Thursday in soggy Fernandia Beach

A quick update on events. Our friends – Alan and Carolyn (above photo) – arrived in Jacksonville yesterday. But there was a problem with scheduling et.al. at Mayo, so their plans have changed and will probably not be staying with us. We drove down yesterday and had dinner with them at one of our favorite restaurants – Carraba’s. Turns out it is one of their favorites also.

House work / repairs continue to drag out. What was supposed to be finished by this Friday, may not be done until a week from Friday – the same day our next visitors are scheduled to arrive. We have our fingers crossed but are not optimistic given the history of contractors scheduling / estimates.

We continue to have afternoon downpours. Today is the fourth day in a row. The weather pattern is such that there is a strong flow from the southwest – from the Gulf of Mexico that sweeps across the state from the bend of Florida to the northeast section, hits the cooler Atlantic air and bang – major rain. But we need it and it cools us off.

So far we’re still on schedule to begin our RV adventure a week from this coming Sunday. Hopefully there will be no surprises to upset that apple cart.

By the way, for those of you that might be interested. I read an article today by a gentleman in Oregon who did a quick analysis on traveling by RV vs driving. His was a 2,000 mile and 30 day trip. He found that it was over twice as expensive to drive (family sedan) and stay in hotels, et.al. as it would be to drive his 45 ft RV and stay in RV parks. As he said, his was not an exhaustive analysis but it confirmed what I said earlier that the “direct” costs of our two week trip to Seattle would just about pay for the diesel fuel to drive from Fernandina Beach, FL to Seattle, WA and back!

Tuesday July 29 - Still in Florida

First the photo. It’s been a long time since I wandered in a large city with camera in hand. It seems like everywhere I looked there was a photo op. These legs / shoes were over a bar (at least I think it was a bar and not something else). Besides the graphic design, the colors were eye catching – not to mention the pigeon poop!

As the Chinese saying goes, “May you live in interesting times.” We are definitely living in some of those times. Besides the on-going saga of house repairs (will it ever end?) and preparing for our 2-month RV trip (starting on August 10th), we have learned that we will have two sets of company before we leave. Not sure where everyone is going to sleep if the house repairs don’t get done. Fortunately our neighbor, Deborah, has graciously offered room in her home if we need it.

The first visitors, Alan and Carolyn, are both childhood friends. They married about 3 months before Margaret and I. They currently live in Tennessee and are arriving tonight. The first few nights they will be in Jacksonville and staying near the Mayo clinic where they will have some medical testing performed. I’m not sure, but I think they will be with us either Friday or Saturday. We haven’t seen them for several years so it will be good to catch up on news and common acquaintances.

The second couple, Kathy and Gary, are also childhood friends. They married one year after Margaret and I and currently live in the Washington, DC area. He is still working for Lockheed (I think) and expects to retire this year. Their pastime is sailing out of Chesapeake Bay. We have a standing offer to sail with them if we can ever get our schedules together. They are expected here the night of August 8th.

We made our first “packing” / organizational trip to the RV yesterday. Although the 10th is still several days away, there is so much happening we decided it was best to start organizing now rather than try to do everything at the last minute.

Finally, what else are we doing with our “spare” time? Because of house repairs, we are relegated to three rooms. Everywhere else is covered with brown paper, tape, or fresh plaster / paint! At my urging, Margaret is reading the Kim Stanley Robinson trilogy; a fictional account of living during global warming and how folks might deal with it. The three books are: 1) Forty Signs of Rain, 2) Fifty Degrees Below, and 3) Sixty Days and Counting. To use the cliché, she can’t put it down is nearly correct. Once Margaret gets into a book she likes, everything else is secondary! (When do we eat?)

For myself, I am learning to print Black and White (again). My photo class in Vermont in September is Black and White printing. I’m trying to get as much first-hand experience before going to the class so I can better understand what the instructors are talking about. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I attend a class without knowing at least a little about the subject, I have a hard time assimilating what I hear. This usually means I remember very little when I finally get home and try the things myself. I have had this happen more than once when I attend a Photoshop seminar and then try to duplicate what I heard the next week!

Thursday evening, July 24, 2008 – Fernandina Beach

We are back in Florida after a wonderful visit to the northwest and the trip from purgatory on our way home. Many would refer to it as a trip from hell, but since we got home safely (with our luggage), the trip was merely unpleasant, not terrifying (or worse).

Our flight from Seattle departed at 07:00 a.m. meaning we were at the airport at 5:00 a.m. (rising at 4:15 a.m.). The two-hour wait wasn’t so bad. The view on Mt. Rainier on the way out was spectacular – disappointed that I didn’t have a window seat for the photo op. The jet-stream was with us; the 5 hour flight to Seattle from Atlanta took only 4 hours and 20 minutes. Bumpy at times. We arrived in Atlanta at around 2:30 p.m. The connecting flight to JAX was scheduled to depart at 5:50 p.m. A 3 hour layover isn’t too bad in this day and age. But a thunderstorm moved in and the airport closed down for almost 4 hours. We finally took off at 10:30 p.m. This included a aircraft malfunction light that required taxiing out, taxiing back, and taxiing out again. We arrived home at 11:55 p.m. Safe but tired.

