Chapter 73 - Cubs, Cavorting, Clouds and Clubs.

Good Grief!!

I just published Chapter 72 this very afternoon and now I am hard at work on Chapter 73. I think I have more than enough for this new Chapter already. Oh, what a busy, busy, busy life I lead.

Hahaha, not.

But it does have its moments.

And for this one I've divided the Chapter into Four Sections. Let's get it started, shall we!?!

-  CUBS  -

Last Thursday was our Cub-B-Q...our annual jaunt out to the beach to build sandcastles, throw various objects in the air, have a tug-of-war, eat hot dogs and make S'Mores. And so we did.

It was a gray afternoon and not as warm and cozy as the previous day...or even that morning. Oregon weather sucks...except on a couple of few and rare occasions. Today, though, was the norm and not the exception.

Not even the rusty artwork of swimming Trout could cheer up this day.

But this crew of assorted nuts, both salted and unsalted, were not to be kept from their capering about the beach. No, a hardy band they are and they damned the weather and went full speed ahead with their Cub-B-Q. 

First off, let me say that this Pack is one of the finer things Carol and I have done since moving to LCO. Oh, to be sure, there would be a Pack of some kind here without Carol or I but because of us, it is a growing, fun, achieving, going Pack that will continue to grow and offer huge, wonderful and otherwise unobtainable opportunities for the kids and their families that are involved. 

I take a small measure of real pride in this. 

But before the party can begin, there has to be someone to set it up. I got Carol and we arrived about 40 minutes early to help but Mike and Hanna were already there and already pretty much organized. That's Mike in the orange shirt hidden by the pole. There's Hannah bringing in a big bag of assorted beach toys, etc. That's Carol, bundled up as she didn't think to bring a coat. And there's April, soon to join the Pack with her daughter, Jaylen, in September.

And the monkeys were getting up into the trees. There's Gabriel with his back to us, Michael, up a tree. And Jaylen, just beginning her ascent into the aforementioned tree.

The best Den Chief I've ever seen, since I last saw Jeff as a Den Chief, Sam, showed up and brought a game to keep the early-arriving Cubs occupied. Something involving thrown sticks and an Outdoor Chart and...too complicated for me so I drifted away.

Mike took over the duties of Grill Master and S'More fire maker. He had the charcoal for the Dogs already burning and turning gray while he stoked up the fire for some tasty S'Mores. The man can build a fire!!

Like the fiery pits of Hell!!

And the flames went higher, 

And it burns, burns, burns. 

The ring of fire, the ring of fire...

These guys were enjoying their Hot Dogs.

The big event was the Sandcastle Competition. Dens built their very best Sandcastle. Fortunately, both Carol and I were still worn out from her flying back in from Virginia the night before. I picked her up at 0045 and we got back in LCO at 0405. So we begged off shortly after everything was set up and ready to go. And we were able to get out of being judges for the Sandcastle Competition.

Hahahaha, no thanks!!

But this looks pretty good.

And so does this one from the Lions Den. Girls will be joining the Pack the first week in September.

These Tigers did a good job.

And the Big Bad Bear Den. 

This looks like it was fun. There's our two Den Chiefs, helping out and monitoring the Tug-O-War.

The other half.

It looks like everyone had a good time. Over 35 people...we have got ourselves a pretty good Pack.

-  CAVORTING  -

I like shopping. Hahaha, I like it because it usually means I get to drive the 26 scenic miles from LCO down to Newport where the nearest Wally is. And it is a pleasant drive with plenty to see.

Like today. Carol had gotten back from Virginia and I had purposely waited for her so as to do both lists in one trip. And, since we usually rise early, not on purpose, believe me, we were on the road to adventure around 0630. This allowed us plenty of time to arrive early, before the crowds. Plus, because it was such a wonderfully beautiful day, it allowed us to stop along the way to do a little gawking.

And gawk we did.

I missed the turn to Cape Foulweather, where I'd originally intended to go, and so I pulled into Otter Rock and the Devils Punch Bowl just because I could. It's kinda cool, seeing the Punch Bowl but, really, the big attraction for me is the view up and down the coast.

