Blue Skies and Water

Photo by Wheeler on the Bay

Shangrila for me this coming weekend. My sister and I have a room with this view, a deck over the water, kayaks to use, and a lovely restaurant across the street. The weather looks most promising for the girls' weekend out. Our husbands have taken the watch on the home front, feeding kids, and watering the posies, or acting as ballast so the couch doesn't float up to the ceiling. There wasn't a Christmas morning as a child that filled me with anticipation as this does. My little city it is hot and dusty. True, the skies are also blue if you look straight up yet on the horizon the summer dust hangs in the air laden as well with the output of many wheat harvests. It does render the sunsets red and glorious. Still the weather on the ocean coast promises to be clear and around 70, ahhhhh!

We both are taking our art materials, I'm taking my camera, and a book. I've packed the requisite clean undies in case of a mishap, and I'm set. The best thing we are packing is our relationship. This is above all an opportunity to be with a sister who in spite of our 20 year difference in age knows me better than anyone on earth and loves me anyway. We have a complicated almost mother/daughter relationship, are sisters who feel close in spite of distances and life changes, and we are friends. I am one of her biggest fans. I can just barely wait to get there.

There are vans and then there are Vans

I stopped by my usual gas stop to fill up the tank for our road trip and I saw this van. I have a van with lots of seats for lots of grandkids. This one really appeals to me though, a VW camper van with a fold down bed, seats, cupboards, and so on. Not an RV but in my mind much better than a tent. I can recall years ago waiting impatiently to pass VW vans on the highways on hills, over Snoqualmie Pass in particular. To say they were slow going uphill doesn't begin to describe it. I crossed them off my list. Things have changed, maybe when I really, really retire I'll get one. When I went to peek at it's inner furnishings I started laughing with delight. Can you see it?




This van has curtains all the way around one side and back to the other side, all made of neckties. So imaginative. I wondered where all those departed ties went. I hope whoever owns this took it somewhere cooler this weekend.



We had a high of 99 today and tomorrow it is supposed to over 100 tomorrow and then hubby and I will escape for awhile, bon voyage blog world and friends. See you later.

The Grandma Van Takes a Break

The Grandma Van has been in go mode all this week delivering kids to Vacation Bible School, to the Fort Walla Walla Museum Lewis and Clark Camp, and visiting the extended family with our young guest. The kids who went to camp got to learn or practice archery. My eight-year old nephew hand sewed a "possibles" bag to carry all your possible required tools to trek across country in the early 1800's. He enjoyed it so much he came home and contructed a hand sewn bear and then found himself a stick and wove a grass and straw line and tried luring crawdads from a nearby stream into his clutches.

Thanks P. Franzmann Fort Walla Walla Museum.

Today I am enjoying a quiet moment alone with a cup of coffee. My lovely daughter-in-law invited our nephew to overnight on their farm with their six kids last night. A much more lively mix, kids, room to roam, hay, tractors, piggies, goats, chickens, woo, woo! We ate take-out and watched two episodes of "Six Feet Under," from Netflix. Ah, off for another cuppa.

Sailing Away - Almost

Last Sunday we gassed up the truck and set off for a three hour cruise (that sounds ominous) on the Hawaiian Chieftain accompanied by the Lady Washington. First the gas pirates got us.

Photo courtesy S. Zumberis

We boarded the Hawaiian Chieftain around 10am. That was a good thing and a bad thing. The good part the weather turned out unseasonably hot, morning was better, and I have nothing but pity for the afternoon cruisers. But alas, there was little sailing for there was no wind. Perhaps the PM cruisers got some of the afternoon wind that can whip up on the Columbia River at this eastern end of the gorge. Now that the complaining is out of the way. I have to say we had a good time. One of the things I love about these ships and wooden boats in general is the magnificent woodwork and the brass fittings. Below is a picture of the door into the crew's quarters.

