolerates other dogs, but isn't too interested in playing with them. She'd rather play with humans and toys. Turns out, Hanna is the exact same way, so they actually got along really well {if "really well" means ignoring each other's existence}. Where else does the cold shoulder equal best friends forevaah?

+ The first time Zoe came across a large four-legged creature, it was a cow in the middle of a field. Zoe dropped into the "border collie crouch" and stared at it as it grazed. Then it raised its head while still chewing and the dog freaked. From what we've seen though, via various street parades and tests like this one, she's not afraid of horses. I'm not sure what the difference is in her mind, but she just seems to think horses are reallyreallyREALLY big dogs that warrant intense study and concentration. We're talking hardcore headtilt staring. Ah, this fuzz.

+ For the moving horses, bikes, and loud siren/car alarm part of the test, all the dogs were lined up in a row and were tested at the same time. They were all fine with the horses trotting by and the bikes zooming past, but the siren/alarm had a few of them howling along. It was like a doggie chorus. The humans were amused.

+ When taking pictures of dogs and their people, I've found that the humans have a harder time taking a good picture the first time around than their canines. Note to dog owners: don't worry about which direction your dog is facing or whether they're looking at the camera. If the photographer knows what they're doing, they can get the dog to look at them right before the shutter clicks. You, however, are now frowning or squinting or looking at the dog or a thousand other things and have ruined a perfectly good picture. Staaahp. I keep telling my mom: "Just keep smiling at the camera. I'll worry about the dog." She's almost trained now {the madre, not the dog. heh}.

+ I like dog people. Especially dog people who know that a well-trained dog is the best kind of dog. The time and effort and love they put into making sure their dog is well-behaved... it's always good to see how much the dog adores and respects their human in return. Spending the morning with kindred spirits {even if I was younger than everyone by, like, thirty to fifty years} and fuzzybutts was worth the early Saturday morning wake up call.

+ Also. ZOE PASSED. Whoot!

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Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreational Area
2500 Stanley Boulevard
Pleasanton, CA 94566