You saw, in the photo above, the Punch Bowl. Here it is from a closer angle. Water from the rising tide enters through the natural arch and fills the Bowl. Then it all runs back out again.

But it's the view at the park that gets me. 

And we were fortunate enough to see the south end of a rainbow out over the ocean. How cool is that, eh!?!

Ever since the first time I visited this park I've gotten a picture of this snag when I'm here. It dominates the picnic area of the park and is, well, picturesque. And, yeah, I got it in B&W. I think it might be one of the best pictures I've ever gotten of this snag. 

I was pleased.

As we walked on a bit further this fine feathered fellow landed in the snag and began singing to us. And it was a sweet song. 

Hahaha, I love this 600mm lens. It REALLY reaches out there and pulls'em in.

While we had rain early that morning and more rain was forecast, we were currently in the middle of it all. There was sunlight and blue skies and, by golly, I was gonna enjoy it!! But looking out across the ocean, I could tell it wasn't going to last.

Then Carol spotted these guys way down on a small ledge maybe 10 feet above the waterline. Yeah, a bunch of Pigeon Guillemots. There were at least five altogether at one time as I was shooting them. I got maybe a hundred or more pictures of them.

You're welcome. I've only put a couple in this blog. But, Hey!! This is a big deal. You see one or, if you're real lucky, two of these birds but to get 4-5 all sitting together on a ledge, well, that was neat.

You can tell an Pigeon Guillemot real quick by its brightly colored feet. And, when they yawn, the inside of their mouth is the same color as their feet. Bright!!

Carol spotted something else. She claims she has bad eyes but she catches more going on around us than I ever do. Hahaha, if I'm the first to catch a glimpse of a bird or whatever, I tend to brag about it way more than I really should. But, in my defense, it doesn't happen often.

We've walked down to the southern end of the park and this view is looking back, northward, towards the Punch Bowl. You can see just the lip of the Bowl as it is being illuminated by the rising sun.

Annnnnnd, there it is. My Gull Picture. Well, one of them. Still not a winner but I'm trying. C'Mon, Man, lighten up!!

Then the northern end of the rainbow appeared. What a treat that was. 

But the day for treats wasn't over, because Carol, who could talk nice with anyone, struck up a conversation with a woman along the path who told her the whales were rolling around just below us. I hadn't even thought about whales.

Evidently these are from the resident pod which lives near Depoe Bay. We quickly located them from their sprays and then, amazingly, this happened. I had just seen spray and so I pointed the camera in that general direction and, BOOM, I got this picture.

Hahaha, I rarely get pictures of them cresting because I'm too impatient.

But not only did I get him, I was even able to zoom in a bit on him, too.

And, there he goes.

There were several others there and I saw this a couple times but I had my pictures and so I just enjoyed watching them for a while.

The last of the rainbow was fading away. You can see Gull Rock about a half-mile off in the distance. It is a lonely and barren rock set off the coast good for nothing other than being semi-scenic out there in the ocean.

OK, so we're still cavorting. The shopping done, we were heading north up The 101, going back to LCO. We heard a siren and then saw an ambulance barreling down the highway heading back to Newport. As I always do, I said a little prayer for the person inside and then, being practical, I started wondering if we'd be held up in traffic by an accident up ahead.

About a mile or so down the road the traffic started slowing down and then came to a stop. When any traffic event happens on The 101 you know it's gonna put a big halt to movement. This was no different. Neither of us could see far enough ahead to know what was going on and the local radio on a Saturday morning was all canned music so there was nothing helpful there. Nope we were sitting quite still on The 101, wondering. 

After a couple minutes I got the thought that we'd just passed the southernmost turn into Cape Foulweather. I know that the road coming into Foulweather from the South continues on and comes back to The 101 after about 3 miles of heading north. I figured we could, at the very least, go to Foulweather (where I had wanted to go to originally) and then, maybe, be able to do an end run around the accident blockage. We did. When we came back to The 101 after visiting Foulweather, the traffic coming from the north was, well, non-existent. But, we were past it. The paper today said the traffic had been blocked by the accident for five and a half hours!!

