Kislovodsk Kid Vacation – a Train Tour Makes it Extra Special
A kid vacation to remember undoubtedly includes a train tour or train ride. Even though there are many places to see and things to do, there is nothing better than a train ride to bring out the little kid in all of us. Whether its riding a modern train to tour the country or taking a short excursion on a vintage steam engine, your family will have a wonderful time. There are many different train tours available all over the world. Here are some good ones located in the United States.
Sierra Railroad
Offers three great train tours in California. The Sierra Railroad Dinner Train connects the Central Valley to California’s Gold Country and offers beautiful scenery. The Sacramento River Train boards in Woodland, California and follows the Sacramento River. The Skunk Train follows a winding route over the Noyo River, and makes its way through the coastal mountains to the Redwood forests.
Grand Canyon Railway
The Grand Canyon Railway leaves from Williams, Arizona and offers several classes of vintage train service to the Grand Canyon. This is a great way to get from Williams to the Grand Canyon, and journeying to the canyon by rail offers a fun and unique travel experience for your family. Along the way, enjoy 65 miles of Grand Canyon Country views and Old West entertainment.
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
This is America’s highest and longest narrow gauge railroad. It makes trips between Chama, New Mexico and Antonito, Colorado. They offer a variety of train rides, and their Cinder Express is a three-hour trip designed especially with children in mine.
Black Hills Central Railroad
Ride the 1880 Train through the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. This vintage steam train is located near Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. The train runs between Hill City and Keystone, and is a great way to see some of the area. You and your kids will love the ride.
Both young and old enjoy train rides, and there is probably no better way to see America than to take a train tour. Make it a major part of your kid vacation this year or use it for a short side trip or weekend getaway. Enjoy the slower paced travel and beautiful scenery, and treat your kids to a little taste of a bygone era. It will definitely be a trip that your family will remember and treasure for years. Have a fun trip!
Are you looking for ideas for the perfect Kid Vacation?
Sonoma County, CA- otherwise known as “wine country” is the perfect vacation destination for a relaxing and scenic trip. For wine lovers, you’ll get your fix with the hundreds of wineries in Sonoma County and the neighboring Napa Valley- but wine county vacations are enjoyable even for people who aren’t wine aficionados! Enjoy the Sonoma coast, one of the most beautiful seascapes in the country, and take a variety of wine tasting tours in one of the many wineries during your Wine County vacations. Sonoma County vacation rentals are varied and located in close proximity to many of the area’s favorite tourist attractions.
Northern California is known worldwide for its wine production- however, staying in Sonoma County vacation rentals means you’ll experience so much more than vineyards and wineries. Nature is an abundant resource, with old growth redwoods that seem miles high, gardens and orchards and farm animals making their home in the land of wine county vacations. After you’ve toured all of the wineries you’ve ever wanted to see, and tasted as many wines as you can manage, take a San Francisco Bay Area Jeep Tour and see neighborhoods that bus tours are unable to show tourists; Pacific Heights, Lombard Street, Seacliff, Russian Hill and Coit Tower. You’ll see the famous Golden Gate Bridge- a must see while staying in Sonoma County.
A National Historic Landmark of California, the Sonoma Square, a central plaza located inside Sonoma State Historic Park, is the largest in the state of California. The Sonoma Square consists of a variety of historic buildings, including the first building constructed in 1823 by Father Jose Altimira during a plan to replace mission establishments in San Francisco and San Rafael. Any wine county vacation should include a visit to the Sonoma Square. If boating and water activities are your pleasure, the very large, man made Lake Sonoma should be on your itinerary.
While you stay in here, you’ll be happy to know you’ll have no problem finding that perfect gift for family and friends- and yourself! A wide variety of shopping opportunities from the high-end factory outlets offering discounted prices, to exclusive salons to bookstores full of hard-to-find items, art galleries, to one of a kind clothing stores. Enclosed shopping malls with brand name outlet stores make it possible to shop no matter what the weather is. As your enjoying your wine county vacation, travel some of Sonoma County’s back roads and small towns for the most quaint of shopping opportunities.
Not quite as well known as wine county vacations is the number of spas located near the majority of Sonoma County vacation rentals. The word “spa” actually means “healing through water”, and Sonoma County has many natural thermal springs- making it a natural location for some of the most beautiful and relaxing spas in the country. Sonoma county spas came up with the idea of healthy diets including more than vegetables and fruits with low calorie counts, and “spa cuisine” was born here. The idea of having a glass of wine with dinner was also born in Sonoma county spas. The spas combine traditional techniques with the “wine touch”. You can sit in a relaxing whirlpool and view gorgeous scenery while sipping a glass of champagne; cleanse with a grape seed facial; or sit in champagne bubble baths.
You can enjoy a round or two of golf during your stay in the Sonoma County vacation rentals. The PGA Charles Schwab Cup Championship is played in Sonoma County- and there are golf courses for all levels of players and even for players on a budget.
Wine county vacations offer more than wine tastings and tours. Your Sonoma County vacation rentals give you the perfect location to experience all that northern California has to offer.
In this 2nd video, it’s our 3rd full day at Windsor, CA for our summer vacation trip. Today, we were headed to Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve. It was in Guerneville, CA. It was only about 30 minutes from our resort. We hiked along the trails through the park and observed the beautiful redwoods in the grove. We also saw the largest/oldest redwood there, known as Colonel Armstrong. Then we saw the tallest one known as Parson Jones. It was a beautiful place to relax and simply enjoy the ancient forests of Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve.
