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The weekend and week so far
Aug. 16th, 2011 08:01 am
1. After a busy short work week, Friday I was off to Grass Valley, Nevada City, for the Yuba River to meet friends. I picked up friend Ho at 12:30 and we made it to by 5 PM. Traffic was unusually heavy through Berkeley, Vacaville, Davis, and Roseville.
2. Unfortunately friend Mark had to work and did not leave till 3pm. With a car pile up on 80, and 4 other accidents, he did not arrive till around 9 PM
3. Tom who organized the weekend got things a bit screwed up. We were all to take turns cooking either lunch or dinner. Tom was already BBQ'ing when we got there (it was not his night to BBQ).
4. There were about 12-14 of us there, enjoying his Chicken Kabobs, deserts and beverages.
5. After dinner, it was Horror Movie night in the big cottage.
6. Piety Hills was quite nice. Not too fancy, but nice. Tom, hubby Lee, Mark and Ho, stayed in the largest cottage. I got my own. Really cute.
7. The next morning (Saturday) Mark, Ho and I went to downtown Nevada City to the Farmer's Market for ingredients for my meal prep, and for Mark's meal that evening.
8. When we got back it was time to meet Tom and the gang to the Yuba River. The drive is about 14 miles from Nevada City.
9. We drove to a large State Park, parking lot. Parked then trekked with our back packs, and coolers, about 3-4 miles, along dusty trails high above the Yuba River, and it's large granite boulders and rocks. Being about 95 degrees, it seemed more like a 15 mile walk. The trail was either very steep, or very narrow, or both.
10. We finally made it down to the beach. Surrounded by tree laden mountains and cliffs. This place was wonderful, with the cliffs, trees, rushing streams, and rapids. It was sparsely crowded. It was a mixed crowd. Couples, straight, gay, some families, little kids. Some people were nude. Some not.
11. After setting up our towels under the shade of the oaks and pines, it was time to venture into the water. After the long hot walk, the water felt very cold. But after a few minutes adjustment to the cold was easy. Much warmer than our Pacific. And so clean! We spent the day on rafts, inner tubes, or just sunning.
12. Ho and I ventured up stream, either by climbing over or swimming around huge Granite boulders and rocks to reach "The Water Slide". This comprised of a large slip of granite, tilted on one side, to a height of about 30 feet or more. Below a ponding part of the river, and a bit further from this point a small rapids that end in a small water fall.
13. Two very hot looking naked men were splashing water up on the side of the rock, climbing up, then sliding down, on their butts into the pond. Then drifting a few feet away down the rapid, ending up under water later to later bounce back to the surface.
14. So we gave it a try. We both were wearing our old tennis shoes, which most do (or sandals) for a good grip on the underwater rocks (some are slippery), and for walking on the surface. Makes it a bit difficult to swim, but manageable.
15. Lesson #1. Never wear shoes when doing this. Going down the slide (the rock is very smooth), was the easy part. But the tiny rapids. Tiny as it looks, once you go over the rapid, it pushes you under water about 10-20 feet deep. Not knowing where "up" is, it is a struggle, with shoes to swim back to the surface. Ho did it with easier to swim sandals. We were both surprised of how powerful small rapids can be.
16. The color of the water under the rapids is a beautiful bright turquoise.
17. We decided that we would not do that again. It was a bit scary. Maybe next year.
18. One couple of the group was responsible for lunch. We had Chinese take out.
19. After a relaxing day, it was time to go back shower, and see what "Chef Mark" was to cook for dinner. On our way back to the car, we passed by several familiar faces from Lazy Bear the weekend before. Woof! Apparently our beach spot is suppose to be a bit cruisy later on. I bet the parking lot is later in the day.
20. Ho and I helped Mark prepare a wonderful dinner consisting of Sword Fish, some Italian delicacies (I don't remember the names of the dishes). I was truly a five star meal (Mark trained at a Culinary school. Plus being an Ital food rep helps). It was a 6 course meal.
21. After dinner, we all gathered later under the stars, talking about everything under the sun.
22. Lee and I decided to walk into town and go to the Mind Shaft. Sort of a mixed bar, Gay and Straight. We did not see anyone we knew. Seemed to be mostly a straight crowd this night.
23. We met a really nice guy that had lived there for a few years, and gave us some info on the town, and it's sudden growth of good restaurants and night life.
24. He was right. The town was packed with young adults. Eateries and bars were packed. Much the feeling of a college town.
25. Mark and Ho left for home early Sunday morning, but I stayed behind. I was suppose to do lunch, but Tom messed up the schedule, and forgot to mention to us newcomers that lunch is always at the river. He had me and another guy doing lunch. So I opted to do dinner, since I planned a mean and tasty Sloppy Joe's. That's a bit hard to carry to the beach.
26. This day, we ended up on the other side of the river. We transported our coolers, towels, backpacks via air mattresses, and inflatable boats. We ended up next door to this hot bear of a man, that quit his job and is basically camping out all over the U.S. He joined all of us for lunch.
27. Back at the B & B, by 5 pm, to get the roasted red potatoes in the oven (with red bell peppers), the fruit salads made, and the Sloppy Joe meat simmering. There were only 6 of us for dinner. Most went home after the beach.
28. After dinner, it was back to the Bay Area. Traffic was not too bad. Made it home in 3 hrs, including a stop to drop one of the guests home in SF.
29. It was a great weekend, which I know for sure I'll be doing again next year.
30. Back at work, and trying to get motivated. I'd still rather be up there. We have a temp covering for our maintenance man. He is actually quite nice and nice looking. That should make the work week more enjoyable :)
