Day 0 : Oceanside, When you're away the cats will play

April 23, 2015

Oceanside, CA

Long day! Up early at four am, to work by six thirty, airport by four pm, Oceanside by seven. Re packed by ten pm.

Tomorrow begins ADZPCTKO which is the acronym for Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off. I find the name easier to say than the acronym.

I'm not really sure of what to expect. I imagine that there will be a lot of people there who have hiked or who want to hike the PCT. Other than that I am not sure what else. Will I enjoy it? Will I find it overwhelming and thus tedious? I am one of those people who is energized by alone time and become exhausted with a lot of social interaction in a large crowd.

I hope to meet a few new friends and look forward to meeting Kelly who is from my church and started hiking the PCT a few weeks ago. Perhaps I will get involved with some of the activities or events or perhaps I won't. I really don't have much of an idea of what it'll be like. Which is why I wanted to come and check it out. It's why I planned my trip as early as I did. I don't ever seem to tire when talking about the trail or listening to stories about the trail so I am hoping to find a few kindred spirits who are like me.

This was a different kind of day for me in that it is the first week day in at least eight weeks where I didn't get up at four am and either work out or hike six plus miles with my pack on. I still got up at four, I just didn't get the workout in. The logistics of getting here didn't lend itself to the normal routine.

One of the things that I am looking forward to is having the time to write about the events of the day. Sort of like I am doing now. I am not too interested in a narrative of the facts as much as my thoughts and feelings about the facts. 

One of the books I read this winter was My First Summer In The Sierra by John Muir. In the ideal world of my dreams my writing would be something like his. Although that would require me to be able to provide the Latin names for the nature I observe as well as provide a vivid description of people and places. If John Muir were a master of oil painting, my efforts in comparison are more akin to color crayon drawings of stick figures drawn by a five year old.

I am writing for my grand-children. If you are not one of my grandchildren. Stop reading this!  Just kidding, just be grateful for the modern era that we live in that makes it possible for a rambling amateur such as me to be able to post stuff in a place that you can read it without effort. Except for the effort of trying to figure out what I am trying to say.

I currently have five grand kids with another one on the way. I know that if my grandfather had taken the time and effort to write down his thoughts then I would absolutely love to be able to read it. Regardless of how mudane or boring it was. Alas, none of the writings of any of my ancestors has made it to my hands so I have nothing. 

My grandkids will have more than nothing. They'll have this, and I have to think that they are going to enjoy it. My goal to to write things that they are going to enjoy reading. If I am extraordinarily fortunate, perhaps you, non-grandchildren readers will enjoy some of it too.

I am staying with my daughter Juliann and her husband Justin. We went to dinner at a place called Masters that served some really good, though a bit pricey, food. To be fair, it's a really nice place with a warm woody ambience. The service was excellent. Here's a picture of Juliann and Justin

Juliann is, and always has been, an animal lover. She has taught me much about God's creatures, and through them about God. It is truly a treat to listen to her enthusiasm about her animal friends

She is a foster parent to a puppy and a few kittens as well as mom to a cat named Stonewall and a few fire belly toads. She knows the personality traits of each of these creatures and it is really fun to listen to her stories.

Unfortunately for Justin one of the foster kittens though it would be funny to poop all over his pillow while Justin and Juliann were out picking me up at the airport

Fortunately for Justin, Juliann buys Natures Miracle Foaming Cleaner so Justin doesn't have to lay his head in cat poop all night.

You can see by the look on Juliann's face  the quality and wholesomeness of this wonderful product

The offending deliquents taking a timeout for their poor choices. I think the one in the back is Gretchen Wieners named after the character played by Lacey Chabert in Mean Girls. I think she did it.

Here's a picture of a now blind puppy that looked my way when I took a flash picture

This poor creature had a prolapsed rectum. Which, if I understood correctly, pooped her butt out her butt. Sounds painful, but has since been rectified by a visit to the vet and a ton of tender loving care by Juliann and Justin