Florence, Oregon

Day one of our trip took us to Florence.  I saw the sun setting on the other side of this bridge and headed towards it to get a silhouetted bridge with sunset sky.  Those shots turned out so-so.  Actually I decided that I needed to get past the bridge and get the sun setting on the dunes.  I found a deserted restaurant with a balcony, no signs to keep out or keep off, so up I climbed.  From there I shot the sunset and was happy with the results...but then...I turned around and looked back at the bridge....wow!  this is what I saw!  I have seen so many bridge shots that make the full circle like this and have hoped that someday I would find one.  And now it found me!  I think it is my all time favorite photo from my trip. I have heard that sometimes the shot behind you at sunset and sunrise is better than the actual sunrise/set. In this case it proved so.

Here is another shot of the bridge.  It was on the side looking towards the sunset.

 and this was the sunset from the deck of that restaurant.  It was pretty.  If it was all I had seen, without the bridge behind me, I would have been happy.  I was so thrilled with my bonus tho.

Florence is a little fishing port.  I took advantage of the photo opps down at the docks.

Earlier in the day, I was on a sand dune hunt.  I have seen some awesome dune shots and had this image in my head of what I would find.  I wanted mounds and mounds of sand.  After making John drive all over, and me getting out and walking up and down mounds to find them, Nada!  All I could find was mounds topped with sea grass.  I know they are out there,those endless deserted mounds that look like you are in the Sahara, I have seen the shots, in fact somebody I know posted one the day after I got home, but I didn't find them.   I even asked around and didn't find anyone who knew how to direct me to those elusive mounds...oh well, lucky for me, Florence is not that far away.  I will find them another time.

But I did find this...such still water to reflect those trees.

 Day 2 we went just a little north of Florence to see a place that was on my hit list of places to shoot. 
Cape Perpetua.  The sights there were Cooks Chasm, Spouting Horn and Thor's Well.  

obviously, this is the Spouting Horn.

Cook's Chasm 

Can you believe the water color?

Thor's Well.  Now Thor's Well was pretty cool in all the photos I have seen.  It is usually portrayed at sunset, with a slow shutter speed that makes the water soft and milky. I had read up on it and was ready!  Except we were not there at sunset.  Strike one.  Strike two...it is way down there!  To get that great shot I wanted, I would have had to climb down, then walk way out there in the water, risk falling on that lava, and worse, I needed to set up my tripod low to get the point of view I wanted, and risk being hit by a wave or two.  John refused to let me go down there.  I thought about it tho.  Thought only.  *sigh* 

This is NOT my shot!

 This is what I wanted to get...I copied it off of Flickr to show you what I had imagined I would get.  See how far down he had to go to get it?  See that wave coming in? Well, maybe some other time, right? I was able to get a closer up view with my zoom, and for now that is good enough.

We stopped and took a lot of light house shots too.  more of these are posted later on

Port Orford brought us to John's sister Martha's place.  We always have a blast with Mick and Martha!  We would have stayed longer, but it poured down buckets of rain the next day so we made a decision to head south in search of sun.  

Day 3...The Redwoods

Nothing like a tree to make you feel so small and insignificant.

  Day 4 took us to Hwy 1 from the 101.  It is a gorgeous drive.  You for sure can't be in a hurry, it has only two lanes and winds and turns, up hills and down...and it is right next to the cliff that drops into the ocean.  There were a few tense moments for me as I looked down...and very few guard rails.  I could not help but wonder how many people have gone over the edge.  

more light houses, the one below is a military base

We ended the day at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Now I thought the Spouting Horn in Oregon was so cool...but this one is not even one I had heard of...it wasn't marked, but as we passed I saw it shoot and had John stop...it was way better and bigger than the first one we saw...pretty cool heart, huh?  

All of a sudden, as we drove along, I saw a Huge seal laying by the road, I got out and started shooting.  We  were headed south, and cars headed north were slowing down to see what I was shooting.  I motioned them towards the seal, expecting them to be excited and stop too....but no...the kept on driving.  I was amazed!  "How could they go on by?" A tiny bit past that spot, there were a bunch of seals, once again I got out and took more photos.  Still amazed and wondering why none of the cars headed north were stopping to see such a sight.  And just a little further down the road...I got my answer.  A whole beach full of them!  I mean F.U.L.L.  they were laying everywhere!  No wonder the cars had just continued on their way.  I am sure they were laughing at me, and here I had been wondering about them.

 A walk way has been built to keep the seals safe from humans.  But it was perfect to walk along and see them so close up.  It was so noisy from them barking.  They were tossing sand around, most sleeping, some fighting, a few walking to the water. The went on and on forever in both directions, this is just a tiny part of them.

I loved the content happy look of this mommy with her baby...see that smile?

It was full of these Elephant seals. I have never even heard of them.  My first thought was that they were walrus.  oh well.

