I have been a fan of Mr. Selleck since admiring him in this 1979 CHAZ cologne ad which adorned a friend's bedroom wall.

The ad perfectly captures the masculine image that made him a breakout star. The fragrance was promoted with the memorable tagline, “The fragrance that’s almost as interesting as the men who wear it.” The campaign coincided with Selleck’s growing fame just before and during his iconic role as Thomas Magnum on Magnum, P.I., which would soon make him one of the most recognizable television stars of the 1980s. With his signature mustache and laid back charisma, Selleck quickly became a major pop culture figure and a defining television sex symbol of the era.His memoir is described as, "Frank, funny and open-hearted, You Never Know is an intimate Hollywood memoir from one of the most beloved actors of our time. In his own voice and uniquely unpretentious style, the famed actor brings readers on his uncharted but serendipitous journey to the top in Hollywood, his temptations and distractions, his misfires and mistakes and, over time, his well-earned success. Along the way, he clears up an armload of misconceptions and shares dozens of never-told, behind-the-scenes stories from all corners of his personal and professional life, including his rambunctious California childhood."
For over an hour we were beguiled. All expectations were exceeded. Tom Selleck is who we had all hoped him to be!

There was far too much revealed for me to share here. I recommend you get the book. I can't wait to read it. Wow.
Joined by Cindy and her daughter, Brit, it certainly was a night to remember. More about my outfit tomorrow!

We have returned to Southern California for a number of reasons, most of which will be revealed on the blog eventually.

Friday's foray was to La Jolla Cove, a place etched into Steve's childhood memories.

We had never seen so many brown pelicans in one place. Besides being visually stunning, our olfactory senses were very stimulated.
This small pelican is one of the best known and most prominent birds found in the coastal areas of the southern and western United States. It is one of only three pelican species found in the Western Hemisphere and one of the only two pelican species which feeds by diving into the water. What a show they put on!



This is also a major gathering spot for seals and sea lions due to its abundant food supply, strict environmental protections, and ideal natural terrain for resting. The cove is part of the San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve, which features the La Jolla Submarine Canyon. This deep-water canyon funnels nutrients up from the deep, creating a rich food web teeming with fish and squid. Because the cove is a protected ecological reserve, commercial and recreational fishing are prohibited. This leaves plenty of prey available for the marine mammals.






The Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972) protects all species of marine mammals swimming in our country’s waters. Here, it strictly outlaws harassing, touching, or harming them, allowing the colonies to thrive unbothered by historical hunting pressures. Seals and sea lions must leave the water to rest and give birth (a process called "hauling out"). The cove's sandy beaches, particularly the man-made Children's Pool, and adjacent rocky cliffs offer safe spots out of the water.
Most of Steve's childhood memories were formed in the Children’s Pool. Built in 1931 as a safe, wave-protected swimming area for children, it was commissioned and funded by local philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps. The 300-foot concrete seawall was designed to tame the area's hazardous currents.
We just had to meader about in the City's historic park. Influenced by the American picturesque park movement, Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Park has a 3.8-acre lawn and heritage plantings that include groves of gnarly trunked pink melaleuca (Melaleuca nesophila), an Australian native plant; exotic dragon trees (Dracaena draco) from the Canary Islands; several Monterey cypress (Hesperocyparis macrocarpa); and a row of Mexican fan palms (Washingtonia robusta).It also, surprisingly, is home to the Abraham Lincoln Centennial Memorial, set inside a boulder and dated February 12, 1909. It was placed by the people of La Jolla beside a flagpole that no longer exists. I keep asking, "Why?" How interesting.
Our visit at the Cove ended on a sad note when we learned more about this iconic lifeguard call box. Sculpted by artist Paul Sibel and installed in 1995, it features an acrostic puzzle embedded in the box poetry that spells out DAVID C. FREEMAN, honoring a legendary La Jolla bodysurfer and lifeguard who drowned there in 1994.

Our Memorial Day Weekend was spent outing & abouting with friends. The weather was changing from the tease of an early summer to the reminder not to put alway our sweaters yet.

With Chris and Jan we walked Cove East.


The wind was fierce but the company was delightful.

Afterward, we all hung out catching up on each other's news and sharing future plans. It was a long overdue get together.
Tuesday found me and Karen on the Hawley Grade. This trail is steeped in history. According to South Tahoe Now, "In 1854, Asa Hawley established a trading post in Lake Valley. Construction began for a wagon road as the grade was gentle enough to safely travel, unlike the existing Carson Grade, where block and tackle had to be used to get the wagons over into Lake Valley. The new route was completed in 1857 and further improvements were done by El Dorado and Sacramento counties. Hawley's Grade was, for a short time, the route to take. Built to convey miners and the like to the Mother Lode country, the Hawley Grade was a reverse route as well when the 1859 discovery of silver happened in Nevada territory. As the Hawley Grade's purpose was to bypass the steeper road, so the Hawley Grade was itself bypassed in favor of an even shorter path, the wagon-and-stage toll road down Meyers Grade (today's highway 50), completed in 1860."
Luckily for us, it was lined in wildflowers. I guess the old adage, "April showers bring May flowers" is true as we had never seen so many, especially this early in the season.












One is rewarded for this uphill hike by a waterfall at its end. What a glorious morning in the Tahoe sunshine.
Later that day, snow arrived and made us all thankful we had gotten out in IT when we could. Historically speaking, snow has fallen in Tahoe, every month of the year. This was not a surprise but a welcomed reason for hot tea and a good book.