Monday, September 30, 2013

Pick A Patch Of Dirt And Park Yourself On It

From the lush, wet, temperate rainforest climate of the Pacific Northwest, to the middle of the dry, arid desert of western Nevada.  Two hours from Reno, five from Las Vegas.  It's a hideous place.  Although my aunt saw a picture of Walker Lake I sent her and said "It looks pretty." 

I suppose it has a certain appeal to people who like dirt.  And trailer parks.  Not that she likes either, I just think she was just able to see the beauty in something different.  She's that kind of person.

This is Hawthorne, Nevada.  It's one of those blink-and-you-miss-it towns.  Seriously. 
 
It's mostly motels from the 1940s in varying stages of disrepair, typical roadside motels and vintage motor courts.  Back in the forties, the population of this town was around 13,000.  Now it's more like 3,000. 

I don't know why anyone would want to stay here, but for a town of its size, it does have a lot of motels and RV parks.  This is the main drag, E Street.
These places are all located on or adjacent to the main strip.  The Frontier Trailer Park and liquor store.
The Holiday Lodge. which offers color TV, coffee, phones and king size beds.  I actually like the old signs.
The Wright Motel.  Where there is no vacancy, because it's no longer open. 
The Hawthorne Motel - one of many small hotels that all have ten or fifteen rooms and a little office in a one level complex.
Some even have kitchenettes. 
We've been here several times before and passed through many times more.

Hopefully we won't get stranded for six days, because sitting in a truck stop with a dirt lot in a town whose shopping consists of Dollar General and Goodwill is not my idea of a good time.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012:
The Heat Of The Road
2011: My Super Handsome Man
2010:
It All Started With Betty
2009:
Traffic Stopping Skyline
2008:
When You Are Proud To Be Told Your Roots Are Showing
2007:
Engulfed In Color
2006:
Fish And Loaves Of Bread Are Not The Only Things He Is Generous With
2005:
23 Things

Sunday, September 29, 2013

I Walked In The Footsteps Of Richard Gere

Not only was Port Townsend a great little town to walk around in, it was a great town to film in too.  This ring any bells?

No?
Perhaps if you saw the whole place?  This what did it for me.  The named seemed familiar, but it wasn't this part of the hotel...
It was this part, the old section. This is the hotel where the love scenes between Richarde Gere and Debra Winger in An Officer and a Gentleman were filmed. 
The room where David Keith's character (Sid Worley) hung himself is also in this section.

There are other locations in town that were seen on the film, and the local paper mill (currently a real, working paper mill) was where the girls in the film worked. 

I guess it's time to re-watch the film!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Flower Bar
2011: A Sign For Sore Eyes
2010:
A Primm Landscape
2009:
I Am A Kandee Addict
2008:
The Tiny Intersection Where The Colors Collide
2007:
Loved Shack
2006:
Holy Mother Of Pearl
2005:
The Starfish Effect

Saturday, September 28, 2013

In The Shadow Of Mount Olympus

We just spent six days parked on the shores of the Olympic Peninsula

We had full water and electric hookups so we didn't have to run the generator, and the best part - other than the location - is that it was provided by the facility we delivered to!  Can you believe they give truckers this gorgeous location to wait on their next load??
We were almost on the water's edge.  This angle doesn't make it look so steep, but it was enough of a drop-off that we couldn't climb down from the grass to the beach area.
We had to walk to the edge of the parking area and take the little path behind the Ramada  to get down to the water.  Once there, we found lots of driftwood, smooth stones, shells, seaweed, and seagulls squawking into the wind.
This was the view from the front window of the cab.  Excuse the dirty windows - I hit them with a little Windex the day after this picture revealed their filth.
When we first arrived, it rained and was overcast (which I really don't mind), but then we got several sunny days which made for much better picture taking. 
Right behind the truck was a Ramada with picnic tables, a gas BBQ, a covered area containing garbage bins, and restrooms if needed.
Black tailed deer were everywhere and they weren't the least bit skittish.  In fact, they were all over Port Townsend; in the streets, on the lawns.  The noise of the truck didn't even scare them.  They barely lifted their heads from the grass they were munching.

We threw a few apples out to these guys, which were near our parking area.  There were about six more hiding behind the tree to the left.
The sunsets weren't spectacular in color, but the shadows through the trees as we drove along the shoreline were beautiful.   
We eventually got a load and had to leave, but the location was a perfect base for exploring the area and I can't wait to come back! 



