In My Own Backyard!

Gee, how thoughtful of them to recreate last year's mystery festival here in Washington! What is incredible is that I'm *here* that weekend! :) Yiippppppeeeeee!

Jp

Except I suppose that spells curtains for Owensboro this year... Did I mention Seattle has a great airport... and free rooms available at my house... LOL! :)

Back At It

So on Wednesday evening, after we had been home for about a half hour and had dumped our things in our rooms, Jason's family came over and we watched them open their wedding presents! Jason's mother took down the names and Mom & Dad helped decipher some of the names from their friends and extended family :)

It was a late night because we did a good bit of visiting and chatting after the flurry of flying paper (Spiffy had a good time!). So I was pretty tired the next day... woke up about 10:30 on Thursday and sort of bumbled around until I really woke up when Dad came home for lunch. We played Backgammon (I won) and then I went into a frenzy, cleaning up the kitchen and my room. When I was done cleaning (dishes, vacuuming, windows... and putting things away in my room) I decided it would be a good time to do a fitness test... situps, pushups & running. Did just about the same as I did at the one I did before the trip. And to cool down (my face was red), I decided to go to the neighborhood pool for the first time this year. Did a couple hundred yards and just relaxed a bit too. Then a long shower at home... so relaxing. Didn't eat much that day beyond a granola and a sandwich and some fruit. Not very hungry, except when it was time for bed. And I stayed up a little later than I wanted (11pm) because I wanted to iron out the Oklahoma trip with the FC before they head off on a Padvorac Family vacation tomorrow. The days are flying by! It's almost August!

Today I woke up at a nice, normal time of 8 o'clockish. Had breakfast and read in a great little devotional book that was recommended to me by the pastor that led that Bible study last year. I had got it on the Internet right away... I just didn't take the time to read it until now. So very good. A simple reminder about keeping your life "cross-centered"... or fixed on remembering the importance of the gospel itself, instead of being led astray into thinking that we can do anything to save ourselves from God's wrath, or thinking that his favor depends on how we feel about it, or thinking we're trapped by guilt about whatever it is we do (or did) wrong. And that last one I loved the most: he talked very concisely about the difference between justification and sanctification. A great little study (read it in an hour!).

So far, the rest of the day has been engulfed in a Navy workout... and in another hour or so I am heading off to the University for a short little band practice for the parade in Downtown Seattle tomorrow (it's called the "Torchlight Parade" as a part of Seattle's "Seafair" summer celebration). Darn! I just realized that will make me late for chat again!!! I think I remember getting back around 10 or 11 in the past...
Darn. I'll get on whenever I get home.

Jp

All the Way Around

Wowee!

Jp

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Colombia River Basin from the Washington side.

375 miles and back at home! We both really enjoyed crossing the Deschutes and Colombia River basins in Oregon. And we saw lots of mountain peaks as we mirrored the Cascades... the Three Sisters, as well as Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams, the last being situated in southern Washington. Listened to a few CD's again, as well as a disc of Psalms (1-30).

We stopped at The Dalles in order to see the Lewis & Clark site, but there is nothing there for it! Only a sign and a few remains of their "Rock Fort" on the river's edge. The Fort Dalles Museum we saw on the map was actually for an Army fort that was in operation from the middle to late 1800's. This was interesting enough though... they had lots of neat old antiques there, most donated from citizens in 1905, when the museum was created. One of the ladies working there gave us the grand tour and was very excited about everything. There was an old homestead across the street, a turn of the century hewn log cabin... very neat indeed!

We crossed the Colombia there at The Dalles (right by the dam) and then continued east a bit along the river on the Washington (home, sweet home!) side. Magnificent views again! But when we turned north on US-97 for Yakima, it got pretty dull. Except for the one spot of forest in the reservation, it was just like Eastern Washington: dry rolling hills with sagebrush or wheat. :)

For the first time on the trip I was getting tired of driving. Got stuck behind some slow pokes, so it was really nice when we finally got to Yakima and stopped for "lunch" at 3pm. The rest of the drive we were very familiar with: I-82 and I-90 west to Bellevue. Lots of free sailing at a descent speed limit. We were slowed down a bit by rush hour traffic on I-405 north, but we got home pretty much when I thought we would, about 6pm. Meg & Jason were already back from their honeymoon (just a few hours before us) and were at the table with Dad, home from work, when we walked up the stairs from the garage. Goodness! We're home! What an adventure!

Jp

Drivin', Drivin', Drivin'

We're all the way in Bend, Oregon tonight!
450 miles later!

We started out around 8:30, having a small breakfast at Denny's before we kept on north to the Interstate. Got a little concerned about the drive, since on the cover of a newspaper in a stand outside the restaurant it said there were wildfires right where we were going to drive (it turned out not to be an issue, but we did pass a couple fire trucks going south in California).

It was the straight and open highway that allowed for the distance we covered, for sure. We drove through Reno, and then a long bit in northeast California, and then half of Oregon and fit in a stop at Crater Lake (B), Oregon's only National Park (that I had never seen before!). Didn't stop for lunch until a late 1:30... just south of Klamath Falls, OR, at a KFC.

We had a lot of open scenery today, and a little bit of mountains north of Susanville, CA. There were quite a few lakes by the side of the highway... Eagle Lake in California had white pelicans... don't think I've ever seen that kind before. And the Upper Klamath Lake was so picturesque. It was so wide, and had a small mountain peak on the other side, surrounded by the Cascade range. There we saw a bald eagle sitting up in a tree (at our eye level) looking for its dinner.

We listened to four cd's of mine, and then the short books of I & II Thessalonians, and then an instrumental record. This brought us to Crater Lake where we just listened to nature. Couldn't believe how blue the lake was! It was just as rich as that radiant spot we saw on the California coast. We did get out to admire the view, but just as at Yosemite, there were bunches of mosquitoes that wanted to eat me alive. There were plenty of overlooks to pull over and admire the lake from, so we did get to see quite a bit. For an added grand display of nature, we saw several bolts of lightning crash down along the mountain ranges far to our north as we drove out of the park.

