I’d like your opinion.... kids?
- Thread starter Nuevo
- Start date
SORRY - LONG-WINDED REMINISCING POST...
Yeah man... I kinda know what you're talkin' about there. As a kid up to like age 9yo... I would spend the Summer down in Ensenada. My GrandMa on my Dad's side had a small beach-front place down there. That property was owned by Mrs Hussong, of Hussong's Cantina fame. Right next to Quintas Papagayo. On that cove there. Her place was right next to a Volcanic Rock Jetty that extended out maybe... 40-50yds into the water (since then those idiot have demolished that jetty and turned the whole cove into a swank upper-crusty Marina, a damn shame), that Jetty kinda separated the Cove from the deeper waters of the Bay (Bahia). We'd see the Dolphins and the Grey Whales Migrating south to their birthing lagoons passing-by just a ways off the last rock of the jetty.
I sh*t you not... I would go to the entrance to that property, where the place had a community pool, and I'd cut a piece of Bamboo just a bit taller than myself. Tie on like maybe 12-15ft of line on the end... crack off a black mussel from the volcanic rock jetty... break it open... put it on the hook... drop it down in this one spot I found that worked really good... I could almost always like count to 5 and BAM!!... Usually a ButterMouth Perch or something like that would hit it!
Then I'd run up to the house all excited and sh*t "GrandMa! GrandMa! I got one!". At first.. she'd clean them, then bread it and pan-fry it. NOM! NOM! NOM! Then about 7yo I think... she told me I was old enough now... that I'd have to clean my own fish... so she shows me how to cut off the head just behind the gill line... then cut upward from the anus... use finger to take out the guts (which worked really good as bait for more fish!) and and all that.
You never forget something like that... the first time... as a kid... that YOU had to clean the fish! I'm all like "Sorry Mr Fishie.", and wincing... began the cutting. Didn't take long at all to become a real pro at it!
You learned how to descend your hand down the fishing line in order to grab the fish so you'd push down the spikes the fish might have. Sometimes you'd catch Sculpin, or a few others that were very pokey, so it was important that you knew how to do that right. Mistakes OUCH!! quickly motivated you to learn!
Then one morning... the tide was low, so the last rock was exposed... some adult was on it trying for fish so I figured, you know what, I've never tried from there before (cause it's usually covered by the water rest of time). So I join him out there. Real quick I got impatient and was like screw this spot... this blows..nothings biting here... and went back to my honey-hole. Boom.. ButterMouth Perch. Adult see's it, decides well heck, I'll go fish where this kid is at!
So he drops in his line as well. Them BOOM... something bigger than usual hit! Got both our lines tangled-up. It was that Morey Eel I told you guys about. That dude was a wuss and wouldn't go near those teeth. I eventually bashed it in the head with a rock enough times it finally went limp,the adult had some needlenose so I was able to get the hooks out. Then a local family said they'd take it.
(INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: Most of the local towns people that were broke-n-po, would come there to the rocks to fish off them. Their main tool? A Seven-Up can! They'd have their line tied-to and wrapped around the can. They'd bait their hooks... then... sorta like a grappling hook type of deal, they'd swing a few rotations then let it go to cast it. You point the soda can's bottom end out toward the water so the string can freely slip off the end. Once it's gone out enough, you slap your hand onto the can to stop the take of string. To retrieve? Pullllllll....wrap-wrap-wrap-wrap, Pullllllll...wrap-wrap-wrap-wrap. It works surprising well! Can be a lil rough on your retrieving hand though.)
Those volcanic rocks spanned that entire coast-line on the Bahia side. So like a huge mile-long tide-pool to explore! Was freakin' awesome. Catching Crabs. Messing with Sea-Anenome's, Brittle-Star's, Hermit Crab's, sometimes actual Starfish.
Oh!... dig this... remember when JAWS came out in the theaters?
YEah... so one morning, I'm sittin' there watching my GrandMa paint on her face and do her hair in the morning, (how they did all that always fascinated me as a kid). It was overcast with a thick marine layer. I took a break from watching her and looked over at the jetty...saw something that scared the piss outta me!
