Easy Rider

Getting stuck or lost isn't always fun.

 

My former sister-in-law got stuck in Anchorage last night on her flight home from a Hawaiian vacation. The weather in Fairbanks last night was pretty awful and the plane turned around mid-flight. I've been there, done that. It's never in the "plan" and can be super stressful.

 

We recently road tripped to Salt Lake City with a friend and her 7 month old baby. Eleven hours in the car each way. So much could have gone wrong. I thought about that a lot bit before we left. If we had a flat tire, it would have been an all-out cussing, gnashing-of-the-teeth, throwing-all-our-stuff-on-the-side-of-the-road kind of wrong. With a 7 month old baby on board. I really didn't give it much more than a fleeting thought as I was asking my friend if she wanted to go. Later, I thought .... oh dear, what if that baby doesn't like sitting in one spot for 600+ miles? It was just another  thought I dismissed as quickly as it came. We'll be fine.  And, we were more than fine.  That baby now has the nickname Easy Rider.

 

Last fall, I took a planned road trip with a friend from high school and I never gave it much thought until about a week before we took off. The day of travel arrived and I was a bit of  wreck inside.  I was going to travel without my knight in shining armor and although I can change a flat tire if I have to, it's been a long time since I've had to. I refuse to let those thoughts remain as I would never go anywhere if fear stopped me.

 

Which brings me back to my sister-in-law.

 

Her being stuck in Anchorage last night reminded me of a trip she and I took together many moons ago. We had traveled to Portland to visit family and friends. One night we decided to drive to the outskirts to have dinner at a friend's place. I was driving and got us lost in the dark, industrial part of Portland. It was long before Google maps or GPS, and even longer before I learned how to read a map (when you live in Alaska, maps are not necessary) or follow instructions. I chuckle every time I think about it. She was really pissed off at me and I was clueless as to why.

 

I know now that some of us are wound a little tighter than others. It's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it's a complimentary thing. The voice of reason is always good to have along for the ride. We obviously lived to tell about it.

 

Have you ever had a trip go wrong? What happened? How do you deal with the stress of it? Does it keep you from going again?

 

love, susan

 

 

T is tor TRIPS! (A to Z Blogging Challenge)

We took a little trip through Columbia Park
last night on our way into Kennewick.
Glad I had my camera.

Trips are my favorite topic. It doesn't matter if we go 500 miles or 5. I grew up in Alaska and, as you may know, there is a limited number of miles one can travel by car. I left Alaska about thirteen years ago and I've been making up for lost time. The road is my middle name. 

 

If you are new to my blog and interested in travel, please check out my trip adventures under the labels rides, trips, 2012 Summer Trips and photos.  My 2012 Summer Trips label was an idea that formed because my husband always complains in September that "we never went anywhere this summer".  I decided to document every motorcycle trip we took that year.

 

If you think about it, we get 52 mini-vacations a year. Oh, the places you can go in 48 hours is amazing. If you have wanderlust like us, I hope you'll take whatever mode of transportation you have and go.  And, then write about it.

 

Where do you love to go?

 

love, susan 

Oh, The Places You'll Go (A to Z Blogging Challenge)

I'm cheating this morning. I went back into my archives from 2011 and pulled up this post for "O" entry today. I do love going back into the archives. And, I'm glad I started blogging when I did. My posts have always been random and I'm not sorry about that.

Every day I get up, suit up and show up for my life. And, then I write about it. I hope you enjoy my blast from the past today.

love, susan


Oh, The Places You'll Go

The Cable Bridge - Tri-Cities, Washington

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” 
~ Winnie the Pooh

This morning I read this quote in a blog I read regularly.  The blog (Jonathan Fields) is written by a guy who used to be a big-shot, corporate attorney but who is now writing books and has a thriving blog with a nice following of smart, compassionate business-type followers. He left the titles and excerpts of 7 childrens' books as food for thought today about everything we need to know to succeed in business. I would expand it to say everything we need to know in life ....

Out on the Columbia River

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.” 

~ Winnie the Pooh

I shot these pics when we were on a boat cruise with "the big guy" in June 2009. The big guy was the senior partner in the law firm where I work. He worked hard and he played hard.  He died suddenly last May. When I look at this picture, I remember leaning over the side of the boat putting my hand in the  spray from the wake of the boat and allowing the cool water to hit my hand. It was hot that day.  I love that feeling.