In Bend, we stopped at a Chinese restaurant for dinner and ordered individual dishes... I got chicken & green beans cooked in a black bean sauce (wow!)... and when the plates came we were both astounded at how much food we got. I maybe finished a quarter of the plate... good thing we have a cooler! And there was a motel with everything we needed just across the street from the restaurant. When in the office, I asked if the room had a refrigerator, found out it did and that the rate was really inexpensive, but forgot to ask what kind of bed it had! LOL! Thankfully, that turned out just fine! :)

Whew! One more day and we'll be home!

Jp

Rocks Cry Out

Hello from Carson City, Nevada! Google says 376 miles today!(click the map for larger resolution)

It didn't seem that long... it must have been all those miles through Yosemite that seemed so quick, since the entire time we were staring in awe at the domes and peaks and enormous faces along the way. On that long stretch of Hwy 120 from I-5 to the park, and then again on Hwy 395 after the park going north, Mom and I listened to the entire book of Acts. So besides the great scenery, our minds were engaged the entire way. There was a lot of climbing hills the way to Yosemite Valley, and a lot of going down after we left the park. Tioga Pass (as you leave on the east side) towered at a staggering 9,945 feet. My first glimpse of what I realized later as Inspiration Point in Yosemite Valley nearly made me cry it was so magnificent. I've seen lots of pictures of the peaks and cliffs, but there is nothing like seeing them life size in front of you.

Mom and I drove through the valley and were astounded at how crowded it was. All I wanted was a picnic table out in the open so we could study the rocks as we ate our picnic lunch. But they don't have much of that. We tried the day-use parking for the visitor center, but that was very crowded... and I just saw the episode of "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" that talked all about this place last October, so I didn't want to spend the time. We ended up parking on the side of the road out in the open and finding a shady spot under a pine tree in a field of yellow flowers and there we set up our chairs we brought for San Francisco and ate our snacks while watching the Yosemite Falls plummet over El Capitan. It was perfect: we were alone in nature... it's the way this place is supposed to be enjoyed! :) But the real fun didn't start until we got back on CA-120 and headed over Tioga Road through the center of the park. It kept climbing and climbing... and climbing. I was astounded at the one overlook where we could see the Half Dome. It was miles away and still enormous. At first along that route there were sweeping views of miles of forest... 8,000 feet below. Then past the Dome there were lots of other domes... and pristine lakes and ponds and meadows and forest growing out of flat rock. Incredible! Incredible! We adored this drive!

Left the park at 3 pm, got to Nevada around 5 pm, and then arrived in Carson City around 7. Drove all the way through the new south part of the city and by the historic buildings in the center, and finally found a Mexican restaurant for dinner further up past the old casinos. There are a lot of those here. Dinner was fabulous... chicken and rice, and the we came back through town to a Motel 6 near the turnoff for Reno (for tomorrow). I wanted to swim, but it was closed; so I ran a bit around the motel and up and down the street. I'm pretty darned tired, and worried about what I shouldn't... weight for the Navy.

Jp

A Day in One Place

Only drove about 20 miles today... whew! And we slept in! I didn't wake up til 9:50! At that point I thought we wouldn't be able to do both the aquarium at the Academy of Sciences and the free San Francisco Symphony concert in Dolores Park... but who knows, right? We went to Denny's for a big, late breakfast. Orange juice and create-your-own Grand Slams... pancakes, eggs, turkey bacon & chicken sausage... birds are much better than pigs!

The problem was, there isn't hardly any parking available at either venue. After some wandering about, we finally found the Academy and I dropped Mom off there so she wouldn't have to walk so much. The garages were full, so I had to find a street somewhere. Ended up going a mile away and then brought the two fold-out chairs with me as I walked back. I figured we'd go to the aquarium and then get a taxi to take us to the next place. Unfortunately, the coat check room at the Academy wouldn't take the chairs. But there was a stroller storage area downstairs at the aquarium, so it ended up working out.

The Academy had lots of other things besides their downstairs aquarium, including a planetarium and an enclosed rain forest, but I had really only come for the former, and we didn't have that kind of time. The place was crowded! You had to reserve a place in line for the planetarium, and by the time we got in (just after noon) they were only reserving for the 3 pm show. Yikes! So we went through the aquarium in about an hour (which was perfect timing). I was duly impressed, even though it was relatively small, because I saw things I've never seen before: an elephant fish? (from Africa - it has a really long snout) and what about fresh-water stingrays? Neat! They also had great exhibits of leafy and weedy sea dragons... some of my favorites!

So when we walked out the door at 1:25, a taxi suv was just pulling up. We got in right away and off we were to Dolores Park (letter C on the map). Couldn't believe it was working out! The driver let us off at 1:57, and the event started just as we sat down in our chairs! There were a few short speeches... (the Consul General of Mexico was there) this was a celebration of Mexico's 200 years of independence this year... and then it started. They played the Stars and Stripes Forever as an opener, and then four Mexican pieces: a dance, some native music, a famous waltz by a Mexican composer ("Sobre las Olas") and then a more traditional piece called "Huapango". There was a short, 15 minute intermission and then the New World Symphony No. 9 by Dvorak and then a final short piece that they let the audience choose by texting their favorite of two songs to a certain number. I have no idea how that works... :)


It was a two hour performance, and we were both very glad of it! Can't believe the wonderful timing! They said the last free concert they did was five years ago! It was also a comedy of errors though, because there were a lot of native San Franciscans all around us. There was a loud group with a guy wearing an Eastern European, blue, military officer's hat... and then there was the crazy lady who came during the intermission and sat next to me... and then the lesbian couple who took a nap right in front of us and were worried about their bottle of wine (they were quiet though!) and of course all the strange people who were going through the park (we sat on the other side of the main pathway). During the "New World" a lady who was collecting cans and bottles for money drug her bag along the concrete... lol! It wasn't quite like being in a symphony hall, but it was a lot of fun nonetheless! We could hear everything just fine and there was beautiful sunshine.