The Coachella Valley is a popular vacation spot for families. Palm Springs and nearby cities are the perfect antidote to congested big-city living.
The cities of this valley have made good use of irrigation water piped in to transform the harsh desert environment into a cornucopia of luxury resorts, golf courses ‘ some 120 at last count ‘ upscale shopping boulevards and palm trees as far as the eye can see. The fertile green lawns are carefully overseen by an army of landscapers and a drive through the neighborhoods of places like Palm Desert and Indian Wells is a window into the “good life” enjoyed by well-to-do retirees as well as upwardly mobile professionals.
Yet never far away from these meticulously maintained homes and estates is the raw desert ‘ a place where you can finally put space between yourself and other people, and enjoy what passes for a back-to-nature experience, even though minutes later you’ll most likely be luxuriating in modern, upscale accommodations designed to pamper you from head to toe.
On our most recent trip to the desert we based ourselves a few miles east of Palm Springs in Indio, a comfortable neighborhood, but perhaps less extravagant than some other parts of the valley. Out on the eastern edge of the Coechella Valley cities, this area is now undergoing a major transformation with several new housing developments that feature modern, spacious homes set alongside man-made lagoons and canals, all five minutes from the freeway. It is in this same area that a major new resort complex ‘ the Resort at Indio ‘ was built just in the last few years.
There are 453 condo units altogether and they’re built around a waterpark full of sprinklers, canals, ponds, pools and even a man-made river for inner-tube floating. The largest of two swimming pools is a gigantic 5,000 square feet. If you’re anxious to get some exercise, check out the backetball court, tennis courts, gym and recreation center. Golfers need go no farther than the Terra Lago golf course adjacent to the resort.
Given the recreational opportunities, it’s not surprising that the Resort at Indio is especially popular with families. During our visit on an unseasonably warm spring weekend, family groups large and small were taking full advantage of the pools and other facilities. Families were spending hours on the spacious deck poolside. Come mealtime, many would walk the short distance back to their condo units and fire up the barbecues available on their decks and patios. As you might expect, the accommodations are really vacation rentals, not hotel rooms ‘ each unit comes with a complete kitchen, multiple bedrooms, living and dining room areas. Since the resort is almost brand-new, everything’s in top shape with the latest appliances, colors and d?r.
As tempting as it was to just laze by the pool all weekend, we did want to get out and experience the desert. With daytime temperatures reaching mid-90’s, we headed out early in the morning when temps were more in the mid-70’s to mid-80’s. Our objective was the Pinkham Canyon Trail, within the Joshua Tree National Park, only a 20-minute drive from the resort. Our desert activity: geocaching.
For those who are not yet enlightened, geocaching is a relatively new activity in which you use your hand-held GPS unit to find “caches” or boxes of trinkets hidden in various locations. There can be caches in remote areas, or in developed areas, or even in amusement parks such as Legoland near San Diego. What it really comes down to is a kind of Easter Egg hunt for both kids and adults and, from what we’ve discovered, it is great family activity.
If you have a Garmin GPS, it has nifty software that interfaces with a major website – www.geocaching.com ‘ to make finding these caches relatively easy. Prior to heading out to the Pinkham Canyon Trail, we went to the website and found a dozen or so caches that were located in that particular area. The Garmin software enabled us to download the longitude and latitude of those caches into our GPS so that we could see where they were on our GPS map. Once we got in the general area of the caches, we just let our GPS lead us right to the locations of the caches.
Some caches are easy to find in easy terrain; others can be quite challenging and located in terrain that is hard to traverse. It was going to be a hot day, so we chose the easiest option – driving the 4-wheel-drive trail and finding caches along the way. We eventually found about two-thirds of them and, of course, our grade-school-aged kids were thrilled with each find ‘ even though nothing of real value was to be found. The idea is to take a trinket and leave a trinket of your own; it’s “treasure” only in the sense that you’ll treasure this activity with your kids. And it gave us the illusion, anyway, we had gone “into the wild.”
Another 15 miles east from the Pinkham Canyon Trial on Interstate 10 there is a great place to see some military history first-hand: the General Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit. The museum is a testament to General George Patton, one of the military heroes of World War II, and also to his specific involvement with creating the Desert Training Center, a vast desert landscape set aside for tank training when U.S. troops needed to prepare for warfare in North Africa. While Patton only ran the center for four months when it opened in 1942, he was instrumental in choosing the site where it was located.
The museum tells the story of the training center, but it also is a collection of artifacts from several wars including World War II. It’s not in a fancy building and doesn’t compare, for example, with the World War II Museum in New Orleans, but it is a fascinating group of exhibits that brings visitors closer to the realities of war. Through its collection of photos and documents, the museum offers a historical account of Patton and his contributions to the U.S. military. There is a large assortment of items actually used in war, from German Lugar pistols to machine guns to gas masks to uniforms and gear worn by our troops in several past wars.
It’s as if someone put up a sign that said “Bring us all of your war memorabilia and leave it here.”
