Quirky thoughts from an old man.
Many years ago Lillian gave me a front end loader lawn ornament with spinning wheels.
It was a big hit in the neighborhood and proved to be very durable. But after five or so years it was looking a little long in the tooth.
For my Birthday a few weeks ago Lillian gave me a “Tractor Farm Spinner” from the same company. When I installed it yesterday it made me smile all day.
Great Gift Lillian.
Premier Kites has a web site.
It has been two weeks since I have written for the blog. This is the longest I’ve gone without writing since I started last April. Nurit and I were in England (without the laptop)
to celebrate my 60th birthday by walking along Hadrian’s Wall
and have a family reunion with my mothers family (Ismays) in Wolston.
It was a bit rainy (the worst July since 1952 or something) but we had a very good time. Over the next few day I’ll post some pictures on Flickr of the trip. Sections are likely to include:
Last week I drove with Rebecca to Wyoming in her Mini Cooper.
We made it there in one day from Los Angeles. The trick was not speeding, the trick was not stopping.
Utah
We stopped for lunch and gas (and bathroom) in St George, Utah and then drove all of the way to Evanston, Wyoming without stopping again. Amazing.
Snow in the mountains in June
Great car. The next day we got Rebecca moved into her apartment in Rock Springs for the summer.
Rebecca’s Apartment
Kudos to Loni J. at Alpine Property Management for helping us find a place and feel at home.
Rock Springs
In the afternoon we drove north to Pinedale which is about two hours north through the high plains.
Thunderheads over the Wind River Range
Pinedale is in the foothills of the Wind River Range and is very beautiful. On the way home to Rock Springs we had a wonderful sunset.
Open range
Mini Shadow
Bigger sky country
Mini Mirror Sunset
The next day I flew home on Great Lakes Airlines to Denver and United to LAX. There was a lot of turbulence on the flight to Denver he said discretely.
Here are some photos from our trip last week to the Galapagos with Lindblad Expeditions. The most amazing thing was that the birds and animals were not afraid of humans. I’ll post more of my thoughts about the islands and more pictures on Flickr next week when I get back from Wyoming.
Looking good in orange
Booby island
Blue Footed Booby feet
Carlos and a Nazca Booby
Marine Iguanas
A male Frigate Bird looking for a mate
Albatross
Nurit and Lili with a Sea Lion
Lillian with another one.
A Galapagos morning
A male land Iguana
Simon with the famed Giant Tortoise
symbol of the Galapagos
I found the map from the GRMOHOVA (Great Motorhome Vacation) circa 1995 and had to share it.
The line is the route we took across the USA in July and August. It seemed like a good idea at the time….
Nurit and I went on a driving trip to Napa for a few days with Missy our dog and then on to Redding to see the Sundial bridge. I’ve posted the best pictures on Flickr.
The mustard was in bloom.
Travelling with Missy gave us far more benefits than difficulties. People who like dogs are always happy to stop and chat with you if you have a dog along so you get to chat casually with locals. This almost never happens when you travel without a dog. We spent a very nice day walking aroung in Sonoma. I wrote postcards in the park and Nurit shopped.
We had some terrific walks stayed at a great hotel in Yountville (the Vintage Inn) which accomodates dogs and ate at some very nice restaurants (Bouchon and Redd in Yountville being our favorites). We did visit two wineries and bought four bottles of wine.
One day we drove to Point Reyes Station to see the Cowgirl Creamery a small cheese maker. The weather went bad as we drove into the National Park so we saw very little but the drive was great and we were able to cross Pt Reyes off our list of possible place to live.
Near Pt Reyes.
On the last day we drove to Redding to see the famed footbridge. it was designed by the guy who built the famous bridge north of Seville. We arrived in Redding just as the UCLA basketball team was losing in the first round of the Pac 10 tournement and it was raining. Not an auspicious start to our visit. The next day it was cloudy and damp and Redding was not a victorian masterpiece of a town. The old building had for the most part been torn down and it felt more like Pomona or San Bernadino than Pasadena. The Sundial Bridge is in a park connecting the arboretum with the museum. Oh well. In the words of an old friend “If you don’t go, you won’t know.” Redding is off the list.
A Great Bridge.
Rebecca and I drove in her Mini from LA to Dallas. From Dallas I flew home and Rebecca and Nurit finished the trip to Philadelphia. These are some impressions of the trip:
What a great country and most of it is still empty.
This link will take you to the Sentinel Dome Web Cam. It is a live camera on Sentinel Dome showing a shot of down to Half Dome. You can see a High Sierra sunrise every day.
It is what I want to do with the Pond Cam. All I am lacking now are the technical competence, the equipment and the time.
Yosemite is in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in the world. The stories about it being overcrowded are just stories. Most of the valley and all of the high country are wonderfully uncrowded and naturally beautful. We try to go every year.
Nurit, Lillian and Brooke at Yosemite Falls 1989
A stream somewhere in the high country
In 1989 the deer at Wawona were tame.
My nephew Robert B and his beautiful bride, Theo, have organized a series of occasional “Prom Night” events in London.
Robert and Theo
By every report they are great, fun, over-subscribed dress-up parties. They appeal to the retro 60’s instinct of young people. I’m to old to attend but I share the sentiment and recommend visiting the site and getting on the email alert list.