Immediately afterwords, we walked down Dolores St. to the cafe on the corner and had a very late lunch (4:30). And right across the street from that was the bus stop for the route that would take us back to our car. We had to wait 3 or 4 minutes and then it came. We needed a transfer, and when we got off back near the Golden Gate Park, we had to wait 2 more! So incredibly perfect! And this bus dropped us off outside the park about two blocks worth from our car! :)

And we got back here (in the same motel tonight) at an early 6pm for a slow evening. But now it's 10:45pm as I finish writing, and we have an early morning tomorrow as we set off east for Yosemite.

Jp

PS... this didn't get posted until Monday night because for some reason the Internet stopped working for me in the middle of this post. Had to copy to Notepad and paste back in (7/26).

Down the Coast!

Hello from South San Francisco!
(the rest of the post written July 25th... it was a late night)

Google told me 244 miles for today, on mostly winding roads, weaving around the coast. It only took us a bit to get to Leggett, CA, where we peeled off on CA-1 for the Shoreline Highway.
And by highway they meant high way.












From A to B is only 15 miles, but it took us quite a while because for most of it we could only go 20 miles an hour, the turns were so sharp and steep. You should have seen how high we were! We only caught glimpses of that because the trees were so many, blocking our view.

The coast was yet again fabulous. I was awe-struck at how high we were. I had forgot to mention this about the previous day... how I loved watching the sea birds cruising so high right around us, and how we were at eye level with the tops of the banks of clouds out over the sea. And while I'm on the topic of the day before, I also wanted to mention the redwoods again. They were so tall and spectacular we opened our sun roof screen to view the tops of them through the window as we drove along. And an interesting side note: I loved the little reflection markers they put at the base of every tree that grew right up to the pavement. "Please don't hit the trees!" :)

So Mom encouraged me to stop off at two viewpoints after we got back to hugging the coast (the coast is so lovely, it needs to be hugged by someone). At the first one we encountered a "private drive". Down a ways and higher up above were private homes! Wow! I would never want to live there! After being out for a second, we heard barking coming from somewhere up above. Mom was first to spot the black lab on the cliff above, going crazy trying to get us to leave. LOL! At the second stop, there was a paved, 0.2 mile path out to the edge of the coast (much lower edge) through some wetlands. I decided to run out there for a little exercise, since I could. When I got to the edge I looked out on some flat, low-lying rocks in the water and noticed a pair of harbor seals... one basking and one swimming in the protected cove. A little further to my right and I saw a huge group of them... several dozens... dotting all over the rocks. What a thrill! Wild ones! I ran all the way back (and up) to tell Mom and I quickly winded myself in the process. Felt great!

I was surprised at how big Fort Bragg was. Most of the towns out here are rather dinky. This had it's own train station and looked like it had a lumber mill... and much of the town retained its older style of architecture, which was very pleasant to look at. Old architecture reminds me... before Fort Bragg there was a tiny-tiney town with an old grocery store and single gas pump that looked like it was from 1930. Wish I would have got a picture!

But the rest of the towns until the Bay Area were very small. We stopped for lunch at a yuppie town with lots of artsy places - Gualala, CA - at "Cafe La La". The service was a little slow, but the food was really good. Had a chef's salad that was loaded with lots of turkey and cheese. But I was a little antsy because I was worried about missing out on the marine mammal recovery center on the headlands, just north of San Francisco. And we did miss it. But I think a lot of that was a couple of the slow drivers we got stuck behind. :)

Gee, I don't know how to describe the coast... It was so tall and rugged. There were little wild flowers all over the place... and such sweeping views of the coastline to the south! And I just adored those enormous rocks sitting just off shore. Much further south, around a tiny town called "Jenner" (my Dad calls me that sometimes!) we saw another colony of harbor seals and sea lions just sitting on a beach. There were lots of people around, but they kept their distance.

By the time we ended up back on US-101 (8 miles from the GG Bridge) it was unlikely that we would have much of any time to see the headlands. And after 4 miles we got stuck in parking lot, bumper-to-bumper traffic (although there were four lanes of traffic. The reason for this was they only had two lanes of traffic crossing the bridge going south. So we sat in that for about an hour before crossing (and it was really fun when we finally got to!).

Our plan for the evening only called for one stop. Mom and I found a parking garage near Pier 39 and spent the rest of the day there. But we were frazzled by the time we got there. Once getting off of 101 we were dumped into a lot more traffic, waiting on Lombard St to get to Fisherman's Wharf. But we made it. :) We went to the Aquarium of the Bay, right on the edge of the pier and then had a very fancy dinner for a treat.

The aquarium had three levels... the first one had lots of neat stuff like jellyfish, rockfish and the usual Pacific Coast stuff. They took us down below (in big elevators with a "naturalist" on board) to go through the tunnel tanks... which I loved! It's always fun to watch sharks and large fishes and rays swimming over you! But the last floor was a little odd... along with a small touch tank and tidal pool there were all sorts of random animals. There was a chinchilla... and all I could think of was Jeff in INPYMAWA... "our chinchillas... enchiladas..." lol! I digress... they had a hedgehog, several turtles, a bunch of termites and then a tarantula, of course (/shivers). I can't get away from the spiders! The strange thing about it was the floor was sponsored by a SF power company to talk about "sustainability". Oh well.

Dinner was at the "Fog Harbor Fish House" and was outstanding! I had a salmon salad: fresh greens in a lemon vinaigrette with a perfect fillet of grilled salmon that fell apart in my mouth. This was served with piping hot sourdough bread and a crab cocktail for an appetizer to share. Couldn't have asked for anything nicer! And the view out our window included the setting sun (through the banks of clouds) and Alcatraz with its blinking lighthouse, along with the marina. Gorgeous... and delicious!

By then it was past nine o'clock and we trudged back to the car. A quick jaunt on 101 landed us at our inexpensive but fully functional motel in South San Francisco near the airport. I was worried about the planes keeping us up, but we were both so tired that neither of us heard a thing. Mom was out half a minute after we said goodnight. I don't remember much else myself. :)

Jp

Cal-i-forn-ia-Here-We-Are

Hello from Garberville, CA! Yes, it's a town!

