The Dirty Shirley's Sing ... Plus Family Fun

 

A few days before Christmas, we went to 

this unique outdoor venue in Newcastle CA, where

granddaughter Cassie and friend Shea have entertained before.

Shae plays the guitar and sings with Cassie (who plays the Tambourine)

 when they hit the road as "The Dirty Shirleys".

Cassie's hubby Wes sets up the sound equipment before the

performance  and controls the levels during the performance.

Even though this is a Brewery, your's truly had a

Chardonnay in a beer glass!!!

Wes turned to me after the sun when down and said,

"I wish I had some earmuffs, my ears of freezing."

So I pulled a pair out of my purse.  (Ask and you shall receive!!) 

I wore my hooded coat & gloves.

When you listen to this short video you can view it full 

screen and increase the volume.  Enjoy.

   

After the concert, my daughter Kristine (r) and I

posed with Cassie and Shae.  Just to clarify things:

A Shirley Temple drink is a classic mocktail that kids 

around the world love to enjoy. It’s also a great option for 

those who choose to abstain from alcoholic drinks.

A Dirty Shirley however is the sassy, alcoholic version which uses 
maraschino liqueur and cherry vodka!!! 

The day after Christmas the family all gathered

at Kristine and Richard"s to celebrate Xmas and open gifts.

Lots of pranksters in this family!!!

Cassie received a Reeses baking pan & batter to bake

your own Oversize Cookie.  

And Wes (the gourmet cook in the family) received a hugh

assortment of "hot sauce"... which we sampled later!!!

Richard and Kristine received an inflatable lawn dart game. 

Richard has been on a diet and thought that he'd

received saltines from Kristine.  Toby, the dog, wasn't interested.

Fortunately Richard opened the box before tossing it away

and discovered a beautiful warm & toasty sweater while

grandson Everett's girlfriend Michelle looks on.

Wes received a stocking cap and returned my ear muffs!!!

Kristine has collected pigs for many years and

her son Kenny gave her a Pink Pig Succulent Pot!!!

Then Cassie & brother Everett sampled the snacks

while grandson Kenny sang lullabies to Latte who was

exhausted after such an exciting Christmas.

x

California History Folsom CA (part 2)

The undulating 75 mile shoreline of Folsom Lake is located

25 miles northeast of Sacramento and is one of the

most visited parks in the California State Park System.

Son Eric snaps a selfie with

the 1400 foot wide dam in the background.  It is 340 feet high

concrete structure with approximately 9 miles of earth

fill wing dams and dikes supporting its surrounding area.

This is about as close as you can get now.

You can't go to the dam or drive or 

walk over it any more (not since 9-11)

It was built in 1955 to control and retain the

American River.  When it was built it was designed

to hold 976,000 acre-feet of water.

Two major freeways provide access to the

 Folsom State Recreation area, Interstate 80 

and Highway 50.   We started walking at the very south

end of the map at the red dot on E Natoma Street and went

left, no trail, just wandering...    Later I'll refer you back  

to this map when we head up Salmon Falls Rd shown along the

right edge of this map.

After a short while we saw all these funny light blue plastic

tubes so we walked over to see what was going on.  Little

California Oak Trees had been planted in hundreds

of these colorful tubes.   (Unfortunately my photo looking

inside turned out very blurry so you'll just have to believe me!!!)

The Johnny Cash trail crosses the American River hear Folsom

Lake.  Folsom Prison Blues was one of his signature songs

when Johnny Cash  held his concert at Folsom Prison in 1968. 

Eric said, "why won't you hike down there and I'll take

a picture of you on that land bridge".

Yep, that's me.  (Remember to click on any photo for a

larger view.)

The fall colored low growing vegetation inspired me to 

take yet another photograph, as did

the high and dry ramp at the boat launch!!! 

Then we drove up the right side of the lake to the Salmon Falls

Bridge.  (Scroll back 8 photos, to the map, to get the lay of the land.)

As you can tell the water is pretty low,

but a few "rapids" appeared here and there.

We drove across the bridge and then turned around to

take a closer look.  When Eric was about 18 he was came

out here with some friends and jumped off that bridge.

Fortunately the water was much higher in 1962.

While we were standing there Eric spotted a Bald Eagle.

which appears in the upper right corner of the photo below!!!

What a nice surprise... Pays to have eagle eyes when you're

out walking.  You don't have to click on the photo to see

a larger view, I did it for you in the photo below.

Pretty cool...

FYI  During the CA drought of 2013 the town known as Mormon Island

reappeared 58 years after being submerged under Folsom Lake. 

When the town was at its hay day it had 2500 residents,
4 Motels, 7 Saloons a School and a post office. 

  In the 1950's the town had dropped to just a few residents

 and in 1955 when Folsom Lake  was filled  

Mormon Island was covered with water.

California History - Folsom CA (part 1)

My son Eric was visiting from Hawaii, so we went

in search of something to do... and we'd driven by this

place several times so we decided to stop... 

Introducing Folsom Powerhouse State Historic Park.

The 1895 plant, one of the oldest hydroelectric facilities

in the WORLD is located on a scenic bluff overlooking 

the west bank of Lake Natoma on the American River.

(Remember you can click on any photo for a larger view.)

It  took us about an hour  to walk thru the beautiful

display in the visitor center and

 read all the signs.

Prisoners from nearby Folsom Prison (that's another story) built

the dam and walked across it many times during construction 

when there were no guard rails!!!

These 2 displays helped me understand a little

more about hydroelectric power.

Then it was time to head outside to get the rest of the story.

It's wintertime so most of the oak leaves had fallen along

the rivers edge and the water level was very low due to several years of

 drought in this part of CA.

This place is not only a National Historic Landmark it is a

"National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark".  Never

visited one before, how about you Coleen?

Click the photo to get more facts...

We headed over to the Powerhouse Buildings.  The tall one

in the center is the original Powerhouse building.

And, since this is a state park in addition to the visitor center,

, the exterior buildings were

also open for public viewing.   Eric stopped to read a sign

and here's a close-up so you can also read it... if you

click on the photo for a larger view.

Whenever I'm traveling and/or site seeing, I try very hard

not to get power poles and lines in my "shots", but they 

seemed appropriate in this case!!!

There was even a guide on duty who explained to us (in detail)

how the turbines worked.  A lot of this was greek to me, about the

only thing I understood was "alternating current" and "direct current"

probably from the days when Eric & sister Kristine listened

to a lot of music by the group AC/DC...

You'll definitely want to click on this photo for a larger view.

This inexpensive hydropower was a boon to Sacramento.  

The Sacramento Electric Light and Power Company was created

in 1892 and sold Folsom Powerhouse's electricity for the Central

Pacific Shops, streetcars, street lights, and the Phoenix Gristmill, 

the Buffalo Brewery and the California State Capitol.

Home use of electricity was limited at the time; later, bare light

bulbs hung from the ceilings of most buildings!!!

(Stay tuned for Folsom CA part 2 where you'll

learn a little about Folsom Lake as Eric and I continue

to wander about.)