Outside the museum are several tanks and other Army vehicles that help visitors envision what tank warfare must have been like in World War II. And it was easy to imagine hundreds of these tanks doing mock battle in these miles and miles of open desert a little more than a half-hour away from today’s glitzy Palm Springs.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Indio is located in the Coachella Valley, about 20 miles east of Palm Springs. The Resort at Indio is next to the desert foothills at the northern edge of the valley and adjacent to Terra Lago golf course.
WHAT: The Resort at Indio is a condo-style resort in which visitors can reserve condos much as they would reserve a hotel room. During our visit there were no restaurants on property, but a deli and an on-site Domino’s Pizza were scheduled to open in late spring 2008.
WHEN: Prime time of the year is late fall, winter and early spring because daytime temperatures are moderate during those periods. However, we’ve enjoyed Palm Springs even in hot temperatures by planning early morning outings and spending a lot of time in the swimming pool. Rates are substantially lower in summer.
WHY: The desert is a great place to escape civilization and it’s where you can always count on sunshine.
HOW: For more information on the Resort at Indio, phone 800-867-2095 or visit www.greatpricedcondos.com/id/. Rates range from in low-season for a one-bedroom unit to 0 in high season for a three-bedroom unit. Patton Museum info can be obtained by phoning 760-227-3483 or visit www.generalpattonmuseum.com.
Cary Ordway is president of Getaway Media Corp which publishes websites focused on regional travel. Among the sites published are www.californiaweekend.com, which focuses on California vacations, and www.northwesttraveladvisor.com, which covers Northwest getaways.
The State California is located in the western region of United States of America. California is a state with extremely good natural landscapes and also with excellent man-made monuments. So if you are planning to be in California to spend your vacation days the article may help you a lot! Now let us see some of the excellent vacation spots of the excellent state called California.
Let us first discuss about the natural landscapes of California. In California one will be able to enjoy natural landscapes of snow-capped mountains, seashore, desert and forest too. Yes! One can find the sea-area of Pacific Ocean in the extreme north of the state and in east of the state, snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains. Also the desert area is situated in the southeast and the forest area is situated in the northwest of the state California! Now one has to include Yosemite Valley, Rolling Hills, Central valley, California White Mountains, Sequoia National Park, and Mount Whitney to the natural landscape areas of California. Also some beautiful rivers are located in California. Some names are worth mentioning like, Smith River, Redwood Creek, Klamath River, Garcia River, and Napa River etc.
The special mention of Death Valley of California is obviously needed! If one wants to feel the desert landscapes of California, then the Death Valley is the must-visited place for him. Death Valley recorded the maximum temperature in whole USA!
Now let us see some non-natural wonders of city California! The first thing comes to mind on this account is obviously the famous Hollywood-sign! This Hollywood-sign is a strange thing! Basically the letter ‘HOLLYWOOD’ is spelt and written out in white color with a beautiful landscape in background of it!
Silicon Valley is also an interesting place to visit in California. It is situated in northern part of California. In Silicon Valley one can find a very large number of silicon chip manufacturers. A real hi-tech business area! There is one more hi-tech business area situated in Southern part of California is called Tech-Coast. These places are really worth watching!
Some man-made buildings and monuments are must-visiting place in California. The first thing that comes to mind is the Great Statues of Auburn! The statue seems to be 42 feet tall. The Old Faithful Geyser always seems to be the top attractions of the visitors of California. Also there is a toad traffic tunnel located in California called Toad Hollow. The 36-hole Pee Wee Golf Course in Guerneville of California is also an important tourist attraction. But the most astonishing thing is a huge sized thermometer in Baker of California! Some other interesting Vacation destinations are Monterey Bay Aquarium, California State Railroad Museum, Balboa Firm etc.
And last but not least, the most important attraction of California is coming now! It is none other than the Disney Land! This is basically a cartoon theme park, which is being operated by Walt Disney Company! Lots of fun and entertainment guaranteed with Walt Disney created animated cartoon characters.
Now may be you are becoming keen to visit California. So start packing and leave for California! Happy Vacation!
Oklahoma Lodging Vacations: The Comforts of Campgrounds
Oklahoma is the 20th largest state in US that presents pristine ecosystems. Many of its lakes and state parks have campgrounds for peaceful lodging options. Camping spots can be found from the rugged Wichita Mountains in the west to the southeast of Quachita Mountains.
Below is the list of Oklahoma campgrounds.
Beavers Bend Resort Park
Beavers Bend State Park is a scenic attraction with RV camping. It is located along Broken Vow Lake and Fork River Mountain. It has 47 cabins, 8 camping areas, 393 campsites with 2 group camps. Beavers Bend also offers primitive tent camping facilities with hot showers, picnic tables and pit toilets.
Lakeview Lodge provides 40 rooms with private decks that overlook the lake. It is an alternative to cabin lodging and campgrounds. All rooms have a balcony for lake viewing. Amenities include outdoor grill, fire pits and fully equipped kitchens. Visitors can enjoy swimming, boating and canoeing at the swimming area. There are mini-train rides, horse back riding and a golf course. Kids can experience recreational opportunities such as hayrides, boat ramping, biking and hiking.
Nearby attractions are the Talimena Skyline Drive, Beavers Bend Wildlife Museum, Museum of the Red River and the Little River National Wildlife Refuge. Park highlights include Eagle Watches from November to February, Owachito Festival of the Forest in June and the Year-round Trout Fishing at Trophy Brown Trout Area
Big Cedar RV Park
Big Cedar is located between Winding Stair and Kiamichi mountains surrounding the Ouachita National Forest. It lies on the shadow of Talimena Scenic Drive. The park offers cabins, tent sites and RV hookups in the Kiamichi River valley.
