What can we say? The sun was warm and we were tired! Our only excuse for sleeping so much lately is that we are all getting over colds. And yes, I always smile in my sleep.
Monday, February 25, 2008
What We Did at Anderson River Park Today
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Washington cont.
While it is true that everyone except for Dad slept alot on the drive to and from Washington, we were awake to see some pretty cool things. Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took (which were actually very few) turned out so I had to collect photos from off the web. Sorry about that, but at least there are photos.
We can see Mt. Shasta from where we live in Anderson, but it is very pretty this time of year and we could see it forever even after we had passed it by and left it in the south. I think I saw somewhere that it has a base of 136" but hasn't had any fresh snowfall. I don't know what this means for skiers and snowboarders, but I think it looks really gorgeous covered completely in snow.
Castle Crags is also really beautiful snow covered. It looks much more daunting with snow on it's peaks than it does without.
We all thought Mt. Rainier was Mt. St. Helen's or something for the longest time. We didn't actually realize which one we were looking at until we had stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast and seen all their pictures about Mt. Rainier. It has got to be one of the hugest mountains I have ever seen, but maybe that is because it is kind of off by itself, I don't know. Very beautiful though. We almost drove over to check it out, but decided to head to Puget Sound instead. We all kind of have this addiction to saltwater, even though we don't live near it or not all of us actually enjoy being in/on it. So we drove along the waterfront (couldn't find parking or anything cause the traffic was crazy bad and we didn't really have the time) and admired some of the ships that were in. We were all (except maybe Dad) astounded at how HUGE the Cape Intrepid is.
When we saw her, she was docked right next to the road and was towering over us. I thought she was double hulled like a catamaran or something, but I was researching her and she must have been tied up with another ship. It was pretty cool!
And this was the only picture I could find of St. Mary's Traditional Catholic Church, the reason we went up to Tacoma in the first place. Outside the church isn't much, but inside it is beautiful. We went for mass, which was a traditional Latin mass and was really nice and made a huge impression on all of us. It was much more reverent and respectful than the new masses I have been to. I think the biggest difference is that in the new mass the people participate in it and in the Latin mass we are allowed to observe it. It was very interesting and I actually enjoyed it. So all the stressing I did before hand turned out to be needless!
On the way back home we stopped in Ashland, OR at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for an hour or so. We didn't see a play or anything, but wondering around looking at all the Shakespeare stuff and the cool architecture was a lot of fun and really cool. I mean admit it, can you really find something cooler than a town who has a year round Shakespeare festival? Ha, I didn't think so!
Anyway, our trip to Washington was long and tiring, but really cool. Sorry again about the lack of photos taken by myself, but I hope that these weren't too bad.
We can see Mt. Shasta from where we live in Anderson, but it is very pretty this time of year and we could see it forever even after we had passed it by and left it in the south. I think I saw somewhere that it has a base of 136" but hasn't had any fresh snowfall. I don't know what this means for skiers and snowboarders, but I think it looks really gorgeous covered completely in snow.
Castle Crags is also really beautiful snow covered. It looks much more daunting with snow on it's peaks than it does without.
We all thought Mt. Rainier was Mt. St. Helen's or something for the longest time. We didn't actually realize which one we were looking at until we had stopped at a McDonald's for breakfast and seen all their pictures about Mt. Rainier. It has got to be one of the hugest mountains I have ever seen, but maybe that is because it is kind of off by itself, I don't know. Very beautiful though. We almost drove over to check it out, but decided to head to Puget Sound instead. We all kind of have this addiction to saltwater, even though we don't live near it or not all of us actually enjoy being in/on it. So we drove along the waterfront (couldn't find parking or anything cause the traffic was crazy bad and we didn't really have the time) and admired some of the ships that were in. We were all (except maybe Dad) astounded at how HUGE the Cape Intrepid is.
When we saw her, she was docked right next to the road and was towering over us. I thought she was double hulled like a catamaran or something, but I was researching her and she must have been tied up with another ship. It was pretty cool!
And this was the only picture I could find of St. Mary's Traditional Catholic Church, the reason we went up to Tacoma in the first place. Outside the church isn't much, but inside it is beautiful. We went for mass, which was a traditional Latin mass and was really nice and made a huge impression on all of us. It was much more reverent and respectful than the new masses I have been to. I think the biggest difference is that in the new mass the people participate in it and in the Latin mass we are allowed to observe it. It was very interesting and I actually enjoyed it. So all the stressing I did before hand turned out to be needless!
On the way back home we stopped in Ashland, OR at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for an hour or so. We didn't see a play or anything, but wondering around looking at all the Shakespeare stuff and the cool architecture was a lot of fun and really cool. I mean admit it, can you really find something cooler than a town who has a year round Shakespeare festival? Ha, I didn't think so! Anyway, our trip to Washington was long and tiring, but really cool. Sorry again about the lack of photos taken by myself, but I hope that these weren't too bad.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Sacramento National Wild Bird Refuge
Yesterday was another beautiful day here in northern California. The sun was shining and temperatures were in the mid-50s. Finally some warmth! Being the intrepid, adventuresome family that we are, we loaded up in Big Red-aka "The Truck"-and headed out into the world for some new experiences. I was over-ridden and we headed south, away from snow country, and to the Sacramento National Wild Bird Refuge. Which turned out to be a pretty cool place. 
