A Tale of Two Towers

A Dickens of a Tale - by J and L - that's J there in Sacramento

 It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . .

When Charles Dickens penned that immortal opening for his work A Tale of Two Cities - which by the way is still the number two best seller in fiction of all time only overtaken by Don Quixote - he was writing about Paris and London during and after the French Revolution.

London's Tower Bridge

But we're blogging about the two cities of London and Sacramento.

We just like Dickens and when we get the chance we mention his name. Besides, what he wrote 159 years ago could be taken to the be the world as it is in 2017.

Sacramento's Tower Bridge

That's it for judging present society. We're not political. 

What do both these cities have in common besides being capital cities? They both boast a tower bridge. Seriously, they are referred to as Tower Bridge both in England and California.

Coincidence? We think not!

Sacramento's bridge moving skyward supported by the two towers

London's would open at an 86 degree list supported by the two towers

The tower  at the Tower Bridge - Sacramento

London's bridge opened in June of 1894 and Sacramento's not until December of 1935. The similarities are both span a busy river - the Thames and the Sacrament River. They each rise when large ships need to pass beneath by means of engines hoisting sections of the bridge - London's by two equal bascules or leaves which move up at an 86 degree arc and Sacramento 's by using a vertical lift actually moving a larger section of roadway straight up and out of the way of boat traffic. Boat traffic has the right of way over foot or vehicle traffic on both he bridges. Both contain two large towers which act as anchors for the sections being lifted. And they each are and still are marvel of engineering.

Sunset in Sacramento by the Tower Bridge

The differences are many but here are just a few. We hate to admit it but London's bridge is much larger and has more people and vehicle traffic moving across the bridge than Sacramento's annually. London's is more iconic since it has been seen in thousands of films, television shows and photographs and Sacramento's can't even come close to the number. It took an act of Parliament to decide to build London's where it only took an act of a few county government employees in Sacramento to decide to replace the existing bridge at M Street,

London's is not falling down but . . .
then Sacramento would be the number one spot to go!

Just seems so cool to have an Act of Parliament in lieu of a bunch of city planners. There are other differences but the point is made.

Both capitals have great bridges spanning rivers where a bunch of people cross daily to go here and there.

One thing Sacramento doesn't have to worry about though is no one confuses the name of the Tower Bridge with any other bridge. In London, frustration reigns when tourists point to the Tower Bridge and say, "Lookiee there - it's the London Bridge!"

We can only imagine Londoners dropping their cup of tea and smashing scones on their foreheads when they hear that statement.

Our hearts go out to our English cousins. 

And then there' this  - - - 

Not only does Sacramento have a Tower Bridge but an artist who likes to hang out on a major highway during the night. !
We wouldn't recommend dating him - just saying.

Super Bloom 2017

Even doggies like flowers

It's blooming flowers - no kidding -- like magic in the Southern California deserts!

The usual brown and seemingly lifeless appearance of the deserts (of course, we know that's not true since we've written about the vibrant life of the desert before) have truly sprung to life this spring.

From the desert sunflowers to ghost flowers, from ocotillo to Canterbury bells and beavertail cactus, the desert is now a carpet of beauty. So much so that people from around the world are traveling to Southern California to witness first hand this phenomenon. March came in like a bushel of roses -- okay, perhaps not, but there are literally billions of blossoms blooming.

And most people believed it was only Disneyland or Universal Studios which could cause such a mad rush into the southern section of the most populous state in the union.

Park Ranger Bier loving the blooming

According to a recent Southern California Public Radio spot called "California Deserts in' Super Bloom' thanks to a Wet Winter" the host, Mandalit del Barco spoke of the beauty of the deserts because of the vast amount of rain California has received.


During the radio interview Anza-Borrego park ranger Steve Bier stated, "I'm looking at a whole field of this bluish purple phacelia. And in this foreground of the Coyote Mountains, that's nothing but poppies going 5, 6 miles up-canyon."




The reason for the sudden blooming of beauty is due to the fact California had been locked into a drought for five years, but the end of 2016 and especially the beginning of 2017 the heavens opened up. Inches upon inches of rain pummeled the state from the border of Mexico to the border of Oregon. The wild flower seeds had lain dormant for years waiting for the right opportunity to come along.

And came along it did - just in Anza-Borrego State Park alone during the winter months of 2016 over six inches of rain fell which is generally how much the park gets in an entire year. No matter, the seeds were ready and willing to sprout.




Reference the stubborn seeds, Bier told Barco that some of the seeds may have lain undisturbed for decades if not even a century - of course this isn't exact but the park's best guess according to their biologists. Some of the areas which received the heavies rains had not experienced a drop from ten to twenty years.



It isn't just the low lying deserts but throughout Southern California - Temecula, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, and many other areas. They're coming up roses. Well, not roses but the fields are blooming.

The bloom is not over for a few more weeks and the lower deserts bloom a bit more quickly since the temperature is warmer and the same superbloom will be coming to the higher deserts where it is slowly warming up. Making a perfect growing season for the dormant seeds. Antelope Valley, the Mojave Desert, and other High Desert areas will be having quite a show coming up in the next few weeks.

