As some of you may know, I took a trip back to california (my home state) after a looong 21 year hiatus. Initially it was a quest for my love and passion, Lampropeltis zonata ssp. But my perspective changed along the way, much of which I didnt realize until the very end.
With that being said, please allow me to take you through an abbreviated version of how I spent my 12 day adventure.......
Landed early the day of our arrival, and a great JetBlue experience (my first)....
....immediately taught her some of the finer things about west coast culinary experiences.....i grew up on Tommy's chili-cheese burgers, and was so glad to have her taste a little bit o' heaven in the very same place I used to frequent when i was her age (11).....
....went to visit my old home in the San Fernando valley.....almost as beautiful as I remembered (slight aesthetic changes...) and I even knocked on the door to ask permission to peek over the fence to show Brandee the huge back yard. The woman owner of my old home, after seeing me well up with tears, invited us inside....my childhood came rushing back and I was just overwhelmed to see all the very same fruit trees still thriving (orange, fig, pomegranata, and lemon).....words arent enough to describe how I felt that day........
....and then off to quickly show Brandee my old school campus.....and not to mention where I experienced my first girlfriends...yeahhhh, kept those memories to myself!......
....next was to one of my old herping spots where I'd find all kindsa critters growing up.....gophers, so. pac. rattlers, kings, etc.........great rock climbing/bouldering spot as well.......
....then we a lil bit o' this........
....and lil bit o' that..........
.......Hollywood was great.....until he wanted to kick my ass if I didnt fork over 2 bucks for a photo......luckily my like-proficiency with nunchaku rendered him unable to force my wallet open.......but I felt bad and give him the tip anyway........
.......the first day of herping in So Cal was cool......literally.....the weather was really chilly especially being up over 5K feet........but I will keep this part of the trip just to me........and will keep y'all guessing what was under rocks like these........LOL..........
....the following day started out with great weather, low 60's.......but the clouds slowly advanced and threatening to rain.......absolutely gorgeous area just 10 miles or so shy of the Mexican border.................
.......saw several neat things, like some of these monstrous centipedes........
........and the second one found of the day by Brandee, a black-headed snake (Tantilla).........
..........and several of these gorgeous things (ruber).........
....of which Brande had no problem hooking and admiring before returning hem to their original location spots......
......however the trophy of the day was the one and only (our) find which was the sacred rosy boa under quite an unusual rock situated some distance from the rock outcroppings.......whooooo!...........
........then it was off and a loooong drive up the coast to the Santa Cruz area whereby we nestled into quite the comfy Best Western Inn......I was pleasantly surprised just how nice it was for 98 bucks per night........we also ate burritos incessantly Brandee and I........also good thawed while out in the field -- a novel idea handed down to me by a So Cal friend (thanks Kent)......but MAN how the sheets were floating at night!.......
........now I've been warning a certain friend for years now that "a storm was coming his way".........so in anticipation of his late-night arival to the hotel, I practiced my weather forecasting technique.............
...........AND THE PREDICTION COULDN'T HAVE BEEN MORE ACCURATE.........LMFAO!!!!............
......so we BS'ed for a bit, hit the sack, and we were all good in the morning......LOL.........
.....first day out in Santa Cruz........Shannon scores a very young gopher........
.......AND a coastal zonata (multifasciata) along with a Cal king just under another rock thre feet away.......yeahhhhhhhhh.....i was several feet away from all this action.....JUST LIKE I WAS FOR THE ENTIRE FRICKIN TRIP.......with an 11 year old girl in-tow, how could I not be!!!......LOL.......sweeeeet finds within minutes of each other..........
.....off to several different coastal ranges over the next several days......and man, when i was told it's tough to find rock along the coast areas, it's no joke......hardly any......but we persevered in some beautiful areas........and if there was any rock -- hot dammit -- we found it eventually, LOL.........
....and quick, yet proud, intro to the "wrecking crew" that formed quickly........(left to right)......Jonel Lopez, Brandee Kruse, Aaron Mattson, and Shannon Dillweed Brown........burrito break in celebration of locating rock.........