Since Vanessa and I are bonded at the hip anyway, we supposed we could chalk up our new experiences together. It was pretty crazy, but we realized that whenever we are walking with Mom and Dad, we all walk in the same order that we ride in a vehicle. Dad and Mom in front, Vanessa and I in back-and in that left to right order. And heaven help us, especially Vanessa and I, if we get out of line or something cause then we're tripping over everyone else and just plain can't walk. That is why I had such issues on this log. Not because I am, you know, challenged or something, but because we messed up the Order!
Our new experiences finally did begin though. See, Mom and Dad both saw birds!
"Look at the thousands of ducks and geese just across that creek!" We could hear them too. Talk about noisy. I don't think their mothers ever taught them that they should only speak when spoken to and always, no never, speak with their mouths full. If their mothers had done them justice they wouldn't have to shout all the time and I coulda heard myself think! After our little walk, we decided it was probably safer and that we might actually see more birds if we just took the auto tour.
Some of us were fascinated and trying very hard to get pictures of the fowl (note Vanessa in the left side of the pic) while others of us were craning out of the truck trying to identify airplanes. Which we determined was an extremely rare four prop, silverbellied American Airliner. Very shy planes, fly at high altitudes and are hard to get photographs of. You have to sneak up on them while they're sitting on the tarmac.
If you've read Vanessa's blog lately, The Paths Taken you would understand just how much she actually doesn't love nature. So she quickly lost what little fascination she'd had with the birds and just sort of slumped in the bed of the truck. And then she fell asleep.
Being the intrepid documentor of adventures that I am, stayed awake to snap these great shots.
American Coots. Do coots have cooties? It seems impossible cause their such cuties! Hahahaha! jk.
An American Bittern. Bitterns are such bitter birds. :P
Mountains and waterfowl.
A cute little squirrel. And for the piece de resistance.....
Swans! I think they were tundra swans and they were very beautiful. I was so excited because I never thought that I would actually see wild swans in my lifetime. It was pretty cool. And that is the tale of our great Tuesday Adventure. Oh, we did drive around Sutter's Buttes too, the smallest mountain range in the world. They seemed rather baren but are actually quite a pretty little range. Tuesday was a great day!
Anderson River Park
We finally had a break in the weather here and saw not only blue sky, but the sun yesterday! It was warm and bright and Vanessa and I decided to take the opportunity to head to Anderson River Park.
The trails were wet, but it was worth it because it was just so pretty out there. I thought I came back to California in the middle of winter, but after our walk, I'm pretty sure spring is well on its way. Look at that green, green grass! 
We had to cross a lot of water because it has been raining a lot, but that wasn't a problem, especially for Vanessa.
See, when you come to water all you have to do is roll your pant legs up a little,
psych yourself up for the great leap,
and do it!
The river was beautiful, as always. It has definitely risen since I have been here and it is COLD. Definitely no kayaking until the summer months. And I just like this picture, so yeah, here it is.
Oh, that is a new jacket by the way. Cute and great against the wind, but it holds no heat! I was freezing by the time we got back to the truck. My used-to-sunny-warm-Key-West blood is having a tough time adjusting to highs in the mid-40s! Sunday, February 3, 2008
Friday, February 1, 2008
Goodbye Florida......Hello California
Well, for the fourth time in a year, I have moved. Yes, I said goodbye to Florida on January the 29th and flew to California. Nothing but blue skys and snowy mountains from now on. Yehaw! Oh yeah, I love California where we eat portabella mushrooms and steaks, (yes I said STEAKS!) and CHEESE and all kinds of good things. Californians like me also have access to SNOW! and rain, and wind and all kinds of interesting weather patterns that are hard to experience in a tropical location. But most of all we have a wonderful spirit. The same spirit that sent us all here looking for gold, now keeps all of us going...we may have run out of gold, but the spirit remains and being a Californian Girl (by the way the Beach Boys love me more) is sure to come in handy as I continue all my lifes adventures. (written by Vanessa--yeah, I think this is all that needs to be said and also highlights why I don't post many blogs any more. Somebody keeps coming and messing with me. Don't. Mess. With Me. So go away Vanessa.)
Seriously though, I will really miss Florida. The warmth, the water, the boats, the warmth, the F-16s, the warmth. Yeah, I miss Florida. I had a really great five months there and met some awesome people and had a ton of fun. Hmm. What will I miss most? The water aaannnddd........Howard Livingston. Yes, I am a HUGE Howard fan, as some people can attest. Maybe he'll come to northern California some day? Well, until then I guess I'll settle for the Beach Boys!
Love and miss you Florida!
Hellooooo California!
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