We got the second-to-last room at the Sherwood Forest Motel... no kidding! :)

Started again at 8:30ish. We had a snack of sorts in the car. Yogurt & granola, cereal bar... don't remember what else. And we drove and drove and drove! Google tells me it was 366 miles. More and more of that beautiful beach. There wasn't a cloud in the sky... until we went over one ridge near the border with California. And then we were going in and out of cloud banks coming in from the ocean. It would be solid gray to our right and bright blue sky inland to our left. During our drive in southern OR we listened to the book of Revelation, just like I did on the way down NY.

We stopped at Gold Beach, OR for lunch at a place called "Port Hole Cafe" that had an ocean view. Just a 1/2 turkey sandwich with a cup of chowder for me. It was so good! A dozen or so miles before California, we stopped at an overlook and I found a trail down to the beach. That was so beautiful! The place got it's name from a huge rock emerging from the small bay. It looked like a whale's head, one that was almost breaching. Going into CA, they stopped everyone for an "agricultural inspection" where you declare what fruit you're carrying. They made us eat our cherries... as we found out later at the Redwoods Visitor Center in Crescent City... they were worried about fruit like that coming in with pesticides or diseases. "Oh, but we wash our fruit..." Oh well.

So we stopped at the visitor's center for a map (and a patch) - they had neat stuff to look at in there... a skull and shoulder blade from a sea lion! - and I flipped through some of the books and found that there was a small aquarium in town! So just around the corner on 101 we stopped again at the Ocean World Aquarium. It was one of those where you walk down stairs into the bay and it is a big, one-room aquarium. I was concerned about the guide we were going to get when we saw the gift shop. It was a wild hodge-podge of whatever you can think of. But our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. There was a tide pool tank outside, and then we went down and saw their leopard sharks, local fishes, sting rays and sturgeons. Upstairs there was a tank to pet a couple small sharks (one of them loved getting petted) and then outside again to see a couple seals and a 2-year old sea lion who did tricks. Her name was Cora, and I hear she has a Facebook following. :)

Not too far down 101 lay the Redwood National Park. I totally understand why people talk about the "cathedrals" of nature. It was awe-inspiring, driving between rows and rows of these magnificent giants. They walled us in, allowing only slivers of sunbeams onto the road. When we crossed the Klamath River, we turned off for a scenic drive closer to the coast. Boy! did they mean close! Before we found out it was closed off ahead, we drove a few miles on a gravel path on the top of a cliff overlooking the Pacific (with no guardrails!). It was so exhilarating! Even though we had to turn around we enjoyed going up there. Talk about off the beaten track!

That road was supposed to join into the next scenic drive: the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Along this route was the "Big Tree": a 287 foot tall redwood, estimated at 1,500 years old. Also, there was a short trail to the "Corkscrew Tree": a tree wrapped all around itself. Both were incredible and rather tall. I'm so glad we came down here! This has been one of the neatest National Parks I've been to.

Sixty miles later, we came to Eureka, CA, where we stopped for dinner. Found an outstanding little family-operated restaurant called Pachanga Mexicana. Had a "fajita salad" with grilled veggies... greens, chopped tomato, cabbage, guacamole, mixed with grilled zucchini, carrots, broccoli and summer squash... all of which was extremely fresh. Even the carrots. You could tell they had cut them themselves. It was a taste treat!

So I wanted to go further to knock off some of tomorrow's drive. By this time it was 8 o'clock and the sun was really going fast. We ended up staying on the road for another hour and a half, driving in the dusk through miles of wilderness (we're now inland for a bit), passing by forests and rivers with the bright full-moon straight ahead.

We were a little worried as we went through. Didn't quite know where the next gas station was and we were down to an eighth of a tank. But we just kept flying along (the speed is 65 along here) until we found a 76 in Garberville. :)

Jp

Coast of Oregon

Hello from Waldport, OR!

Mom & I are a few miles south of Newport, which was my goal (we're right on track).

I didn't get up this morning until a bit after 7, but since everything was sorted out the night before we were able to leave around 8:30. A little rush-hour traffic in Kirkland, but beyond that it was rather wide open all the way. Our first stop was in Astoria, Oregon, right at the mouth of the Colombia River across from Washington. We stopped in at Fort Stevens, a coastal defense battery used from the Civil War to after WWII. They had a neat little museum in the old "war games" building close to one of the batteries. When we filled up the tank at Safeway in Astoria, we also got the tastiest tomato-basil soup from their deli... this we enjoyed at Fort Stevens, along with an avocado, some cherries and granola bars that Mom packed for us from home. It's the funniest thing: most of the buildings haven't survived, but their foundations are still there. To put them in use, they simply put picnic tables on the foundations... so you can have lunch "in" WWII army barracks. :) But we stayed in the car to eat... it was pretty windy and chilly today.

Our next stop was only a couple miles away; we visited the Fort Clatsop National Park. Loved the visitor's center... one of the neatest things was a set of specimens of plant life from the area preserved in picture frames with comments from Lewis and Clark's journals about their value and description. They also showed a half-hour movie of reenactors portraying what happened with narration from a native perspective. When we left, I felt as if I had suddenly come from 1806 onto Highway 101. That was a great little place. And they had patches too!

I was worried that we wouldn't be able to see a bit of the ocean today, given the dismal weather we had up until then. It was all gray with spots of rain and lots of fog in the hills. But by the time we were coming to the sweeping views of the coast south of Cannon Beach, it was breaking sunlight. And for the rest of the day we had lots of golden sunshine, especially going into Tillamook where we toured the cheese factory. I've been wanting to do this for years, but both times I've been by before it wasn't open. Gosh! So neat! They have a few displays about the history and function of the factory and then you go upstairs and watch the factory in work: lots of conveyor belts and hunks of cheese and dozens of workers dressed in white getting everything in place for packaging. And downstairs they have a cafe and a ice creamery with factory-direct products! I had a grilled sourdough with Tillamook cheese and bay shrimp along with a garden salad for dinner, and they also had a patch in their gift shop! I tasted some of Mom's ice cream and it was the nicest ever! So fun!

Can't describe how beautiful the coast was... imagine driving right next to the water with bays and rocks jutting out covered by hardy trees constantly being blown by heavy gusts. It's late afternoon and the sun is turning golden-orange. Up the hill, you get out at the overlook and can see nothing but ocean in all directions. The waves keep rolling in, creating little white wrinkles that stretch for miles on the perfect blue spread. And when we were a little too far inland to see the ocean, we were surrounded with tall coniferous and deciduous bright green. Oh, did we have a good time today.