Carol (our daughter) had a wonderful experience at the Writer’s Conference. Plus we had two days of exploring Seattle and environs. The weather was cloudy / overcast in the a.m. but cleared shortly after noon. We had a great time. Carol had contacted the folks at the Pike’s Public Market in Seattle for a ghost tour Sunday evening. Monday, we did a quick visit to Gig Harbor and a ride on the Bremerton – Seattle ferry. Carol and Margaret visited the Mysterious Places in Seattle Museum in the University district. Carol has lots of new material to write about back in Los Angeles.

It’s hard to believe that we’ll be leaving in 17 days for our RV outing to Vermont. We just learned that our friends, Kathy and Gary, will be in Fernandina Beach the 8th of August for a short visit. Kathy and Gary were the Maid of Honor and Best Man at our wedding – 45 years ago (the 27th). They married a year after our wedding. We’re looking forward to seeing them both.

Both photos today are from down-town Seattle. I bought a new camera – the Canon G9 - during the trip and had fun trying it out in a city environment. Although I like my DSLR (Canon 5D), it’s nice to carry a point-&-shoot for wandering around.

Seattle, Friday, July 18, 2008

It’s been a busy week that found us packing and relocating from Sequim to Olympia on Monday and then Olympia to SeaTac on Wednesday, We are now settled into the Hilton across from the SeaTac Airport while Carol is attending her Writer’s Conference. The weather this week has been for the most part wonderful; blue skies and mid-70’s. Yesterday and today we had overcast (we called it sea fog when we lived in LA) that keep temperatures cool and damp in the morning but burns off by 2:00.

The first photo above (logging truck) is a common sight in the Northwest. The logs are much, much bigger than the ones in north Florida / south Georgia. The drive from Sequim to Olympia (approx 105 miles) normally takes 2+ hours. Monday was a work-day on US 101 along the Hood Canal. Every 5 miles or so, traffic halted in one direction so crews could work on road maintenance. Some of the delays were quite lengthy, so the usual 2+ hour trip took nearly 3 hours. But it is a beautiful drive on a beautiful day. We followed this logging truck much of the way.

The second and third photos are from lavender farms in Sequim. Sequim’s climate and soil is quite beneficial to growing lavender. In fact, Sequim is having its annual lavender festival this weekend. They are expecting 30,000+ visitors. We are happy to have seen the lavender farms before the “other” tourists arrive. Margaret really likes the various shades of purple.

Yesterday (Thursday) we took the ferry from Steilacoom over to Anderson Island, roughly 5 miles across Puget Sound. Julie (Margaret’s friend from Red Cross days) and her husband Les (retired General Major, Army medical) live there. We had a nice chat and lunch in their beautiful home by a lake on the island. Anderson Island is roughly 2 x 4 miles and is located in the southern part of Puget Sound. We returned to the hotel in time for dinner with Carol.

Time is passing quickly. More than once have I realized why I prefer traveling by RV. Other than the long distances involved in crossing coast to coast, I really like sleeping in the same bed every night, having my clothes (and other stuff) where I can find it day-to-day, and finding food in the refrigerator when I’m hungry (without going out to eat). For the cost for this two-week trip: air-fare, hotel room(s), and rental car, there was enough money to buy fuel coast to coast – ROUND TRIP! (Not counting the cost of campgrounds.) And that’s true even at $5.00 / gallon diesel! (And before anyone takes me to task for this simplistic view, that I am not including depreciation or the cost per mile of operating the RV, I’m just saying that even at $5.00 / gallon, traveling in an RV is not completely out of the question and in some ways, comparable to the alternative travel methods.)

We’ve had some great meals, seen some pretty things, and enjoyed visiting with friends. The Northwest is still spectacular – on a clear day, with the mountains and the water. The late spring this year resulted in a larger than normal snow cap, even this late in the year. There was snow on the Olympic mountain range, even in July, and it’s only 6,000+ feet elevation.

Sunday, we will be going into Seattle for a ghost tour of Pike’s market. Monday, we will try to do the Underground Seattle tour and maybe the Space Needle. Tuesday we fly out at o-dark-thirty (or in non-military terms, 7:00 a.m. – arrive at the airport at 5:00 a.m.). Back in Fernandina before dark Tuesday (hopefully).

Greetings from Sequim, WA!

After a long day Wednesday (9th), we arrived in Seattle. I had forgotten how small airline seats could be – it’s been so long since I was on a airplane. A lesson learned: if you have to change planes – and it’s tough to fly these days without a plane change unless you happen to be flying between “hubs” – it is better to try to arrange the trip so the plane change is half way. Our route was a 45 minute flight to Atlanta, a 3-hour layover, and 5+ hours wedged in a crowded plane (aren’t they all?). Has anyone flown in recent times where the plane wasn’t crowded?

