Wednesday, December 23, 2009

My oh my

Stephenie Meyer wrote 4 books set in Forks, Washington. It is small logging town that honestly before the books most people drove through on their way to somewhere else. Now because of the books the town is actually the place folks are on the way to as they journey down Hwy 101.

It was announced this past week that a producer wants to film a TV show here. Based on the real place and the real people. Reality TV arriving on the peninsula! This has me wondering what the TV show will actually find to show the world. Forks if full of normal people. Normal small town people. They also are auditioning people from La Push and Port Angeles. Those places are also low on folks that sparkle, phase or do much more besides go to work at normal jobs.

Think about cameras following you around each day. What would the world find you doing? Pretty normal, average things I'm guessing. Wonder how this show will go.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Love the movie and I love the song from the band, Deep Blue Something. There is just something about Holly that you just can't help but adore. Maybe in truth it was Audrey.


Thursday, October 8, 2009

New Moon Fever

Well we are about a month away from the release of the second of the the Twilight Saga movies and our town is again buzzing. Pictures of the characters are in store windows and people are starting to really talk about the movie opening. If you are curious here is the trailer that has my little town and the even smaller town of Forks buzzing.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Power of a smile

I can't embed this favorite video of mine, but here is a link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbpGl_9rrcA

It is a song by the group, Casting Crowns. It reminds me of the power of a smile or a simple hello. Sometimes a person just needs you to see them. We humans can get caught up in living our lives, dealing with our problems and stop seeing those around us. I try to keep this song in my playlist as a reminder to not let that happen.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Crashing Waves

I tried to head up into the mountains this evening, but the road was closed and you could smell the smoke from the fires that are currently burning in Olympic National Park. As close as I could get to the top was about 2500 ft.



Since I couldn't make it to the top I drove back down to sea level and drove west on Hwy 101 then hugged the coast for a few miles on Hwy 112 until I got to Camp Hayden Rd and a small county park called Salt Creek. It is a place a lot of tourists don't know about, but a place so very much worth a stop. I mentioned before that when the tide is out there are tide pools that are just full of colorful life and when the tide is in the waves crashing are beautiful. Also the park has some WWII history as it had guns that protected the coast from attack. The bunker and the area where the guns were placed are still there. You actually drive through them with your car now.


The view from the bench where I was enjoying my evening.

Sights seen while away

San Antonio's Riverwalk only gets better each time I visit it. The older part is filled with tall trees, hotels, and cafes. A feast for all your senses. In the newer part that just opened in May there is some wonderful new art pieces and water features.


The San Antonio Art Museum saved the brewery keg bridge and it has been turned it into a foot bridge on the newest part of the Riverwalk.



A mural of the missions in San Antonio under a bridge along the Riverwalk.

The mural at the top of the convention center was a gift to the city from Mexico in honor of the worlds fair. It is amazing in its beauty. Only the blue tiles are glazed. The rest are natural stone. At sunset the mural really comes to life.


One of the many fountains under a bridge along the older section of the Riverwalk.




The famous San Antonio Riverwalk




Sunday, July 26, 2009

South on a Jet Plane

I've left my corner for a few days and have headed south to my old home, Texas. The flight was clear and allowed for some shots from the air as I was leaving Washington.
Mt. St. Helens
Mt. Rainier
I took this photo as we were landing at Dallas Love Field. The white building in the background is a special place. It is Southwest Airlines Headquarters. I spent many hours there when my mom worked for a VP. There were parties out on the deck on Fridays in the summer and Halloween around that place was amazing back in the 1990s. Departments used to decorate their whole workspace with different elaborate themes. Schools would even come in to tour them. I wanted to snap a photo of the building and it seems just right to have part of the wing of one of their planes in it too.

Officially in Dallas. Well at least for a day or so and then I'll be headed further south. I forget how flat it is here.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Long Days

Summer in the north means long days. It doesn't seem to get dark until 9:30 or 10:00 and this means that after work there is plenty of time for a short road trip or hike. Friday night I found myself in the mood for the mountains. So I drove the 18 miles to the what feels like the top of the world and even found a bit of snow.

















Friday, June 19, 2009

Sol Duc

A couple of weeks ago on a sun filled Saturday afternoon I enjoyed a hike to Sol Duc Falls in ONP. The trail was fairly easy, washed out in a few places and there were some fallen trees in others. The easiest and shortest trail was of course in the best shape with the Lovers Lane Loop in a little less than great shape from the winter storms we had out here this past year. It was a good hike though. Here are some photos from the day.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Its been a month

A busy month. I've been given the chance to learn some new things at work and so my work schedule has changed a bit and lets just say I'm WAY out of practice to work full time hours. I've gone soft! The new schedule is giving me the last week of the month off. I am enjoying the idea of a week off every month this summer. It should be a real treat.

I'm managed to get out hike at Sol Duc in ONP, visit the Seattle Art Museum, and I've made a new tradition of heading down to the water for sunset as often as possible. Here are some pictures to share with you from some of my recent adventures.