Remember that last rock? Right after I look over toward the last rock... WHOOSH!!... a Big-@$$ Orca!!!... jumps outta the water and over that last rock!!! (Going from cove side to Bahia side) I'd never seen something soo damn big come out of the water before in my life!! AND... like I said.. the whole world has just seen JAWS now! F**k man... musta been 3 weeks before I finally dared go back in that damn water! As a kid, that sighting really shook me up!
There'd only been like maybe 2 times I'd ever seen a shark in that area. On a high tide one time a maybe 5-6 ft young one swam into this larger opening in the rock jetty that's in the first 1/3rd of the way from the shoreline. And once we saw one cruise towards the cove a little past the breaking line of the waves. But that was it for sharks. I mean, you know they were probably there. We just never really saw them much.
Oh man... and the Grunion runs were soo damn fun! Me and my brothers, we'd get into this game of squirting the eggs from them at the other guy. And damn... GrandMa made those Grunion goooood! I musta ate a crap-ton of those things growing up!
And one of the best parts of kickin it down there? You could go into the town and buy fireworks ANY DAY OF THE YEAR!!!
I've experimented with shoving firecrackers and M80's and occasionally even Quarter-Sticks into all kinds of interested containers, both living and not
Man... a pack of firecrackers or lady-fingers? That was a whole bunch of fun blowin' the snot out of Red Ant Hills!
One thing you learned quick though... those cheapie M80's... with their plaster-paris end-plugs... you learned that those end-plugs shot-out like bullets...often!
Oh, and then for like 2 summers there... some local dude... locked-up a dingy on the vacant lot 3 over from GrandMa's place by the jetty. I found out he's fixing to go out and set Lobster Traps! I ask my GrandMa if I can go with. She's cool with it. (I learned years later he wasn't exactly respecting seasons of take). Fetching the Traps was soo cool! Soo simple! Take a fish-head, wire it into the trapezoidial trap... rope... a 2-liter plastic soda bottle for a bouy/marker.
The second you pull the trap out.. "CLAP!! CLAP!!! CLAP!!" all their tails would starting clapping as they try in vain to swim-away/escape.
Most of the time you could get away with grabbing 'em firmly with one hand. Had to grab firmly or with the thrashing their shells would tear your fingers UP, JACK!
Then this one day... he pulls up the trap and DAAAANG!!! This one bad-boy needed two-hands to grab! He was WAY bigger than the majority of them we'd seen! I'd always wonder, years later, how much older that one had to have been?
Anyhoo... it was smart for that local dude to have me come along like that. He'd kick me down a couple lobsters for helping out... I'm happy... GrandMa's happy, he's not getting ratted-on, win-win.
Yeah man... I kinda know what you're talkin' about there. As a kid up to like age 9yo... I would spend the Summer down in Ensenada. My GrandMa on my Dad's side had a small beach-front place down there. That property was owned by Mrs Hussong, of Hussong's Cantina fame. Right next to Quintas Papagayo. On that cove there. Her place was right next to a Volcanic Rock Jetty that extended out maybe... 40-50yds into the water (since then those idiot have demolished that jetty and turned the whole cove into a swank upper-crusty Marina, a damn shame), that Jetty kinda separated the Cove from the deeper waters of the Bay (Bahia). We'd see the Dolphins and the Grey Whales Migrating south to their birthing lagoons passing-by just a ways off the last rock of the jetty.
I sh*t you not... I would go to the entrance to that property, where the place had a community pool, and I'd cut a piece of Bamboo just a bit taller than myself. Tie on like maybe 12-15ft of line on the end... crack off a black mussel from the volcanic rock jetty... break it open... put it on the hook... drop it down in this one spot I found that worked really good... I could almost always like count to 5 and BAM!!... Usually a ButterMouth Perch or something like that would hit it!
Then I'd run up to the house all excited and sh*t "GrandMa! GrandMa! I got one!". At first.. she'd clean them, then bread it and pan-fry it. NOM! NOM! NOM! Then about 7yo I think... she told me I was old enough now... that I'd have to clean my own fish... so she shows me how to cut off the head just behind the gill line... then cut upward from the anus... use finger to take out the guts (which worked really good as bait for more fish!) and and all that.
You never forget something like that... the first time... as a kid... that YOU had to clean the fish! I'm all like "Sorry Mr Fishie.", and wincing... began the cutting. Didn't take long at all to become a real pro at it!
