Travelog for: Sheela

Hi there!

I'm so excited. Mummy was contacted by a nice girl in California who'd like to host me so hopefully my boring life will change completely. Well, here's the shelf where I stayed most of the time. At least I could watch Mummy surfing the internet from there.

Today Mummy took me with her when she went to town and we took a walk along the river Neckar. She wanted to make sure that I'm really ready for my big adventure and don't long for being back on my shelf after a few minutes. Goodness. human beings are sometimes strange. I just loved it and here are my photos:

I'm sitting on Heidelberg's Old Bridge, the river Neckar is behind me.


I'm taking a rest in the wilderness (for my height) at the river Neckar.


The Old Bridge and the river Neckar behind me


Taking a rest again, this time on a tree stump


On this picture you can even see Heidelberg's famous castle in the background


Mummy let me smell these flowers ... hmm, that was great and they also look beautiful, don't they?

It has stopped raining and I'm looking out of the window, longing to start travelling.



Mummy hasn't finished to prepare everything, though. She still needs to buy a large enough envelope for me to fit in and have enough space during the long trip to California. However, she already gave me a booklet which I may take with me and hopefully my hosts will sign it.

Mummy has bought an envelope and it's really spacious, I like it.



In the background of the above picture you can see Sammy. He's a very tall and fury cat, we're good friends. He doesn't like travelling at all but is looking forward to hearing my reports and seeing pictures from all over the world. Here's a photo of the two of us together.

I'm off to California. Before I left I said good-bye to my best friends who all belong to Mummy's daughter. On the right who can see Claire the squirrel who also hopes to start travelling soon.

Mum and friends back home,

Hello,

I have made the trip to California safely. It was a nice trip in my padded envie. My host really liked the gifts I brought with me and wanted to make sure I thanked you for them.

My new friend Ika was here to greet me as I came out of my envie to explore this new place.

I was also greeted by the local dogs. Today I will spend the day with Ika in her home so she can show me around. She says that we will soon take a trip into town and go site seeing.

So far I am enjoying myself. There are many new friends to meet here.

Thank you for letting me visit in California. Its better than sitting on my shelf back home.

Well I think I should go now.. I heard something about making chocolate chip cookies and I don't want to miss out.

I'll write more soon.

♥ Sheela

Hi,

Here are the yummy cookies that were made. They were very good and every one enjoyed them that they all were eaten up. I think we will have to make some more later this week.

The dogs even wanted some cookies since they smelled so good, but I was told that they were not able to have any, but I was allowed to give them some dog food that they really enjoy.


For dinner we had some hot soup. It was very tasty.

Mum,

Today I spent the day in the garden. I picked some apples, chilies, tomatoes, and squash. We are going to use the apple to make apple dumplings and the chilies to make a spicy salad. There are many trees and flowers here in the garden. Lots of pretty things to see.

I also went on a quick drive to the mall to pick up my host's sister.
When we got to the mall there were some rides for me to have fun on. I even got to play a game on the Wii system. That was a fun game.

On the way back to the house I helped put gas in the car. It was my first time ever doing it, but now that I know how to do it, I can do if for you when I get back home.

We also passed by the train depot and got a quick picture, but we well be taking a closer look a bit later. I was told that this depot has been in a few films and I am excited to know which ones. Maybe I have seen a few.

I hope you are having a good time hosting other TV's and not missing me too much.

♥ Sheela

Mum,

Hello, sorry it has been a while since I last sent you a message. We're having trouble with internet connection here, so I am trying to send this message from my hosts phone. I hope I will be able to upload pictures from her phone. I hope you weren't worried about me.

Today another tv got here and we went to a few different places. I am really enjoying my time here and getting to know Lester. It was still bit cold and windy today since it rained yesterday, but the sun was still shining bright at the beach.

I found part of a shell at the beach. I am hoping to bring it back home with me, or I might just send it home to you. There was a big ship at the beach named San Salvador. We also found a statue of a beautiful mermaid. The mermaid statue was a gift from Russia. We found a bench and sat there for a minute watching the waves. It was very calming. The sand was warm to walk on the pebbles warm to lay on.

