Beach pix
Fotos from our day at the beach, that's dopey Nellie in her quilted jacket below. This was taken between bouts of chasing sticks and seagulls and inhaling 3 pounds of wet sand. Notice, she has managed to get one arm loose in her pursuit of dog extreme sports. That log in the background is about three feet across and it was football field above the tide line. I don't even want to think about what that storm was like!
Here I am enjoying the beach. Gray, gray and more gray.
Ah, Washington Beaches in January. Crazy people come here.
Fighting Cabin Fever or dumb and dumber
This weekend we decided we had cabin fever. This has been a record wet winter, going on 22 days of rain and that's just weird. Gray, yes but this gray and wet are not normal and after 3 weeks neither are we. We packed up the dog and the car and decided to go down to the beach for the day and visit T.'s cousin in Ocean Shores.
I wonder about these people. It's gray, it's wet and they decide a good outing is to go to a gray, wet, cold beach? Hmmmm..... The weather was supposed to be a little drier but they lied and as usual it was drippy wet. We went anyway and the dog had the most fun. Luckily they didn't throw me for the dog to chase, teeth marks would not add to my appeal at all. I mean, I may be plastic but still....
This dog has obsessive ball disorder, OBD, and she will chase anything and fetch it back until someone falls over in a faint from exhaustion or from disgust at having to touch spit soaked sand covered tennis balls. Great, Tor just announced she poops sand for two days after we go to the beach, like I really wanted to know that.
The beaches in Washington are by and large ugly. Okay, maybe they are beautiful in a sort of gray minimalist way, but being from California and being plastic I think they are ugly and I cannot get over the idiots in big trucks with mullets roaring down the beach. Who are these people and where did they come from?
This time of year there are huge logs thrown up on the shore by storms and high tides and just seeing them would keep me away from the water. They do add a certain picturesque element to otherwise dreary scenery though so I had to pose on a few of them. Luckily for me being plastic meant I didn't freeze like everyone else. I also dried out rather more quickly than they did too.
We went back to the home of the cousin's and had fresh French onion soup whipped up by a Frenchman named what else? Frenchie. The smell was heavenly and with a little red wine I was reminded of my time in France this summer. After dinner back out to the rain to climb in the car for the trek home in the dark and a new bout of cabin fever. Sigh.....
More from our Oriental Outing
Our Olympia to the Orient on a budget outing was great fun. Before we were finished, we bought a big bag of hot roasted chestnuts to snack on on the way home. Mav and Tman bought their weight in oriental candy and She just had to buy more of those nasty salty sour sweet little dried prunes. We brought back new cups for the grand girls who recently broke theirs. We found a new anime movie--the Cat Returns, that I swear features momcat, the fatty in the catpile from the office. Only this one was called Moota. We looked at Sake sets and bought cooking tongs and more chopsticks and lots of vegetables. This great dragon mask was in the rafters at Uwajimaya along with a whole lion dancing costume, rickshaws, hats, and lots amazing relics.
Squid, canned in ink. What can I say? Glad plastic girls don't eat because squid is about as chewy as plastic!
Ah the rare and reportedly delightful Durian fruit. Bigger than a barista. Supposedly, when they are ripe and sliced they smell worse than garbage, dog poop and barf. Why would you put something with that sort of smell in your mouth? Luckily these were intact.
Now, we are talking BOSS ESPRESSO with a boss barista! woo hoo! Anyone for a coconut milk latte?
We saw these tiny little fish in a bag and were fascinated with them. How do you suppose you eat them? Like potato chips? The other bag was I think, squid, dried squid. Dried squid smells really repellent when people put it in their mouths and chew it with great relish in a hot van on a hot day on a hot field trip. She remembers driving international students on trips and a few too many squid moments several summers back. Glad my nose is plastic!
Here I am posing with the lovely oysters, Kuramotos in this 'pond' and tiny little Olympia's to the left. Wow! Are they ever expensive! I wonder if the Olympia's produce tiny Barbie sized pearls? Hmmmm.
Here I am with my favorite paint brush and my inspiration. Mooch and his buddy doing a knock off of a Japanese wood cut.