Under the Cable Bridge

We had to go under the cable bridge to get down the river. I don't know if I'll ever be on a boat out on the Columbia River ever again. I had no way of knowing that would be the first and last time I cruised in DRR's yacht. I only know that I enjoyed every single moment of being out on the water and doing nothing. We took off at3:00 p.m. from the office and the first two hours of the cruise were the very best because instead of typing words like radiculopathy and depositions, I was munching on chips & salsa and sharing laughter and sunshine with my co-workers.

Columbia River

“What makes the desert beautiful,” said the little prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…” 
~ The Little Prince

We live in a desert here in Eastern Washington but you'd never know it by the two rivers that run through the Tri-Cities.

On this day, we traveled down the Columbia River quite a ways towards Umatilla. I was given a little history lesson on how the gorge was formed but the information did not stick to my teflon brain. All I know is that it is an amazing site to see and I'm glad I got to see it while out on the water.

The Cable Bridge

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You’re on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

"Oh, The Places You'll Go" ~ Dr. Seuss

Winter Road Trip Pics ~ Newport, OR

 

Sunday Drive to Walla Walla - Elgin - LaGrande - Pendleton

I'm sure diggin' the "collage" feature in Picasa right now. None of my photos were particularly awesome separately today but when I put them together as a collage, it's a sweet reminder of what an awesome day I got to spend with my sweetie.

 

We had a couple of surprises today.

 

First, when we were rolling into Walla Walla, we got a big laugh out of the frozen fields where the irrigation sprinklers were on probably all night. It got really cold last night so the water formed icicles in the fields, making for a pretty picture.

 

 

 

We're pretty sure the farmers aren't going to be so happy about the ice.

 

The second big surprise was the Blue Heron we spotted while on an impromptu walk by the river in Pendleton. They are beautiful birds!

 

 

 

It was a long day trip but so worth the time and gas to go.

 

love, susan



Blogging, Beaches and PBJ Sandwiches

If you are new to blogging, you might be wondering what you are going to blog about and how often you should blog.  Those are just a couple of the questions I had when I started two years ago. 

 

I had no idea what I wanted to blog about, I just wanted to write and have a spot for my favorite photos. When I started doing a little research about blogging, I learned that some people like to find a 'niche'.  After a lot of random writing, I still don't really have a niche. However, I did start a totally separate blog to capture all my favorite recipes, and a year ago I started a "365" project which will not be done in 365 days. That's kind of how I've learned to roll with this blogging thing. There are no rules. No expectations. Just photos and fun writing. My best advice for blogging is just do it and see what happens. Once you start, if you are like me, you'll start thinking about blogging as you go about your daily life and you might see things in a different light. I often experience things and think, "I should blog about that".

 

Having said that, we just got back from our 3rd annual September weekend at the beach with family. We have found heaven on earth at Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast, with this being our third campout with flawless beach weather. We arrived Friday afternoon to fog but it cleared up late in the day and Saturday we woke up to a crystal clear blue sky and bright sun.

 

On the drive over to the beach, we stopped and ate a picnic lunch I threw together. The remarkable thing was my guy raving over the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I had made for him. (The turkey sandwich in his hand was the other sandwich in the lunchbox. It received kudos as well.) It's worth writing about when you haven't had one in a long time. You'd thought it was the best sandwich he ever had. I love that about him. He loves the simple things in life.

 

We spent time around the campfire and a major amount of time on the beach. The kids and grandkids played touch football and chased Frisbees for hours. There were four of us grandparents who enjoyed catching up with each other.

 

Leaving early Sunday morning, we took a different route home, heading up the coast to have breakfast at a favorite little coffee place in Garibaldi. From there we drove through Portland and decided to take the Washington side (Hwy 14) home. I love that drive as it is much more picturesque. The leaves are starting to turn yellow. I'm so glad we drove this way, even though it takes an extra half-hour to get home.

I hope you had a good weekend, wherever you are. To us, weekends are like mini-vacations. If you think about it, you could have 52 mini-vacations a year! 

