Last week was my birthday. Which, before people start saying things, is not a big deal. That's why I didn't mention it. Birthdays were never given much attention when I was growing up. I had two whole birthday parties when I was a kid unless you count that my mom brought a cake to my classroom when I was in kindergarten. Presents usually consisted of my mom saying, "What do you want?" or giving me some money and saying, "Get yourself something." So I have never made a big deal out of my birthday as an adult.
But don't worry: My kids get the full birthday treatment.
This year, my wife decided to change all of that. She had warned me earlier in the week to not have any plans for Friday, but I had no idea what that meant. Then, she got the day off of work due to the rain and followed that by responding to my invitation to take her to breakfast with, "Yeah, we're not doing that."
Instead, I got this:
Yes, it was raining more than a little.
Next, there was this:
Which was actually this:
They have an earthquake trail there based around the great San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Point Reyes lies directly on the San Andreas fault. Here are some pictures:
The blue stakes mark the fault line.
This is the picture of a fence. It was once one continuous fence. The post at the bottom right (in close-up) used to be joined to the other section you see in the distance. The 1906 separated the pieces of fencing by about 16'. Yes, I said feet.
Yes, it was raining the whole time we were there, and the wind was something fierce. But, of course, she had planned all of this before we knew about the incoming storm. She did offer me the option of just staying home and sleeping (because my birthday present from my cat had been a three-hour war in the middle of the night because he thought I should be awake and having a party with him), but I turned it down. It was fun! And I earned my intrepid explorer badge! I was glad, though, that this was the only outside portion of the jaunt she had planned, because we were pretty soaked, despite jackets and umbrellas that kept blowing inside out, by the time we were finished there.
Next time, you can find out the rest of the day. Here, I'll leave you with my next clue:
Leave your guesses at the door.
Belated happy birthday.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteFirst, happy birthday.
ReplyDeleteSecond, this was great! What an awesome day!
Third, now I want to see a fault line. STUPID WISCONSIN AND ITS STUPID GEOLOGIC CONTINUITY. If I can't see land jump 16' all at once, or at least think about Racine, Wisconsin, being sucked down into a subduction zone, WHAT IS THE POINT?
Fourth, I've had a LOT of coffee this morning.
Fifth, your wife is awesome.
Sixth, did you go horseback riding at some sort of "City-Slickers-esque" dude ranch? That's the best guess I've got.
Your wife is really putting pressure on the rest of us spouses to up our game. On our weekly date last Friday, I fell asleep TWO MINUTES into the movie. (Luckily, we were at home.) Now I've got to set up treasure hunts and pictures? Will Mrs. Strange Pegs hire out as a consultant?
Briane: A. Thanks.
Delete2. It was an awesome day!
III. Well, there's not much to see. It just looks like ground.
100. I did not have a lot of coffee this morning. (this is not one hundred)
Fifth. My wife is awesome!
f. We did not do anything with horses.
Wait, how is it a date if you stay at home?
And, yes, she probably would be willing to hire out as a consultant if the prices was right.
Hey, that next clue has cheese on it! Yummy...cheese... (Oh, and happy birthday!)
ReplyDeleteCrystal: There is cheese! (thanks!)
DeleteGoat cheese hoedown: awesome!
ReplyDeleteHappy belated...
TAS: No goats.
DeleteOkay, well there was a goat involved in clue #1.
I love goats. Their instinctual inclination to climb things is highly amusing. Easily the funniest farm animals.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed your day.
TAS: They are pretty strange.
DeleteTo say the least.
There's this one goat I see, sometimes, that likes to stand around on top of the chicken coop it the yard its in.
Of course it's a big deal! Happy birthday. I'm glad you got an adventure for a present. It sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteJ E: Thanks! It was.
ReplyDeleteI love the pics! What a great idea from your wife. Her illustration/clues were awesome! I'm looking forward to the next post. And Happy Birthday!!
ReplyDeleteLexa: It was a great idea, and I'm not even to the best parts yet!
DeleteThis post simply makes me happy! Thank you for sharing ... and I want to know what happened next!
ReplyDeleteMargo: Good!
DeleteAnd I'll finish the story next week.
Cheesecake factory for some steak and/or burgers?
ReplyDeleteHappy belated birthday! What a fun way to spend the day. You're wife is very creative!
Elsie: You know, I've never been to the Cheesecake Factory.
DeleteShe is creative!
Next year you and I will have to get together for our birthdays since they are so close together. My wife would be interested in that fault line since she has this weird earthquake fetish.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you took some kind of day trip that included a coffee shop that has something to do with a unicorn, drove down the coast to a place where there is whale watching--must be that Point Reyes National Seashore. The picture #3 also seems to depict an earthquake--the fault line--and a campground? Then there is the cheese--Cowgirl Creamery?
That's my guesses. Whatever you did looks like a fun time.
Arlee Bird
A to Z Challenge Co-host
Tossing It Out
Lee: That's some impressive clue-ing you did there. I was not able to get Cowgirl Creamery when I got that card. The best I had was cowgirl cheese, which made my wife laugh because it was both correct and not correct, but I had never heard of Cowgirl Creamery, so I couldn't guess it.
DeleteThe "campground" is actually a Native American village which is at the Bear Valley center. We didn't actually make it over to the village because of the rain.
Oh, and the "unicorn" is a flying goat for Flying Goat coffee.
DeleteAnytime you want to come up and go to Point Reyes, let me know!
Not that I know much about anything, but I know how to Google. When I entered Point Reyes (that was easy enough to figure out) and cheese, Cowgirl Creamery was one of three choices that popped up. We must be talking some pretty good cheese or a good marketing person at the business who knows how to get good SEO.
DeleteLee
Lee: Well, I will talk about the cheese next time.
DeleteI didn't have Google in the car; it was just me and what I already knew.
#4 is Cowgirl Creamery, and I am SOOOO JEALOUS! I love Pt. Reyes! ^_^
ReplyDeleteAlex H: I had only been there once before and that was only to the research station, which is pretty cool but just a small part.
ReplyDelete