Cat Haven and the Definition of a Sanctuary...

Today I ventured out to Cat Haven, a zoo that is located less than an hour from Fresno. On the website, they specified that they're not a sanctuary, so I wanted to find out for myself what it meant. 

As I arrived at 10 am, a volunteer greeted me at the gate while opening it. I asked how long the tour was, and she replied that it ranged from one hour to an hour and a half. Before coming to Cat Haven I looked into their membership options. The regular admission fee for an adult is $12, and a yearly membership for an adult and a guest is $35. I decided to go ahead and purchase a yearly membership since I am expecting some guests in the fall and would love to take them there. 

Before the tour began, I asked to volunteer about the definition of the sanctuary. She responded that the reason they do not consider themselves a sanctuary is because sanctuaries do not breed their animals. They, on the other hand, are not opposed to breeding. She emphasized that the main goal of the zoo is education, not so much rescue. That was a bit disappointing to me since I am all for rescuing animals. She did mention that two of their big cats where rescued (found in a washing machine!) but the remaining are either obtained from other zoos or from circuses. Interestingly enough, I found out that animals and circuses are not treated that bad, yet it is quite hard for me to believe that. The majority of their animals have been born in captivity. That means that they have never seen the light outside of the cage. It is quite sad. At the same time these animals would not be able to survive in the wild. The zoo contributes 1/3rd of their profits to conservation, including some of the programs in Pantanal, Kenya and Botswana.

The area allocated for each cage is quite small. They don't have acres and acres of land as I hoped. At the same time it appeared to me that the animals are well taken care off. I wish they had more space to run around though. I took a couple of pictures but the majority of them did not come out that great because of the cage in the way.

If I didn't purchase the membership I probably would not go back. It puzzled me that the animals are not rescued. But my guests might enjoy it since it is quite educational. You learn quite a bit about the cats and animals in general. If you decide to go there, remember to wear comfortable shoes since it is a walking tour and the area is quite hilly. Try not to wear any sandals or anything with the heel. Bring lots of water because in the summer it gets really hot. Finally, on the way to the zoo be sure to look out for small squirrels and other creatures running across the road. Even though the speed limit is 55 mph, the poor little animals do not know that and get killed all the time on the road. Slow down, their lives matter too. 

On the way to Twain Harte, CA

Once again I decided to venture out of Fresno and visit surrounding towns. This time I headed to Twain Harte. Twain Harte is a small town in the north of Fresno about 2 1/2 hours driving. The Arts and wine festival was scheduled to be there both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. I was more interested in wine, but art is good too. I decided to use one of my favorite apps Roadtrippers.com to figure out what else there is to see on the way to the festival. A couple of things were quite interesting. One was Quady winery, but they were not open early in the morning so I decided to go there after the festival. 

My first stop was a Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. For $15 he can ride in a train from the 1900s. The tour last 45 minutes. This seemed to me like a fun and short stop, so I decided to add it to my trip on Roadtrippers.com. In 100°F weather the train ride is not that great since they do not have air conditioning inside, however they do have open windows. It is kind a neat for kids, but not so much for adults. But it is short and sweet and the admission ticket includes a tour of the whole facility. 

The next stop was Dragoon Gulch Trail in Sonora, California. It is a short 2 mile trail of easy difficulty. You can complete the trail in a short period of time and it allows you a nice view of Sonora and surrounding areas. Since I feel I have not been exercising enough, I decided to hike the trail. It actually was really nice even though it was hot. There's a small parking lot consisting of four parking stalls but outside the park there is plenty of street parking. 

At the end of the trail

Sonora, the town where the trail is located, is beautiful. The town itself is relatively small, but filled with history. Some building still had the old-fashioned historical façade. The stores were mom-and-pop owned mostly. Character, this is what you call it. 

The main stop of the day was The Arts and Wine Festival in Twain Harte. There were quite a few vendors there, but I did not see any wine which was quite disappointing since the festival specifically has the name of Art and wine. I did however buy a delicious cup of lemonade and a raffle ticket to benefit Mother Lode Wildlife Care. We shall see if I win...

The town itself appeared to me very nice and peaceful, somewhere I would consider living in. They do get snow in the winter, because I have seen some signs warning about snow removal equipment. But a lot of houses are located in the woods with pine trees all over. Really nice...

On my way home, I stopped at Quady winery and was not disappointed. The customer service was absolutely incredible. In addition to a free wine tasting I also got a full tour of the facility. The guide was very knowledgeable regarding wine making and easily answered all my questions. Their wines are mostly desert wines, the sweetness of which some people may or may not like, but I found one that I really liked. Elysium had a sweet, yet slightly bitter flavor of dark berries which would mix nicely with dry champagne/sparkling wine.

Frozen wine, no ice added!

Wine making right in the back

A neat bag that wine comes in when you purchase it

Overall, the day went as planned. On to another trip...

