Snorkling from Isaac

Hi everyone sorry to say Dad can't do the blog today so I am taking over. We all went scuba diving at Great White Reef yesterday and I got this great picture of them having fun. After they recover from surgery (They say 3 years) I think dad will come back to do the blog.

JUST KIDDING !!!!!

Quote of the Day ~

"The most wasted day is that in which we have not laughed." ~ Nicolas de Chamfort (April 6, 1741, Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne France April 13, 1794, Paris) was a French writer, best known for his witty epigrams and aphorisms

Tall Oak, Southern Ladies and a Rose

The saddest part of any visit with Aunt Vivian is when we have to say goodbye.

Vivian's trip this visit started with our visits to Peter, the tourist thing in "Old Sacramento" & The Capitol. Her next stop on her trip is to visit Nell who is the sister of her dear friend Mary. So we battened down the hatches and caravaned to Selby Ranch after parking the Musemobile at a Ticor facility across the street. Where Nell lives is a beautiful apartment complex among some beautiful surroundings and across this bridge.

It is also amongst some huge redwood trees.

When we arrived we were greeted by Nell and her son David. They are fascinating folks and very warm. Nell is a true southern belle with a great soft Georgia accent. David is a great guy to talk with ab out many things and does a great Huell Howser impression. I don't think you could find two more beautiful ladies than these two both inside and out they both glow.


Not only does David sound like Huell Howser but he also showed us some hidden California Gold pointing out this great old oak tree. Davis also pointed out that it is the second largest oak in California and no one knows where the largest oak is located. This picture is deceptive so I asked David and Scrabble Queen .....

... to stand in front of it - WoW!!!


So off we headed toward home stopping briefly at Garanzella's for a tasty lunch of Spaghetti (for the queen) and a meatball sandwich (for the meatball contender) yummy

I guess we cave become jaded about California wine since we live in Oregon wine country.


Finally we pulled into Redding and the Premier Resorts RV facility just in time to see this beautiful rose I wish I could send to Aunt Viv and Nell for brightening the day.

Scrabble Score ~ Scrabble Queen 356 ~ the contender 322

Quote of the Day ~

"The south produced statesmen and soldiers, planters and doctors and lawyers and poets, but certainly no engineers and mechanics. Let Yankees adopt such low callings." ~ Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell (November 8, 1900 – August 16, 1949)

Margaret Mitchell was an American author, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937 for her immensely successful novel, Gone with the Wind, published in 1936. The novel is one of the most popular books of all time, selling more than 28 million copies. An American film adaptation, released in 1939, became the highest-grossing film in the history of Hollywood, and received a record-breaking number of Academy Awards.

Old Town Sacramewnto & The State Capitol

We started the day with my visit to see Peter. Since Aunt Vivacious and Scrabble Queen visited yesterday I went by today and had a great visit,

We then left 49'er Village and headed to Sacramento and the President's Award Winning West Sacramento KOA.

Next we took the rental car to downtown Sacramento to visit Old Town and the State Capitol.

We went from the new ...

... including a golden bridge ...


To the old.

We decided to dine at The Firehouse, a posh eatery with a distinctive New Orleans flair.

"In 1850, Sacramento organized California’s first fire department. After two major fires resulted in extensive damage to the area, a new brick firehouse was built in 1853 to house the fire chief and volunteer crew of Engine Company No. 3. In 1872, the Legislature made this company the state’s first paid fire department. In 1921, the building was abandoned for a larger facility, and was sold to a private party in 1923. A succession of owners and tenants were custodians of the building until its purchase by Newton Cope in 1959. By that time, the once bustling waterfront area had deteriorated into a slum, which was scheduled for demolition to make way for construction of Interstate 5 along the river. Concerned citizens heavily lobbied the State Department of Transportation and the freeway route was moved 1½ blocks east to its present location, creating the National Historic District of Old Sacramento. Mr. Cope undertook a major face lift on the firehouse building, converting it into a small bar and restaurant reminiscent of the Gold Rush Era. This was the first building renovation of the new Historic District."

The bar area was really cool with many vintage pictures...

...a nice view of the courtyard dining area...

... and a beautiful stained glass, domed skylight.


We decided to eat in the courtyard.


I really liked the old vines growing on the Firehouse walls.

It really had the look and feel of the French Quarter.


Scrabble Queen and Aunt Vivacious relaxed in the shade of the tree next to our table...


...while I played crazy photographer.

It was a great place for pictures.

I especially liked the filtered light on the fountain.


I started looking for Edgar Allan Poe after spotting this bust of Pallis in a dark corner. Quote the Raven nevermore.


The vined walls must be beautiful at night lit by these torchlight fixtures.


Our waiter Darryl was outside when we left on a break between lunch and dinner and was kind to indulge me with a picture.

This cool looking place behind The Firehouse is called the Back Door Lounge.

"The Back Door has a great old 70s lounge vibe, complete most nights with a lounge singer.It's an little known joint so it's often a lot less crowed than most places in midtown or old sac. If you want to sit and chat with friends, this is the place to go."

Next we went on the other side of Interstate 5 otherwise known in California as "The 5" to the State Capitol.


There is a beautiful memorial across the street from the Capitol building for those killed in the line of duty to the State of California.

There are benches facing the memorial and on one this stature of a young girl and her mother. The object next to the mother, on the bench is a neatly folded flag. To stand on that spot is to remember we are surrounded by heroes.



This young man was at the fountain photographing a beautiful young woman a tender time.



There is more but I'll close with this state building near the fallen heroes memorial. It is the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building.

"Stanley Mosk was a part of public life in California for much of the last century.In December of 1999, he became the longest serving justice ever to sit on the California Supreme Court, and we convened a special session of the court in San Francisco in his honor. He served an amazing almost 37 years on the court."