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Toni And Her Sisters
2011: Paper Boy…And Girl
2010:
Breakfast Of Champions (And Truck Drivers)
2009:
Vegetarianism Brings On Extinction
2008:
It’s Beauty Is Just The Beginning
2007:
Eddie Relaxes In Style Friday
2006:
How To Tell Your Parents You Don’t Have A Roommate
2005:
Mangia! and You Just Know When You’ve Met “The One”

Friday, September 27, 2013

The City Of Dreams Is A Dreamy City

My friend said to me, "You're better than rich.  You're in a place very few people, Americans, Canadians, anyone, will EVER see, and you got paid to go there.  Can you beat that?" 

No, I don't think I can.  Well, unless I was obscenely rich.  Then I wouldn't get paid to go to all these places, I would just be going.  And if I were rich rich, I might not even be here, I might be in
St. Anton, or the Amalfi Coast, or Saint Petersburg, Russia.

But I'm here.  In
Port Townsend, Washington, and it's beautiful.  And chock full of beautiful buildings.  Old buildings.  This is a place known for its abundance of Victorian-era homes and  historical buildings.  It's one of three Victorian seaports listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
 
The Hastings Building, 1889.  Constructed by the Hastings Estate Company, owned by Lucinda Hastings.  She was the first non-native woman to settle in Port Townsend.  It cost $35,000 - $45,000 to build and was said to be the "handsomest building in Port Townsend". 
The James & Hastings Building, 1889.  Built by Francis W. James (1832-1920) and Lucinda Hastings, the widow of Loren B. Hastings.
The N.D. Hill building, 1889.  Cost to build - $25,000.  Nathaniel D. Hill ran a drugstore from the building.

The interior of the Clapp Building, 1885.  Built for $13,000, four bricks thick.  It was a dry goods store, saloon, grocery and bank.  In the right rear of the building is a small brick room that housed the vault.  The steel doors still remain.  I wanted to live in this room, it was gorgeous.
The Catherine McCurdy Building, 1887.  Catherine McCurdy spent $10,000 to build this building in 1887. 
The Fowler-Caines Building, known as the Fred Lewis Building, 1889.  The building was erected for $25,000.
 

Top of the Fred Lewis building.
The Mount Baker Block Building, 1890.
The Starrett House.  "Built by George Starrett, one of Port Townsend's most prolific home builders, this is a Victorian residence of national stature. Its architecture is unique, and the free-hung circular stairway, a "two-tier free-floating staircase," is believed by the Smithsonian Institute to be the last of its kind in America. The domed ceiling in the staircase tower has a fresco that depicts the four seasons and the four virtues, in eight panels. The house was built at a cost of $6,000 as a wedding gift for Starrett's wife Ann".

Get more information on some of the buildings
here

And learn more about what's going on in Port Townsend
here

And if you get the chance to go, do.  It's really a great little town.


Next time, we're bringing our bikes!

They don't call it "one of the coolest small towns in America" for nothing!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Five Fantastic Finds
2011: Hand Dipping Tastes Better
2010:
The Skies Were So Dark, Even GE Couldn’t Brighten Things Up
2009:
Not So Deep Impact
2008:
My America. Your America. OUR America.
2007:
Frozen In Time
2006:
Ohhh, Paaablo
2005:
Apparently, Aliens Tell Time With Their Ass

Thursday, September 26, 2013

We Are Family! I Got My Brother And Me!

I saw this little gem - a mosaic set in a driftwood frame - outside an antique shop in Port Townsend.  It's certainly a conversation piece.
I considered buying this funky little mosaic for my baby brother's birthday, but I think I learned my lesson with the Zebra painting

Happy Birthday, Mikey!!


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012:
The Highlight Of My Life
2011:
Dream Big. Live Bigger.
2010:
Always Merry When Around My Brother
2009:
Living Outside The Touch Of Time
2008:
Girls And Their Boys
2007:
Living History
2006:
Company On The Prairie
2005:
Rack Eyes

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Port Townsend Honor System

Walking down the main street in Port Townsend, Washington, I passed this display of old bottles for sale. 
There was quite a collection - dirty, clear, red, amber, blue, big, small.  Two bucks, your choice.  Even for the old glass insolators.   
'Ol Russ is obviously very trustworthy, because he places a bright orange, hand-lettered metal box on the table next to them.  Slot in the top, padlock on the front. 
I didn't buy anything.  I wanted to, but I couldn't think of where I'd make use of a glass bottle in the truck, and although I loved the blue glass insolators which I'd use as a paperweight, I realized I didn't really have any paper to weight down.  