It had been a bad accident. A woman with a passenger had lost control of her car and spun into on-coming traffic where she was struck by another car. The driver of the other car was killed and the two in the car that had lost control were thrown from their vehicle. Both of them survived just the innocent driver of the other car died. Seems she was driving impaired...awfully early in the morning.

OK, that's the accident story. I don't want to seem crass but I'll go ahead and pick up the story where we finally get to Cape Foulweather.

And we made it. To Cape Foulweather. This is one of my favorite spots. This little building was originally built as a restaurant and then, in World War II, it was taken over by the Navy and Coast Guard and used as a coast-watching station looking for Jap submarines or, even, an invasion fleet. Who knew in those days and emotions were running high.

Still, can you imagine being stationed here in this small bit of paradise during WWII? The luck of the draw can be a real bitch at times. Puts one man in the middle of hell and another here on the Oregon Coast. But, mostly, it was the luck of the draw. I hope. Like in my case. I got the 5th Comm Bn and relative safety while others got to take a walk through hell. And I had been trying to get there and take that walk!! Go figure.

The view here is something else. 

There, in the spit of land sticking out about two-thirds of the way up the picture, is the Devils Punch Bowl. Yep, it's not far away at all. We pretty much got stopped a mile or two after getting back onto The 101. 

But look at this day!! Isn't it a beaut!?!

So Carol and I are standing there taking in the view when Carol exclaims, "Look!! An eagle!!"

Normally my fallback move in a fast-moving situation like this is to point and go "Wow!" all the time forgetting that I have a camera in my non-pointing hand!! 

Hahaha, not this time, Bucko!! Oh, I started to but I caught myself and aimed in the direction of the eagle and shot away. And got lucky!! 

But this doggone eagle was, really, flying right beneath us. He had, evidently, been raiding some nests on the cliffs below us and was being chased away when we saw him.

You can see the crow flying directly below (actually behind him but the picture makes it look like they're flying one on top of the other) him, chasing him away.

And one last shot. Oh, I have a couple more but you get the idea.

Two things. Thing #1: Wow!! An eagle just flew like 40 feet or so away from us. 

And, Thing #2: I actually USED the camera rather than just pointing like I always do. And I got some shots of the eagle!! Wowsers!!

I was feeling pretty damn good about myself there.

A closer look at the coast with the Devils Punch Bowl, again, on the spit of land in the distance. Some rugged coastline. Not too friendly to men in wooden ships.

Another nice view of the day and the Gift Shop at Cape Foulweather. They have Park Rangers running it and they help folks find where the whales are and answer questions for the touristas.

The world on fire in WWII and you're stationed here. I could do my duty here.

The view of the cliffs. We were just on the other side when the eagle came whizzing by being chased by an obviously agitated crow.

Looking north up the coast. What a day. What a sky!!

And looking south toward the Yaquina Light. It was a hazy day close to the surface of the ocean. I'm shooting through the haze to the Light which is several miles down the coast, hence the ugly blue cast to the picture..

Looking out over the Pacific. Yeah, it's gonna rain later.

Hahaha, I could spend a lot of time just shooting the crapola they have for sale in these gift shops. Like these patches. And I've been to every lighthouse you can see a patch for. Great stuff to buy and then put in a drawer until, years later, you either throw it away or give it to someone.

Now here, hahaha, I was tempted. I almost bought one!! Lately I've become, uh, interested in refrigerator magnets. I've resisted, quite successfully, getting into them but, still, I linger by the magnet displays whenever I see them. They whisper to me..."Buy me, Jackie!! Buy meeeee..."

A study in blues.

-  CLOUDS  -

I've neglected the sunsets on a daily basis. I've seen them, rarely, but I've had no interest, energy or desire to make the effort to go out and get any pictures. Too cold, too wet, too ugly or, more often than not, I just didn't notice them because I wasn't interested.

But I happened to see the light this particular evening and so I grabbed my camera and headed out to the bluff. I think I was actually arriving back at the shack from being...somewhere.

And it was a beautiful sunset over the Pacific Ocean.

