deadfish n kitty

Gang at Deadfish:

Mari with 3rd Kitty:

D's cairns

D's Mind Calming Cairn

In Difference Cloud

On CA 160 with Isleton Bridge

In Difference Cloud

Palos Verdes with Catalina Island in the background

In Difference Cloud
Solarized and Lens Flared
Solarized and in Difference Cloud

Open Studios 2

In Capitola:

Peter Vizzusi - Magic Sands Glass Studio

In Aptos:
Hippo holding a wooden plate by Chuc Nowark

A rose in a Capitola neighbourhood:

Open Studios

In Santa Cruz:

Harpy (Acrylic on Wood)
Jessica Pidcock

In Auto Color
Solarized, Difference Clouds and Diffused

Great Horned Owl Against the Sky
(Photographic Print on Metal)
Kevin Lohman

In Auto Contrast

Granite Light (Oil on canvas)
Michael Mote

In Auto Contrast
Solarized and in Difference Clouds

Fluidifed Wave (Acrylic)
Maia Negre

In Auto Contrast
Iin Difference Clouds
Solarized
Solarized and in Difference Clouds

Marcel
 

In the Olympic Peninsula

The highlights:

1. Hurricane Ridge - glorious glorious mountains. love them. A misty morning offering magestic views of the Olympic Mountains amidst fog and clouds. A hike surrounded by gorgeous views. A little shopping. Lunch with a panoramic view of the mountain range with bestest companies in the world! Loved it!

2. Lake Crescent - tranquil afternoon by the lake after a short hike to the Marymere Falls, a forest of tall trees with limbs covered in moss (v v scary looking), ferns and vegetation that looked like a rain forest. Quaint lakefront chalet. Lousy dinner of overcooked and dry fish n chips (the chips are actual chips, not french fries). But the sunset was magnificent. Amber rays illuminating the mountains and clouds, and a crescent moon above the hills. The ochre orange colors turned the top of the mountains and the sky on fire. What a nature display! Loved it! After dusk Dixit game in the chalet. Geoff won again! Morning P and T kayaking and the Hippo sat in front of the lake with Little GreenEye Leo communing with the morning lake sounds and serenity. Brunch at the Crescent Lodge, a tasty chowder with bacon followed by a house green salad with very fresh dungeness crab. The Hippo has all but forgotten about the dungeness crab and was euphoric to have a taste of it in the Olympic Peninsula. Loved that lunch. Just as at the Log Cabins Resort, the Crescent Lodge had peacefull views of the lake. The main hotel was a grand historical building that offered small cozy rooms with shared bathrooms.

3. Mama and Baby Orcas! Morning Cruise on the Puget Sound - glorious views of the Olympic range and Mount Baker, in clouds and fog. By the afternoon, the sun shone and we caught Mama and Baby Orca enjoying the sea.

4. Port Townsend - quaint main street with intimate small stores. While the boys went to hike Kilhane trail, the girls spent the morning shopping. Good coconut bass lunch at the Quinch Waterfront Kitchen by the beach. Loved that town.

5. Cool crisp morning walk on the Dungeness Spit on a cloudy day. Again misty magical views of the Olympic range. Didnt make it to the lighthouse so the Hippo must return.

6. 7 Cedars - beautifully appointed room, gorgeous shower. So many totem poles the Hippo couldnt photograph them all (had wanted to but gave up). Each western red cedar pole had a significance and story that depicted the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe's beliefs and traditions. Brilliant colors, carved front, sides and back. A feast for Hippo's eyes.

But above all, it was really about the company. Hanging out with P&G and Tomelia in a beautiful home with fantastic views of the Olympic Mountains. Excellent company, lame jokes and laughter, appetizing meals, relaxing afternoons, magical dark evenings. Great DixIt games (Geoff won twice!).

