Day 17- Monarch farm

Day 17

Thursday Jan. 20 2011

Monarch farm- Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly!

We are really having a hard time getting anywhere before 12:00 in the afternoon. After a rather long morning we finally went down to the beach to watch a rocket. We had one of our fellow R.V. neighbors come and let us know about it. Here is some info she gave us about it.

It was a 23 story rocket, 9 million pounds tallest ever to launch from the base, carrying a top-secret spy satellite for U.S. govt. capable of snapping pictures so detailed it can distinguish the make and model of automobiles thousands of miles below. At 325 feet tall, it's so large that base officials have studied whether the thunderous blast off will shatter windows nearby.

You can see a picture of it at this address- www.sanluisobisbo.com/2011/01/19/1449826/vandenberg-launch-spy-satellite.html

After we got done watching that we decided to go to the monarch farm. It was so neat! It was very peaceful and intriguing. I took a picture of this sign at the beginning of the path. I felt it was speaking to me. Carston already has this down. On the way to the farm he went as slow as a snail. He is my free spirit. He never wears shoes and just marches to the beat of his own drum. If there is something to climb on instead of walking he will do it. If there is something to see on the way he is going to see it. He is always the one who is bringing me flowers. I hope I spend more time appreciating his differences instead of being irritated with him. He has been the one I have nagged the most because I swear he doesn't hear me. I really am grateful for the opportunity to see him in a different light yesterday.

After we walked the path we had a gentlemen tell us about the monarchs. It was our science for the day.

I asked him why he spends his time volunteering at the monarch farm. He said" they are not controversial and everyone loves butterflies". I also asked him what was his favorite thing about the monarch? And he said" it is amazing to me that they can wake up in Washington and instinctively know that they need to get to Pismo beach".

My thought was after he taught us all about them was how can anyone ? a God. The details are unbelievable. Two things I remember the most from what he taught us was. They have brought monarchs from a different location and they don't try and get back to where they came from. As he put it they find there friends and just go with the flow. He also told me that the newborn Caterpillar will eat 2700 x it's weight in milkweed. If you were to relate that to a newborn child and the newborn child ate 2700 x its weight it would be the size of a whale in 2 weeks.

Thank goodness that's not the case. Although I would have been super skinny if Addy ate that much from me in her first 2 weeks.

We finished up with the monarch farm and wondered back over to the beach. The boys had a rematch football game. They used sticks to make a field in the sand. It was the Bandits against the Eagles. Me and Addy watched. She was not content to stay on the sidelines she needed to be right smack down in the middle of the field.

I left with Addy before the game was over with Carston and took her back to the R.V. (home).

I got her cleaned up and fed her. After everybody came back we all just relaxed for a bit. Then Corey and Colton rode there bikes to get pizza and a movie. The boys watched a movie and had pizza while me and Corey had our first date. We walked to town and had fish and chips at a little cafe. Talked about how we think things are going. Then we walked over and got an ice cream.

After we got back we watched the movie with the boys and I fell a sleep. I went to go to bed and Addy girl decided to wake up. Eventually I had to make her something to eat. She ate then went back to bed. I had high hopes of going to bed early and getting up early. Never should have made that goal. It seems whenever I say I'm going to bed early is when something always comes and stops me.

A little report on the boys. I think they are having a good experience. Colton did tell me that the R.V. was a nut house and he wants to go home. Carston said he had a dream that his best friends forgot him and he wants to go home.

I can't forget our little morning fight. Carston and Caleb had a fight. We then had our morning message on about being brothers. I shared with them a story that my sister told me about the night before.The story is about 2 brothers who were in the Australian flood. When they were being rescued the older brother gave the rope to his little brother and he lost his life soon after.

It is such an inspiring story. The boys name is Jordan Rice. Google the story if you haven't heard about it already. Today we are off to L.A. I am so ready to get going. As much as we needed the traveling break I felt ready to go about 2 days into our stay. I am glad to move on. This place was really nice to catch our breath in. Now we are headed to Disney Land.