This park has three new and fully furnished cabins for rent. It can sleep six and four persons. Two larger cabins have full kitchens and another three have private baths. Cabin amenities include a picnic table and a barbeque grill. It also provides modern amenities like coin-operated laundry, cable and Wi-fi. Cabin rates cost about to per night with tax.
RV camp sites have full services of water and electricity. Reserved spaces have full access to bathhouse with shower and coin operated laundry. RV rates cost per night.
Honey Creek State Park
Honey Creek is a campground with beautiful lake views. The 30 acre park sits on a hill with 150 primitive sites, 30/50 amp RV sites, picnic areas, 206 campsites and two covered group shelters. It provides access to Grand Lake for boating and fishing. The state park offers complimentary boat ramp, fishing dock, outdoor grills, swimming pool and comfort stations.
Honey Creek State Park features lake and river view as well as outdoor sports like basketball and water skiing. Families can enjoy the nearby areas like the Ledonwood gardens, Cherokee Queen Paddle Boats, Grove Har-ber Village and Cayuga Splitlog Mission Church.
Horse Heaven Ranch
Horse Heaven Ranch is located at Horse Heaven Ranch Road in Talihina. It has 6 fully equipped luxury cabins with covered barns, 32 RV sites and RV motor homes. The ranch can accommodate big groups for birthdays, weddings, club functions and special events.
The ranch offers breath taking views of forest and mountains with shady trees. The RV sites include 2 equines, 2 adults and maximum of three children per site. Each site has services of water and electricity. Amenities include a picnic table, grill and a fire pit. There are also 30 to 46 foot concrete slabs for parking, 2 separate piped pens and a hitching post. Horse Heaven also provides state-of-the-art bathhouse and a free dump station.
Fort Gibson Lake
Fort Gibson Lake is nestled at the eastern hills of Oklahoma. The lake offers 225 miles of shoreline and 19,990 surface acres. It offers sightseeing of redbud, dogwood, sand plum and haws blossoms. There were colorful shrubbery of oak, blackgum, redwood, hickory and woodbine glowing on the hills.
The fort’s hunting area covers 21,798 acres with 3,500 acres of water flow sanctuary. Fish species to look for are the white bass, black bass, pan fish, catfish and the crappie.
Fort facilities include six Class A campgrounds for RV, tent camping, boat ramps, swimming beaches and picnic areas. Other amenities include showers, electric hookups, group shelters, drinking water, 6 marinas and concession services.
If you yearn to experience an exotic, tropical vacation and avoid the problems, difficulties and cost of a foreign location, an Hawaii family vacation has everything you’re looking for without the inconveniences. The unique geographical location and aquatic life of the Pacific Ocean offers everyone a special vacation opportunity.
The islands of Maui, Kauai and the big island Hawaii cater especially to families with children. Many resorts and hotels offer activities just for kids. Your children can try their hand at lei making, ukulele making and hula dancing. Families can walk the gorgeous beaches, take a swim in the ocean or try their hand at surfing. The Embassy Vacation Resort in Kaanapali on the west side of Maui offers programs that will allow children to swim, explore, and play games while the adults explore the adult side of a Hawaiian visit.
Many of the islands offer swim time with dolphins‘, surfing and authentic luau’s. Helicopter charters are available on most islands. This unique method of sightseeing takes you to areas unavailable by land. Soar over an active volcano, or, fly by mile high waterfalls observing the lush tropical landscape as you couldn’t do on land. Many tours offer a DVD of your flight so that you can re-visit your adventure for years to come.
On the island of Oahu you will find the Polynesian Cultural Center. While there you can experience authentic village life as it was 200 years ago. This village provides a look into the daily lives of the original Hawaiian people. They wear traditional clothing, take part in traditional activities such as weaving and hut-making, games of all types and offer authentic luau’s nightly.
Hawaii has some of the most spectacular national parks. Haleakala Volcano National Park, located on the island of Maui, offers activities and programs to satisfy any visitor. Hiking trails that will take you to an elevation where the clouds are below you, where hiking you can pass through lush tropical forest to arid landscape and if needed rest overnight in a redwood cabin built in the 1930’s.
The Kipahulu area located along the eastern coast features lush tropical environments that contain freshwater falls. The view of the ocean is spectacular and offers glimpses of exceptional aquatic life. However, there is no coastal access to the ocean from within the reserve.
Hawaii is the answer for families looking for a fun and memorable vacation experience without having to travel abroad.
C.L. Hendricks has been a Jill-of-all-trades and become an expert in some. She has also traveled extensively and now writes about travel destinations around the world for Vacation Things to Do and How to Get a Passport
Get Comfort of Home in California Vacation Rentals
In the sense, diversity lies in each and every element that is from geography to culture and even to climate. There are numerous things to do while holidaying at California. The key places to visit in California are San Francisco, high sierra, redwood tree forests, central valley regions, Los Angeles, inland empire, orange country etc. Big Bear Lake in California is considered as the one of the most popular place to visit as it is great place for golf, skiing, and snowboarding etc. And, the best place to live in while holidaying is California vacation rentals.