 

love, susan 

 

Mt. Rainier - 392 Miles

Yesterday was the coldest ride I've ever been on. We headed out to Mt. Rainier at 8:00a.m. When we stopped at Naches to fill up the gas tanks, I was seriously considering taking my jacket off and riding bare armed but something in the back of my mind said "No, just wait."  Well, it was super foggy and cold when we got to summit. Our plan was to ride to Sunrise Lodge and although everything in our good senses told us to turn around and go home, we forged on. When we arrived at the top of Sunrise, it was cold at 40 degrees. I actually thought it might start snowing.  I have to say it was a first for me ... riding in such frigid weather. But what are ya gonna do?  Call your mama? My fingers were frozen and I was cold to the bone when we parked the bikes. We all packed picnic lunches and by-God we were going to eat them. I was so happy I had a thermos full of steaming, hot coffee.  Our friends paid $3.50 a cup for coffee in the lodge.

 

 Luckily, the wind died down and we saw some blue sky poke through the clouds, which warmed us enough to enjoy lunch together. The thought of getting back on the bikes and riding back down the summit was something I just kept pushing out of my mind.

 

I made a pact with myself that I would not complain if the weather turned out to be 90 degrees driving back into TriCities.  It wasn't 90. I'm not sure it was even 70 today. I think fall is blowing in.

 

Our only view of Mt. Rainier today. :-(

Anyway, it was a super fun day despite getting so cold. We never saw Mt. Rainier except for just a small window of it through thin clouds that cleared for just a minute. There was fresh snow on it and it was at eye level. I was glad to get out of there.

 

Everyone made it home safely and this likely will be our last big ride of the season. If the weather holds, maybe we'll get one more but I'm staying away from anyplace with "Mt." in the name.

 

How did you spend your Sunday? 

 

love, susan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epic Day in Seattle

Tabby and Kristy

When was the last time you went on a road trip with friends? I highly recommend it!

It's been a long time since I've spent a whole day with someone other than the love of my life.  I have to say that if I had tried to imagine how much fun it would be, I would have short-changed myself.

My friends Tabby and Kristy picked me up at 9:00a.m. and we rolled down the road to Seattle as planned, heading for a mutual friend's first-ever art showing in north Seattle. We had no expectations of what we would do for the time between arriving and the start of the art walk, which made it even better ~ in my humble opinion. I'm a girl who loves to fly by the seat of her pants.



Kristy

We stopped in a little town called North Bend which is about 40 miles south of Seattle. Kristy knew of a waterfall where we could spread out the fabulous picnic lunch we brought. The Snoqualmie Falls area is under construction but it didn't seem to stop people from enjoying the view.

We dragged our coolers out and placed them on freshly varnished, clean pinic tables. Our friend, Tabby, was amazed at the length we had gone to prepare an awesome taco salad. It was Kristy's idea and it was a goody! I brought real glass bowls and utensils to dine with and it was better than any gourmet meal we could have spent too much money on.

We packed up and Kristy took the wheel to take us on in to Seattle. The GPS on our phones was really helpful in getting us down to the Pike Place Market. It was crazy there so we only walked through a short portion of it and headed down to the Ye Old Curiousity Shop on the pier. I recall going there when I was about 12 and it was exactly as I remembered. The mummified man is still standing in the same corner some 40+ years later.

It was a warmer than usual, sunny day in Seattle and there were tourists everywhere. We walked until we were sweating and with my swollen feet got back to the truck to head to the art walk in north Seattle. While pulling out of the parking garage I spotted a person leaned up against a building, looking as if they were closer than half-way to dead, nodding on a heroin hit, no doubt. I'm not sure I'll ever get the image out of my mind. As much fun as we were having, I felt a deep sadness that was hard to shake.

We enjoyed traveling to another part of Seattle that is away from the chic and trendy downtown. The neighborhood was middle-class, working people and we felt really comfortable walking up and down the street. Lots of funky shops like the 50 Cent book store where 90% of all the books sold for 50 cents. There was a fabulous upscale antique store which contained refinished antiques for very reasonable prices.

35 originals

At 6:00p.m., the group of folks (about 15 of us altogether) who had traveled from Tri-Cities to support our artist friend, descended upon the Naked City Brewery. The place was packed full of Friday-after-work-let's-grab-a-beer people and soccer players. Turns out they were holding a street soccer tournament on the blocked off street.