Isn't that so adorable how he is just hugging on to her?

 a nice comfy place to sleep

Solvang, California

Solvang is a little town that is all done in dutch design.  It was a cute place to visit.  It has a mission there that is part of El Camino Real.  El Camino Real is a stretch of road between missions on the California coast.  Each mission is built about 30 miles apart, which was about a days travel for the missionaries. 

We arrived in Oxnard to stay a while with Jimmy.  He is John's uncle.  A bachelor who loves to have company.  It is always a nice visit with him.  He has a friend named Fran who has been friends with him since before her husband died, years ago.  No romance, they are just great friends.  Every day, he drives to her place and they go out to lunch.  Of course with a coupon and using their senior citizen discount! 

The old main street in Oxnard is lined with old palm trees...always such a sight for this Oregonian!

It is located right on the ocean. 

This is the Ventura pier. We took Jim and Fran with us for a little drive and had lunch at an old 50's style place.  complete with a juke box and selection boxes a each table.  

And then it was time to leave him.  It is always so sad to drive away as he stands there so alone waving to us.  He has lived in this home since he was a little boy. 

And then it was time to see Gabe and Dennis and Abby!!!

We even got to babysit one night so they could go out to a work dinner.

Gabe turned 3!!!!  

To celebrate his birthday we all went to Disneyland.  We had 8 adults, Dennis, Abby, John and Me and My Mom and Dad and Abby's Mom and Dad, all there to watch 3 year old Gabe on his first time there.

This photo says it all!  My favorite of the day.  The wonder on Gabe's face as we watched the Disney parade.  You can see the float that was going by reflected in his little eyes.

 Abby's parents and mine finding out from Gabe how he liked his first ride.

Seriously, how many adults can you squeeze into one lion train cage?  What adults will do for a kid!

 On the way out, my camera was out of space, so I asked John to take a photo of the balloons for me on his camera.  This is what he took...he does not even remember seeing the guy there in front of him...but it sure turned out funny!

Mike and Rachel Whisner.  Mike was John's friend all through high school.  They ran cross country and track together and also were on the wrestling team.  Mike walked me down the aisle at graduation and baccalaureate.  He was best man at our wedding.  They live in Big Bear.  He is pastor of a church there.  It was so nice to spend an afternoon with them catching up on everything.

 John and Dennis put down a new brick floor on his patio.

From Dennis' place, we headed north to Reno.  My parents had left the day before us and we met up with them there.  I am not much of a gambler, so after after a while, I took a walk and discovered a lake right by our hotel.  That is our hotel in the photo.  

Now, something that I have had on my list for as long as I can remember is to shoot a swan.  Guess what I found at the lake?  You got it!  I hit the jackpot!  not in the casino, but at the lake!  There was only one, but I made the most of it and shot and shot.  These are my favorites, but I have tons as you can imagine!

This is the look I get from the kids when I have taken my allotment of shots.

The lake was partly frozen over.  It was hilarious watching the geese come in for a landing and skid and run, instead of the usual splash and swim.

There were tons of other birds there too.  Canadian Geese, other geese, ducks, sea gulls, coots, and tons of birds that I can not name.

We headed north through Mt. Shasta for home.

An old school house/church along the road.

 We made it up to Grants Pass and stopped in for a visit with his brother JD and his wife Linda.

Before we left Oregon, I bought a Groupon to visit the Wildlife Safari.  I was a little disappointed in it.  The animals I really wanted to take photos of were behind cables.  Somehow, I had expected them to all be roaming free.  Some were, and it was fine to see them, but it was not really what I had expected.  I guess it had something to do with it being the last on the list of  all the great things we had seen already.  Like who can beat a whole beach of seals?  or finally finding my swan?

3 weeks and 3 days later...the final stretch towards home...

Emily turned 14! 

 I made sure she has a copy of the Oregon Driver Manual because in one short year, she will be able to get her permit!  

It has been an unusual bit of weather here.  Clear, cold, frosty and foggy.  These shots are of the crazy frost we have had...I know it looks like snow, but it was just the most magical layer of ice on everything.

First Sunrise of 2013

January 1, I got up before the sun, put on warm clothes and drove myself to the Jonsrud viewpoint and waited for the sun to rise.  I was well rewarded!  The sky had the perfect amount of clouds to make the most gorgeous color.  The valley was filled with little puffs of mist that took on the color of the sky and the river reflected it back up...what a way to start the New Year.