California vacation rentals are available in different forms such as villa, condo, bungalow, cottage, and apartment. They are just as a second home in the holidaying town. The reason, as to why they are considered as second home, is that they offer all amenities present in a home such as dryer, washer, television, DVD etc. Along, that it also embraces of fully furnished kitchen in which any type of cuisine can be cooked.
On using California vacation rental, the person is needed to pay rent against all these services. The rent of the vacation rental depends on various factors; some of them are as follows:
• Size of the vacation rental
• Location
• And, the number of people coming to stay in the rental
While choosing the type of vacation rental, the person must not forget to consider his budget. In other words, he must choose as per his needs and requirements.
The person can book his California vacation rentals either through an agent or directly from home owners.
California is the best place to spend vacation. And, if the person is postponing his plan to California, just for the reason as there is lack of information regarding California and the means of lodging. Then, internet is the best means to gain information about available California vacation rental. Internet makes the task easier as it is just a matter of minutes to locate, compare and book the rental in California. It enables and helps the person to get the best deal in terms of cost and comfort.
Thus in order to conclude, it would be right to say that California vacation rentals are the best means of lodging as they provide comfort of home on low price. So, whenever the person plans his vacation in California, he must not forget to book his vacation rental.
They say a fisherman found it lost at sea. My father’s last surfboard. I emailed Randy Rarrick, the shaper, to inquire. If it was the one, it was the board he gave up surfing on. He left surfing behind without looking back, and he left it on that board.
I recall it well. It was blue…completely blue; the only color board my father, Buzzy Trent, ever owned. All his others, shaped by Dick Brewer, were clear. But what I remember most about it was what took place one winter day on the grass in front of Val Valentine’s house at Sunset Beach. There was a good swell and my father invited Ricky Grigg to try out his new board. He did, and when Ricky came in his words were, to say the least… critical. My father’s temper responded with, to say the least…furious words. He packed it up immediately and drove us home leaving Ricky in the wake of our Volkswagen’s dust. My father later forgave him (he always did), but he stopped surfing soon after. I’ve often wondered what happened to the blue board. When I heard where it was found, I wasn’t surprised; because when he released surfing from his life, from that point on, there was always a part of him adrift…lost at sea.
It has been said to me by a few people who knew him well and knew him long, that no one has accurately portrayed the real Buzzy Trent. The persona that follows him describes a physical power house, a risk taker who was quick to express judgment, and possessed a bit of an ego. In reality he was quite the opposite. Rather, he was gentle (he loved animals and children), could be quite conservative (was shy with women), took calculated risks (shrewdly assessed every situation), and was emotionally vulnerable. What I believe most people found intriguing about him was that he lived a life set around surfing big waves during a unique time. He set the blue print for big wave surfing; in some opinions, one of the very players to create the sport. Known as an individual who lived life on his own terms, without apologizing for his actions and viewpoints, he presented the fearless big wave rider image that was mirrored not only in the water but in his personal life as well. He possessed a steely eyed temperament with a chiseled physique that epitomized the powerhouse image of the big wave rider of his time. But perhaps what was most loved about my father (by the people that really knew him), was that he possessed an ideology within himself in which he modeled to live a life by. He talked like he lived and he lived like he talked.
Born to Buster and Dorothea Trent, he was named Goodwin Murray Trent, after his father. His mother was the only daughter of the renowned and wealthy Los Angeles architect, John Parkinson, who designed many of the cities most important landmarks which include L.A. City Hall, USC Campus, and L.A. Coliseum. In fact, sixty-four of his buildings still stand today.
As a wedding gift, Buzzy’s grandfather gave Dorothea and Buster a completely furnished five hundred acre ranch in San Marcos (the site now of Palomar Junior College) where he was born on Mother’s Day May 13, 1929. The youngest of five children, he was the baby of the family born to Mama Trent who was then in her forties. Nicknamed Buster (like his father), it was soon shortened to Bussie, and later evolved into Buzzy, although he was always Bussie to his mother.
Buzzy grew up on the Trent Ranch until the age of ten. His recollections were reminiscent of a happy childhood, though marred by some sad events; One being when his sister drowned in the well and another, witnessing the railroad tracks carrying hundreds of homeless men seeking work and food during the depression years. He described how my grandfather would have to chase them off the ranch with a shot gun, there would be so many. For the most part, it was a good childhood with fond memories of picking giant tomatoes off the vines and eating them like apples, and hunting for deer with his twenty-two rifle.
But troubles arose in his parent’s marriage forcing them to seek a divorce. Shared to me by my Uncle Marty (my father’s brother), during these times, while custody issues were being decided by the courts, rather than make the decision to place the children with one of either parents, the children would instead be placed in foster care until a decision could be made on who would receive custody. Buzzy and his brother Marty were placed together in foster care for two years. His parents would later decide to reconcile, sold the ranch and moved into a three story Victorian home on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica. The attempted reconciliation of his parents was soon to prove unsuccessful and eventually his father left the family for good and his parents divorced. Papa Trent’s abandonment of his family was to have lasting effects on the then twelve year old Buzzy. Effects that were to influence how he later chose to deal with family bonds much later in life. When his father returned to reconnect with his children, Buzzy was the only one in the family who refused to ever speak to him again.