I particularly like this shot. Yeah, yeah, yeah!! It's a panorama. So what!?! It's still good. 

And this one, too.

Yeah, I tried B&W, too. I'm gonna continue to work on it. Stieglitz will be my inspiration. I'll let my emotions show through my cloud pictures.

Hahahaha, no, I won't. To be honest, I am about as shallow as a rain puddle. I have no real depth. What you see on the surface is about all there is, folks. I am not deep at all. Hahaha, I just like taking pictures.

And my last one. I was trying to pick out the details...the pictures within the picture thing. I was excited about these pictures as I was taking them but afterwards, meh, not so much. 

Blah.

-  CLUBS  -

The Dorchester House Saturday Night Finest Kind Poker and Drinking Club, or, as I will refer to it here and into the future, The DHSNFKPDC. It's a loose collection of old people who get together at 1800 every Saturday to shuffle some cards, tell some lies and drink a little wine...or, in my case, a couple of beers.

We are an electic group. Army, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard are represented here. Sorry, Cade, no Air Farce so far. Rob, on the left, was Army MI. Marvelous Marv, with the cap, was Army Airborne. I've got the Marines covered and Jolly John, there on the right, enlisted in the Navy and then got a commission in the Coast Guard. I don't know exactly what Hester did but I will tell you she is very, very good at opening wine bottles. Oh, and Carol was taking these pictures.

Honest, Rob smiles more than this. I think he was waiting to spring his big "SURPRISE". You see, by common agreement I do all the shuffling and dealing for everyone except Rob. The others are not as nimble with fingers and hands to do it in a reasonably quick fashion and so I've picked up the slack. Plus, I'm about the only one at the table who knew how to play anything other than five or seven-card stud. 

But, Rob can deal, not real well but well enough that he does his own dealing when the buck is passed to him. Oh, yeah. John brings his buck knife and that's what we use as our marker for whose turn it is to 'deal', we 'pass the buck' like in the Old West. All it means is they pick the game we'll play and I do the dealing...except for Rob.

He bided his time and when he felt everyone was in a state to enjoy and it was his turn to deal,  he sprung his surprise...

Hahahahaha, finally!! Cards we can all see!!

Rob found this over-sized deck at the Goodwill and when his deal came up he deftly pulled out his large deck, which he had cleverly positioned out of sight until he needed them, and dealt out a hand of five-card stud.

We all had a good laugh.

Yeah, it was funny. Hahaha, Old People Humor!! Does it get any better than this!?!

I think not!!

Well, I was having a good time.

If they were gonna show me their cards, well, I was gonna look.

I should point out that we don't play for money. It's all for fun. If you run out of chips someone slides you over another stack or two and the game goes on. We have a good time, drink a little wine and have a few laughs.

Oh, see the table? I found out that they market folding poker table tops and so I suggested we, The DHSNFKPDC, purchase one for our games and there it is. Plus, on occasion, we go out to dinner. I've got a busy month so for this month, we're going to Aces for their Taco Tuesday on the 26th!! Yeah, Taco Tuesday and $2 draft beer. Life is good.

Hooah!!

Bottom line, it's fun and we get to socialize so it works out well. It's something we can look forward to. Plus everyone brings chips or something and we munch down on trash we don't eat during the week.

Well, there it is. Cubs, Cavorting, Clouds and Clubs. Enjoying life doesn't have to mean buying this or that traveling here or there. Although that would be nice. 

No, enjoying life means being of value. Understanding that to live is to give or vice-versa if you prefer. Plus having a beer with friends over a friendly poker game every-so-often.

And, in it all, I try not to do harm. I try to live a good life.

I'm also keenly aware of my Grandkid's lives and wish them all the best. Without being preachy, I try to give them what I consider to be good advice through the words of others and my pictures.

I was thinking of Lexi and Cade when I found this quote. Something to consider.

Lexi wrote this above a picture of her and Cade, or, as I call him, Air Farce One. I thought it would make a good card and went for it with this flower pic.

I originally said this was from Lex but she corrected me and informed me she was quoting Emily Bronte so I corrected the card. Pretty cool that she is finding inspiring quotes on her own.

Coolio.