Happy Father's Day!

We're celebrating at Cedar Creek Inn for brunch.  Naturally, my dad comes to mind on Father's Day, too.  We lost him way too soon (1976), just one year after he had retired, and long before computers sprouted on every desk at work and at home.  But when GE brought in their first computer which took up an entire room (!), he was signing up for "time" after hours, and even created a program to do his income taxes.  Oh boy, would he love to be playing on today's computers!  But, I could never ask him to leave the eternal joy of Heaven!  Thank you, Dad, for being such a great model for your three kids, and many more friends.  We miss you!

We'll take you here, Alli, when that Space-A comes through!

REMOTES

A DVD, I just want to watch a DVD, for cryin' out loud, and don't tell me it doesn't take a brain surgeon! 

It takes THREE remotes and some silly switch that isn't working quite right.  Aaaaarrrrggggg!  So, I did this schematic which is in the drawer with all those remotes!

Eat Mor Chikin!

Love this ad!

Cars speeding by enjoyed giving him/her a "toot!"

You "get it", right?

Looking Up

A children's book written and illustrated by a college friend's dad, Rainey Bennett, taught that a baby Hippo couldn't find a place to be . . . well . . . just alone for awhile.  The watercolor illustrations are incredibly charming, and most are in color, but the only one I could find online is b/w.  Yes, I still have the book, but it's packed away at my rental house, so this b/w will have to do.  

Little hippo was always being watched, as this illustration shows, but . . . he found a "Secret Hiding Place", way high up on a rock where he could look down at all the other hippos, but they couldn't see him . . . because they never looked up!!

Maybe that's why I tend to look up?   And here's what I saw today (below). 

Here's what I found at one of our many malls in South Orange County -- a glass dome several stories up, and was it gorgeous!

Here's a small section of it.  Many lessons about "life" seem to orient on "looking up", don't you think?  One of them reminds us how we tend to look at our so-called problems and see them as mountains, and fail to look up to be reminded that God is bigger than any mountains.

A Day With Some of the CA Family

Oh woe is me!  I didn't grab my camera in time to catch everyone.  Here's my sis, Pris, and her granddaughter, Isabelle,  from MN!  Isabelle's mommy is out for a power walk.

Who's having more fun?

Pris' son, Jesse whose little daughter must be napping, I guess.

Pris and her other son, Joel.

Pris' hubby fired up the "barbie" and served up incredible kabobs, with two choices no less -- chicken or beef!  We scarfed down potato salad and ambrosia, too.  Such a nice day!

Monterey, CA and The Aquarium

Click to make larger, then click again for largest.

Thanks to Dave and Lucile Packard (yes, HP) for funding this amazing aquarium.

What can I say about the Monterey Aquarium that you don't already know, like . . . it's HUGE!  I have videos of some awesome aquatic animals to send to Sam and Ben!  The special sea horse display was mind-boggling.

This sea horse is called a Leafy Sea Dragon (light green). 

Alli:  "Sea horses, I love sea horses.  Whateveh"

From Monterey to San Luis Obispo on Hwy 1, the California coast.  Thank you, Richard.  A long, but beautiful drive.

Cruising along in 61-degree weather, and Richard opened his window for awhile.  No prob.  He had bought me a nice, fleece lap blanket for the Wyoming part of the trip, but it's adaptable to an open-window routine.

Dinner in San Luis Obispo.  Can you guess where?  It was one of the best dinners we've ever had!

Here is the much-publicized men's room waterfall urinal.  Now can you guess the name of the place?  Could it be . . . Madonna Inn?

Truckee to Monterey Bay, CA

EMIGRANT MUSEUM and the epic saga of the DONNER PARTY  (1846-1847)

The Emigrant Museum (small but historically very important) is a re-visit for me.  I was here in the early 1970s and have wanted to come back.  This is where the Donner Party suffered so greatly during a harsh winter.  Reading The Mothers by Vardis Fisher made an indelible impression on me many years ago.

The tiny books, saltcellar, pewter spoon and little wooden doll that 8-year old Patty Reed hid in her skirts after her family had to leave so much behind in the Salt Lake desert.

Jim and Melba - friends I haven't seen in 37 years!  And nothing's changed, right?

Jim and Melba have devoted themselves over many years to the California Railroad Museum, and the museum has flourished.  The detailed restoration of so many trains, inside and out, and learning the history of railroading has been their passion, for our benefit.  The museum is located in Sacramento's Old Town which has reinvented itself, and really shouldn't be missed.

This picture is inside the museum showing just one of many, many meticulously restored trains.

Staterooms, dining cars, the kitchens -- all have been restored.  Jim and Melba, we thank you for meeting us here and showing us around.  I  had no idea what was here!!

This evening we'd arrived in Monterey Bay where the sardine industry dried up and all the canning and support facilities have morphed into boutiques!

Dinner was in a fancy-dancey place called the Sardine Factory just off Cannery Row, with silver chargers and the waiter puts the nappie in your lap for you! A fireplace over on the right, which is out of view of the camera. Very nice! I had Muscovy duck!! Excellent!

Salt Lake City To Truckee, CA

Graffiti in the Great Basin -- miles and miles of décor done by people who must have pulled over on a fast-moving highway to moved stones around to various designs and messages.  Some were very clever, and some were done with bottles that sparkled in the sun.

We made a stop in Elko, NV to visit The Western Folklife Center where the National Cowboy Poetry even each year is organized.  "Before Richard", I'd never heard a peep about this, but it goes on every year, and Richard's attended it.

There were other places in town that Richard seemed familiar with . . . hmmmmm!  Elko was a worthwhile stop, especially at the Western Folklore Center where we bought DVDs.  I even found one called "Holo holo Paniolo" which is about the cowboys who went to Hawaii and left "slack key"  guitar as a Hawaiian hallmark.

Made it to our Truckee motel and had wine in front, at the fire. Nice.

Truckee dinner time.

Lolling Around in Salt Lake City

Kirk and Susan are "family", and that's what makes staying over here so rejuvenating.  We did laundry and "played family" today and will take off tomorrow for about a 550 mile drive to Truckee, CA! 

PARK CITY

We took a very fast browse through Park City which is only 30 miles from Kirk and Susan's in Salt Lake City.  Here's the ski jump that was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Here (above and following) are a few pictures taken from our moving Excursion, of the cute town.

A Park City MickeyD!  Quite spruced up with the fireplace and tile floor and walls!

We had Kalua pig dinner and cabbage tonight -- a nod to our ohana in Hawaii.  Kirk and Susan's granddauther, 14, was up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight to Salt Lake which had delays and didn't arrive until about 1:30 p.m.!  Youth, however, kept her bright and busy right up until the "oldies" went to bed around 10 p.m.

Richard captured this sunset that was streaming right down on the Great Salt Lake.  So much to be thankful for that we humans have had no part in creating.

Jackson, WY to Salt Lake City Travel Day

Our Jackson lodge accommodations included lots of wildlife I thought you'd enjoy seeing:

We drove through Star Valley to Salt Lake City and imagined ourselves living on one of the beautiful farms. 

When we lived in NJ, we raised horses and boarded them, which is nothing in the world like the survival mode our US farmers are in.  Nevertheless, our taste of rural life is quite a lure.

In Afton, WY there was a most interesteing arch --

A close-up.  Intriguing.

I'm rethinking the imperative to dig up every last dandelion.  En masse, they look quite nice, don't you think?