Pooks Canyon

 Ventura to Morro Bay, by way of Santa Barbara and Slovang. A photo log. Jon grilled carne asada tacos at camp last night and we devoured it. Then we watched the sunset at the beach. Sunset. Beach. Then we had the moonrise. This morning we played 18 holes at Mohawk Disc Course on Cachuma Lake. We’ve been cherry-picking the highest rated courses on UDisc and it is paying off. Wonderful round. This is us after finishing hole 18. We accidentally parked in front of the tee for hole five. We were left a funny note from a local disc golfer. After that we went to Solvang and ate sausages, potato salad, Radlers, and Reislings at a beer garden. Jon and Axel window-shop as the horse drawn trolley passes. Windmill in the background. I now want to re-watch the movie “Sideways.” Axel and I on the streets of Solvang. I bought a Danish Christmas ornament and some Viking-themed stationery. Axel bought a 1000 piece Solvang puzzle that we will have to somehow put together without the cat stealing an...

 From Hensley Lake we traveled further south, to Tapo Canyon in Simi Valley. There we camped and played at an amazing disc golf course in Thousand Oaks called Sapwi. It was large and beautiful, like a botanical garden. Located near the Reagan Presidential Library, the park dripped of tax dollars and we were there to appreciate it. This morning we drove to Ventura, where we are camped on the beach. Further inland, we played at Coyote Point Disc Golf Course. It is near Ojai. The course itself is part of a large campground and park at Casitas Lake. Had we known about the camping we might have stayed there. Note to future self. The course was even better than Sapwi. Gorgeous views, manicured fairways, but truly birdie-able. This afternoon we did some sightseeing in Ventura and visited the Mission Buenaventura, founded by Junipero Serra in 1782. I do love an old building. Jon and Axel at the Mission. Axel took this photo of my favorite flower. An old violin at the Mission ❤️ Disc golfin...

 We woke in Lake Amador to a cool and misty morning, perfect for hot beverages while wrapped in a sleeping bag. After a while we broke camp and timed ourselves (25 minutes). We drove from the lake down to Modesto, via Hwy 88 and then 99. In Modesto we found a lovely but challenging disc golf course at East La Loma Park. We played the “back 18” and had the place pretty much to ourselves. I lost my best disc in the ironically named “Dry Creek,” a tributary to the Tuolumne River. The creek was very full, murky, and about 40 feet wide, so I abandoned my disc to a watery final resting place. RIP Barsby Roadrunner! After midday frolf we continued on to Hensley Lake Recreation Area, our home for the night. The boys played some more golf while I set up camp and played a bit of violin inside Axel’s tent (I was feeling shy). It is not easy to play a violin inside a tent, one has to keep the bow motions very small. The night was cold and too windy for cards, so we played chess instead. Jon ta...

The first day of our old-fashioned family road trip has begun. This morning, we squeezed Axel, who is on spring break from his junior year of high school, into the backseat amidst all our other belongings and headed towards the Lake Amador Resort Campground. When we were about 15 minutes from our destination, we saw a castle in the distance. Yes, a castle. I said, "is that a castle?" We debated what it could possibly be for about 5 minutes before hanging a left and driving up toward it. Docents were waiting by a chain link fence and told us the castle was open for self-guided tours. I always welcome the opportunity to wander through antique buildings, so I jumped at the chance to explore Preston Castle, which was originally built to house a large number of boys. It served as a reform school from 1894 to around 1960, rather than as a residence for lords and ladies. Prior to 1894, juvenile criminals were sent to San Quentin or Folsom Prison. Preston Castle was seen as a prefera...