After I was inspired we decided we were tired of being stuck in the studio so instead of mailing the poster art for the new festival poster we decided to deliver it. The Tman had his buddy Maverick along and I hopped in Her handbag along with the camera and we were off. The plan was to visit the coolest grocery store on the planet. Uwajimaya. It's in Seattle and it's like Safeway goes to Japan crossed with Pier One and a little Japanese Barnes and Noble thrown in around the edges. We love it as a sort of mini-escape and we always find the most beautiful--and odd vegetables and other Things that people Eat, or not.
Sweetpea in the office ignoring the blue jay outside. He has figured out how to get up the ladder to the loft so he hangs out up there in bed most days. Lazy slob.
Here I am in the office. See there I beside the computer holding my favorite paintbrush. I may be plastic but I am dedicated. Note the giant coffee mug next to the computer. A necessary accessory.
Cat Piles and a dog pile too. The staff passed out on the floor of the office.
He thinks he's the In Box
Well, it's now winter in Washington and we are into the gray bleak days. The office staff can be found passed out on the floor or flopped on a computer most of the time, bad for morale I think. We drink a lot of coffee around here but I'm not sure it's helping.
We like the bird feeder outside the window and our secretary Sweetpea doesn't even have the energy to bother the birds. Nellie, the accountant (our bone counter) does harass the squirrels out there on a regular and energetic basis so we all stay more or less awake. Here are a few shots of our office staff to keep you entertained until we can head out on another trip.
Last Leg home and Crater lake
The picture object was obviously the squirrel and I got in the way. Never miss a photo op.
Catching some rays at Crater Lake in Oregon, kept my apron on, hoped to find coffee but only hot dogs. sigh...
This is Wizard Island smack in the middle of Crater lake.
Gotta love that sunshine--I'm from Washington and Fall is coming. Does Plastic tan?
We left Ashland and decided to head the back way home and show Tman Crater Lake. It seems like you drive and drive and drive and then suddenly there it is, impossibly blue and impossibly far below your feet. We had a hot dog because the visitor center was closed and no coffee was available. Interesting tourists. The Englishman in line ahead of us hated everything. He wanted vegetarian and gourmet food--not sausages served up in a tent. What a dipstick. We ate our sausages at a communal table with a really sweet old Granpa type guy and then paid homage to the lake and I met up with a few squirrels, not the tourist type, the real deal.
rafting
The Rogue River
Kayaks in the rapids
and one more shot of Barbie at the Spam Fest
On to the River!
Rafting was so much fun. We found a plastic Flamingo lawn ornament at the Spam fest garage sale and attached it to Pam's boat as a fitting mast head. I volunteered to be lashed to the front of our raft to perform the same office and let me tell you, it was quite an experience. The really good pictures are still in the waterproof camera--I keep nagging her to take it in and get the damned photos but with her it's in one ear and out the other, so my rafting pictures are from up above. You still get an idea of what it was like --until I get my plastic paws on the real deal.
We had friends of Flamingo's with us and we discovered that running this stretch of the river is more fun than a barrel of monkeys. The friends brought their mom, a flock of kids from 10 to 16, mom's little kayak and a giant raft complete with a cooler full of brew, sandwiches, cookies and pop. The kayaks are not wood. They are plastic,some are hard plastic and some blow up. People run the river on tubes, in rowboats, real kayaks and you name it. It's like Central Park on the water on a nice hot afternoon. It takes about four hours and the rafting companies drive you way up the river and dump off you and your kayaks and then they pick you up later at the take out point. The take out point is full of soggy people, boat trailers, wet towels and wet crabby kids.
On the river run we discovered if we yelled, "Nurse!" our partay boat would paddle over and meet us and administer thirst aid. Ma let Tman paddle and the boy was a natural so she just stayed in the back and sloshed around. They also gave us giant water cannons to shoot at each other. They proved quite helpful in sucking up water to bail out of the boat bottom. The rapids were amazing, fun and better than a roller coaster. Although I was under water for most of the ride I can't wait to do it again next summer.