Mother Nature is an odd sort and not one to second guess. A seed buried in the sands of a most inhospitable climate for half a century and then in a blink of an eye they sprout causing a sea of unbelievable color and beauty could be called a miracle.



We decided to keep this short as always a picture tells a thousand words. We believe you will agree with us that millions upon millions of little miracles happened and is happening in the far out reaches of the Southern California deserts.

Go on out - if you happen to be in the area - and take a moment to stop and smell the wild flowers.


Death Valley in bloom

What's In a Name?

Often times a subject to espouse upon just comes to the wordsmith. Case in point, while attending a recent conference in San Diego on the utilization of technology in education, J actually went and learned a thing or two about the value of technology.

What he took away was simple - as long as education pushes technology that is fine and beneficial for the student, but when technology pushes the use of technology for technology's sake then the concept of learning to gain knowledge no longer exists.

His words, not the presenters, at the Innovation Summit.

This is actually rather creepy!

Back to the concept of this blog. After the conference ended each day, J would take a leisurely stroll along the Embarcadero. Stretching his legs and thoughts while peering at the hundreds of yachts tied near the waterside beside the Marriott and Sheraton just southwest of the Gas Lamp District.

Tens of millions of dollars worth - probably more - of every make and year of vessel resting gently on the waters of the San Diego Bay while tightly secured by mooring lines attached to the floating docks.

Lots and lots of money in boats in San Diego!

While enjoying the afternoon sun, J started to ponder the various names on the aft section of the boats. It seemed that every yacht was named this or that - not really 'this' or 'that' but a name which must have been dear or at least meant something to the owner of the yacht.

Then the question arose during that leisurely stroll - why were boats named and those names forever painted on the rear end of the boat? People didn't name their cars in the same fashion. People didn't name their RV's - motorhomes or travel trailers in the same fashion. People didn't place large letters on the side of their homes in the same fashion.

Oh, Captain - that does not work anywhere

Then why boats?

This called for research - that's what we do here.

Seems there is no definite time when seafarers started naming boats but it goes back to the idea of identity. Before the invention of instantaneous communication - that technology thing - people needed to know what boat a person was traveling on. You couldn't just say, "I'll be on the wooden boat with masts in the harbor." That really wouldn't have helped anyone in Boston in 1790 when all boats were wooden with masts now would it?

Uh - we're on the third boat to the left - can't miss us

So, slap a name on the rear of the boat and voila you knew where the person you were looking for was.

The love of naming boats never went away even when satellite phones came into existence and a person could talk to someone on the 'Big Kahuna' half way between Los Angeles and Honolulu.

One reason, and this could just be myth, is that naming a boat is good luck and not is not - good luck that is.

Somewhere back in the day (not sure what that means but heard a lot of that terminology at the conference - "back in the day when rotary phones made sense . . . ") people believed that the gods of the oceans, Poseidon or Neptune (choose your culture) kept a ledger of every ocean bearing boat that sailed. A name meant the boat was being watched over by either one of these two gods and that was a good thing.

Better name your boat and give me a drink while you're at it!

If they didn't know the name of your boat or it didn't have one then that would be a bad thing which could ultimately include sinking and drowning - a very bad way to ruin an ocean cruise.

So, name the boat and the captain and crew were probably safe except for possible hurricanes, monsoons, typhoons, rogue waves, pirates, running aground, and the occasional sea monster.

Technology is everywhere

And don't think of changing the name of the boat - that means bad luck. Of course, some seasoned sailors believe that is nonsense but let's stick with the myth. Much more exciting.

An example to illustrate the point - a husband wants to purchase  a yacht for his spouse for her birthday. A lovely thought but it would be unwise to give her a vessel with another woman's name on it. That could entail, depending on the strength of the marriage, disagreements or even yelling about what he was thinking?

Original thinking - yes

It should be noted that at one time pretty much every boat had a woman's name on it - the reason a ship is called a 'she' and not a 'he' - gender bias yes but that's they way of the sailing world back in the day (last time promise). That and the fact that in many languages, nouns have a gender, and boats are generally feminine. Hence, she's a beautiful ship. But I digress.

Can a boat's name be changed the husband would ponder prior to leading his lovely spouse down the gangway to view her new expensive gift? The answer is yes - - but there are a couple things that need to be done first.

Original thinking - probably not

All mention or telltale visage of the former boat's name must be vanquished. Get rid of every shred of evidence that boat was ever named anything but what the current name is to be. Be thorough - very thorough. Change the name on every legal and non-legal document.

Then and only then can the boat be renamed - Poseidon and/or Neptune will then wipe out the old name from their ledger and replace it with the new name and all will be well.

Forget to do this and the boat will sink and all will drown. Okay - maybe not but perhaps the motor will break or the BBQ will fall overboard with the night's dinner firmly attached to the grill.

Oh yes, there's some sort of ceremony and chants to the sea gods that go along with the whole ritual and even pouring libations into the surrounding waters to appease the alcoholic gods. So, chant away "Oh mighty and great ruler of the seas and oceans - blah, blah, blah," and pour away to rid your boat of any bad karma.

We at J and L highly recommend being a bit stingy on the pouring and then empty the bottle into two crystal flutes and toast the newly named yacht.

Just our opinion.

Not enough chanting or booze obviously