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012:
This I Love
2011: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, And Now This?
2010:
Universal AND Contagious
2009:
Ed Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday
2008:
Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2007:
Phone Calls And Fellatio
2006:
Color Ring
2005:
We Go All Out!

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

An Extremely Fishy Climate

As we were leaving Port Townsend Sunday I was talking to Ed about the climate of the area, something I read about on Wikipedia. 

This is the blurb I was intending to tell him about:

"Port Townsend has a moderate Mediterranean climate with chilly, though not severe, and damp winters and warm, dry summers."

So I'm babbling on about the area and the weather and how it's not so bad, and although it's 60 degrees it doesn't feel too cold because there is moisture in the air, blah blah blah.


"I was reading that the climate up here is Mediterranean...chilly and...oh, what was it?  Hold on, let me look it up."  I couldn't remember what I had read earlier in the day, so I got on the iPad to look it up.

In the moment it took me to pause and look it up, Ed said, "Mediterranean chili has fish in it, right?"

He was serious.


I abruptly stopped what I was doing.  Took a deep breath.  Found my calmest voice (because I really wanted to scream) and said, "Baby.  I'm going to point something out right now, and I'm not doing it to start a fight, but I want to show you exactly how much you don't listen to what I'm saying.  I don't even think I can come up with a better example than the one that just took place."

"What?" he said.

"You just asked me if Mediterranean chili has fish in it." I said. 

I waited, thinking he was going to realize his mistake.

"Yeah, so?" he said. "Does it?"

"Oh.  My.  GOD.  I wasn't even talking about fucking chili!  Is that what you thought I was talking about?  What exactly did you hear??" I said.


"I don't know, something about chili.  Mediterranean chili," he said.  "I was listening."

"Ed." I said.  "You were not listening.  I was not ever, nor am I now talking about chili.  I was talking about the climate here in Port Townsend.  I was trying to remember what Wikipedia said about it, which was that it was Mediterranean....then I paused, to say chilly, and...and then I couldn't remember what the rest of it was so I was looking it up.  That's when you asked me if Mediterranean chili had fish in it."

 
"Well, you said Mediterranean chili." he said.

"I said, Mediterranean, then chilly.  There was a pause in there.  I was describing the climate as Mediterranean....chilly and damp is where I was going next.  Like saying, 'The climate in Arizona is desert-like....'  pause  'hot and arid'.  There was more coming after the chilly part.  Chilly as in weather, not chili as in the food."  I said.

His eyes crinkled up and he started to laugh at himself.

"And I'm supposed to think you listen to me?" I said.

"Well, I do most of the time."  he said.

Most of the time.  This reminded me of when he told me that I talk too much and it's hard to remember everything I say.

Classic Ed.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: 
This I Love
2011: Wooden Shoes, Tulips, And Now This?
2010:
Universal AND Contagious
2009:
Ed Smiles With The Pasties Girl Friday
2008:
Who Needs A Man When You Have A Kindle??
2007:
Phone Calls And Fellatio
2006:
Color Ring
2005:
We Go All Out!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Once, An Angel

Here I am just a few months shy of my third birthday.  No doubt an angel.  And I still have many angelic qualities.

If anyone tells you otherwise, just remind them that today is my birthday. 

Everyone is an angel on their birthday.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: 
Halfway To Ninety
2011: Aging In Soft Light
2010: Why The Crying?
2009: From Swings To Eighteen Wheels
2008: Fishing Expedition
2007: Eggs Of Wisdom Apparently Start Hatching At Forty
2006: The Birthday Wagon Train Takes Off Today
2005: 38 Special

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Into The Pacific Northwest

Today was spent exploring a few towns in the Olympic Peninsula - about forty-five miles from Seattle.  The weather was tailor-made for me - low sixties, overcast, light drizzle.  I couldn't have been happier.  The sun did peek out mid-afternoon, but not enough to make much of a difference. 

The air is crisp and scented with pine.  I rode with the windows down on the back roads that led us here - we didn't go down this tiny little lane with the truck, but I loved the canopy the trees created. 
We explored Port Townsend (pictures to follow) most of the afternoon, but these photos were taken on Marrowstone Island, which is where we wound up at the end of the day.