You learned how to descend your hand down the fishing line in order to grab the fish so you'd push down the spikes the fish might have. Sometimes you'd catch Sculpin, or a few others that were very pokey, so it was important that you knew how to do that right. Mistakes OUCH!! quickly motivated you to learn!
Then one morning... the tide was low, so the last rock was exposed... some adult was on it trying for fish so I figured, you know what, I've never tried from there before (cause it's usually covered by the water rest of time). So I join him out there. Real quick I got impatient and was like screw this spot... this blows..nothings biting here... and went back to my honey-hole. Boom.. ButterMouth Perch. Adult see's it, decides well heck, I'll go fish where this kid is at!
So he drops in his line as well. Them BOOM... something bigger than usual hit! Got both our lines tangled-up. It was that Morey Eel I told you guys about. That dude was a wuss and wouldn't go near those teeth. I eventually bashed it in the head with a rock enough times it finally went limp,the adult had some needlenose so I was able to get the hooks out. Then a local family said they'd take it.
(INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: Most of the local towns people that were broke-n-po, would come there to the rocks to fish off them. Their main tool? A Seven-Up can! They'd have their line tied-to and wrapped around the can. They'd bait their hooks... then... sorta like a grappling hook type of deal, they'd swing a few rotations then let it go to cast it. You point the soda can's bottom end out toward the water so the string can freely slip off the end. Once it's gone out enough, you slap your hand onto the can to stop the take of string. To retrieve? Pullllllll....wrap-wrap-wrap-wrap, Pullllllll...wrap-wrap-wrap-wrap. It works surprising well! Can be a lil rough on your retrieving hand though.)
Those volcanic rocks spanned that entire coast-line on the Bahia side. So like a huge mile-long tide-pool to explore! Was freakin' awesome. Catching Crabs. Messing with Sea-Anenome's, Brittle-Star's, Hermit Crab's, sometimes actual Starfish.
Oh!... dig this... remember when JAWS came out in the theaters?
YEah... so one morning, I'm sittin' there watching my GrandMa paint on her face and do her hair in the morning, (how they did all that always fascinated me as a kid). It was overcast with a thick marine layer. I took a break from watching her and looked over at the jetty...saw something that scared the piss outta me!
Remember that last rock? Right after I look over toward the last rock... WHOOSH!!... a Big-@$$ Orca!!!... jumps outta the water and over that last rock!!! (Going from cove side to Bahia side) I'd never seen something soo damn big come out of the water before in my life!! AND... like I said.. the whole world has just seen JAWS now! F**k man... musta been 3 weeks before I finally dared go back in that damn water! As a kid, that sighting really shook me up!
There'd only been like maybe 2 times I'd ever seen a shark in that area. On a high tide one time a maybe 5-6 ft young one swam into this larger opening in the rock jetty that's in the first 1/3rd of the way from the shoreline. And once we saw one cruise towards the cove a little past the breaking line of the waves. But that was it for sharks. I mean, you know they were probably there. We just never really saw them much.
Oh man... and the Grunion runs were soo damn fun! Me and my brothers, we'd get into this game of squirting the eggs from them at the other guy. And damn... GrandMa made those Grunion goooood! I musta ate a crap-ton of those things growing up!
And one of the best parts of kickin it down there? You could go into the town and buy fireworks ANY DAY OF THE YEAR!!!
I've experimented with shoving firecrackers and M80's and occasionally even Quarter-Sticks into all kinds of interested containers, both living and not
Man... a pack of firecrackers or lady-fingers? That was a whole bunch of fun blowin' the snot out of Red Ant Hills!One thing you learned quick though... those cheapie M80's... with their plaster-paris end-plugs... you learned that those end-plugs shot-out like bullets...often!
Oh, and then for like 2 summers there... some local dude... locked-up a dingy on the vacant lot 3 over from GrandMa's place by the jetty. I found out he's fixing to go out and set Lobster Traps! I ask my GrandMa if I can go with. She's cool with it. (I learned years later he wasn't exactly respecting seasons of take). Fetching the Traps was soo cool! Soo simple! Take a fish-head, wire it into the trapezoidial trap... rope... a 2-liter plastic soda bottle for a bouy/marker.
