Location: Ming and P streets, Bakersfield, CA

As I was leaving the antique fair Sunday at the fairgrounds, this little yellow parakeet was walking across the road in front of me. I stopped the truck and got out, expecting the bird to fly away. Instead, it let me come within inches of it, then flew just a few feet away. The bird was clearly domesticated.

I tried putting my finger to its chest so it would hop on to the perch. But each time I moved forward an inch, the bird moved back an inch. Finally, I covered the bird with my jacket and reached inside, pulling him out. I held him to my chest as I drove home. Then I put him in the bathroom while I went to the pet store to get a cage, food, cuttlebone, etc.

He's now in the sunroom with a view of the side garden. As nice as that sounds, he seems quiet and sad. I can't help but wonder if maybe he wanted to be free and didn't need saving. Or maybe he wouldn't have lived very long if he'd stayed out in the wild. And is he a "he"?

Every day we let him out to fly around the house. Maybe I'll get him a freind at the petstore. I hope he's not unhappy.

We named him Otis.

Location: Morro Bay, CA

Last weekend, my partner and I went camping at Morro Bay State Park. Even though it was for only one night, we saw and did what seemed like a little of everything.

We now have a long list of activities to do next time we go back, including kayaking, golfing, bike riding, taking our dogs (every where you go there are dogs), surfing, and of course eating at more restaurants!

Our trip this time included hitting some balls at the driving range next to the campground, eating a delicious dinner at the cafe across the street from the campground, and having a campfire with wood we bought at the campground. That was all on Saturday night.

Then Sunday we made a quick breakfast, packed up, parked the car at the Natural History Museum across from the campground and walked 2.5 miles to Morro Rock. It was an awesome walk, along the estruary, next to the Heron Rookery Preservation area, through town, past the energy plant and about 1/4 of the way around the rock. We wished the path took you around the entire rock.

Then we watched surfers, walked back to town where we ate a delicious lunch at a fish shack, and headed back to the car for our drive back to Bakersfield. After a few wrong turns trying to follow Highway 58 back, we finally made it to the main road for a gorgeous, yet winding, drive. We highly recommend this route over Highway 46. We seemed to be the only car on the road and didn't get stuck behind a truck or motorhome once!

The trip was more than we ever expected and we can't wait to return!