The good news was there were no “incidents”; not even rough air. I was hoping for at least a rough landing so I could ask the captain, “Did we land or were we shot down?” But she did a good job. Yes, as far as I could see, everyone on the flight deck was female. And no, I’m not against female pilots. After all, I see them driving on the roads every day, bouncing off curbs, putting on lipstick, et.al. ()

Weather in the northwest is gorgeous. Although it was in the high 70’s when we arrived (at 9:45 p.m. P.D.T.), it is quite a bit cooler in Sequim. You’ll recall Sequim, WA, is on the north end of the Olympic peninsula overlooking the Straits of Juan de Fuca. The wind was blowing “briskly” down the straits and off the Pacific. With the temperature in the low 60’s, the wind chill (in the shade) made me wish for a coat, at least something other than short sleeves.

This morning the wind has abated and it is clear blue sky. Should be a great day to go exploring.

Some folks have asked what we were doing in the northwest (all the way from Florida). When we told them we were visiting friends, they’d ask, “But what are you going to do?”. They found it hard to believe we’d travel 3,000+ miles just to sit and chat with friends! They couldn’t comprehend we wouldn’t spend the two weeks driving and sight-seeing. Sometimes it’s great getting older so you can do the things you want to do without having to do the things that other folks think you should be doing!

We’re staying with our friends Shell & Lynn in Sequim, WA. They lost one of their cats early this year, but the remaining cat (Sweetie) has come out of her shell and is now lady of the house with lots of rubbing and being “cute”. Margaret was sitting on the sofa this morning and suddenly Sweetie was rubbing her body over Margaret’s hair. Guess there must have been a scent from the shampoo that the cat loved. Naturally the camera wasn’t close by so I missed the photo-op. Earlier a buck had come by to eat the corn that Shell and Lynn put out for the birds. Missed that photo-op too, but he’ll be back.

Monday afternoon we’ll head over to Olympia to spend a couple of days with Connie and Harold. Our daughter, Carol, arrives Wednesday for her writer’s conference and we’ll head back to SeaTac for the conference and spend some time with her.

The first photo today is of some driftwood along Ediz Hook in Port Angeles, WA. Across the water (Strait of Juan de Fuca) is Canada - Victoria and Vancouver Island to be exact.

The second photo is waiting for the Washington State ferry to unload in Edmonds so we could board to cross part of Puget Sound on our way to Kingston and Sequim
Hope everyone is well and happy.
Wayne

News on the Fernandina Beach Homefront

The last week has been filled with life’s “adventures”. It has been said many times, that experience is what happens when you were expecting something else! And that pretty well sums up the last seven days.

A friend collapsed last Saturday in our home and was taken to the hospital. Sunday, we were told it was critical and he might not make it. Fortunately he improved later in the day. And while he remains in ICU, the outlook is brighter.

Then a good friend’s mother was reported to be near death, requiring the son to fly back from Colorado. Although she had been ill for some time, it is always disquieting to have life’s mortality thrown in your face when you don’t expect it.

On a less serious(?) note, both of my computers died last weekend. I’m preparing this on Margaret’s computer while she’s out shopping. My laptop has been in the process of dying and being repaired for over two months now. I return it to the repair shop; they “fix” it and return it; then within 3 days, it dies again. This time was the fourth death – I’m becoming frustrated with the probability it will never be useable again. And this is too bad because it’s less than two years old and was a “state-of-the-art” machine when I bought it. I won’t bad-mouth Toshiba although this is the latest round of problems I have experienced with their computers. Maybe I’ll go back to Dell?

Then while using my new desktop to do research on the Internet, I must have clicked on a “bad” site, because the next thing I knew, I was getting “virus” messages on the screen. Even though I had an anti-virus program installed, this one apparently slipped through. The machine is now in a local computer repair shop. I expect to lose everything on the hard-drive – which of course means reinstalling everything. More worrisome is whether or not the external hard drive with all my photos was affected. I won’t know the answer until the technician diagnoses the problem. Although I have the last two year’s photos on CD / DVD, the Photoshop processing I have labored over would be lost. Sigh…

All news is not bad, however, our local contractor has joined forces with another local company and now has a crew of eight (instead of two). We are somewhat optimistic that this will break the log-jam on our house repair(s) and we might actually see progress. Our hope and goal is that all will be finished before Thanksgiving (this year)!

Tomorrow is Margaret’s birthday. I wouldn’t want to say her age, but she will now be on the Medicare rolls and our taxpaying friends can begin help paying her medical bills and prescriptions. I thank you in advance!

We head out to Seattle next Wednesday (9th) for a visit with Shel & Lynn, then on to Harold & Connie’s, ending up at SeaTac for a couple of days with our daughter as she attends the Writer’s Conference. We head back on the 22nd for a few weeks to get ready for our fall trek.

We will spend a few days at Fort Clinch State Park beginning on August 10th and get the motor-home ready for the trip north. We should be able to head out on the 14th. The only “dead-line” is my photo class starts on 9 September in Vermont. I’ll report more on that as we progress.

I keep promising a treatise on Fort Clinch, but without my primary photo source and my “big” computer, it will have to wait. In the meantime, today’s photo is from our trip to D.C. Feb. 2008. There are many photos of the front of the White House across the lawn, but not many from the rear – which is where the primary entrance(s) are. Not a great shot, but I like to have something on the blog besides just words. Boring!

Wayne