The second you pull the trap out.. "CLAP!! CLAP!!! CLAP!!" all their tails would starting clapping as they try in vain to swim-away/escape.
Most of the time you could get away with grabbing 'em firmly with one hand. Had to grab firmly or with the thrashing their shells would tear your fingers UP, JACK!
Then this one day... he pulls up the trap and DAAAANG!!! This one bad-boy needed two-hands to grab! He was WAY bigger than the majority of them we'd seen! I'd always wonder, years later, how much older that one had to have been?
Anyhoo... it was smart for that local dude to have me come along like that. He'd kick me down a couple lobsters for helping out... I'm happy... GrandMa's happy, he's not getting ratted-on, win-win.
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As a kid ensanada was a favorite hang out. lobster, clams, octopus, fish galore. Camp out at the beach.
Barbecue galore.. the other was Colorado River, and the all American canals. Bull frogs, blue gill , catfish, large mouth and striped bass, crawfish, fresh water clams.
Barbecue galore.. the other was Colorado River, and the all American canals. Bull frogs, blue gill , catfish, large mouth and striped bass, crawfish, fresh water clams.
Yep....Vail Lake was loaded with them and our friends from Garden Grove would fill buckets with the little guys...
Puddingstone Lake has TONS of freshwater mussels right on the swim beach. I used to catch buckets of them as a kid. Lucky for them I had no idea what to do with them, so I put them back in the water.
I’m a little jealous you guys got to go to Ensenada as kids. I still haven’t been there! My dad wasn’t into fishing or hunting, so maybe once a summer he’d take me camping at mojave narrows lake in hesperia.
I’m a little jealous you guys got to go to Ensenada as kids. I still haven’t been there! My dad wasn’t into fishing or hunting, so maybe once a summer he’d take me camping at mojave narrows lake in hesperia.
I am sorry brother, Ensanada is today like long beach. Isn't the same any more. But I would recommend to go there beautiful drive on the Baja coast. Go see the blow hole.
Bufadora . Head to the smaller towns if it's safe, I haven't been there in a while...
Bufadora . Head to the smaller towns if it's safe, I haven't been there in a while...
Yeah... as an adult I took a 3-day Cruise down to Ensenada. The downtown itself... now... is all different. Modernized. You might say "College Party-Town" Vibe. Cleaned-up to look pretty for Tourist money.
Ya gotta understand that back in the day?... the second you crossed the border, it was like you went a least 10yrs backwards in time. I'm talkin' Clothing Styles, Cars, Home Furnishings, etc.
Hehe... just thought of something... another weird childhood memory of Ensenada... my GrandMa would take me to a Horse Racing and Dog Racing wagering location. It was near to the ports and fish markets. She'd talk to me about the types of things (data) people look at in terms of deciding who they thought was likely to win a Horse race. She'd place her bets and would have me also choose a Horse. It was kind cool, especially if the odds of the Horse were not as high, you'd get a better payout. But you'd still get *some* money if they came in 2nd or 3rd. And like... all the Horses have these creative names to them. So that made it kinda interesting. Then you kick back and wait... and either watch the race as it went down on a monitor... or... they'd post up the race results... so there was the waiting and anticipation of did your pick happen to make it.
Definitely not what you'd think of in terms of Grandkids activities... but it definitely was interesting.
Ya gotta understand that back in the day?... the second you crossed the border, it was like you went a least 10yrs backwards in time. I'm talkin' Clothing Styles, Cars, Home Furnishings, etc.
Hehe... just thought of something... another weird childhood memory of Ensenada... my GrandMa would take me to a Horse Racing and Dog Racing wagering location. It was near to the ports and fish markets. She'd talk to me about the types of things (data) people look at in terms of deciding who they thought was likely to win a Horse race. She'd place her bets and would have me also choose a Horse. It was kind cool, especially if the odds of the Horse were not as high, you'd get a better payout. But you'd still get *some* money if they came in 2nd or 3rd. And like... all the Horses have these creative names to them. So that made it kinda interesting. Then you kick back and wait... and either watch the race as it went down on a monitor... or... they'd post up the race results... so there was the waiting and anticipation of did your pick happen to make it.
Definitely not what you'd think of in terms of Grandkids activities... but it definitely was interesting.