Photo courtesy P. Franzmann

We motored out into the channel and the crew went aloft and hoisted the sails. Note the sailing lingo here me hearties. And, I loved this guy's hat.

Several of the crew climbed up and unfurled the sails. Later on they let those of us who were game for it climb into the harness and climb the rigging ourselves. Yours truly chickened out and stayed on the deck, telling herself it was too hot to do that.

We chose the travel on the Hawaiian Chieftain so we could get better pictures of the Lady Washington a.k.a. The Black Pearl, and we did. I am sorry to say the pictures I got of the HC did not turn out so hot. It was another learning experience for me with the new camera. I did, however get this nice shot below of the Lady Washington firing her cannons at us. Our crew had fired their cannons several times much to the delight of all and several small boats motoring around us. The gunner gave a very interesting talk about how the little 3 pound cannons worked, how the dummy shot worked, and how they took care of them. I learned among other things that they were called 3 pounders because the ball they could fire weighed 3 pounds, duh! And that on a good day the shot could travel up to a mile. He explained the ballistics techniques and artistry that would send a large cannon ball through the front or the back of another ship thereby making a big hole possibly all the way the opposition's vessel. Scary.

I'd do it again. I think one of things that surprised me the most is the small size of the ships especially relative to distances they sailed these ships in their day. I think next time we'll try to get closer to the ocean with them. Their home port is Aberdeen, Washington. They are currently plying the waters of the Columbia River heading back towards Astoria and then up the coast into Puget Sound. If you have any interest they have a schedule on their website. In addition if you have sailing skills, or other necessary skills you could spend your vacation volunteering on one of these ships. http://www.ladywashington.org/

Vacation of the Mind

It snowed some again last night; winter is just not going to give up. I bundled up and went out to defrost and scrape my car so I could go to my physical therapy appointment. They start me out with a hot pack for my neck and back. I was already sleepy, thank you Daylight Saving Time (why, why, why)! The heat and lying down was too good; I closed my eyes I thought about stretching out in the shade on some warm beach with the sounds of waves in the background. Alas, they woke me up and made me work. And the PT is working, better breathing, almost no pain. And then there is the little vacation of the mind on the heating pads.

I've take other mind vacations. Your brain is a marvelous thing. A few weeks ago my husband and I went to a larger city to shop and have lunch. We didn't actually shop much but we did have lunch at a Red Lobster, with a coupon. I told him I was going to pretend I was on vacation and ordered a tropical drink and a seafood salad. I described our imaginary location to him, white sand, salt breeze, palm trees. Maybe Florida, I've never been there, original, no, but after awhile we got into it and were making silly jokes and laughing and talking about smelling the sea breezes and thinking about eating fresh fruit and coconuts. We had a great time. Next time we should wear Aloha shirts under our warm coats and go to Hawaii.

I studied meditation and visualization in my explorative distant past. One of the things I still do is to create a completely safe, relaxing place in my mind, and close my eyes for awhile and chase the stress away. One of my places is a green, sunny meadow on a hillside over a small falls in on a little river. It is like a place I used to hike. The sun is shining through the evergreens on both sides of the river and there are ferns, salal, wild rhododendrons, and little red maples growing under the tree canopy. I can hear the water rush by, feel the breeze through the trees, and relax. I have a little yurt to stay in, supplied with whatever I need. In my head I sit on the grass in front of the yurt and let the sound of the water chase away whatever bothersome thoughts I have. I breath in and out and I become calm and centered again. When I practice regularly I can slip back into it quickly whenever I need to regroup, or get peaceful enough to sleep.

Invent a place or think of someplace you were safe and happy and recreate a picture of that in your head, making it 100% safe and adding little details that relax you. It could be outside, most of mine are, but it could be a safe, comfy room too. It can be anything you want. Once you have the place in mind, sit or lie down where you can relax and let the picture fill your mind and spend a few minutes experiencing the space you made for yourself. Bon Voyage