Good Dog!

At 3:30 this morning, our dog Kelso came running into the bedroom.  He "yapped" a few times, and then began tugging on Ross's hand. It was clear that he wanted Ross to get up and follow him. 

He led Ross to the window in the living room.  Sure enough, someone was standing by the front door!  Kelso barked.  Ross got his robe on. The man left our yard and started walking down the street. A few seconds later, the police arrived.

I found out this morning that our neighbors, George and Ashley, had seen this guy looking in the window of our friend Don's house across the street and had called the police. Apparently unable to get into Don's house, the man had then tried ours.

Of course, the next door neighbors and the police are the true heroes of this story (thank you!), but we were quite pleased to discover that Kelso IS a good watch dog.   I was a bit worried that if we ever had an intruder, Kelso would greet them happily, inviting them to come in and play.  I should have known better!

Kelso was rewarded with treats and a nice long visit to the Dog Park.  Good Boy!





 

This Just Might Become a Yearly Tradition!

Except for the week we spent in     New Jersey, it just didn't feel like Christmas time this year.

We did put up lights and a tree, but warm weather and palm trees are not the norm for a Rahwegian's holiday season!

Last evening, though, we went to the Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn in Riverside.





With horse-drawn carriage rides,        a skating rink, live entertainment,      a free display of 3.5 million brilliant lights and more than 400 animated figures including angels, elves and carolers, this is an extravaganza      not to be missed!




 The carriages were so pretty!

The horses even had sparkley hooves!

 

There was also a wide selection of seasonal treats available; funnel cakes, gingerbread, cocoa. We bought some freshly popped kettle corn and then indulged in cupcakes from Casey's!

Ross had Decadent Dark Chocolate. 

 I chose the Sassy Strawberry. ALMOST as good as the

ones my friend KG makes!

The Festival is a gift  from the owners of The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa to the community, and hosts one of the largest collections of lights in the nation. This year, they added  a 12’ x 8’ mistletoe (the world’s largest)! Of course, Ross and I took advantage!

It took until New Year's Day, but it finally felt like Christmas! I think we'll probably be back next year...

 

Not New Jersey's Fault

Ross teaches a Geology Lab at CSUSB, including an extra-credit/makeup lab... a hike up to the San Andreas Fault. I have heard all about "the hike" since we started dating (about 8 years ago), but this past Saturday was the first time I actually got to see it for myself.

We went up to the school to meet the students for 10 am. There wasn't a big turnout, just twelve students... probably because the forecast was for light rain.

 

This NASA photo shows the San Andrea Fault , the Arrowhead
Springs Fault, and their proximity to the CSUSB campus.

We’ve all heard that one day California will experience “The Big One.” This, of course, refers to a major earthquake and it is widely assumed this will happen on the San Andreas fault, which passes less than a mile north of the CSUSB campus. The lab is designed to familiarize students with this fault, and to teach about fault characteristics in general.

We learned that  the straight line of the base of the mountain, along with a straight line of trees,  may be the result of faulting.

We also learned the significance of the presence of Pelona schist, which is lithologically identical to the Orocopia schist. There is no Pelona schist in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Pelona schist is on the Pacific Plate, and the Orocopia schist is on the North American Plate, indicating that the two were originally from the same location.

There was also a water channel that could be traced all the way to the line of trees, but which ended abruptly, with no apparent source for the water that eroded it; direct evidence of faulting.

We finally got to a point where there were changes in soil color, and fine-grained fragmented rocks underfoot. We were in the San Andreas fault zone! We crossed over the area, from the Pacific plate to the North American tectonic plate!

On the way back, it started to rain.  We hurried back down to the campus. I’m so glad I finally got to experience this!

 

 

 

 

Day One of My Life in California

November 14^th, 2012:

(Actually day two if you count last night, because I did arrive in California on November 13^th at about 7:30 pm, but that was 10:30 pm Rahway time. So it doesn’t really count).

Ross and I went to March Air Force Base (which is actually now March Joint Air Reserve Base), located in Riverside.

Our purpose: to obtain a military ID for me. We did not accomplish our mission. Yet.

We now have an appointment for 8:00 next Monday morning. We did get to see a bit of the base though, and we visited the weather station.

On the way back, we drove through Moreno Valley. We’d been this way previously, and had seen the “Burro Crossing” signs.  I admit that I had doubted the existence of these wild burros. But I was wrong. They are there! We have seen them! Just wandering around! Wild! No, really! We drove right up near them.  Now, when is the last time you did THAT in Rahway?

We were going to try to get my county ID after that but DMV was really crowded (imagine that!) so we went grocery shopping and then headed home. We saw some police action over on Fremontia Drive. Turns out a 76 year old woman’s body was discovered by her son when he arrived to pick her up for a doctor's appointment. "There was evidence of foul play and there was trauma to the victim," said police Lt. Paul Williams. "This is a very sad situation." Indeed!

I made Cinnamon Apple Pork Chops for dinner (aka: “Sexy Porkchops”).  No, honestly, I did!  They were actually pretty good if I do say so myself. Ross concurs.  “Very good”, he said. “ The caramelized apples actually made the green beans taste good.” Kelso liked them, too! (The pork chops, not the apples).