Heidi & her family

When I walked in and saw Heidi's artwork displayed, I was amazed. She was invited to bring her work to Seattle not all that long ago and I knew she had to hustle to get it framed but when I saw the work hanging up for the first time, I know she spent a lot of sleepless nights putting it together. She gathered the frames from yard sales and friends who had frames sitting around collecting dust. The matting and framing is as artistic as the drawings. I am blown away by it! The last word we got on our texts is that she had sold quite a few pieces. I am not surprised.

We headed out of Seattle about 8 o'clock and had an uneventful trip back home. Laughter kept us going the entire 3 1/2 hour drive home.  Fun day! 

Today ... I'm resting.

love, susan

Cousins' Reunion 2012

2nd cousins & Gene

We spent last weekend on the southern coast of Oregon in the little fishing town of Port Orford. It is 519 miles from our house to theirs and it is the third time we've made the trek. 



Port Orford is Oregon's best kept secret!

Spring Round Up

I have the best friends ever.  This week, my very good friend left me a voice mail to let me know I have once again been invited to the spring round up at Rowdy Barry's Wild R Ranch. This news just puts me over-the-top of happiness.

I wrote about my experience last year in Git Along Little Doggies.  It was one of my favorite days last year, right up there in the top 10. 

Going again this year, I will know how the whole thing works and am hoping to get a different viewpoint from my camera. The entire day was sort of surreal for me and I'm sure I missed more than a few Kodak moments because I was in such awe of what was happening. Branding and castrating ~ not something you see every day.

I plan to be much closer to the vantage point than I was here in this photo to the left. I had no idea what to expect when those cows came around the corner of the canyon so I stayed up high above the cow trail. I thought it would be like in the movies .... angry cows rushing to get nowhere. However, by the time the cowboys and cowgirls got these cows over the hill, they were exhausted. I can relate to that.  That's how I feel after grazing all winter.

I hope to be a little more social this year. I'm a city girl and it shows. Maybe I'll even find a nice cowgirl hat to wear for the occasion.  I'm definitely gonna wear my blingy rhinestone heart earrings. Cowgirl up!!!

My cowboy will probably be riding his steel horse elsewhere while I attend. He was a good sport about going last year but he doesn't have the camera bug quite like I do. He says if it's a good riding day, he's rolling down another trail.

I love having events to look forward to and this one is a big one for me! This round-up is real American tradition  and I am so honored I get to witness and photograph it once again.  

love, susan

University of Idaho - Moscow, Idaho

I love beautiful university campuses. 

We visited the University of Idaho in Moscow today quite by accident. Got up early to take a good friend to the airport in Spokane and decided to take the long way home.

This campus is impeccable. Although it was raining today, the clouds were such that there was a lot of bright light and I ventured out into the weather to get a closer look at this gorgeous building. Don't you think this walkway is inviting?

We stepped into this administration building and found students holding a "conclave" (whatever that is .... guess I should have gone to college after-all) and they had dozens of photos out on display. They kindly invited us to come in and take a look and we gladly went inside the building so we could see it and get warmed up. That Idaho rain chills me to the bone.

I'm sure Gene was more interested in the architecture because when I mentioned how awesome the photos were, he said "what photos"? We didn't stay long but I can tell you it's worth a drive-by Moscow to see the campus if you are in the area. It's just a block off the main street.

 On the way back to the car, Gene spotted this building with the clock.  I love the old buildings in Idaho, Washington and Oregon. It feels like a real step back in time when we pass through these old areas. 

We can check Moscow off our list of cities we've never been to.  I hope we can travel there again on the motorcycles as the highway landscape was really nice.

love, susan

 

 

Mt. Rainier from another view

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So ... get on your way."  ~ Dr. Seuss

We took what was probably my last ride of the season yesterday. We traveled a road we had not been on before. I saw deer, hawks, feral kitty cats, turkeys, and Mt. Rainier from a different place.

It was a cool ride. Yeah, it was fun but it was really cool, as in cold.

I'm so glad I didn't miss seeing this beautiful view!