Huntington Lake, CA

Being so close to Sierra National Forest and especially its multiple lakes, I decided to venture out to check out Huntington Lake. It is famous for its stable 15 mi/hr winds - a perfect weather for sailing. I was lucky to witness High Sierra Regatta, a term I was not familiar with before, but basically it is sailboat racing. Quite a sight, I must say!

The entry fee per car is $5, not a big deal at all. The closer you are to the parking lot, the more crowded it is (duh!). There is also a nice trail along the lake, mostly paved, that is easy and very picturesque. Limited number of insects, but carpenter ants are everywhere, so bring a chair, not a silly picnic blanket like I did. Here are some views from the trail:

A couple in our group brought kayaks, so I took advantage of an opportunity to try them out. Since the sailboats were racing right beside us, the water was rather choppy, and it was difficult to maneuver, but with a little bit of training from the owner of the kayak, I think I got it!

A really beautiful lake, many campgrounds. Forest is peaceful and tranquil, just wish it was not as crowded so that I could hear myself think :)

Woodward Park, Fresno, CA

Some weekends you just want to relax, stay in or just go out locally. Since I came to Fresno, I have been hearing a lot about Woodward Park, but have never had the chance to visit it. Today was the day. The temperature was forecast to be only 87 degrees Farenheit, so I was eager to get up early to feel the chills of a Sunday morning.

I arrived at Woodward Park at 8.30 AM and parked by Fresno Heart Hospital which is right across from the entrance to the park. The entry fee for a vehicle is $5, but since I just walked in, I had to pay nothing.

The views were really nice! I was glad to see some sort of water in a desert climate.

The abundance of gorgeous geese is undeniable! Some people were feeding them and I captured a really cool gathering.

There were some small creatures living in the ground, looked like squirrels:

Among amazing creatures there was this beautiful peacock:

I never realized that peacocks can fly!

Another cool find was Shinzen Japanese Garden. There is a separate entry fee of $5, but it was my favorite part of the park. It reminded me of Chicago Botanic Gardens I visited during my road trip a month ago.

Bonsai trees are located in another secluded area of the park, it is free to enter. It is amazing how some of the trees were over 250 years old!

Ordering with Alexa (Amazon.com)

I have to say I really liked the idea of ordering stuff with Alexa...

Unfortunately, this was not as easy as it seemed to be. I decided to place my initial order with Alexa because Amazon offered a $10 discount. I wanted to order compostable garbage bags, but Alexa would not recognize what I was saying and kept adding them to my shopping list. It's funny, but by the end of the ordering session after half an hour I had at least 25 compostable garbage bags to be purchased on my shopping list. The issue with Alexa is that she does not understand exactly what I want to order. Yes, it might be the accent, but my accent is not that strong. In fact, I never have an issue with Siri or Google when I use voice commands or even writing with my voice.

In any case, I also tried ordering paper towels, chocolate, storage supplies, but again Alexa would not place an order. She would not find the item I located on Amazon.com website when if I pronounced it exactly like the title stated. 

I was giving up and decided to order paper towels. Alexa would not find the right brand or size of the paper towels. Finally, I decided to go on the website and order it from there. I found out that my discount was already there. I placed an order on the website. In the future I don't think I'm going to be using Alexa at all for placing orders on Amazon. I use Alexa for playing music, listening to the flash briefing in the morning and adding items to my shopping list, but the list ends there. Hopefully, in the future Amazon further develops the device so that ordering is easier.

One day trip to Monterey, CA

Fresno, CA is a hot place to live in, so being relatively close to the coast, and Monterey, CA specifically, is a nice perk. Before leaving 100 degree Fahrenheit weather in Fresno, I check the forecast for Monterey. A whooping 62 degrees! That is 38 degrees lower! I wore pants for the first time since I came to California.

Since I wanted to make it a day trip, I headed out early at 7.30 AM. My first stop was Fort Ord Dunes State Park. The GPS brought me some weird way there, or so I thought, through a whole village of abandoned houses. Later I found out that used to be a US army post and was closed in 1994. It is now called Fort Ord National Monument preserving the abandoned buildings.

The park itself is a few minutes down the road. There is a small parking lot fitting maybe 45-50 cars, but on a cloudy day like this it was not that crowded. A few signs describe the park and the national monument:

There is a trail right by the parking lot leading to the beach. It takes about 5 minutes to get to the shoreline.

There are not many tourists or locals there, so it is a very peaceful place.

My next stop was at Lover's Point, which is a small park/viewing area right in the heart of Monterey, the area called Pacific Grove. It is filled with people, but for a reason, since the views are quite nice. There is also a walking trail along the shore.

And some people just don't pack lightly...

The next destination point was Garrapata State Park, but since it was rather difficult for my GPS to find it, I just stopped at the point saying "Garrapata State Park" along Route 1.

This was supposed to be my final destination for the day, but on the was back I saw multiple cars parked along the side of the road right by the entrance to Point Lobos State National Reserve. I was so glad I stopped there. The very first trail, the easiest and the shortest one, gave some unbelievable views:

Yes, this is why I came to California...