Nicole, Come with, the next trip maybe in 2 weeks, I might also go this week to exchange a plant. So you are invited to the next lunchon.. I will email you when we have an exact date, but it will be either a Monday or a Wed because one of the regulars works for Oceanside PD and those are her days off. Jennie, You can always come visit. If you ever come to So Cal, Carls bad is a GORGEOUS place to come relax, unwind and enjoy yearself at. If you have kids Lego Land is there and the beaches are GORGEOUS. Thera are also hotels for all budgets, Lacosta and the Four Seasons are the 2 high end ones and are right on the Lagoon and near the beach so the views are the BOMB. Let me know if you ever come out.

Yardvaark, thanks for your comment. I wrote a reply earlier that ended up in the internet ether, so I’ll try it again. I am beginning to think that scale is key in the look I’m searching for. Large trees rather than small (especially small ornamentals) and large shrubs as specimens, or large, mass plantings, are found in acreage (country) rather than on suburban lots. I suppose what I’ve been focusing on is my experience in Central New York, where we lived for several years. Most of it is rural, and houses are old (sometimes several centuries). Invariably, those houses originally had very large deciduous trees planted quite close to them, obviously for shade, in an era sans air conditioning. What we’ve found is that contemporary homeowners often are terrified of trees, and dislike deciduous trees and plantings as well, so the old, majestic trees are cut down, or new ones that are planted are taken out as soon as they get to be roof-height. (One of the most common phrases we heard in CNY, I think, was “that tree is too big”.) Then, to correct the lack of green in winter, evergreens are planted, including trees, and also in the form of the ubiquitous yew hedge to serve as a foundation planting. It seems to me that these things may have to do with a difference in tastes as well as knowledge between people a hundred years ago, and those today. I do think that very few people realize that there are wonderful varieties of large trees that can be planted close to a house –not all trees are the same! People used to plant trees with tap roots and ones not susceptible to breakage. Those trees not only protected the house from sun, but “ensconced” the house, often to great visual advantage from the outside, and to a wonderful effect from the inside as well. And: Overall, I think there’s less appreciation for the various forms of natural beauty that many deciduous plants can give; whereas, most folks I talk to today think only about green leaves and colorful flowers. I love evergreens, but they seem somewhat out of place, or at least a preponderance of them do, in regions outside of the Northwest and upper reaches of the entire U.S. In summary, I suppose I associate certain plantings, especially evergreens, with the suburbs due to my experience in New York, where all the rural homes had an emphasis on the deciduous. Also, I think scale, as you mention, and type of trees, such as the small, ornamentals, are to be avoided in the look I’m going for. My vision is a classic sort of looking house (such as Georgian or Greek Revival) without a lot of the detail that I associated with a “city” look, set off amid some well-placed enormous trees. (Unfortunately, I likely won’t be around long enough to enjoy them as “enormous” trees!)

Curious about what you mean by hoping it prepares him for a job working in a resort-do you mean as a college side job or as a career? I think any program that helps a kid learn responsibility is a good one. While this sounds like it's all fun & games, it really does teach skills that translate into real world skills. It's not all about white water rafting, it's about learning to work as a team and knowing what your skills can bring to the successful outcome of the trip. There are many careers that focus on outdoor adventures, and not everything requires a college degree. I know of many successful people who didn't go the education path, instead went the technical/vocational path and are making 6 figure incomes without any college debt. On the other hand, my kids who went into social sciences (social worker and early education instructor) needed the minimum of their BS and still only make $40K/yr. But my son who is a self taught chef makes more than his social worker sister. In light of the recent scandal of the parents paying for their kids to get into school by faking it, it goes to show that not all kids are college material. I didn't push my kids to go, but helped those that did (I was not able to fully fund my daughters education so she had to get loans-oddly I made too much for her to qualify for grants, but not enough to fund her schooling and scholarships were out of the question even though she tried hard to get them). The other two who didn't go, and who also struggled with HS, ended up doing well on their own. They're smart and learned a lot of life experience working for DH and I that helped them to succeed without college. I wish the best for your son. I think this NOLS program sounds like something he could get something out of. Might wake him up and realize he's going to have to actually WORK to make his way in the world. I'm afraid too many kids think they're just going to be able to go out and land a job and make $80K/yr with no problem. I know of kids who went to college who think that way and the reality of the situation was that since they just got liberal arts degrees didn't guarantee them a job.

The last syllable of the Kauai town is the same as a Hawaiian wreath of flowers. Pronounced lay, not lee. The term for misheard lyrics is mondegrin. One i like is from the Creedence song Bad Moon Rising, ” there’s a bathroom on the right”