Jp

PS... I'm really liking this motel. Good rate and we're on the first floor. But gosh darn it! I just had to kill a spider! :)

It's Quiet... Unless There Are Spiders

By the time I woke up, Dad was coming home for lunch! I think I needed the sleep! I don't remember waking up earlier, like I have most other days. Again, just a little bit of brunch, and a set of games with Dad... that I won again.

After he went back, I went about washing my bed sheets, then got into washing the towels, then Mom came down and we got into cleaning Zac's room... and then I got the vacuum cleaner and did detail work in the hallway. Ran into (and killed) a nasty black spider in the pantry while sucking up cobwebs, and then I got into cleaning the hallway closet and the entryway down there... and ran into (and got freaked out by) a big, round, nasty mother-spider and a lot of very strange and creepy dead bugs behind the pairs of Zac's old shoes. I made some sort of racket when I encountered this, so that Mom came over from the garage (she was going through wedding food and decorations) to make sure I was okay. :) She cleaned up the big streak I made (that used to be the nasty spider) and pulled the rest of the shoes out for me (lol) and there weren't any more. It was traumatizing.

It was just about time for dinner when we finished. Leftover hamburgers and corn on the deck under the canopy tent in the sunset. Another perfect evening. And then we finished the 1st disc of Pie in the Sky (still love it!) and then I took the dog for a walk around the block and then I did a 1.5 mile run in 14:30. I can't wait until I can find the heart to push myself to a better time. Did 27 push-ups before the run, but no sit-ups. Slowly, but surely.

I've spent the rest of the night researching a bit about the Redwood forest that Mom and I will drive through on Friday. It'll be a highlight of our trip! :)

Need to make the bed and take a shower...
wishing you all pleasant dreams...
Jp

Before the Facebook Album: By Request

It's my blog... so here I start. No, I didn't take this :)
Credit: Dave Padvorac (younger brother, best man)

Jason first sees her in the dress.

They are happy:







They kiss.








They look at me... :)








They go for a walk.

And off they go... :)

Jp

It's All Over.

A day for goodbyes.

I started today by going to sleep... a bit after midnight. Dad and I watched "The Book of Eli" (Denzel Washington, 2009) with Zac downstairs last night. Except for the violent dreams I had because of it (where people murdering other people seemed normal) I really loved watching it. Maybe next time I wouldn't watch it right before going to sleep. :) It was set after a worldwide war of destruction where there was no law and every ounce of food and drop of water was precious. I found it unlike most apocalyptic movies I've seen... there was a serious degree of reality to it. And the plot and ending were neither predictable or typical... there was no showdown between the good guy and the bad guy at the end, and the very real Christianity portrayed was not normal for Hollywood - Denzel must have done this because he wanted to. Except for the extreme violence (it wasn't too graphic - it was artfully done... if that's possible) I would love to watch this movie a couple more times.

Merely three hours after going to bed, I woke up with Mom & Dad to take Zac to the airport. I was very glad to interrupt my dreams, and like normal I was wide awake upon getting out of bed. It was very sad to see him go... we had such a good time together and he was able to see much of his friends. Got back home at 4am, and slept in til 10:30. And then everyone came over.

Had a bit of brunch: banana bread and strawberries and then after a little visiting (and a short jog with the dog) we were off for today's entertainment: a cruise on Lake Union (near the Space Needle) on an old-fashioned paddle boat named "Queen of Seattle". The tour guide was a lovely lady who acted as tour guide, pointing out interesting things we passed by, like the dry dock company that built & repaired ships during the war, the place the Boeing company first flew planes, historic Seattle sites like Gas Works Park and the houseboats. Speaking of that, we went rather close by the one "Sleepless in Seattle" was filmed at. I had never seen it before today, so that was neat! (suddenly I want to watch it again!) She also sang and danced in a little live cabaret show with a guy pounding out songs on an old-fashioned piano. Sing-along stuff like "Old Susanna", "And the Band Played On", "Clementine" and a couple others from the gold-rush days about sweethearts and such. It was very fun.

Grandpa and Grandma ordered pizza from Pizza Hut when we got home, and we all sat out on the deck and enjoyed some gorgeous evening sunshine with cool breezes (sorry everyone who's stuck in heat) along with some leftover wedding cake. And after a little bit more visiting in the living room it was time for everyone to leave. I helped my Aunt check in for their flights tomorrow, and there was one more round of goodbyes. I've had such a lovely time with them this weekend... so sad to see them go.

So suddenly the house was very quiet after such bustling activity for so long. My parents and I sat down and watched Netflix... "Pie in the Sky" (Thank you Linda! I loved the first 2 ep's! Very surprised to see young Mr. Foyle!). I always enjoy a good British mystery series.

Well, it's take a breather for the next two days, and then Mom and I are off down the coast to San Francisco and Yosemite for a little alone time. The days are FLYING by.

Jp

Sleepy Sunday

I was up between 8:30 and 9:00 this morning... just long enough to eat a couple scrambled eggs with cheese and take some pain pills for that time of the month. Went to bed again, and stayed in even when the family came over for an excursion to drop leftover wedding food at our friend's house (and to see the horses). I needed to stay put. I even slept and dreamed at least two separate dreams before I was alright to walk around at half past noon. Yesterday completely wiped me out. I picked up my room, washed my hair, cleaned the kitchen and browsed through the wedding pictures before everyone returned.

When they did, we had some lunch, then my Aunt Vicki and I took the dog for a walk on our circuit around and through the park. She'd never seen it before and it was a lovely day... 70's and bright sunny weather. Upon returning from that, she wanted to go get a sweatshirt for our boat ride tomorrow (preferably one that she could only get here). We went to Bellevue Square, and after a little searching found the perfect one.