We attend the Spam Fest
What is this? It's a Spam Fest float. Maybe a salad to go with Spam?
Spam girls. Sort of Las Vegas crossed with Mardi Gras gone bad.
Spam Sheriff on the cell phone here, riding down the street in the parade with the other chubby sheriff types while chatting.
Spam dogs with Spam legged owners. No wonder they were celebrating Spam.
I met up with Flamingo Pam's devil duck. We talked about going out on a date but the only thing we had in common was that we were plastic, so we decided to remain friends.
So, somewhere in the plans for rafting we wound up going to the Spam Festival. It was somewhere between pathetic and hilarious. A tiny town tosses this party and parade to celebrate Spam. Very small town interesting. The pictures tell the story.
Weekend Plans
Calling in our rafting reservations. Who wants a single raft? Not us! Tman and mom and me will sink or swim together. Flamingo Pam and Will will ride the wild river in one man rafts. Woo hoo!
Salt on those fries? Or maybe on your margarita? Or is this Assault with no battery?
Enough margaritas and I start seeing pink horses. That's me on the saddle. Cowgirl barista!
I really should stay on top of this journal. This all happened in August and here it is January! It's like sticking all your pictures in a shoebox and promising yourself you will put them in albums. Hmm... electric shoebox....
Okay, we got into Ashland and after a good night's sleep and a day's work we toddled out to meet our friends Flamingo Pam and her son Will for an outdoor dinner and Ashland exploration. Okay, the kids explored and we drank margaritas. So it was a metaphysical sort of exploration of inner space and planning for our raft trip down the mighty Rogue River the next day. I helped out by making phone calls and seeing that the fries got enough salt, no coffee in sight but a girl has to stay busy right?
Here we are on the Abert Rim (probably spelled it wrong) lots of big empty alkali lakes and no humans in a hundred miles. Lots of little antelope and birds but almost no cars for three hours. Beautiful and empty, well so we thought....
Heading into Lakeview about sunset we decided to drop the speed a bit. We had been doing 90 because it was so empty and open. Suddenly, at 60 miles an hour a gigantic deer was in the road in front of us. We were smart enough to just stomp the brakes and not yank the wheel. When we got our eyes open the deer was disappearing over the car leaving fur and deer splat on the windshield and in the roof rack. We got the car stopped and staggered out to check and see if we were were all in one piece. The car was still running although the front end was pretty squished up.
We were shaking like leaves. A young couple in a pick up backed up and asked if we were okay. When we said yes, they told us to head into Lakeview to the gas station to get the car checked out because we still had over 200 miles to do that evening. They backed up and snagged the deer, I'm sure it's resting comfortably in their freezer somewhere in southern oregon, and we staggered off down the road to the gas station. We got the windshield washed and the car looked over. We all stood around and babbled in shock for a while but the car seemed to be fine so ten minutes later we were headed out of town.
Tman said, "Mom, we aren't going to hit any more deer are we?" And as mom reassured him there was one deer to a customer-- a damned suicidal deer jumped off the bank next to the highway and right in front of us. Who hits two deer in twenty minutes? I mean really, where are the Guiness book people when you need them?
Deer terrorists, I'm sure that's what they were. I was in my usual seat right next to the windshield and I was just shocked at the screams and bad language I could hear behind me from the driver and passenger. We clobbered the deer and Tman was howling so we didn't even stop, we couldn't have stood up anyway we were shaking so hard by then, but we went about 40 miles an hour for the next 200 miles. We made Ashland after midnight and the car ran fine but boy was it squished. Here is a shot of me and the Mashed Mazda. $5000 worth of damage. God bless insurance.
Barbie does Ghost towns
Here I am hanging out the window in Whitney. I loved the signs in this part of the world. I think they mean slow down. Really.
Here I am at the bank of America grabbing a little coffee money. Check out the bank building. Pink AND
Gothic.
Downtown ghost towns don't have a lot going on. Just tumbling tumbleweeds, trucks full of cowboys going way too fast on dirt roads, some cows, a lot of sunshine. Not much else.
Go West Young Plastic Barista!