A City So Nice They Named It Twice

"Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity." ~ Jean Houston

We drove to Walla Walla, WA and  stopped at Pioneer Park Aviary to say hello to the birds.  We inadvertently drove through the Whitman College campus.  The campus is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! Any student would be lucky to attend school there just for the walk through the gorgeous grounds in between classes. 

We drove right past this open window and headed to the bird park but I couldn't leave Walla Walla without backtracking to snap a photo of it. I noticed after I got home that the vines have actually overgrown the parts of the windows that don't open. 

I'm not sure how many times we have been to Walla Walla but every time we go, I see something different. We parked downtown and walked up one side of the street and down the other. There are wine tasting places all along main street along with bistros and sidewalk cafes. I thought it was interesting that people were actually sitting outside eating lunch as the weather is turning colder. It was a beautiful fall day.  Here are a few of my other favorite photos from the trip. Hope you enjoy.

 

Thai Food To Die For

I mentioned to my husband yesterday while on a road trip that I have been in a writing slump for a couple of weeks now. He suggested I look up "writer's slump" and do some writing about it.  Nah.  Who cares? Not me.  And, probably not you either.

We headed to The Dalles, Oregon early in the day with one goal in mind: to visit the Salvation Army thrift store without the constraints of time or having our dog with us. In the past, we have only spent 15 or 20 minutes in this store and discovered they have so many treasures it left us wanting to come back. Yesterday was a perfect day to do it.

Armed with a thermos of coffee, cash hot out of the ATM, and the camera we headed down the road. The above photo is the only one I shot. I must be having "photo slump" too because he practically had to pry me out of the car to take it.

The real treasure of the day, besides the really sweet, heavy cotton sweater I found for $3.49, was Montira's Thai Cuisine.  If you are a local person reading this blog and you love Thai food as much as we do, you should put this on your "places to eat before I die" list.   My recommendation is the Pumpkin Curry but I suspect you wouldn't be disappointed with anything you order there.  I regret I didn't take my camera into the restaurant to snap a quick one of the beautiful presentation. It would not have done justice to how wonderful it tasted.  We will be going back.

love, susan

Life is a Beach - Part Two

Anyone remember Charlie's Angels?

My head is still at the beach.  That's the beauty of a nice little vacation. It's not like I have to come back to the same old grind right away. Don't tell my boss.

Pictures help. I will probably go through my beach pictures 50 times and try to keep alive the things that mean the most to me. 

Short on time today but here are a few more of my favorites from the weekend.

Enjoy.

The Happiest Place on Earth

We just returned from another world. The beach. We spent about 48 hours there and it took me a little while to come down to earth when we arrived home yesterday. 

There is something special that happens when family and friends gather at Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast. It's like nothing else matters for a while. No television, no bad news, no rushing traffic. Only the sound of the ocean and smell of bbq hamburgers and bacon. Dogs running with reckless abandon. They say that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth but I would argue that point. 

Fog on Saturday morning

When we arrived on Friday it was a shock to the system to get out of the car to foggy, cold dampness. We knew the forecast for mid 80's the next day could change in a heartbeat. But it didn't. We woke up Saturday to a bit of fog but we spotted blue skies in our early morning walk at low tide and it turned out to be another perfect day.

After breakfast, we headed from camp to spend the day playing badminton and chasing Frisbees for hours. There was only love.  The kids, our grand kids and their neighbors/best friends, were transported to another world too as there was no fighting and no tears. Only fun and laughter and a very competitive game of badminton. 

After spending the day in the sand, we marched back to camp to bbq and rest for a minute. After dinner, we headed back down to take a long walk during low tide and to watch the sun set. 

Cousins. Friends. A dog. And miles of beach.

It does not get better than this.

Settling back into camp after the long walk, we roasted marshmallows and sat down to write a few new camp songs. Ghost stories were left untold this year. Perhaps we've outgrown them. Watch for "On the Beach" and "Free the Wang" on YouTube. We expect they will go viral.  Not.

Waking up Sunday morning was bittersweet. It was the end of a lovely weekend but for me it was the continuing realization that weekends like these are ones our grand kids are going to remember forever.

Yeah, it took me a few hours to bring my head back here to reality. On the trip home, we turned on the radio and heard some snippets of the memorial of 9/11. I turned it off. I wasn't ready to come back yet. 

Back to the real world.

love, susan