......and the critter that almost brought our adventure to a screeching halt.....Shannon, with his quick and impulsive reflexes, thought it was a baby gopher under a rock.......ummmmmmm, nope.........it was our luck the weather had been so cool in that instance as it made for a very lethargic snake............never thought Shan could get any whiter than he is......but he did.......LOL..........
.....saw tons of these.........
......and lots of this.........
.....until our very last day of hunting which was this this ugly guy..............
...........and scoring what I thought was the ultimate prize of my trip........(again, could nailed it but Mitch was just a few steps ahead and just could not waittttttttttt........LOL.......)........a beautiful, pristine white, and wonderfully confluent adult female coastal that came from one of THE most treacherous hillsides I have ever been on.......and is now a part of my humble collection.......she is a true beauty......thank you Mitch for the awesome experience.......this photo doesnt really do her justice at all.......
........so we headed back to the lab where Brandee tinkered with all kindsa neat science stuff that she loves......and engaging in behavior that only a daddy could teach.........
.......and we all said our farewells that evening in preparation for a loooong drive back down to the L.A. area............felt a bit sad for a minute or two, which was weird...............
.........and the drive was painfully long as i was tired.....SO tired............but I promised Brande that she would be rewarded at the end of our zonata expedition...........and I always keep my promises.............so I drove and drove and drove.............................allllllllll night...............
.....only for Brandee to wake up to............
.......complete with front-of-the-line-passes and an all-day all you can eat pass as well.............
........and we partied and ate and went on rides and saw attractions several times over from sunrise to sunset..........we made lots of friends along the way too.......
"Sherman, Sherman, Sherman, Sherman!!!!!"
Frankenstein
Shrek
The Governor......
and JAWS to name a few.......
.....literally until sunset we partied.......
.......but what I began to realize, humbly, was that I have come so so so far in my life......and by re-connecting with my childhood, and SHARING it with my daughter who is now old enough to appreciate it......I am reminded just how far I've come along in my 37 years....and how lucky I am....and how precious life is.
And that finding my precious zonata was a mere symbol, and a very small part, of what my life entails. And that there is SO So much more.
I have made some of the greatest friends possible over time, and I'm blessed to have earned their trust, and mine theirs. True friends are like winning a lottery, exdept the wealth reaches far beyong the depths of my pockets. And so to Kent, Ann Marie, Shannon, Chantel, Jonel, Aaron, Brian, and Mitch......thank you for making me a richer person beyond what this wonderful hobby/passion/lifestyle offers. I look forward to hopefully many years ahead.
MOREOVER, I've come to re-connect with a couple select people from the distant past....as well as my very recent past. My "surrogate" Filipino parents as I grew up in So Cal -- when my mom was too busy working, and who always welcomed me into their home without reservation or question, and taught me so much about faith, life, and their culture which I cherish.
And also to my daughter Brandee, with whom I made this journey with......a journey that came to mean more to me and lead me in more directions that i'd ever have imagined.......I re-discovered just how much I love and cherish her in so many ways.
And it is for this reason that I have vowed to spend much less time on the forums and in of my snake closet, and OUT INTO THE FIELD with her and make more memories....lots of memories, as well as to appreciate these snakes for what they are where they truly belong outside of the sweater boxes. And I urge all that can take away the message I'm intending to share -- get out into the field more as it is magical, and do it with some good friends too. The appreciation I now have for my beloved zonata is 10-fold. And last, but certainly not in the least, if you have children, INVOLVE them but always, ALWAYS put them first. For as excited as I am to be blessed with an amazing collection and to have found that prize in the field with priceless friends, nothing compares to looking into my daughter's eyes as we create our scrapbook together of this trip. The snakes will come and go, but these memories will last a lifetime. This was the ultimate prize of my trip.
Thank you all, and I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me, my passions, my views, and my next evolution. 
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Jerry Kruse
www.zonatas.com
And God said, "Let there be zonata subspecies for all to ponder..."