We visited the Bonneville dam and their sturgeon pond and saw this GIANT fish. Security around the dam was very tight and we were really glad to see that. The fish hatchery and the rearing ponds are beautiful, they look more like a garden full of flowers than a fish hatchery.
We found this great train museum in the middle of the gold and ghost town country. Not a soul around for miles. The whole place was empty on the weekday morning we explored it.
Tman and Barbie posing inside a covered wagon in eastern Oregon out in the desert past Whitney and the other ghost towns.
Okay, I've heard of grasshoppers and barhoppers, but this is a BARBHOPPER. One of a bazillion grasshoppers in eastern Oregon. It's amazing there is any wheat left there are so many of these around.
Barbie Goes on an Oregon Adventure
The great wide open outside Pendleton, Oregon.
Early August:We took off on a mini vacation combined with some biz and loaded up the car with the Tman, a ton of tunes, good snacks, Rocket and the camera and took off for Oregon. We were off to meet our friend Flamingo Pam and her son and kayak the Rogue River.
Here I am heading West on the Oregon trail in this darned huge covered wagon, feeling like a big wheel...
Good bye to France
Time to head back over the ocean and the continent to Washington State. As this was written after our return we can tell you that it took more than 21 hours and we saw five movies during that time, none worth remembering.
But what is worth remembering was this magnificent adventure. We went with open minds and a sense of curiousity and wonder. We expected to have a great time and we did. We also took the time to do a lot of reading ahead of time to try and understand the French culture--that really helped. When we head to Italy, we'll do the same thing because it really does help --"when in Rome (or Paris) do as the Romans (or Parisians) do." So, here are two final photographs of our wonderful trip because we are off to new adventures!
I love the market picture--it is so quintessentially French. Everybody has a rolling bag and everybody goes to the market in their neighborhood. One of my favorite sights the first day I was there was a little old man in a beret on a bicycle with a fresh baguette and a big bunch of flowers strapped on the back. It fulfilled all the tourist fantasies I ever had.
The other picture is Chateau Gaillard. The ruins of the fortress built by Richard Lion Heart overlook the town of Les Andelys on a bend of the Seine. Richard built the chateau to hold the Seine at this bend near Rouen to keep the French out of Paris. Although he was English Richard Coeur de Leon loved France so much he left his heart there when he died. His heart still rests in the great cathedral at Rouen. Monet painted the cathedral and here Joan of Arc was buried at the stake in the place du Vieux Marche.
Where ever I went or looked and whatever we did, the sense of living in history was pervasive. It is not dead gone history, it is vibrant and alive and all mixed in with the present. I think I left my heart behind too.
Look--it's a Barbie Barista sized car! These tiny Smart Cars are all over Paris. You can park them anywhere and they use about a teacup of gas a week. We didn't see many nice new cars. Most of the cars are dented and dinged and have crumpled spots on them. Gee, wonder why? No big SUVs or vans either. With gas at $5.65 a gallon the smaller the better. Motorscooters, mopeds and motorcycles everywhere.
This is the interior of the Gare du Lyon which is a marvel of art nouveau decor rolled into a busy train station with 21st transportation.
Outside the station you will see about a zillion motorbikes parked as their owners commute to jobs outside the city. They were packed in so close we couldn't figure out how they got them all untangled.
One of the most fabulous dining experiences ever was at the famous restaurant upstairs at one end of the station. Le Train Bleue (The blue train). The interioir is a marvel of opulent frescos and paintings, gilded carvings of voluptuous mermaids, cherubs and other assorted femmes (women). It celebrates everywhere the blue train went back in the day it hauled rich people to vacation with gorgeous vignettes of le bonne vie, the good life of the age. The food was sumptuous too. And the wait staff were old school, one person carried a silver crumb tray and a crumb brush and tidied the table after rolls were torn up and made a little mess. The service was almost military, stand up straight, one hand behind the back, etc. But gracious--Americans could take a lesson or two on supreme service from this wait staff. Of course, being the barista that I am, I am already their equal in service with a smile.
Here I am enjoying the beach. Gray, gray and more gray.
Ah, Washington Beaches in January. Crazy people come here.