I suppose I should be clear... I did get to go to San Felipe, Puertocitos, and Huerfanitos for a week when I was 16. That was probably my favorite trip to Mexico. We camped on the beaches the whole time, and just had a blast riding dirt bikes, and fishing. The fireworks were great too! I don’t miss the damn flies though, they were terrible.
I remember sitting in the line to cross back over the border coming home, and hearing on the radio that Kurt Cobain had offed himself that morning. I was a big Nirvana fan, so that was like a kick in the gonies.
I remember sitting in the line to cross back over the border coming home, and hearing on the radio that Kurt Cobain had offed himself that morning. I was a big Nirvana fan, so that was like a kick in the gonies.
San Felipe is awesome! Puertocitos is cool too!
We went to San Felipe as kids.. My Dad drove his Jeep Grand Wagoneer. On the trip over we checked out Mike's Sky Ranch. Then after chillin' at San Felipe my Dad gets it in his head to drive the Baja 500 course and head down south to Puertocitos.
We're at some point on this course... alone.. with know one knowing we are there... and there are 2 dirt road lanes at this one part... sorta going uphill. On the next ridge over... we could see that a very dark storm was Flashflood dumping water. So he pulls in behind some decent sized typical desert/chapparal Greasewood in-between those two "lanes".
Sure enough... here comes the water. At first it was just creepin' down the road up ahead towards us like a snake.
Well... I'll tell ya... at it's worst point... the freaking water was literally up to the bottom of the glass on the doors!!!
I was freakin' out hardcore at that! Thought we were gonna get washed away!
I've thought about this years afterward how EFF'd we'd be if he couldn't get that damn vehicle started afterward. Nobody knowing we were there.
We had to dig-out the tires after the water from that flashflood finally passed us by.
Oh man... you have no idea how relieved I felt once he got the car outta those holes and rolling, Phew!
We went to San Felipe as kids.. My Dad drove his Jeep Grand Wagoneer. On the trip over we checked out Mike's Sky Ranch. Then after chillin' at San Felipe my Dad gets it in his head to drive the Baja 500 course and head down south to Puertocitos.
We're at some point on this course... alone.. with know one knowing we are there... and there are 2 dirt road lanes at this one part... sorta going uphill. On the next ridge over... we could see that a very dark storm was Flashflood dumping water. So he pulls in behind some decent sized typical desert/chapparal Greasewood in-between those two "lanes".
Sure enough... here comes the water. At first it was just creepin' down the road up ahead towards us like a snake.
Well... I'll tell ya... at it's worst point... the freaking water was literally up to the bottom of the glass on the doors!!!
I was freakin' out hardcore at that! Thought we were gonna get washed away!
I've thought about this years afterward how EFF'd we'd be if he couldn't get that damn vehicle started afterward. Nobody knowing we were there.
We had to dig-out the tires after the water from that flashflood finally passed us by.
Oh man... you have no idea how relieved I felt once he got the car outta those holes and rolling, Phew!
If you're out in the desert... and a storm hits... and you're down in a valley floor / flatlands? Especially if it's near to a hill... You better make damn sure to look around and take note of any wash-outs or water-rut lines in the nearby terrain. If you're near a wash? Better getchyo self the hell up outta there! Those Washes are No Joke!
Usually the really bad ones... they kinda already know the danger of them and get tired of saving people from them...so they post up signs to warn the knuckleheads about them. Some of those washes will take your car and wash it a long ways off the road downstream when a flashflood hits!
Usually the really bad ones... they kinda already know the danger of them and get tired of saving people from them...so they post up signs to warn the knuckleheads about them. Some of those washes will take your car and wash it a long ways off the road downstream when a flashflood hits!
No shortage of opinions...
22 LR rifle , 20 ga shotgun (very important that it fits correctly), .243 Win or 6mm Creedmoor or .260 Rem or 6.5 Coolmoor all will do the trick for most shooters without creating recoil challenges.
Again, having a gun that fits will solve most issues
22 LR rifle , 20 ga shotgun (very important that it fits correctly), .243 Win or 6mm Creedmoor or .260 Rem or 6.5 Coolmoor all will do the trick for most shooters without creating recoil challenges.
Again, having a gun that fits will solve most issues