We also had time today to look for one geocach. So we look at the GPS and decided which 1 would be closer for us to find. I was very excited when we found it.

Hopefully the internet problem will be resolved soon so that I can upload the pictures that were taken with a camera a few days ago.

Hope you're having a great day,

Sheela

Hi,

Today we passed by the welcome sigh and I just had to stop to get a quick picture.

Sheela

Mum,

Hello, Today we went for a short walk at the Arroyo Verde Park. We took the Jerry Revard Nature Trail. Some parts of the trail were a bit steep and made me a bit tired so we had to stop and rest on a tree limb. I saw a sign on how to tell the difference between a Mountain Lion and a Bobcat and what to do if I encounter one. These things are important to know because I have been told there have been some sightings in this area.

Later today we went to down town Ventura and I got a picture on the water fountain and a few other pictures. Walking there made me feel a bit sad because I saw many homeless people there, but my host let me know that the city is doing things to help them out, so that made me feel a bit better.

Cant wait to see what tomorrow brings. It will be an early day since my host goes in to work at 5 in the morning and she will be taking us with her so we will be ready to go when she gets off work.

Til later,

♥ Sheela

Hello,

I am sending you this message from my hosts friends computer. She was very nice to let me use it, but it has to be quick because she has things to do. So I will try to upload as much as I can today and try to do the rest tomorrow.

Today we woke up earlier than what I am used to. 3:30 am. My host had to be at work at 5 in the morning. She took us with her and let us continue to sleep in the car until she got out of work.

When she got out of work we started our journey to see all the murals and statue here.

The first statue is the Saint Frances Dam Disaster Memorial. Here is a little bit of information I found on another web site.

"The Warning Sculpture
The new bronze sculpture, The Warning, commemorates the heroism of Santa Paulans who worked to save lives during the St. Francis Dam Disaster. The 200-foot tall St. Francis Dam collapsed on March 12, 1928, just after it was completed five miles northeast of Newhall, California. The floodwaters swept down the Santa Clara River valley to the ocean, claiming 450 lives. As the flood approached Santa Paula in the darkness of night, two Santa Paula police officers road motorcycles through the low lying areas of town, warning residents to evacuate. Telephone operators similarly called residents through the night. This sculpture was commissioned by the Santa Paula Historical Society to commemorate these lifesaving efforts. It was sculpted by Santa Paula artist Eric Roberts."

I think those men were very brave to stay and warn people about the flood.

Another group of brave men are policemen who we also found  a memorial for. This is the Santa Paula Police Memorial.

We found a water ball. It was nice and calming to sit by it and watch it spin by the force of the water.

A bit to the right of the water ball there are some statue cubs and a mother bear. I felt comfortable with them and I am a bear too.

Across the street is the Santa Paula Train Depot. Here is a bit of information about it.

"Southern Pacific Railroad Depot
Built 1887
Ventura County Historical Landmark
An original 1887 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot is the home today of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce & Gift Store. Visitors can shop for local gift items and obtain tourist information. Railroad Park features a gazebo, landscaped grounds and gardens, a towering 1879 Moreton Bay fig tree, and a life-size outdoor bronze sculpture, The Warning. The Depot still welcomes train enthusiasts aboard the antique Fillmore & Western Railway."

I would like to take a ride on a train some day. My host told me that it has been featured in a few movies and that many movies have parts that have been filmed in this city. These are just a few of the ones she can remember:
A walk in the clouds
Bedtime Stories
Georgia Rule
Bubble Boy
Joe Dirt
Leave it to Beaver
The Ghost of Sulphur Mountain
Carrie
Disorganized Crime
Mr. Woodcock

A few different Life Time movies.
There have also been a few music videos that were partly filmed here.

