Greetings, fellow Avilones. Here we are, in the month of June, only days away from the official start of summer on the 21st. I don’t know about you, but summer has always meant something special to me, mostly because harkening back to my youth it meant a break from school with many visits to the beach. The aroma of salt water, cotton candy, hot dogs and tanning oil can transport me back to those wonderful times. Back then I only dreamed of living at/near the beach, and here I am now, living the dream with you all in Avila Beach. How lucky can a guy get?
One of my favorite summertime songs was released in 1964 by the duo Chad and Jeremy. Titled “A Summer Song”, the poetic lyrics so aptly captured the feeling of the day, especially for young lovers. Here are the opening stanzas: “Trees, swaying’ in the summer breeze, showin’ off their silver leaves, as we walked by. Soft kisses on a summer’s day, laughing all our cares away, just you and I. Sweet sleepy warmth of summer nights, gazing at the distant lights, in the starry sky.” It’s a song worth listening to, so take a few minutes to Google or YouTube it and take a ride back in time.
While I’m sure these dates are on your calendar, I nevertheless remind you of Fathers’ Day on Sunday, June 18th, a day honoring all fathers, grandfathers and father figures for their contributions. And let us not forget Juneteenth on the 17th, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The name “Juneteenth” references the date of the holiday, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.” The 2023 June solstice happens on June 21 at 14:58 UTC. That's June 21 9:58 a.m. CDT in North America. This solstice – the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere – marks the sun's most northerly point in Earth's sky.
Moving along, in the spirit of sharing my sometimes-rambling thoughts and opinions, I wonder how many of you "elder adults" resort to comparing life as it is today with life as it was "back in the day". I must admit to being guilty of this more and more as the older I get. I recall both my grandparents and parents falling back on this habit, and how I shook my head and laughed at them. I owe them all an apology, since I now get the same type of response when speaking to those of a younger generation. But experience counts, and it seems that we wise old folks have a responsibility to express to those younger than us our complaints and lessons learned, even though we rarely change their minds.
In that regard, I share with you a trip my wife and I took in May to Angel's Camp, which is located up in Gold Country, southwest of Sacramento. We drove the usual and most direct route up Hwy 5, which turned out to be a mistake. Unfortunately, a considerable portion of the road was in horrible condition. I found myself dodging potholes large enough to force vehicle wheels out of alignment, particularly in the slow lane. It was a bit better in the fast lane, but even that came with perils. Driving up Hwy 5, with a posted speed limit of 70 mph, you better be ready to ramp it up to 85 mph in the fast lane, or become the victim of tailgaters in a great hurry that force you back into the slow lane. So, the choice was to use the fast lane like a race car driver, or use the slow lane and dodge potholes while stuck behind freight trucks kicking up pebbles that always seem to find your windshields. Bottom line is that road conditions were deplorable.
Okay, so we finally reached the Hwy 4 intersection at Stockton, and for 50 or so miles of eastbound travel found smooth, recently repaved roads. Most of this portion of the trip was truly in the middle of nowhere. I was humming the John Denver tune lyrics, "Country roads, take me home, etc." We didn't see many cars in either direction while traversing the sometimes-winding narrow stretch. During the trip we also took a ride south on Hwy 49 to Sonora, another 16 or so miles of country road in perfect condition that was also lightly traveled. My point being that somehow these out of the way roads shined, while the highly traveled and important portion of Hwy 5 described earlier was dangerously terrible. Is it Cal Trans that decides which roads need attention, or do counties have a say in the matter? Then, it was time to head home, and I vowed to not use Hwy 5 again, instead opting for Hwy 99 south. Meh! 99 was better than 5, but the work being done to add lanes in certain areas resulted in some harrowing driving as concrete barriers, non- existent medians and shoulders bring you just inches from the vehicles next to you. Needless to say, it was another “white-knuckle” drive on the way home. But we arrived safely, a bit worse for the wear. Perhaps I’ll just stay here in Avila Beach and enjoy listening to “A Summer Song.”
That’s it for now, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
One of my favorite summertime songs was released in 1964 by the duo Chad and Jeremy. Titled “A Summer Song”, the poetic lyrics so aptly captured the feeling of the day, especially for young lovers. Here are the opening stanzas: “Trees, swaying’ in the summer breeze, showin’ off their silver leaves, as we walked by. Soft kisses on a summer’s day, laughing all our cares away, just you and I. Sweet sleepy warmth of summer nights, gazing at the distant lights, in the starry sky.” It’s a song worth listening to, so take a few minutes to Google or YouTube it and take a ride back in time.
While I’m sure these dates are on your calendar, I nevertheless remind you of Fathers’ Day on Sunday, June 18th, a day honoring all fathers, grandfathers and father figures for their contributions. And let us not forget Juneteenth on the 17th, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. It is also called Emancipation Day or Juneteenth Independence Day. The name “Juneteenth” references the date of the holiday, combining the words “June” and “nineteenth.” The 2023 June solstice happens on June 21 at 14:58 UTC. That's June 21 9:58 a.m. CDT in North America. This solstice – the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere – marks the sun's most northerly point in Earth's sky.
Moving along, in the spirit of sharing my sometimes-rambling thoughts and opinions, I wonder how many of you "elder adults" resort to comparing life as it is today with life as it was "back in the day". I must admit to being guilty of this more and more as the older I get. I recall both my grandparents and parents falling back on this habit, and how I shook my head and laughed at them. I owe them all an apology, since I now get the same type of response when speaking to those of a younger generation. But experience counts, and it seems that we wise old folks have a responsibility to express to those younger than us our complaints and lessons learned, even though we rarely change their minds.
In that regard, I share with you a trip my wife and I took in May to Angel's Camp, which is located up in Gold Country, southwest of Sacramento. We drove the usual and most direct route up Hwy 5, which turned out to be a mistake. Unfortunately, a considerable portion of the road was in horrible condition. I found myself dodging potholes large enough to force vehicle wheels out of alignment, particularly in the slow lane. It was a bit better in the fast lane, but even that came with perils. Driving up Hwy 5, with a posted speed limit of 70 mph, you better be ready to ramp it up to 85 mph in the fast lane, or become the victim of tailgaters in a great hurry that force you back into the slow lane. So, the choice was to use the fast lane like a race car driver, or use the slow lane and dodge potholes while stuck behind freight trucks kicking up pebbles that always seem to find your windshields. Bottom line is that road conditions were deplorable.
Okay, so we finally reached the Hwy 4 intersection at Stockton, and for 50 or so miles of eastbound travel found smooth, recently repaved roads. Most of this portion of the trip was truly in the middle of nowhere. I was humming the John Denver tune lyrics, "Country roads, take me home, etc." We didn't see many cars in either direction while traversing the sometimes-winding narrow stretch. During the trip we also took a ride south on Hwy 49 to Sonora, another 16 or so miles of country road in perfect condition that was also lightly traveled. My point being that somehow these out of the way roads shined, while the highly traveled and important portion of Hwy 5 described earlier was dangerously terrible. Is it Cal Trans that decides which roads need attention, or do counties have a say in the matter? Then, it was time to head home, and I vowed to not use Hwy 5 again, instead opting for Hwy 99 south. Meh! 99 was better than 5, but the work being done to add lanes in certain areas resulted in some harrowing driving as concrete barriers, non- existent medians and shoulders bring you just inches from the vehicles next to you. Needless to say, it was another “white-knuckle” drive on the way home. But we arrived safely, a bit worse for the wear. Perhaps I’ll just stay here in Avila Beach and enjoy listening to “A Summer Song.”
That’s it for now, fellow Avilones. See you at the beach!
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