 GIVING

Giving gifts at Christmas is to symbolize God’s gift to us. Just as the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus, we bring gifts to each other.
I have given a lot of thought to gifts this year. Our family has come to a new place in the giving part of Christmas. Gone are the days of finding the perfect gift for each person. Gone are the days that anybody in my family actually NEEDS something. Everyone is so fortunate to have been blessed with the financial means to buy the things they want when they want them. The wish that all parents have that their children have more than they had, struggle less, and find real contentment has come true. I know that true contentment does not come from ‘things’ or ‘money’ but having God in the center of your life, being content with what you have,so with that in place, not having to stress over money is the topping. It has been really hard to let go of the huge ‘ultimate’ gift to have under the tree. There is no such thing nowadays. It is still fun to have the little things under the tree for the grandkids, but even they have rooms full of toys that hardly get noticed. Their closets are full of clothes that will hardly be worn. I have reluctantly begun giving them a gift card as their main gift. Of course I can’t resist just a few things besides the card for them to open.

I really struggled with the whole gift card bit. But little by little, first to my kids and now  to the grandkids, I see it as the gift of the times. The best gift of the times is a gift of TIME. So, this year, I bought each of my kids a card to a restaurant and am hoping that we can go with each of them when they use it. The cards I bought the grandkids are for shopping or movies, etc that we can use together. I have had to let go of a bit of tradition, to convince myself that it is for ME that I want the gifts under the tree, that it is only me that cares when the unwrapping is done and over and they are sitting there with a giftcard in their pocket. They won’t be disappointed, they will love being able to use their card. I have to stop wanting for them that excitement that I had as a little kid, the same as I wanted for my own kids as each Christmas rolled around. Times have changed. I have to let it go. Gone is the excitement of what they are getting, the wonder, the waiting, the mystery…I guess I should really be more happy about that. It really is a GOOD thing that the focus is not fully on the getting. I need to stop and thank God for blessing us with abundance. 

I know that TIME is one of the things that we are short of these days. Giving a gift of your time is actually one of the best gifts I have discovered. A few years back, my sister, Cyndi came up with the idea of getting each other a gift card to a restaurant. We have tweaked it a bit and finally have it just right. Each of us buys each other a restaurant card, only $25 on each card (4 cards, one for each of my two sisters, one for my parents and also one for me). This way we all end up with 4 different cards. We try to keep it to a place we have not bought a card for before so we keep trying new places. It does not have to be a fancy place, just someplace we know we will have a good time together. Then the person who bought the card is responsible for deciding when we go and making the plans to make it happen sometime before the next Christmas. This guarantees us 4 times out with each other throughout the year, hopefully we all chose a different place so we are trying new places to eat. It is a perfect way to make sure we spend quality time together other than the holidays. When we get the bill, we all toss in our $25 cards and have the waiter divide the rest of the bill between us. Sometimes we have not needed much more than the $25 cards. We have had some really good meals and more than that have made some really great memories. The place I chose this year is the Cinetopia theater where you have dinner while you watch the movie. I hid the cards in the bottom of a bucket of popcorn for each of them

. 
The gift of TIME, a true gift of ourselves to somebody else.

RECEIVING

For most people it is easy to give a gift but hard to accept one. I have found that one of the best gifts I can give…is to receive what is being offered to me. I have learned  that when I give, I get more than I have given. So, by accepting what somebody else is offering, I give a gift back to them by my receiving of their gift. 

I have a friend whom I love to spend time with. I love to bake and take little goodies over to her and her husband. She never wants to take it, tells me it is too much, it is always a battle to let me leave it on the table when I leave. But every time, she ends up telling me later how much they enjoyed it, filling me full of praise for such a simple little thing. She ends up making me feel so happy that I took whatever it was over. Her praise is a gift in return. When we go out for tea, she always fights to pay the bill. This was really hard for me to accept. I didn’t want to have her think that I was asking her to tea just so she could pay the bill. But then I realized, my balking at her paying was no different than her balking at my little gifts of baked goods. I now am less reluctant to let her pay the bill, I receive her gift and let her bless me with what she wants to do for me. 

Likewise, it is really hard for me to accept a gift from my kids. I always tell them don’t get me anything. But I know that as hard as it is to take it, they also need to feel the pride in giving it, so I accept with gratitude what they have for me.  At Christmas time, we celebrate the gift from God of His Son, Jesus. Have you received His gift to you?

Emily and Joshua came to our place while John and Rachel went away to celebrate their 16th anniversary.  Having them here is always a fun way to kick off the holidays.  We went ice skating and spent time with Josiah and Arianna.  On Friday, we were sent a couple of updated photos of Hannah in the Christmas outfit that Dennis and Abby sent to Korea for her.  It was a nice pre Christmas gift!  Then we got on Skype and had our gift unwrapping time with Gabe.  I have said it before, but again, it is so nice to live in the era of Skype since my kids don't all live nearby.  Of course it would have been best to have had them right in the same room, but it was pretty amazing to watch him open his gifts and play with them right there in front of me!  

‎'Tis the Reason!

Jesus birth is only the beginning of the story, it is the reason for His birth that we celebrate God's love, forgiveness and salvation.