And tonight we all went out to Outback as a farewell to my brother who takes off very early tomorrow morning. Had a very yummy steak with shrimp and veggies, and a sip of my brother's Coke & rum. It was the first Coke I enjoyed... no carbonation... and the little bit of rum tasted very good. It was a lovely day with the family... once I woke up. :O

Jp

Congratulations! Sister & Brother in Law!

I knew I could, I knew I could! It went wonderfully, and I think I remember seeing enough pictures that turned out well... I haven't browsed through the 780 pictures from today yet, but I think a good number will be alright. :)

Meg and Jason got hitched without a hang-up... it was cloudy for the pictures in the park, which made it much easier for me (no big shadows or hard light). Things got going a little late, but we had enough time at the end. I drove Meg to and from the park, and I also got to do all the shots I had planned. Being the photographer, you get around, so I saw a lot of her today! The wedding itself was lovely. Not too long, and simply laid out. They had the traditional "I do" set of questions and read vows they wrote out as well. The Dad's were invited on stage to say a blessing and a prayer over them (which I thought was very sweet) and Meg's best friend's husband performed the ceremony.

There were so many people that I hadn't seen forever, Max and Madeline from our old church, and Meg's and my boss from our community college (we worked in the warehouse); I invited him to sit with me at the reception and we did a lot of catching up. Lots to talk about: he is into underwater photography and he served eight years in the Navy during Vietnam. :)

I am very worn out from all the running around I've done today. And I'm very relieved that it went so well. The Fun Couple (now the Married FC) is off on a ten-day honeymoon to the Washington Coast. And we here at home are now relaxing as well. :)

Jp

Rehearsal

It's all coming down to tomorrow. Did last bits of cleaning this morning and around 11 or so, my grandparents and aunt came over (they traveled all the way from NC yesterday)! It was great fun seeing them again. We showed my aunt all over the house (she'd only been to our old house in Redmond last time she was here) and we talked and watched the slideshow. Had a big spread of sandwiches for lunch (along with some blueberries from my aunt's house!) and then we had to go set up the reception hall.

Took a couple hours to complete, but it looks fabulous! I was able to hang out with both of my aunts for quite a while today and that was really nice. I'm more and more worried about the pictures for tomorrow though. The light is kinda low over the aisle... and that means that I'll have to resort to using flash when people are walking so everything isn't super blurry like the people-moving pics I took during the rehearsal. Right now I feel like screaming or crying... but I'm too tired (maybe it's *because* I'm tired). And I suppose by the end of tomorrow, everything will be just fine. Gosh, I sure hope so.

Helped Mom make the tea sandwiches tonight after we got home from the rehearsal dinner. Cucumber and cream cheese for a few and then mostly egg salad. And I've just been reading in the camera manual, trying to figure out how to do the impossible :)

I have to be a general tomorrow, setting up the pictures in the park and getting it done on time. And creative too. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Jp

Horsies & Things

Woke up about 9. Today so felt like a Saturday! I suppose that's partly because my Dad's taking this week off work as well. We played a backgammon series... and I won :) The slide-show for the wedding arrived today, so we all sat around the computer and enjoyed it (lots of cute pics of the two of them growing up). At 11, Meg and one of her bridesmaids (who flew in last night) and I drove out to our friends house in Carnation. I drove separately, because I knew they'd be staying much longer than I wanted (they're still not home now). So on the way I stopped at Panera Bread in Redmond. Classic salad and a turkey sandwich with an apple side. It was a quick stop; I got to our friend's house just 10 minutes after them. I mostly just did horses outside, but they did things like work on flowers and hair inside (wedding stuff). Roo was a darling! He let me pick all of his hooves without a fight. Sure, he tried to pull back on the problem one, but I've learned to put my knee in front of his leg so he can't wiggle out of it. Picking his hooves has helped my self-confidence, I think, muscling around someone *much* bigger than myself. :) lol

I didn't stay too long, just enough time to brush & pick both of them, saddle and ride Roo for a few rounds in the pasture and then let them both eat the tall grass outside the pasture for 20 minutes or so. They're so funny when you let them out! They never go more than 15 feet away from the gate because all they care about is the grass, so they don't even need lead ropes! :)

When I got home, we decided to watch "The Inspector General" (Danny Kaye) from Netflix. So goofy! But it was classic. Loved the ending. Mom and I had a bit of leftovers for dinner, and then I helped her make the egg salad for sandwiches at the wedding. I think it was 3 dozen eggs... that was a lot! Didn't have much cleaning to do today, since Dad volunteered to vacuum the upstairs (I did the stairs themselves last night). So all I did was sweep the kitchen after Mom gave me a haircut. It's been just over a month since the last one and it had grown out at least an inch. So much nicer.

It was just about 9pm, so I decided to run around the block across the street until I wanted to quit. Kept on telling myself "one more lap" until I did 1.5 miles. No idea about the time, but I tried to sprint the corners. After 3 tall glasses of water I went back outside and sat on our front steps... my favorite place on clear nights for thinking and praying and (quietly) singing. Then a long shower. And now it's time for bed.

Jp

Just Another Day of Freedom

Gosh, this is really nice, doing what I want to.

I got up before 8 today (with my alarm) in order to head over to Juanita Bay Park in Kirkland to scout out where I want to take the wedding pictures and what I'll have to work with in surroundings and in the angle of the light. I was very pleased with a few sites (mostly involving large fir and willow trees) and worked it out so they're all on the same side of the park. :) That will make everybody's day easier!

While I was out on the bay on the boardwalk, I met a gentleman with a very neat setup. The lens for his camera was nearly a foot and a half long. He let me look through it to view the pair of bald eagles nestled up in a tree across the bay. The water was covered with lilies... and ducks were frolicking and birds were gliding and chirping and the lovely cher-TWEE-er of the red-winged blackbird sounded off every now and then. Peaceful.

I don't remember much between 10:30 (when I got home) and 3pm (when I took off for today's workout). I did walk the dog, get gas for my car (and avocados for lunch), and Meg and I drove down to Woodinville to pick up her wedding dress from the cleaners. She's using her best friend's wedding dress... makes it very special for her... and cheaper. :)

This was the last Navy thing for me for a while though. Family coming in soon and then Mom and I are taking off. We'll see how I keep myself up.