We tried to chase the setting sun, but didn't have a lot of luck.  I got a smidge of its pink glow in this shot, reflected in the water along with the clouds.
The town of Nordland is where the residents of this island have their mail delivered, but it's a stretch to call it an actual town at under a nine-hundred residents. 

As we drove off the island, I got this shot.  While moving, Ed at the wheel, me hanging my arm out the window.  You're welcome.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Après-ski Is The Place For Me
2011: Rain Or Shine
2010:
In My Dictionary, Team Is Always Spelled Without An I
2009:
The Italian Energy Drink*
2008:
Shroom
2007:
Looks Fairly Serene To Me
2006:
Taste, Smell, And Hear The Memories
2005:
Eddie’s New Ride

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Long Shadow In Kansas

Another Kansas picture - this time with rows of corn lining the highway.  I was traveling west and the sun hadn't been up very long, which is why it's directly behind me. 

We almost never go to Kansas.  I can count on one hand how many times we've been to there or through there in the past nine years.  It is pretty flat and very wide open. 
I really enjoyed it this time of year since it's the end of the corn season and also apparently the time when they bale a lot of hay, which were dotting the fields in rolls.

I also like this time of morning, when no one is on the road and the light touches everything in a way that doesn't happen the rest of the day. 

As you can see, it even makes Kansas look appealing.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2012: Spreading Joy, Pixie Style
2011:Coming Soon
2010:Feren Films Y’All Shouldn’t Miss
2009:This Guy Sucks
2008:Shine And Shine
2007:Eddie Hoots It Up Friday
2006:Eddie The Bird Whisperer
2005:Laundress

Friday, September 20, 2013

Keeping H-116 Safe

Seen on the back roads of Arkansas.  Not really sure why this abandoned building needs a barbed wire fence around it, but then again it's Arkansas - maybe they're storing Moon Pies and RC Cola in there.


~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: It’s Never Too Late For A Monday Meme
2011: Minatory Montana Morning
2010: Crafting A Way To Fill A Need
2009: The Other White Meat: Tropical Style
2008: Night Falls On The Fuel Island
2007: Wanderlust Checklist
2006: What Are Records??
2005: Hello, America!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Force Of Gravity Mixed With A Little Quirkiness

This kid made my night.  Love him.  Love the song.  Oh, and he's 16 years old.

Listen to Carlos Guevara singing John Mayer's "Gravity". 

 

Carlos Guevara - Gravity - The X Factor 2013 by caseycarlsonx1

The other stunner of the night was Danie Geimer.  Spectacled, quirky, beautiful.  And 15 years old.  FIFTEEN.

Listen to her belt out this killer rendition of "House of the Rising Sun".  She's just amazing.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ominously Beautiful

Heading west in Wyoming, we encountered the setting sun with streaks of rain coming down along different sections of horizon.

It was ominously beautiful.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2012: Signs Of Fall
2011: Life Explained…By Graphs
2010: An Amazon Sized Beverage Supply
2009: He Wasn’t Hiding His Face Once The Camera Started Rolling
2008: Waiting To Be Served
2007: The Men In Mexico Are Snappy Dressers
2006: A Mystically Beautiful Day
2005: Rock It!!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Make Life More Interesting

This post's Flipboard finds come from the "Inspire, Motivate, Reverberate..." page.  These are my favorites:

Some people say life is hard.  If you believe this, make it easier.

Don't follow others.  Follow your dreams.

Lunch breaks aren't just for lunch.

Everyone has a few regrets.  Here are a few you might wish you did sooner.

Sometimes you just gotta give stuff up to be happy.       

There's a manifesto that tells you how to be happy.  A manifesto, I say. 

I'm all for a little tolerance.  But these are 20 things you shouldn't have to tolerate.

Having 31 flavors to choose from can be difficult.  But then again, so can answering these 31 questions

Sometimes the opposite of what you think you need is what you need.


And then this one isn't life-changing or inspiring, it just looks yummy.

Even though it has a weird name: 
Cherry Almond Coconut Protein Balls.

And finally, 50 Deep Questions That Make You Think Aout Life.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2012: Supply Meets Demand
2011: What Do You See?
2010: If No One Hears You Talking To Yourself, Are You Still Considered Crazy?
2009: It’s A Shame He’s Such A Crab
2008: I’m A Big Fan
2007: I’ve Been Everywhere Sunday Coming To An End
2006: And Everyone Thought It Was Dick Cheney
2005: But They’re Hard To Find!