Summer Ends and Fall Begins.

The month of October has started with more fires in our area. Early this summer, we had a large fire west of us, in Santa Barbara. Then later in August, we had another fire east of us, in the San Fernando Valley, where we used to live. Just recently we have had two fires, again in nearby communities to the north. And as I write now, another fire has broken out in the mountain community of Wrightwood, where there is our local ski resort. The drought has taken its toll on Southern California and the mountains are tinder dry. We haven't had any measurable rain since February and October usually brings the Santa Ana winds that blow offshore, further drying out the mountains. These winds are warm and dry, since they are blowing off the desert, then compressing as they flow down the mountains to sea level. It is not unusual to have temperatures that go into the upper 90's or even the 100's (35-40 degrees C) combined with humidity in the single digits and winds that will gust at 70-80 mph. It's really tough on our firefighters who work day and night to keep the flames at bay. With the airport nearby, we have the aerial tankers and helicopters doing constant refilling and refueling, flying overhead all day long. Hopefully the winds will die down and let these guys get a handle on all of this.

On the home front, we have kept busy remodeling the bathroom. I hope to have it all finished by next week, but it depends on the bath tub we pick out and if it is in stock at the time. I am at a stand still until we get the tub because I still need to do all the plumbing work to fit the new tub and fixtures before the drywall and cement board can go up. It is amazing what you find when you tear down walls and see how half ass the original construction was done. It's sure not the way I would build a house. So some of my work is fixing the original construction so that the walls and fixtures are plumb and ready to go when I am.

We went back to the LA County fair to pick up the mirror we had ordered the last time and to enjoy another day at the fair with friends. This time we went with our friends, Steve and Kerree, who had not been to the fair in years. And again, it was about the food and beer, oh, and a few exhibits. They have a wonderful minature train exhibit that sits on a quarter acre and, pardon the pun, has all the bells and whistles. The displays and all the trains are amazing. A lot of detail went into this exhibit.

Again, more food and beer, and for the girls it's margaritas. And what would the fair be without all the bizarre fried foods and goodies.

Then after the feast, it's another beer to wash down the fried food and for the girls it's time to switch from margie's to wine. Of course it has to be at the wine tasting building. So many wines, so little time. Hundreds of wines to chose from. Mmmm.





After that we wander around the fair grounds and check out the Budweiser Clydesdales. If you have never seen these beautiful animals up close, they are really a large and magnificent horse. And talk about being pampered, these guys (and gals) have it made. Only the best grains, grooming twice daily, private stalls, they have it all.

More walking around the fair grounds, then it's over to the exhibit buildings (really more like an indoor swap meet) to buy things we don't really need but gotta have. There are at least ten of these buildings and a couple of thousand vendors selling just about everything under the sun.

As our day at the fair comes to an end, we've all had a wonderful time. Is there room for dessert? How about a deep fried Snickers bar or a deep fried Reese's to help harden the arteries.

It would be fun to stay for one of the concerts they have in the evening, but tonight there's no band and we still have couple of hour drive to get home.

This maybe the last time we visit the LA fair for a few years so I'm glad we had a chance to visit it twice. And as always, it was lots of fun.

Another Quiet Month for Construction News

It's the end of September, another month has slipped by. News on the construction front has been almost nonexistant. Just a few more pictures of the walls being plastered and that's it. I hope that they will start working on finishing the cistern so we have water when the house is completed in January. With only two months left in the rainy season, we're running out of time. But from what I've heard, there has been very little rain in the Consejo area.

The plastering in the kitchen area is just about finished.

The east side bedroom. Each bedroom has four large windows, like the one above.

Looking west from that same bedroom towards the living room and 2nd bedroom.

View from the kitchen area towards the 1st bedroom and living room.

The work on our home here in Camarillo is progressing faster than the construction in Belize but the contractor (me) is always taking time off to do other things. We're headed back to the fair today with friends, to pick up the mirror we bought and to view what we missed the last time. Then tomorrow we are going to Angel Stadium to watch our Angels finish the regular season and attend a big rally and fireworks show after the game to give them the push into the playoffs. We have tickets to game 2 of the playoffs against our nemisis, the Boston Red Sox, and if and when we beat the Sox, we also have tickets to game 2 of the American League Finals, probably against our other nemisis, the New York Yankees.

Then on Saturday, lobster season opens and several friends and I are going down to Newport Beach to dive for lobsters. The ocean is still fairly calm and the water temps remain warm (around 70 degrees) for California. Should be lots of fun.

Pictures from last years dive off Newport.

Then Sunday, it's back over to the Camarillo airport for ultralight lessons. I've been doing quite a bit of video work and helping to set up a new business plan for the owner, Mike. After a recent crash at one of the only other ultralight flying schools, it has left SkyRider Ultralights as the last teaching facility in Southern California. I'm lucky it is in my own backyard so I don't have a long commute to fly. Fall is here and it should be a great time to fly.

Fun in the Sun

Although the pictures and progress reports from the construction site have few and far in between, the work continues. With just a few workers on site, the plastering of the interior and exterior walls has taken longer than usual, but since we're not moving in soon, I guess it doesn't really matter.

But here at home, the work continues. I've managed to finish the guest bathroom, laundry room and most of the master bathroom and the walk-in closet here at home in Camarillo. The only thing left to complete is the bathtub and tiling in the master bathroom and I can't start on that until all of our house guests are gone. That should only be a few weeks more.

The guest bathroom - before

The guest bathroom - after

The master bathroom - before

The master bathroom - after


Sunday was a beautiful day here so I decided not to work today, go out and have a little fun in the sun and headed down to our local airport to do a little flying. I made arrangements with Mike, the instructor at SkyRider ultralights (http://www.skyrideraviation.com/), to do a short 15-20 minute flight around the farmlands that surround the airport. It was a perfect day for flying with just a gentle breeze and warm air, so that jackets wouldn't be needed. While I was waiting for Mike to show up at the airport, I met some other people that were also planning on spending their day doing an introductory flight, so we all sat and waited.

Donna and David were from the small town of Santa Paula, 15 or so miles from Camarillo, where they run the Santa Paula Inn (http://www.santapaulainn.com/), not too far from the Santa Paula airport. The Santa Paula airport is well known in the flying community and has many custom planes flying out from there. It also has one of the top aerobatic schools in the world. Unfortunately, they do not have an ultralight airport there, even though it would probably be a perfect place for one. So Donna, David and their friend Mark all came out to the Camarillo airport to try their first rides in an ultralight aircraft. Both Donna and Mark had previous flying experience, but none of it was anything close to an ultralight. But they were all up for the adventure.

This is what we would be flying in today.

Flight instructor, Mike and Donna ready for flight.

David and Jeffrey doing a little practice at taxiing up and down the runway.

Mike and Mark after Mr. Toads Wild Ride.

All in all, it was a great day. A good time was had by all. We came back in one piece and I think we're all ready to go again. I put together a short video of my flying adventure that I hope you enjoy. It gives you a small idea of the freedom that these ultralights give you while flying. This is a dream of mine to get an ultralight for our home in Belize. There are currently around three or four of them in the Corozal area and one of the owners even has a private airport. That will be another thing for me to explore when I return in November.