Jp

Runnin' & Draggin'

Oooh. The shoulders are sore from the Navy yesterday. And my feet have hurt all day long. :) And I took a 2+ hour nap... and I'm tired! What did I do today? Well, last night Zac said he wanted to run at 5:30 (am) this morning and would I like to join him? Sure!!! So I woke up at 5am, got out of bed at 5:17, got ready to go, woke him up (he was up super late), went for a quick 1/4 mile jog, came back got water, then we went outside. And we did 3 miles. Gosh! I did a lot better than I did for the Bellevue 5K a couple months back. It sure helped to have him there with me, giving my pointers and talking about the Marines. Very neat. And I went *a lot* further than I would have on my own. Heck, I even made sure we did the full 3. I'm a different person than I was a couple months ago. Zac says it's much easier to run here than it is in the desert heat. Gee, it's great to see him.

After a shower and some breakfast and sitting and chatting, Mom and Meg gave the dog a spa day. Trimmed nails and bath time. I took him for a little walk between those two awful things. :) And then I took myself on a walk to the drug store, grocery and bank (brother borrowed my car and it was a gorgeous day). So I did errands, and back home I fell on my bed for a minute. Then lunch (a swell, tasty sandwich: tomato steak, cucumber, green pepper, avocado and turkey on wheat), and then read a Psalm or two before taking a serious nap.

Burgers for dinner tonight along with fresh, sweet corn-on-the-cob that I picked up at the store. Mmmm. Zac and I saw the start of the All Star Game, but after dinner Dad and I and him went downstairs to his room where we watched "Avatar" on his big screen projector. It was entertaining, although very predictable and very pagan. Amazing special effects... it really was fun once around.

Gee, I'm pretty tired. Time for bed.

Jp

Perfect Monday

sigh of contentment

Oh, was it nice! I've been wanting to stay home and help Mom in the kitchen forever! We both got up around 8 o'clock and I helped her with the apple pie for my brother (who is coming home tonight!) and with the pile of dishes from yesterday and then we had breakfast: oatmeal to share and I made myself a hard egg.

It wasn't too long after this that I had to take off to my first Monday Navy workout. I was able to get a couple things done regarding a bill and some giving before this, but soon I drove off. It was only three of us there. We ran a mile, and then did some strength training and some more cardio. I hadn't done much lately on my own, so it really burned.

When I got home around 3pm, I had a bit of a snack for lunch and then Mom and I cleaned downstairs. Besides Zac coming home, one of Meg's friends is going to be staying downstairs for the wedding, so we wanted it to look spiffy. Lots of bed-making and vacuuming... and by the time I finished the hallway I was finished. Took a 40 minute nap. So good. Then a walk with the dog and more cleaning the kitchen... and then it was off to get Zac. We're meeting everyone in the family at Chipotle in Bellevue (Zac's favorite) for dinner and a celebration. Yay! What a day!

Jp

Where'd the Day Go?

It has slipped away. I got up really late today... after waking up a few times in the morning. Didn't get out until 10:30. Had a hard time getting motivated, but just bit the bullet and fell to my room anyway. Washed the bed and spent the rest of the day going through the one side of my room. Dusted and vacuumed and threw some stuff away.

I was alone for most of the day, but around 3, the FC came home and we ate a snacky sort of late lunch together (and I also beat Meg at Phase 10). Dinner wasn't too far off; the family came over for dinner around five and we ate outside on the deck. Mom and Dad had put the canopy over the frame yesterday while I slept. It was a glorious afternoon with a gentle breeze and the golden sunshine. Very nice.

Jp

Drained

Yesterday was highly emotional for me... and I suppose the 90 degree weather didn't do much for me either; last night I felt rather wiped out. Sleep was magnificent, but I woke up at 6:30 this morning anyway. In a burst of activity, I drove over to Carkeek park in North Seattle on Puget Sound to walk on the beach. It's a lovely park, and nice and quiet at 8:30 on a Saturday morning. There's a pretty trail along a salmon spawning creek to the beach over a bridge across the coastal railroad tracks. I only had an hour to spend, but I enjoyed every part of it. Even getting splashed on my left leg by a sea squirt! :) There are lots of little tidal pools there and at one I saw quite a few baby sculpin fish, tiny crabs, inch-long krill-type animals and bunches of feeding barnacles. They had a nice place with lots of florescent green seaweed for a canopy. On my way off the beach I saw a molt of a male red rock crab just sitting there.

I tore myself away from the beach in time to get to the event and reason for driving out here: the Husky Alumni Band was leading the parade for a small community summer celebration in Queen Anne, which is up the hill from downtown Seattle. I had never been there before! Gosh, it's steep getting up there! We had a small band of 17 show up (I was the only mellophone, of course). We stayed in the shade of a tall tree for the hour before the parade started, and the parade itself only lasted 15 minutes... only once through our list of five songs. The community center paid us $600 for our trouble, and that all goes to the scholarship fund for the varsity band.

It's a good thing the parade was short! I forgot to drink water before going, and although I had a glass of orange juice with my eggs this morning, I was seriously needing a drink. I saw a few stars on the beach, once or twice even. So immediately after the gig, I found my way to Safeway and got a cold bottle of water for free with a purchase of a tasty turkey & bacon (and avocado) sandwich. Yum! And they had free Wi-Fi and I got online for a second with my iPod touch that had come in the mail Friday afternoon. I got it for mobile Internet, free digital books and an application called "starmap" that uses GPS to show you what you're looking at in the night sky. So totally cool!

After getting back home around noon-thirty, I read a bit in my War of 1812 book and then slept sitting up on the couch for about 45 minutes. So good. The dog wanted a walk... but we only were out for little bit. It's so oppressively hot and sunny... poor boy.

Mom and I are just now going to go visit the FC at their new place for a bit and then I might lay down again when we return. I was thinking about doing a run just to boast that I could do it, but I figure it's not worth it. There will be better days for that. :)

Jp

Unemployed, But Not Unloved

Off all the send-offs I could have been given from my coworkers and friends, today's was magnificent. I arrived promptly at 7:05am and there was the door, and various walls, adorned with red, white & blue sparkly stars and garlands. Loren had donated his US flag to hang on my cube wall... and my boss had baked a white cake that had whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries arranged in a flag. At 10:30, quite a bunch gathered to send me off. They gave me a Dixie cup sailor hat and a little flag... and there were lots of hugs and farewells.

