Segment #62 Sea Watch Monarch; Salt Creek & San Juan Creek Trails

Start	Dana Point & / Capistrano  CA	N 33.49604  W 117.71073 N 33.47255   W 117.67958	S-N mi 2.7/0.8 = 3.5
End	Dana Point & / Capistrano  CA	N 33.59589  W 117.88179 N 33.46122  W 117.67831	TrlLgth 2.8/1.1 mi = 3.9 Ride 5.4/2.2. mi = 7.6

Ride hr   :27/:20  AVS 7.1 mph   MXS 18.5 mph  DST  5  mi  WSW 9 mph  TMP 62-65     KCal 209

Chris and I are ready to ride 2.5 miles to ocean on the Monarch

Trail in Dana Point. We rode out and back on this short ride.

Both the Sea Watch Monarch and the San Juan Salt Creek Trails are short. In fact, if I had not needed the pittley bit of latitude they offered and I didn't want to drive to hell and back to find similar latitudes, I would not have bothered to plan and ride these trails. One thing that caused me to select them was the desire to get back to an area I enjoyed to visiting in the seventies when I taught at UCLA and completed a speciality in Periodontics. Distant relatives, Joe and Carl lived in Dana Point. They were very nice people and lived up in the hills overlooking the ocean and marina. Connie, the boys and I took several trips to Dana Point from where we lived in the San Fernando Valley. Back then there were open lots for sale including one directly out the back side of the Caldwell's property. I remember how they stewed over the idea of buy the lot for $5,000. $5,000!!! Gosh I wish we would have had to money to buy that lot. Today the lot with small home like the Caldwell's would sell  for at least $3,000,000. Riding my bike around their home, brought back the wonderful  memories of visiting Dana Point. Chris and Geoff didn't remember much about those days 

Chris and Geoff silhouetted against the Pacific Ocean 

other than pictures of the family with my Hippie Era haircut, actually a no cut haircut. Those were the days of bell bottom pants, platform shoes, head bands among other things.

Those were the days for the Maze family to have a pet. So the boys and I went to a pet shop in Chatsworth and bought a fluffy black cockapoo, giving her the name Pepsi. But like most puppies, Pepsi loved to dig. Did I say dig. I ment EXCAVATE! I had invested numerous hours and dollars redoing the back yard with a sprinkler system, grass, rose bushes, trees, perennial flowers and so on.. How nice the yard looked until digger girl realized that she could have so much fun displacing everything I had labored over for months and months. The dog has to go I told Connie and the boys. At first I tried to sell Pepsi with an add in the newspaper and word of mouth. A few people came to look only to say, "this isn't a Cockapoo, look at those big feet! So back to the pet shop I went. This time a pet shop just a few blocks down the street. I wanted to get a second opinion about whether this dog was a Cockapoo or a Crockapoo.
This pet shop owner was upset at the fact that the other pet shop had misrepresented the dog and said they would find a good home for Pepsi. The good home was at Sally's house; a animal loving lady that took into animals. Connie volunteered to take Pepsi to Sally. That was my mistake. Connie had just read James

Pepsi is anxious for me to take this picture so she can
chase the tennis ball I have in my hand. She was a good
retriever as well as a collie and many many other breeds

Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small. either that book or her own innate love for animals turned her into a miserable mess over having taken Pepsi to Sally"s. She cried herself to sleep. When I went to the bathroom in the early morning, there was a letter laying on the sink top. I started reading the letter and realized Pepsi was too important to a happy family to be so cruel to give Pepsi away. I melted and told Connie to go to Sally's and get Pepsi. As soon as the sun rose, Connie called Sally's and told her she was on her way to get the dog. Somehow Pepsi sensed she was in trouble so I don't remember her digging anymore. She was a wonderful pet for which I am forever thankful that Connie wrote me that note that got Pepsi out of the dog house for thirteen plus years. She was the only dog we had for any length of time. We tried a replacement dog named Frankie but Frankie was genetically wired to be a hyper hunting dog; he was part springer spaniel. So after a few months of chasing Frankie into the woods, we gave him back to the animal shelter in hopes someone that had a large lot with fence or a farmer needed a dog. After Pepsi and Frankie our dogs days were over and we took in a couple cats as our family pets.