The transition from ranch life to Santa Monica was an abrupt change but Buzzy acclimated. Always an individual, he maintained being his own person and the Trent boys were permitted to continue running around shirtless and barefoot in their overalls. Indulged by their parents, they were given a quarter for lunch, which at the time was an unheard of amount for kid lunch money. He was a mama’s boy with an independent spirit and free reign to do as he pleased. He thrived in Santa Monica and it was where his love for the ocean was born.
As a young gremmie, he would peddle his bicycle to State Beach to rent a paddle board from Ninhausners Boat House and use it to fish for mackerel and halibut. It was there that he said he saw a guy catch a wave and ride it all the way in. He began surfing the paddleboards until one day, when returning it to Old Ninhausner, it fell through the window. He ran away with Old Ninhausner yelling and chasing him, never to return again.
Convincing his mother to buy him a redwood surfboard, he hooked up a rickshaw wagon to a balloon tire bicycle, and peddled his hundred pound board the ten miles to Malibu:
When I started going to Malibu World War II was going on. There was gas rationing and no cars to speak of on the highway. The first time I saw Malibu I just couldn’t believe it. I fell in love with Malibu the first time I saw her.
He became friends with Matt Kivlin. They became buddies in tow, riding their bikes to Malibu together until Matt got a car:
It was a thrill peddling our boards from Santa Monica to Malibu on those balloon tire bikes…that was a big trip for us, dragging those hundred pound redwoods. When we’d come around the corner and see those tiny two foot waves, we’d peddle faster and faster just to get there. We’d bury the boards in the sand and leave them there for the week, come back and pick them up the next week. Life was different then. You didn’t worry about it. When we got a little older, Matt got a car and started driving us to the beach… we didn’t have to bury our boards anymore.
At an impressionable age, abandoned by his own father, Buzzy found a role model in Bob Simmons. I don’t recall him ever speaking about another surfer the way he spoke about Simmons. I knew he was an important figure in his young life:
At Malibu during the forties there was absolutely nothing. The beach was white sand and covered with driftwood. There was only one house- Mrs. Rindge’s house. There was also a Coast Guard station. They were supposed to be watching the beach but there was no one there. Nobody. It was very rare for a car to drive by when you were surfing. It was beautiful!
The bottom of the point was covered, literally covered with abalone. Steel Headed trout… there was Steel Headed trout that swam up Malibu Creek. We’d chase them and hit them on the head with rocks.
I met Bob Simmons at Malibu and for some reason he took a liking to me. He was very much an individual and you knew that there was something exceptional about him. Intellectually he was head and shoulders above the rest. He was a 4F, which meant that he didn’t have to enter the military. A bicycle accident had sent him through a car windshield, shattering his arm and permanently setting it at a ninety degree angle. When he started surfing he was so crippled in that arm that he couldn’t paddle his board fast enough.
Simmons was my hero and I was a young gremmie aching to be his test pilot. I hung out everywhere with him and we got into a close relationship. He would come to my house to pick me up in his Model A. It was the funniest thing! Like I said, he was brilliant. With gas rationing going on he had devised a way to adapt his Model A to burn on cleaning solvent. He had a fifty gallon drum in the back seat of his car. We drove up and down the coast in that thing. We rode all over. We even made trips down to Mexico…
Although early on he felt a strong pull toward the ocean, my father was also a natural athlete who excelled in every sport he attempted. He ran track and field, and played football; He was a boxer for awhile, boxing in the Golden Gloves. Abruptly leaving boxing, he focused on football, and went on to play for USC. Maintaining his connection with the ocean, he began life guarding at Santa Monica Beach where one day he saw a little nine year old boy in the shore break. Hey Kid! Want a ride? Propping him onto his surfboard, he paddled him into a wave-his first wave. My father’s lifeguard tower sat in front of this little boy’s house, and after that ride he appointed himself the mascot of Buzzy’s tower. The little boy’s name was Ricky Grigg and their friendship was to last the duration of my father’s lifetime. It was bonds and friendships such as these that no doubt influenced the trajectory of the California surfing migration to Hawaii in the fifties. The roster of big wave surfing pioneers was a short list. They all knew one another and were poised to follow each others lead to the islands.
When I asked my father what brought him to the islands he told me that it was Walter Hoffman, who was in the Navy and stationed in Hawaii. Walter was sending back pictures of the surf with the call of, you guys gotta get over here! A spot on a crew to enter a Trans-Pacific race gave him an opportunity to sail to Hawaii in 1953. It was to be the first Pacific Catamaran crossing from California. It was an adventure that brought him to the islands in search of surfing the biggest waves; to the place he was to spend the rest of his life.
He fell in love with Hawaii. But mostly, he fell in love with Makaha…
It was so unique looking at a point wave the way it turned and rolled into Makaha. They’re so blue and pure. When the wave starts to break there’s the spray that goes right across the top as it breaks from top to bottom. It’s a powerful thing grinding across the point with a perfectly formed shoulder. It’s a fantastic experience to be out there and see these perfect sets coming in. You’re sitting in the perfect position, the line up is perfect, you’ve done everything right, and here it comes around from Kaena Point. A great feeling comes over you. You’re not thinking about anything else in life except that wave and that moment. It’s just you and that huge wave. You’re totally involved in what you’re about to do and nothing else matters.
