Seattle Art

The magnificent art of Chihuly is on display directly below the Space Needle in downtown Seattle.  It's hard to imagine the size and uniqueness of his glass creations!  These two story masterpieces are incredible!  Our first stop on the way to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival was delightful!  We enjoyed a wonderful meal in the revolving restaurant on the top of the Needle.  After this treat,  we walked through the Pike Street Market.  You can get about anything you want at this market.  The fresh fish and vegetables enticed you where ever you looked.  We would highly recommend this adventure to anyone! Click on photo to enlarge.

Bkake & Brady

The two "B's",  Blake, the Longhorn and Brady, the Duck were both having fun recently.  Blake,  Holly and Joe's son was running in the "Derrick Days Race" in Mildred, Texas - a BIG fund raiser and Chile Cook Off.  Blake's school got a trophy for second place!  Congratulations Blake for doing your part!   Meanwhile, in Eugene, Oregon,  Brady was busy trying to get on base.  If you will note,  Brady was called out on a low ball that we would have liked to show to the umpire!   He also made some nice plays in left field.  The Red Lion sign on the fence was a reminder to us all - the place Jana and Paul were married in Eugene before Brady was even thought of! Note:  Not sure what kind of lens Holly uses for her photo but it sure makes her look10 years younger!  Click on photo to enlarge.

More Washington Beauty

                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                       
When the sun is shining on Skagit Valley, Washington,  everywhere you look is a picture!!  A grand experience for anyone who is glad to be alive! It sure makes you a believer in a Divine Creator!  I'll give you another installment on Seattle soon.  Click on photos to enlarge.

Skagit Valley Washington

Our first cross country bus tour through Portland, Seattle culminated in LaConner, Washington, the center of the Washington Tulip Festival.  With sunshine both days we were there, our friends,  Carlon & Chris Kress along with 30 others, enjoyed this wonderful weather among acres and acres of glorious tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinths.  We were amazed at our Creator's magnificent flower show!  I just managed to download my 275 photos and selected these to give you a taste of beauty.  I'll give you more of our tour thru Seattle,  Tacoma and the Oregon Gardens on the next post including the very unusual glass art of Chihuly.  Chick on photos to enlarge.

Spring Break Fun

College days are busy days and Spring Break comes only once a year!  Lori's kids,  Adam and Amanda enjoyed some fun this Spring!  Adam spent time in Phoenix, Arizona observing big league baseball in training.   Suddenly,  one of his favorite professional basketball stars appeared. . .he offered his hand and behold,  Magic Johnson shook hands with Adam!!!  All he could photograph was his backside after the handshake!  But it was great enough to see any side of Magic!  Johnson is now a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and he was in Phoenix to check on his investment!  Adam,  you lucked out on this hand shake!!

In San Francisco, at the 49er Stadium,  Amanda decided to join the mini-marathon Color Run, the happiest run in the world!  10,000 people make this 5 K run carrying bags of colored chalk!  At various check points,  the crowd and the runners fill the air with color.  As you can see,  they were covered with colored chalk and enjoyed it!  For Amanda and her friends,  it was a grand time and you hardly knew you had covered three miles.  She highly recommends this run to everyone who doesn't mind getting colored dust up your nostrils, in your ears and eyes!  Beyond the chalk dust,  the air was filled with laughter and smiles!

Lori Scuba Diving

Lori's friend, Rick has been a long time scuba diver and is familiar with ocean diving.  Since Lori loves the water,  it didn't take long to persuade her to jump into scuba gear!  First you get used to wet suits,  then take lessons in a local swimming pool,  pass initial tests and then dive with an instructor to put your knowledge to the test!  She passed the test which qualifies her to dive up to 60 feet deep!  She has done several Pacific Ocean dives  and the first week of March,  Numerous divers planned a trip to Catalina Island off the coast of California.  They chartered a diving boat on the island and spent several days in the semi-warm waters of the Pacific! Catalina Island is a divers paradise!  Underwater gardens, kelp jungles, and even a ship wreck are available excursions.  They swam with jelly fish,  sea bass,  lobster and all the colorful species that own the ocean.  And since Catalina is a tourist spot,  many restaurants offer all the seafood varieties readily available.  You notice Lori entering the water from shore.  This dive allows  gives you entrance into the shore gardens after the hard work of getting there through wave action that wants to take you back to shore!  To complicate Lori's journey into the deep,  she had to carry 38 pounds of weight to compensate for the wet suit buoyancy.  This weight along with the suit, tanks and valves,  makes it difficult to navigate the steps.  She survived and brought home a tired body and lots of new memories of the ocean deep!

Trees Unseen

The winter drive to the coast reveals the inner structure of trees never seen in other seasons.  You can easily discover the many groves of Alder trees that become hidden behind their leaf coverings.  Winter disrobes all leaf bearing trees leaving them naked in Winter's brisk winds.  If you dare look,  you'll enjoy their stature, their bark and limb structure.  After many groves of Alders,  you then notice the moss, the scale, the mistletoe - the parasites that gradually drain the life from these forests.  However,  to me,  moss is most fascinating.  This velvet cover,  glistens in the sunlight giving the trees that have embraced this cloak,  a rich beauty.  These photos hardly portray that the eye sees.  Soon, as the leaves appear,  what is very visible now, will disappear.  And next year, about now,  if you dare look,  you will notice this beauty again and, no doubt,  a few of these trees will be gone.