Sunset at Salt Creek - a local county park



Sunset at Hurricane Ridge - We hosted some gals from the Methodist Church in Tucker, GA and timed a visit to the Ridge on their last night here perfectly. They got to enjoy the sunset and a snowball fight in June. The weather was really warm even in the mountains that night. It was perfect!



Sunset this last Tuesday night at Ediz Hook. It was really pretty!


Last night at Ediz Hook - I got there a few minutes earlier than I normally do and I was able to get a few shots of Hurricane Ridge. Can't believe how much snow has already melted off the mountains. Our weather this June hasn't been normal. It has been warm and sunny instead of cool and rainy. I don't mind though.



Last night is was quite windy and so the waves were crashing out on the Hook. It was a wonderful sunset color wise and also with the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks.



Saturday, May 9, 2009

A Rather Large Visitor


On Thursday this week Port Angeles had a rather large visitor, Holland America's Statendam. Her passengers arrived after a rather nasty week of weather. I was so glad that at least the sun came out to greet them. It is always a joy to have a cruise ship docked in town. I only wish they would come more often.

Here are a few more shots as she was leaving the harbor. The one above I took from my deck as she passed the house.


The Statendam passes the City Pier

Statendam heading out into the Straits
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Thursday, April 30, 2009

Cold Fog Clearing

Finally after almost two weeks I'm getting better and the fog is clearing out of my head. I still have a lingering cough that I could do without, but it could be worse. Right? I'm caught up on my reading. Started a new book last night, Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I'm not too far into it however it looks good so far.

One photo to share. The apple trees in the yard are about to bloom. They are such a happy pink color.








Thursday, April 23, 2009

What to my wondering eyes should appear?


Off there in the distance. 18 miles across the straits, docked in Victoria, the season's very first cruise ship! My very favorite season of the year has begun. CRUISE SEASON!



It is a bit easier to make it out in the this cropped version of this photo. It is the Holland America MS Amsterdam. Until a bit later in May the cruise ships will be making Pacific Coastal voyages of a few days each before starting the Alaskan cruises. In fact Port Angeles will be visited in the first week of May by one of the Holland America ships. For more info click here http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?noOfFlexibleMonths=1&flexibleMonths=false&pageNumber=1&voyageCode=S929&destCode=L


I enjoy watching the ships go by every week during the summer and I do camp out on the deck with my camera each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evening when the weather is perfect. Here are a few of my favorite shots that I've taken the last three summers.

The Norwegian Star and Mt. Baker. I enjoy watching this ship go by as I've been aboard her twice to Alaska and the Mexican Riviera.



The timing was perfect on this shot. The sunset and the ship both! I haven't been that lucky since.

This my second favorite shot. Again timing on this one. A cruise ship and a submarine in the Straits at the same time. Lucky!

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Chicken Soup and Lots of Rest

I have a cold! I'll say now that I find them to be pretty much the most annoying things on the planet. I'm getting plenty of rest, cold medicine, and soup. This has also left me with hours to fill since getting outside to enjoy the weather is not an option. The view has been great. Kayaks, sailboats and one of my personal favorites, tugboats, have been busy in the harbor all weekend.
To me Tugs are strong and look as though they can handle anything that comes at them. I see them push through wind storms that blow through the Straits here in the winter pulling their cargo behind them. They symbolize never giving up to me.


I've also been busy in my scrap room. I need to finish a few pages in a mini album I've been working on for a friend. Those will have to wait until the cold fog clears from my brain. As it is right now I might end up journaling about what I had for breakfast instead of the photo on the page! ;) So I'm sticking to cards for now. They are easier to fix if I get too "creative" in my cold fog and also easier to work on between naps.





Time passes, but I remember

14 years ago today a bomb exploded in Oklahoma City. That bomb changed many lives as well as ending 168 peoples lives. It was a very sad day. A day where I remember everyone asking, "Why?"

I am not old enough to tell you where I was when Kennedy was shot. I can however tell you where I was when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded, when the World Trade Center buildings fell, and when the bombing in Oklahoma City occurred. April 19, 1995 I had closed the door to my dorm room and my phone rang. It was my Dad. He knew my class schedule as well as I did. He wanted me to hear the news from him first. I turned on the news, sitting there watching and talking with him for almost an hour. It was surreal in so many ways. To know that this chaos was going on only a few hundred miles away from my quiet college campus. To think that this could even happen. In the days that followed to think that another human could hurt so many people he didn't even know. At the time many thought, and even said aloud, that some how the pain would be less if the terrorist act had been carried out by someone who wasn't American. 9-11 taught us a several years later that violence like this always hurts. It doesn't matter who carries it out. It just simply hurts. Time does pass. I hope that the hurt is a bit less for the family and friends directly effected in Oklahoma City by the pain that day. I know that they remember. I remember too.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Firefly

This show is one of my favorites. It was short lived but can still be seen on hulu.com and on DVD. Had the press been better during production just at getting the word out for the show and Fox not have been so quick to pull it Firefly would have been beloved like Stargate. Instead the 14 epidsodes of Firefly and its movie Serenity are beloved after the fact by a very strong, almost cult like, fan following.