He returned to California but the lure of big Makaha Point surf was to draw him back. At that time his brother Marty was bedridden from a serious leg injury playing football. He recounted the story to me one day;
I had just broken my leg from playing football at UCLA and was in the hospital. Buzzy walked in carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder. He said, “I’m going back Marty.” I yelled and swore at him and told him that if he left he was a coward for not finishing school and leaving like that… and that if he left I never wanted to see him again. He just said, “I’m going Marty.” He turned around and left. I never saw him again for over twenty years. I have always felt that your father might have had a very different life if he had not met your mother…
And she did change his life. He loved Makaha, and she was a Makaha girl. If you want to know where you’re going, look at the path behind you. There were three things that my father truly loved; surfing Makaha Point, his two children, and my mother. It is no surprise to me that my father chose my mother Violet. His path in life led him there, and in turn, led him to her…
The first time I saw your mother she was walking out of the Makaha Supermarket. She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen!
And she was beautiful. The dangerous kind- beautiful with a hot temper. But then, my father always loved a challenge.Dark flashing eyes, large full mouth, and the tiniest waist…she possessed a charm that left you with an indelible impression. And that voice… she took Buzzy Trent by storm.
Bud Browne knew them both well and often told me they couldn’t live with, or without each other. In truth, their relationship encompassed all that we desire, yet all that we fear in one. I believe we measure our own relationships by what we’ve observed in our own parents. Although I was witness to their many heated moments, I also remember my father treating my mother in a romantic way; picking her gardenias or finding her shells.
It’s ironic that my father chose to marry a woman who hated the beach. Raised in Makaha, the driest part on the island of Oahu, she longed for the cool rains and lush greenery of Manoa Valley. In fact, of all the times my father took us surfing with him, I recall my mother sitting on the beach only once; it was at Yokohama. Near the water’s edge on a cool evening, she sat on the sand near my brother Ivan and me, while we played army with pieces of driftwood. This was unusual for her as she always sat in the car watching my father surf from the passenger’s seat.
When she died, it was the greatest tragedy our family has ever endured. In fact, I don’t think we really survived it. Devoted to her until the end, his final gesture to her was to scatter her ashes, mingled with gardenias, deep in the Niu Valley; far, far, away from the ocean and Makaha.
When my father gave up surfing he followed true to how he handled everything in his life. He said, when you go, you go…go and never look back. Never.
He left surfing and Makaha behind, like the day he left his brother Marty in California, and never looked back. For a time, he replaced surfing with hang gliding- and diving…he always dove… until the body just couldn’t do it any more. I knew his life was never the same since Makaha. He wasn’t living his life anymore, he was passing through it. He even called it, the homestretch. I knew he missed it; missed that part of himself.
Not long ago I had a dream. It was so real that I woke up with a start and a huge hole in my heart.
I was in a place surrounded by black lava that stretched for miles and miles. It was endless. Above was blue without a cloud in the sky. I was walking alone and looking ahead, I saw a figure outlined in the distance. Walking faster and faster, I began to see it clearly as I drew closer. It was my father. I began running and the whole time I was fixed on his face. He had a great big smile. The same smile that lit across his face when I was a young child. I cried out to him, and heard myself yell out the word no! But he simply lifted his right arm high above his head-almost in a strange greeting, smiled, and turning his back toward me, fell forward into the bluest ocean.
The dream felt so real it was as if I could touch it. Later, I retold it to a Hawaiian friend. Her response was, Anna, it was Kaena Point. I felt like I had been hit. Of course it was. I should have known it all along. Although he didn’t surf Kaena, it was his special place. The southern most tip of Oahu, barren land untouched by time, it was the place he loved to dive; the place where Hawaiians believe your soul enters the next life. He knew where to go.
When my father died in September 2006, he was scattered in a place I would not have chosen. It was a town beach; a place he had no connection to. No matter, because even in death, I knew he was in for the swim of his life. I’m certain he made it back to Kaena Point, eventually… by way of Makaha.
Lost at sea? I think at some point in each of our lives, we’re all temporarily lost. It’s probably the only way to really find ourselves, know who we are, and what we’re really made of. Is it the one? Is it my father’s blue board come home? I hope so.
Anna Trent Moore
Anna Trent Moore is the daughter of Buzzy Trent. She is also a wife, mother, surfer, and owner of a beloved Corgie named Little Bear.
Wedding of Kim Chilman-blair and Michael Frampton in NZ, Feb27, 2010 Video Rating: 5 / 5
Selling a Vacation Home for Sale by Owner Can be a Challenge
Selling a vacation home For Sale By Owner can be a challenge. If you live out of the area, scheduling appointments for buyers to view the home can be time consuming. So how can you maximize exposure for your vacation home or other remote property?
A property specific website is a great way to pre-sell your vacation home to potential buyers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – no appointment or long drive necessary.
Here are five tips for creating a real estate website for your For Sale By Owner property:
1. Sell the lifestyle. When buyers need a primary home for their family, they are more likely to focus on fundamentals such as 3 bedrooms, a good school district, and an easy commute. A vacation home is a lifestyle. Write a description that engages the buyer. For example, instead of “hot tub” you can describe and evening of sitting under the stars sipping locally grown wine in a private hot tub.