Across the street from the Depot is the Fig tree. My host says that her grandfather remembers when this tree was smaller. He was born in this town in 1925 and says that this town has changed a bit since then. The Moreton Bay Fig Tree was planted July 4, 1879. It was also featured in a few movies and shows. My host remembers seeing it in Big Bad Beelteborgs when she was little.

We decided to take a rest for a few minutes between some of the trees big roots.

A few feet from the tree there is a building with a mural. One of the many we saw here.


Well I have to go now my hosts friend says we can come back tomorrow and upload more pictures. I hope you like these so far.

♥Sheela

Hello,

Here are the rest of the pictures from my walk around Santa Paula.

The first picture was taken at one of the newest statues. It was built for the farm workers.

Next is a few from another big mural of how Santa Paula look many years ago.

"Transport in Time & Place: Trains, Planes & Automobiles, 1890s-1940s
This mural centers around the historic Southern Pacific Depot, built in 1887, illustrating the many activities relating to the use of the railroad. The artist depicts, left to right, a 1937 Hudson Coupe, a 1934 Dodge Panel truck, then a 1937 Greyhound Super Coach and next you see a 1931 Indian motorcycle. Pulling out onto 10th Street is a 1935 Chevrolet stake bed truck with the Union Ice Company in the background. The steam engine is c.1890. The panel on the left, shows U.S. President Benjamin Harrison passing through Santa Paula, 1891, and lemons from Limoneira Ranch being loaded on boxcars. The panel on the right shows Korean War soldiers leaving for service in 1950 and a walnut packing house c.1946."

Next we found a small mural of the Department of Agriculture. It was really nice.

We then went to the library where we found another really big mural. It is of the Chumash Indians. 

"Our First Inhabitants: The Chumash Indians
The artist, Ann Thiermann, researched this mural by hiking to the historic site of the Chumash village, Sisa, in the foothills above Santa Paula and listening to local Chumash culture bearers. The artist created a dialogue between a grandmother of today (shown on left) and her granddaughter sharing the story of the life of the Chumash, from their experience during the Mission period back thousands of years to life in the village of Sisa along the Santa Paula Creek. The artist says, "I painted the stucco wall in earth browns, and all the earth elements then painted themselves; first rocks, then sycamores, oaks, the creek and Fall grasses. The figures emerge from these earth elements and reflect the harmony and integration with nature that the Chumash lived out." When the library is open, you may borrow a detailed description of life in this Chumash village."

Inside the library there was more to see. Another statue and some small house. A very nice doll collection.

As we continued our walk we found a clock tower. It is called Oddfellows Clocktower and it was installed in 1905. It is a Ventura County Historical Landmark.

The last mural of the day was Santa Paula Citrus Capital of the World

"This mural highlighted a 60-year span (1880-1940) of the citrus industry in Santa Paula. The first scene, 1900, shows Japanese, Anglo and Hispanic field workers harvesting lemons. The second shows Nathan Blanchard, founder of Santa Paula and his packinghouse. The third pays tribute to all Latino pickers who have harvested citrus over the years. The fourth, 1940s, shows the significant role of women in packinghouses, including women whose families fled the terrible dustbowl conditions sweeping through the mid-west in the late 1930s."

I enjoyed my walk with my host and TV friends. I hope you liked the pictures we took.

♥Sheela

Hello,

Today was another nice day. We went to the Santa Paula Creek. Even though it was a nice day out, the water was still too cold to get into.
We saw some little stickel back fish and tadpoles in the water. There were also some little frogs jumping around. My host said that in the spring time there are a lot more little fish in the creel and lots of Dragonfly. Listening to the water was very nice and relaxing. We sat there for a few minutes just enjoying nature.

Sheela

Hello,

I had a great time in Santa Paula, but now its time to continue my travels. This is the last picture my host took of me on her phone. I am saying good bye to my tv friends. Maybe one day we will see each other again.

I am very excited to be moving on to my next host in San Jose and am read for new adventures.


Ps. All October pictures will be uploaded by my host at a later time.