Yesterday QDC and CM took me out to lunch. We had a grand time! Lots of laughter (and unexpected tears when I started reading the card they had passed around at work) and great food! I had the usual: seafood bisque (to die for) and tasty chicken tacos with lime sauce: my favorite!

And I was able to leave with a clean cube and a fixed up room downstairs. The exit interview today only took a few minutes... just stuff about benefits I can buy if I want. Usually they ask if your department is okay, but she knew already there was nothing to worry about. She admitted the company couldn't quite compete with Navy benefits. :)

Last night we watched "Vivacious Lady" (1937, Jimmy and Ginger) and it was a great! Very funny and fun to watch. And with my first few hours off work today (in the sweltering heat) I've attacked the piles of stuff in my room and picked up quite a bit. Puppy has been sleeping by my bed ever since I've been home... what a cutie!

Jp

Hot and Hurried

Whew! Long day today. My lunch break today consisted of dentists poking and drilling around in my mouth (they replaced a filling and eradicated a small cavity that was forming in the same place). And after a very busy day at work (never a dull moment) I had a Navy meeting tonight. Got home a quarter after seven. And it was about 90 degrees here (again, no clouds).

Jp

My Family at Work

Jp

Ready for Summer

We're getting our first real taste of it today... upper 70's and not a could in the sky all day.

Yesterday I enjoyed my time off by fiddling around with my Aquarium website, adding links to the previously static page about animal classifications. This led me to explore the web, and find the most interesting or informative site I could about each category. I learned new things and had a wonderful time doing it.

My parents, the FC and I also went out to Monroe to visit my Grandma and take her out to Denny's. We had a nice little visit! I tried their fillet of tilapia with avocado and pico de gallo. It was tasty!

Later in the evening I thought I'd seize the daylight and I did a mile-and-a-half... in 12:45! Best time yet... It's in the "excellent" range on the PRT test (which is more than passing). :) Right after a snack for dinner, Mom and Dad and I watched "Night and Day" (Cary Grant, 1946). We enjoyed it a bunch... and I'd have to agree that Eve Arden was rather mis-cast. :)

As for today: my coworker is back; we did a lot of chatting & catching up, as well executing an all-hands safety drill ("we all got out rather quickly, wouldn't you say, Mr. Foley?"). I did a lot more cleaning up in both my areas. Can't believe four years is coming down to two and a half more days.

Jp

Happy 234th, USA

I slept in on this, our birthday. Had breakfast around noon, and did some more planning for San Francisco (that's this month!). We took off for our friend's house, getting there on time at 3pm. There were chili dogs and apple pies... and I successfully only had one piece. :)

We got back home at 8pm, and the fireworks were just getting started. I listened to the approving and reading of the Declaration from "John Adams" and "But, Mr. Adams" from 1776 on YouTube. I then enjoyed the last three innings of a replayed Mariners game with Mom. It was then ten o'clock, and things were really going off in earnest. I watched half a dozen fireworks shows from my bedroom window and then decided to experience all 360 degrees... I went outside and kept turning around to see everything going off. Big star-bursts and flares of all colors... and so much noise! It felt like the invasion of France. After a while I went for a short walk. I headed northwest until I got to the place that was really going crazy. I stayed a couple minutes until a few burning embers fell at my feet amid a street littered with fireworks residue as if it were confetti. It was 11 pm and time to go home. :)

Jp

Not in the Plan

Gosh, another three days since I've updated!

Thursday I finally got the gumption to start cleaning up the rejected hardware cabinet downstairs at work. I went through it when I first started in 2006, logging everything. Just last year I updated it a bit, organizing by Rejection Report number. Thursday I spent the entire day re-bagging one set of numbers and grouping them more succinctly. And this, I continued on Friday. I'm glad I will be able to say I've done my best with it by the time I leave next week. :)

As I was sitting blankly in the living room after dinner, Meg wanted to watch something. It suddenly occurred to her that we never watched the final episode of MASH... after we had finished viewing the regular seasons (July 14, 2009!). It was great to watch (it always is), but it made me stay up a bit later than I wanted. After lunch on Friday (yesterday), I took the dog on a walk with my camera, and then took a nap from 3 to 7 pm... it made me feel much better! :) I woke up with an idea for a story and quickly had a snack for dinner and then started writing a tiny bit. But the rest of the evening was occupied with "Mansfield Park" from Netflix. It's a Jane Austen story I've never read or watched before, and I enjoyed it very much.

I also came up with a last-minute plan for today: I wanted to go to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands and go to the whale museum and the national park they have up there. Mom and Dad wanted to come too, so we all headed off at 10 this morning, despite the clouds of doom.

But by the time we turned off of I-5 for Anacortes, there were blue skies and sunshine ahead! We thought getting there an hour before the ferry left would be a sufficient leeway for time, but it wasn't. That's because this is the 3rd of July and Friday Harbor is awfully popular. It's an hour ferry ride, and the next one leaving wouldn't be til 3pm... (and it cost $80! shniekies!) So I thought a drive down Whidbey Island would be neat instead. We ended up eating our picnic at Deception Pass State Park, which I've also been wanting to see. The forest was incredible (had very large trees) and I saw a chippie up close who was much interested in the chip crumbs I scattered. On the drive down the island, there were horses and wheat fields, bright sunshine and crisp air, a couple of bald eagles soaring and a couple deer in a field of flowers. It was beautiful. We listened to a disc of my audio Bible... about 40 Psalms... and it was perfect as we drove through the prairie land with sweeping views of the straight and sound. We got to the Mukilteo Ferry right as it was ready to load, so we hardly spent a half hour getting across. Dad and I were barely able to fit in a Backgammon best of 3 games in, but we did; Dad won. None of us had ever been across this point before, so we all had a good time.


We even have beautiful skies here at home now too. I put out the flag and helped Mom go get some groceries for tomorrow. Gosh, I'm tired!

Jp