2. Sell the area. When buying a primary home, buyers are restricted to certain areas by employment, schools, and family. When purchasing a vacation home, buyers have more freedom and may be considering several different locations. Describe the experience of your vacation home. For example: “Wake to the sounds of the ocean, walk to town for morning coffee, and spend an afternoon on the uncrowned beaches.”
3. Capture the lifestyle visually. A picture says a thousand words, so take photos of more than bathrooms and exteriors. Are you selling a ski cabin? Take photos of skiers and snowboarders. Are you selling a quiet cabin in the redwoods? Photograph the light streaming through the trees in late afternoon. Create an online visual tour that promotes a relaxing getaway.
4. Create a descriptive domain name. Although many property specific websites can focus on a specific address such 348elm.com, a descriptive domain name can be a powerful marketing tool in selling your vacation home. For example, vailskicondo.com or blueoahucottage.com can help your URL stand out in a buyer’s mind.
5. Promote, promote, promote! You never know who is looking for a vacation home in your area, so promote your vacation home in a wide variety of locations. Free classified ad websites such as Craigslist or Kijiji are great ways to promote your vacation home at no cost.
A property specific website is a creative way to reach buyers for your vacation property, even if it is in a remote location. You can schedule appointments to meet buyers who are already pre-sold on your vacation home, creating a more effective use of your time. You can create a fast, easy, affordable property website in just minutes at http://www.home4salebyu.com/createapropertywebsite.aspx.
Dawn Sadler is President and Founder of Home 4 Sale By U. Home 4 Sale By U offers fast, easy, affordable property websites for FSBO properties including homes for sale by owner, condos for sale by owner, and vacation homes for sale by owner. Email her at dawn@home4salebyu.com or visit www.home4salebyu.com.
It’s long, it’s dull, it can be brutally hot in the summer and treacherously foggy in spots in the winter – but it will take you from the bottom of California to the top faster than you can say, “Roll up your windows, we are about to drive by Harris Ranch!”
Raising a family in Southern California and having parents that live in Northern California means that in November and December of every year I spend quite a bit of quality time on the most traveled interstate highway in California -Interstate 5.
The trick is to traverse the monotonous road fast enough to remain mentally stimulated, yet at a clip that keeps you safely under the visual radar of the CHP. After all, no one wants to deal with a ticket and traffic school after a vacation.
Now that my sons are teenagers with earphones permanently attached to their craniums, and they no longer seem to be amused with the license plate alphabet game or my mooing aloud every time I spot a cow off the side of the road, and my husband is busy concentrating on the art of eating garlic-stuffed olives while driving, I have been left with little left to do on these long hauls but observe other drivers on the interstate. Or should I say, observe other drivers speeding down the interstate at a clip well in excess of the posted 70 mph maximum speed.
Perhaps, there will be a few folks dealing with a ticket and traffic school after vacation time after all.
I couldn’t help wondering if all the folks whipping by so quickly had noticed the white regulatory signs with black writing posted all along the I-5 that say, “Radar Enforced, Patrolled by Aircraft”.
Then it hit me.
Throughout my many trips on this road, from countless vacations as a child going to Disneyland and Baja California, through college semester breaks and now innumerable trips to Grandma and Grandpa’s for every conceivable holiday, I have never once seen a single aircraft patrolling this highway. It’s not as if the plane could be hidden by trees or other scenery. The I-5 freeway from LA to where we turn off towards San Jose is basically one long open brown field broken up by the occasional cow.
Perhaps the authorities felt that just the threat of a citation and traffic school would be enough to deter the speedy crowd.
I called the Kern County highway patrol and asked about the mysterious missing aircraft. I was told that the plane patrols more frequently closer to its home base in Fresno. It really only gets over to the I-5 two or three times a month. Apparently, though, you will know it when you see it. It is a small, black and white single engine plane that has “CHP” written on the bottom – for your viewing convenience from below.
However, according to the Kern County CHP, if you are being paced for speeding from the air, the plane will attempt to fly in your blind spot so that you don’t notice them until well after they have called in the ground troops to set you straight.
I will say this; someone must be doing a heck of a job catching the serious speeders on this highway, though.
On the west side of the I-5, near Junction 46 there is a large, detached big rig trailer sitting conspicuously in a field. The side facing the freeway is covered with the type of white butcher’s paper that children make handprints on for parents in preschool.
However, the message on it, spelled out in broad letters in various colors of poster paint, is no child’s folly; “SPEEDERS: 1,292 licenses taken here last year!”
When you consider that a driver’s license is only taken away for traveling at speeds over 100 miles per hour, and traffic school is not even offered up as an option – that is a pretty astounding statement.
It turns out the sign is the handy work of Judge Gary Ingle of the Kern County Superior Court. Judge Ingle apparently became tired of a few too many interstate travelers using the I-5 as their own personal Autobahn.
A hand-painted sign on the side of a trailer?
You’ve got to give Judge Ingle credit for creative thinking outside the box.
Tactfully, I mentioned my observations to my husband and pointed out that he might want to keep an eye on his speed. Through garlic and green olives, his two word reply renewed my confidence in his driving abilities: “Cruise control,” he said.
It looks like we won’t have to worry about the after-vacation traffic school blues, after all.
Her column on automobile driving is published weekly in newspapers of the various publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.
In addition to being the featured columnist for the online publication NewCarBuyingGuide.com, Ms. Pearl’s work has also been featured in Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom magazine and the International version of Auto Club Magazine.
