Picnic day at Lake del Valle

One sunny morning, we drove down to the Del Valle Regional Park for a picnic. Lake del Valle is the second reservoir I've been to, the first one being in Lafayette. This (manmade) lake was the result of water being collected behind the Del Valle dam since the late 1960s. This led me to think about other cities which were submerged by stored water. Were there abandoned cities under this lake? Was there a real-life Atlantis under the water?

A look at the map revealed that this lake is longer than it is wide. There are two small swimming areas (marked by the floaters) but there are other activities available for non-swimmers, both on water and out of it. I was interested in walking about and in taking pictures of animals... not too keen on water activities.

Just as I started walking, I noticed this poster. For the past 50 years, I suppose that the wildlife living in the park have already adjusted to changes in the geography of the place. And the people who visit the park are supposed to follow the rules to avoid being injured by the wildlife. For instance, people needed to take care of their dogs; they shouldn't approach grazing cattle nor mountain lions; and they should watch out of the occasional rattlesnake. After all, animals won't adjust for them; they would either avoid people or defend themselves. Frankly, that was enough reason for me to keeping my shoes on during the picnic and to just observe the geese and the other birds.

While I was scanning the posters and orienting myself about the lake, the rest of the family was preparing our picnic area. We had chosen a spot that was close to a grill (for grilling food for lunch) but was beside the water. Biboy and Barbara had a picnic tent with them so the others set that up. 

Once the shade was ensured, Biboy proceeded to filling air into the inflatable pineapple. Too bad, however, because we learned that inflatables were not allowed into the swimming area... Anna, Barbara, and Biboy were forced to not use it when they went to the swimming area.

There was no cell signal in the park so nobody could use their phones for communication. It was different to see my cousins all joining in on the conversation (in lieu of talking with people far, far away via mobile phone)... refreshing too.

For lunch, I helped out in getting the charcoals burning. Biboy and Kuya Allan took care of the actual cooking.

We weren't sunburned yet... but as the afternoon wore on, we started noticing how red the others' skins were. Anna had the last laugh. As people started slathering after-sun ointments, Anna didn't look like she tanned at all! And that's because she's been using sunblock with SPF 130. Excessive, everyone said. But she didn't suffer from sunburn as the day faded.

And so our day at the lake ended. It was a great time to relax and to bond for the West Coast-based cousins. Especially since a good portion of us is in the process of finding our place under the Californian sun... hopefully with sunblock on.