Cane Hauler

They don't make them like this anymore #2. This is a 1940’s Kenworth truck designed to haul sugar cane from the fields to the mill. I stopped and talked to the man who owns it while he was working to get it running again. He has a contract to harvest trash trees from forest reserves and intends to use this truck to haul the trees. It has a 150 hp Cummings engine and goes 25 mph on the flat and 20 mph up hill. I stopped by on another day when he was working on it and he had the engine running and was putting a tow hook on the front end. A week or so later it was gone. I miss seeing it.

Elkhorn Bar

They don't make them like this anymore. I had to get up early to get this shot, about 7:00 Am. By 9:00 AM it would be too late as I am standing where the cars park. San Miguel California.

Mission Soledad

Mission Nuestra Senora de la Soledad. Established Oct., 9th 1791. My first visit to this mission. Not a great day for photography. Overcast and cloudy. Very flat light. Set in the middle of the Salinas Valley, it must have been very lonely for Fr. Florencio Ibanes who served there from 1803 until his death in 1848 at the age of 78. He is buried in the sancturary.

Mission San Miguel

Mission San Miguel is one of my favorite places to visit. About 5 years ago it suffered damage from an earthquake. It is still undergoing repairs after all this time do to lack of funding for the repair work. The bulk of the money for repairs comes from the Franciscan Order. Most of the mission is fenced off. Very sad looking. A year or so after the earthquake a bill was either proposed or passed by California providing some funding for repair to San Miguel and other missions that suffered earthquake damage as the missions are California historical sites. That effort got blocked by the ACLU and others on the grounds of separation of church and state.
During my recent trip to the mainland I visited five missions. This is a shot I took at San Miguel.

Fix Me Please

Recently I was wandering randomly in the city of San Juan Bautista California with my camera, searching for pictures in and about the mission area. I was looking for a place to have lunch when I came upon this wonderful shop. As I am a rapidly maturing grandfather, often various parts of my aging body are in need of repair. Currently I am bothered by a trick knee. So I was delighted to find someone who does repairs on grandfathers. I stopped in to see what my chances for a quick fix were to be, at least I was hoping to get an appraisal. As I entered I discovered that were two local cuckoos before of me waiting in line. It appeared to me, based on my survey of the two, it was going to be a long wait. So I opted for lunch. In retrospect, that was a mistake as the shop was closed upon my return. Drat.

Disney's New Look

Our recent trip to Disneyland with our four year old granddaughter, verified the rumors that the Walt Disney Corporation has abandoned their environmentally friendly face. The thrust of encouraging the the positive virtues of thrift, conservation and recycling are no longer on the masthead. The current ruminative by the corporate bean counters is that those were "hippy" ideas and not conducive to increasing the bottom line.
This is reflected by the wording on the wrapper of the very popular $10.00 snack; “Mickey says....Kids take two bites of your Mickey Corn Dog, throw it in the trash and ask your folks to buy you another one".