Little GreenEye Leo, super lucky stuffy, got to look out the window from 5 different accommodations, sat in front of the Lake to enjoy the views, rode on car trips with his face stuck on the window, saw Mount Rainier. Absolutely ecstatic! Proud, much to tell the rest of the stuffies upon returning home.

Our way on Interstate 5 was accompanied by a clear view of Mount Rainier. On our way back, we've spotted Rainier again and then Mount Shasta above the clouds at an altitude of 35k.

What a trip and what memories!

Thanks P, G, A and T for the memorable escape!

The Photos:

"What Remains"

At the Radius Gallery in Santa Cruz:

Displaced and new Drops

At the Berkely Pottery Guild and the Epperson Gallery:

ainda mais poucos

Mido moshi moshi

Hippojar:

Um Poucos Mais

Fambly affair in FL:

Father and Daughter:

Rugged Mountain Terrain, 2006

Some BBQ:

Totally porgot Midori:

CA rugged coast - Mendo

The drive up north was hot. On impulse a stop at Sazon in Sebastopol for a Peruvian tapas lunch: tequenos and empanadas. Amazing delicious! Once on 120, the fog engulfed us and the world morphed into a refreshing cool. The surf and sand lodge was right on the beach and the view of the CA rocky rugged coast was spectacular. Hippo's king room had a jacuzzi tub, fireplace and a balcony with unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean. A late afternoon walk along the MacKerricher beach crossing the Trestle bridge was relaxing and therapeutic after a year and half of hard lockdowns. Nights on the balcony were pitch black and quietly mesmerizing, with a few souls wandering on the beach and scaling the rocks, braving the dark and the cold. The mornings were misty, foggy cold and hauntingly romantic.

Hippo's highlight was the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse but to her unexpected delight, we've included a visit to Point Arena for its Light Tower and the gorgeous unique labyrinth. It was a day of foggy cold easy hikes, striking coastline and some CA history. The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse grounds offered an amazingly inviting and tranquil ambience, and we wanted to rent the homey Lighthouse Keeper's house for another Fort Bragg trip. We picnic'd at the Point Arena Station with the Light Tower towering above us. 2 lighthouses in 1 day, not bad at all.

The following day, a morning hike on the northern trail in the Russian Gulch state park. The hike ended at the waterfall, no longer a roaring torrent but still a refreshing site to enjoy at the end of the trail. Next, collecting glasses at the Glass beach and admiring the glass and pottery shards that were washed up on the beach now displaying in the very small and poor Glass museum. The day culminated at an outdoor drinks and dinner at the Silver at the Wharf at the Noyo river harbor. Prosecco, Pacific beer, vodka martini, fried calamary and crab cakes, clams linguini and grilled halibut, accompanied by a glorious sunset.

The last morning was greeted by a clear sunrise and the Hippo went out on the beach to commune with the ocean breeze and the crisp morning air. Hi 1 to Mendocino for a substantial breakfast and the rest was a gorgeous drive along the coast all the way home.

The pictures:

The fourth

skookum no 7 - rejection, rescue & redemption

The Deep River Logging No. 7 named Skookum is a 2-4-4-2 steam locomotive built in 1909 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It was sold to the Colombia River Beltline railroad and retired and abandoned in a forest following a derailment in 1955. Later it was rescued and restoration was completed in 2018 and it continued to run on the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad.

In 2019 the Skookum was sent to the Niles Canyon Railway and Skookum has started steaming regularly since July of 2019.

The Hip gang riding on the Skookum steam engine on Niles Canyon railway:

Um poucos

Tsitsipas mask

5-1 flying drones above Seacliff beach

4-26 Sunset on Super Pink Moon at Aptos

easter eats

Catzone and fogotch

Portuguese egg tarts, mochis, durian,
pandan, black sesame choux

O'Raccas with the bakes

The gang with the fogotch

Group pict
 

am i a pengan

Meet Midori Tori Ito da Pengan (penguin)

big 7 oh bathday

Big Bathday

Surprised !

Adjusting party hat

Reading Bathday card and toasting

group picture