On my scrap desk

 



This is one of the small projects I was working on tonight at my scrap desk. Time really flies by while I'm in my scraproom working on layouts and cards. Tonight it was all about handmade cards. I'd gotten some new card magazines and wanted to try some ideas I saw. My desk is a mess of button, stamps, inks and now scrap paper. What fun I've had though!
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Thursday, April 16, 2009

Hood Canal

In 14 days and about 4 hours the Hood Canal Bridge will close. This is one of 3 floating bridges in our area and it is time to replace it. You don't want a bridge sinking in one of our winter wind storms.

Normally a bridge closing is annoying and causes a driver to find new ways around town. Here in Port Angeles we dealt with this, as two bridges that linked the eastern part of town with the western part were closed for over a year while being replaced. It was annoying, however we all found new ways around our little city. The Hood Canal closure will be a bit different. This is the most convenient way off of the Olympic Peninsula. Otherwise if we want to drive to the mall it will be about a 3 hour drive. Seattle will now be about 4 1/2 to 5 depending on traffic. The difference is caused by having to drive south along the Hood Canal to Olympia and then north to Tacoma and Seattle.

Gearing up for the closure has been going on now for almost a year. Plans are in place for a foot traffic only ferry across the canal with bus service on the Kitsap side. Hopefully there will be no need to use this service. All doctors appointments in the city are out of the way and I think I can survive 6 to 8 weeks with out the mall and the larger craft stores. ;) The closure should end before tourist season really begins and we are praying right now for the project to stay its 6 week schedule.

More info can be found here about the bridge, options, and the closure: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr104hoodcanalbridgeeast/

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Beloved Book

Where The Wild Things Are is one of my favorite books. I enjoyed reading this book aloud while I babysat many children in my teen years. Because I made all the sound effects, it always became one of their favorites too. I, by some odd occurance never owned a copy of the book until college when a dear friend purchased not only the hard cover book for me, but also a stuffed Max.

To say that I am excited to see the movie adaptation of this book is an understatement. I watched the trailer tonight and so far I love how the Max looks and also the Wild Things. I hope the ending is just as sweet and the Wild Things just as wonderful.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Off Shore Flow & Other Odd Things

Apparently I have that to blame for the return of the grey sky! Our weather is coming from off shore again. I have faith that the sunshine will return as it is only April and May can be such a lovely month here.

I found myself out and about during the course of my work day. At one point around 2:30 I made a grave error and drove near our local high school. The school day ends at this time and so several hundred teenagers get behind the wheel of their cars and begin to drive home. If you can call it driving. I'm certain my friends and I drove just as poorly. I mean we must have right?! It's just the years since graduation clouding my memory. About the time I thought I had made it through the streets surrounding the campus without incident there was an accident. It happened right next to me. Inches away. Had my car been 4 inches to the left I would have been involved it was that close. Instead I saw the car go by mine too fast and knew exactly what was coming next. CRASH!

The noise of metal on metal is one that I haven't heard in 18 years since my own car accident. Even though I wasn't involved in this one I found myself physically responding as though I had been. I was shaking and such. The human brain amazes me. How it can block memories out for almost two decades and in the matter of seconds a noise causes the memories to be released. In my thoughts it was the fall of 1991. I could feel the impact of the blazer hitting my car and my car spinning. Finally it coming to a stop and trying to get the door open. Then sitting on a curb in Plano, Texas at the corner of Legacy Drive and Preston Road waiting for my mother to arrive. I could see the car I had been driving, her car, up on the grass and the blazer I had collided with upside down on the street with a woman kicking in the windshield trying to get the driver out. Another man was trying to tend to me while we waited for EMT to arrive. I can see it all like a movie now playing in my head. Up until now, I had small memories of the accident mostly from just before and then later with the EMTs and talking with the Police. The majority of my knowledge came from the police report. For years after the accident I wouldn't even drive though the intersection. I was even afraid to return to driving. My Father forced me after giving me a few days to heal up mentally and phyically. It came back to me today. All of it and even half an hour later when I was back at the office I was still shaking. Like I said the human brain amazes me. I couldn't have handled it all back then, now I can. My brain kept the memories safely locked away until I could handle them. Amazing.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Olympic National Park

ONP for short is huge. It fills the majority of the land mass of the peninsula. Only a portion of it is accessible by car. The rest of it you have to get out and explore on foot or simply leave to the animals. Today after finishing up a few quick things at the office I drove west out of town on Hwy 101 headed for Lake Cresent and an ONP trail head.

I found myself here.

Here appears to be about 20 miles away from home!


The drive didn't take long. I guess because there was a lot of eye candy to focus on.



This is where I was headed, Marymere Falls. Today was another warm, beautiful day. A perfect day for this nice, easy hike.



Check out that sun through the trees!!


No matter how many times I cross the creek on this little bridge made out of a tree I still love it. Doesn't this just look other worldly? There are days where I'm amazed I live here. Will I ever get used to the beauty? I really hope not.


And we have arrived. The first glimpse the falls.



Marymere Falls in all her glory