No Scrabble today

Quote of the Day ~

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." ~ Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, editor, literary critic, and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and of the macabre, Poe was one of the early American practitioners of the short story and a progenitor of detective fiction and crime fiction. He is also credited with contributing to the emergent science fiction genre.

Plymouth, CA, 49'er Village and the Fair

Well here I am in Sacramento near the airport and get this shot of a plane landing.


Well guess who flew into Sacramento? Yup, Aunt Vivacious, Vivid Vivian! It's so good to see her again. I got this picture in the Musemobile before Aunt Vivian and Scrabble Queen took off to visit Pete. I stayed behind because ...


I signed up for a space in the October Fest Fair at 49'er Village. Well I got the display setup and ready to show.


Then I got busy selling. It was a great group of people who came by and I enjoyed talking with them as much as I enjoyed the occasional sale.


There were only about seven arts & crafts tables but they were very nice.



We all had a small but steady stream of buyers/viewers.


And the other people with tables were very nice.popcorn This husband and wife had so great pumpkin goodies and some cool hands. Tim, the man in the white tee-shirt, was there for his daughters booth next to this table and even bought some of my pictures.

Of course what is October Fest without the oompah band.

We have a great RV spot and this lake is right behind the Musemobile. It is catch and release Mr. Fisherman.

Great reflections as the day comes to an end.

Scrabble Score The contender $47 the Customers 7 pictures.

Quote of the Day ~

"Some photographers take reality... and impose the domination of their own thought and spirit. Others come before reality more tenderly and a photograph to them is an instrument of love and revelation." Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West.

Matt that's 022002

Sunday Brunch and a Little Drive

We decided, with Jill-Baby in town, to go out for a nice Sunday Brunch. The best spot in town is the Valley River Inn. It has a great view of the Willamette River and a great layout of food from Asparagus and Buffalo to Yogurt and Zucchini.

Ed was very happy to be going out with Jill ...

... and even Serena Lou came along.

The waitress pointed out what looked like a path down to the river on the opposite bank. It turns out someone did some excess celebrating after the Ducks vs Cal Bears game and rolled into the river and spent some anxious moments on top of his van before being rescued.

The layout of food was very creative and appealing including this pasta mushroom dish.

There were plenty of flowers decorating the tables and we had a really great meal and visit with each other.

The interior of the Inn is very tastefully done.

Even the trees outside were colorfully Autumnish.

I really liked the graceful curve in the stairway.

After leaving the Inn we drove a little way up and I took this picture of the Willamette...

... and the pedestrian bridge going over the river with two security officers in yellow rain gear walking across,

This is part of the 28 miles of off street paths in Eugene and when you include the 78 miles of on-street bike lanes you can see why Eugene is the #1 Green city in the US and it's not just the bike paths.

Top 10 U.S. Green Cities

1. Eugene, OR (score 9.0375, pop. 137,893)

First on our list is the university town, Eugene, well known as a powerhouse of green industry, clustering sustainable businesses. Nestled in the Willamette River Valley with views of the Cascade Mountains, residents enjoy numerous bike trails, clean air and water, parkland and outlying wilderness areas. Hydroelectric and wind power contribute over 85 percent of Eugene's power, reducing greenhouse gas emissions considerably. A little over 16 percent of Eugene is green space, including athletic fields, city parks, public gardens, trails and waterfront. The city has over 2,500 acres of publicly owned wetlands, and its West Eugene Wetlands Program includes a mitigation bank, a native plant nursery, protected wetlands and educational features.

"Overall, we have a reputation for protecting the environment and that reflects a commitment throughout the city organization to look for ways of becoming more sustainable," says Jim Carlson, assistant city manager, citing the city's bio-diesel and hybrid fleets, its evaluation of all city activities for environmental impact and the mayor's sustainable business initiative to green the local economy. And Carlson notes that "In next year's budget, we're planning to purchase 25 percent wind power for all existing general fund buildings such as libraries and city hall."

Next after taking Ed home we took a back road home and up one of the roads we saw this pony that both winked at us and stuck his tongue out (click image for a larger view).

We also saw this huge red barn,

Then we saw this herd of turkeys ...

... and finally these Black Angus cows.

"In the northeastern part of Scotland lie the four counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Kincardine, and Angus. These counties touch the North Sea and all extend inland and have some high or mountainous country. They have been favored through the ages with a temperate climate and good crops, although the topography of the country is rough. Pastures do well in the area because of well-distributed rainfall. Plenty of grass, plus a nearly ideal temperature for cattle production, has made the area very suitable for some of the greatest improvement that has been made in our purebred breeds of cattle. The county of Angus contains a fine expanse of highly cultivated land known as Strathmore, which is one of the very fine valleys in that part of Scotland and which has become famous in the history of the Aberdeen-Angus breed.

Early Scottish Cattle. Although little is known about the early origin of the cattle that later became known as the Aberdeen-Angus breed, it is thought that the improvement of the original stock found in the area began in the last half of the 18th century. The cattle found in northern Scotland were not of uniform color, and many of the cattle of the early days had varied color markings or broken color patterns. "

No Scrabble last night.

Quote of the Day ~

"I'm sick to death of people saying we've made 11 albums that sounds exactly the same, Infact, we've made 12 albums that sound exactly the same." ~ Angus McKinnon Young, born on 31 March 1955, in Glasgow, Scotland) is a guitarist and songwriter who has been the lead guitarist of Australian hard rock band AC/DC since the group was formed in 1973. Young is known for his hard-edge style lead (and signature vibrato), wild stage energy, and schoolboy clothing.