California 2010 Day 8 & 9

Day eight was a little more relaxed. Becky spent much of the day with my sister browsing the shops in Exeter while my Brother-in-law and I babysat the TV. Soon, before we started getting sore, he and I went out and hooked up about 800 feet of firehose to a pump to pull water out of a canal and get it to their humungous yard of grass. Later, the rest of their family came by for a BBQ and swim.

Day nine started a little earlier. We loaded up the car and took off for the airport. We made it almost to the road before I realized I forgot a box of plums I'd picked for our host and hostess at our next stop. Back to the house for the fruit. Finally, on our way, we'd gone about 3 miles and almost made it to the freeway when Becky realized she'd left her phone in the bathroom. Back to the house for the communicator. Our third attempt at getting to the airport was successful and soon we were on our way north for Pine Mountain.

The airport (http://www.airnav.com/airport/E45) is at 2900 ft and the heat created a density altitude of 5,600ft. The landing was unremarkable - we get to use the plane again.




Our hostess and her canine escort from the Cub Inn (http://www.thecubinn.com/) picked us up in her Jeep and took us to our lodging. Since we were a bit early, we brought our bags in and borrowed their car to go looking for a fishing license for our trip tomorrow into Yosemite. We're debating Saddlebag Lake at 10,000ft or May Lake at 9,000ft. Tomorrow's post will show that we did neither!



We got back to the Inn and immediately ended up back in the car and going to the lake for some swimming. Pine Mountain Lake is private. You have to know the right person to get in. The water was wonderful!










Back at the house we were greeted by the local Buck, known as "Robert". A beautiful animal.




Then there's the other animal. We were greeted by a Bull Terrier named Zoe. Becky learned in the car from the airport that this wonderful animal prefers humans to keep their distance! The nip on the side of her nose healed quickly. That evening at the house, she nearly wore the dog out. Our host had to carry it to bed - walking was not gonna happen. Let's just say that they quickly became buddies!






Oh! Then there's Elvis the Jack Rabbit! Becky's never seen one up close, so when I saw him feeding on some carrot pieces that the deer had left behind, I quietly slipped inside, yelled for Becky and grabbed my camera. Well, it was not to be. All I got was a blurry pic of a Elvis running into the brush, never to be seen again that weekend. Drat. Becky missed one again.