WOW!  Time is just flying by!  Here it is almost Christmas and I have not even posted about Thanksgiving.  And it was way too good of a Thanksgiving to not mention it here.  I had one of those rare holidays when I had all of my kids together.  It is just something Mothers love to have that can not be explained at having her little chicks all back under her wing.  Strange how those wings can hold so many now and not even feel stretched.  Of course we had to have a family shot of  us.  I hope that you are all having a blessed holiday season!  and now back to the Christmas preparations...

Josiah Turns 2!

Yep!  We bought him a drum set!  But it was with permission from his parents.  Actually at first it was his mother who suggested it.  But then she decided it might not be a good idea after all, so I was coming up with a new idea, we would just take him shopping to pick out something else.  Well, at the last minute, we were given permission to go ahead and get the drums.  I assured her that if they became a problem, then we would just bring them to our house and put them in the basement for him when he comes to visit.  So far no problem.  It is so fun to watch him play.  Really!  I know, I am his grandmother, but he really seems to have some talent with them.  He does not just pound on them, he has a beat.  First off, he taps those sticks together a few times to get going and then he just drums away.  He hits the different drums at the same time and every so often reaches up to tap on the cymbal.  He can even use his hands independently to tap out different beats at the same time.  He has to use both feet at the moment to beat the bottom drum, he does not have enough strength to do it with just one foot, most the time I think he just forgets it is there.  

We were with them at their church for their family dedication and even without seeing the drummer, he was pretending he was playing just from listening, his little hands were going just as if he had his sticks with him. Jessi sometimes will put on a u-tube video of some drummers and he gives them his full attention for a long time, then runs for his playroom to practice what he saw.  Watch out world, we have a new drummer!!!

Introducing Hannah Ye-won!

We have received news that grandbaby #6 is a GIRL! As many of you already know, my daughter-in-law was adopted from Korea as a baby and so my son and his wife have decided as a first choice that they are going to adopt their children. Natuarally they decided on Korean children. Gabriel Do-Hun was their first, and will turn 3 in February. Hannah is the name they have given her. Her middle name,Ye-won is the name that she is being called by the foster family who has cared for her since her birth. She is now 8 months old. Because of Korean laws, she will most likely not be in their arms until after she is a year old. We are hoping that by the summer we can travel to Korea with them and help them with Gabriel while they meet their new daughter. (this is not my photo, but the one that has been sent to them by the Holt agency) This gives each of my 3 children one boy and one girl. PERFECT!

Happy Birthday to Joshua. I can't believe how fast the years are rolling along!  Our birthday season has officially begun.  Starting with Rachel's birthday at the end of October, then Joshua, Josiah, Meri, my Mom and nephew Matt, Abby, Ellie, Johnjr, Johnsr, my Dad, Emily Ariel, David, Alan, Gabriel, Hannah, ending with Jessi at the end of Feb.  It seems we have one continual birthday cake going!  

My nephew Matthew married Karely last Saturday.  They had the wedding at the little chapel in Boring. Here are some photos from the day.

 Following tradition, my Mom did the cake and flowers as she has done for all of her grandkids.  

They asked me to take the wedding photos, but I didn't feel qualified to do them.  Just way to stressful to be in charge of that important aspect of their wedding memories.  So I referred them to a person I have never met, but feel like I have known for years.  His name is Erick Claytor.  So strange how our paths have crossed so many times but we never officially met.  When I first joined a photography site called Flickr, he became one of my contacts.  It was so strange because he would post a photo right before or after I did and they were almost identical to ones I was posting.  You can take a look at the photo 'information' called EXIF and I could see that he would be at a place I had been, sometimes withing the hour of when I had been there! It got really weird when he posted some photos of horses from down my road!  My Mom was SURE he was stalking me!   One day, I was going through his old postings and saw the exact wall hanging in his living room as mine! It was just too crazy.  We would make comments on each other's photos and we realized that he even goes to the same church as I do!   It is a big church with 3 services so we have not managed to meet there.   He has continued to work on his photography, taking courses and is now doing weddings and other professional photos.  Finally, for the first time in all these years, we met at the wedding!  To make matters even more coincidental, he brought along a back up photographer and in chatting with him, we realized that his friend Brian Pasko is one of my contacts on another photo site called Project 365!   

R.E.T.I.R.E.D.

John went to work for the last time October 30!  He is officially done working.  Well, punching in and out working that is.  I have a 'I'm Bored' list ready for him.  Two years ago, he let go of his position as meat department manager and became the store secretary.  It was a good pre-retirement job for him.  He worked  10 years at Dick Wolfe Meat Company, then for 28 years at WINCO, which first was called Waremart and  then they bought out Cub Foods and changed their name to WINCO.  He says he will never wear black pants and a white shirt again and has also thrown out his long underwear.