Written by Shelley
Well it’s been sometime since either of us blogged. We were in Phoenix, Arizona when John last wrote. We left the small but cozy (?) apartment in Glendale round about June 2010 and set off for sunny California. Our intention was to go to college in Monterrey to study Special Needs as we would then be assured of a job.
Initially we spent some time high in the hills above San Diego. That is one beautiful city. We had some fun days with the lovely Sarah (John’s daughter) and even ventured in to Mexico. It was a quick trip as we couldn’t find the main road into town and we were on foot. We were surrounded by folk who all knew where they were going and we felt totally out of place, stopped for a quick taco (very tasty and v cheap) and walked back to the good ole U S of A.
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- market in San Diego
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- surfers
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- Ocean Beach
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- beautiful countryside in California
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- the rest rooms, some didn’t find the need for at the camp site
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- Sarah in the hills where she lived as a girl
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- proof we went to Mexico, well John did
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- Sarah and John in a Mexican restaurant, San Diego
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- John and Sarah posing
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- Ocean Beach, two old timers
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- San Diego for the tourists
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- Ocean Beach
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- Route 101
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- shadows of two old timers
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- Shelley and Sarah
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- a shop you’d only find in Santa Cruz, California
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- Board walk San Diego
We next drove north past Los Angeles and on up to Northern California. We spent some time back and forth at the college, which did not look great on first sight. I believe it used to be a military base or a prison; both would seem an apt description, not exactly a grand University campus by any standards. We soon realised that this part of California (near Santa Cruz) was expensive to live in plus pretty overcast and rainy. Anyway we camped out in a valley for the 4th of July, high in the hills. It was an interesting experience. Although there were restrooms provided it appeared that some people chose to use a more primitive method and we were quite glad we spent the holiday away from camp. After several weeks back and forth with our university advisors we decided we could not afford to study, pay student loan fees, pay rent and live for a full year there. Reluctantly we decided to carry on north and try and find a home we could afford to buy outright.
We decided to have a few days of entertainment in the form of Neil Young’s annual Bridge School Benefit which assists children with severe physical impairments and complex communication needs. He has done this since 1986 with the help of his wife Peggy. He has high profile musicians each year, in the past he has had Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, and Bob Dylan. This extravaganza takes place over a weekend in October at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain view, California. The musicians usually always play acoustic and of course, the master, Neil Young always plays. We first went when we were living in California in 2005 and then we saw Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmy Lou Harris and Norah Jones. The highlight was Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. This year they had Lucinda Williams, Billy Idol, Elton John and Leon Russell, Elvis Costello, Emmy Lou Harris, Kris Kristofferson and Pearl Jam, over the two day event. The finale was Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young’s old band from the 1960s. An unbelievable lineup for about $50 each. They were on stage for about 7 hours each day. It did rain quite a bit, so much so that they even let me out to go back to the car for an extra tarp for us to shelter under! The second day was not as rainy, plus I’d summoned up the courage to smuggle in some wine, didn’t feel like paying the $8 a glass fees they charged:)
We don’t have photos of this event, just a link so you can see some video if you choose.
http://www.bridgeschool.org/events/concert_videos.php
