Chapter 17 - Some This and Some That

Catch up!! And not the kind you spread on your 'Burgers or eat with your fries.

No, it's the kind where you sorta lay low for a couple days, just taking walks and seeing what's outside the front door and then, when you have enough, you slap it all together under some cheesy title and throw it out into the ethersphere.

Which is exactly what I am doing.

And I'm gonna start it off with this...because I like it.

I've started a new album on FB titled Views From the Road and for it, I took this color picture and soaked it in some B&W to come up with this version. And it was semi-popular. And so, because I'm such an attention-trollop, I decided to throw it in here, too.

I can because I am the editor and creative director for this here blog.

Oh, this is from the return trip I took to RWC a week ago.

Me likey.

OK, one of my 'things to do' is go for a walk and, since walking is soooooooo very boring, I take my camera with me. Plus, having the camera gives me the perfect excuse, while I'm out and about, to stop and rest whenever I feel a bit peaked. It's all legit.

But, mainly, it gives me an excuse to 'look' and 'see'. And it's fun.

Like this picture, I am able to see the incoming storm and appreciate the movement, light and elements involved. I can see all these factors come together and then, by taking the picture, allow the viewer to add their emotional reaction to the blend. And, if you look very closely, you can see the rainbow in the middle between the two buildings.

It's also nice to have a semi-valid purpose for walking around the 'Hood.

Haha, I have a definite attraction to this building. It's the indoor swimming pool at the Surftides Motel and it is, well, unique. I've shot it maybe 20-30 times now and it has always been a challenge. It never fails to offer, and deliver, new ways of seeing the building.

Like this B&W shot. Moody clouds and a blast of sunlight to bring out the southern side of the building. Whether you like it or not you'll have to agree that something is happening...and I'm happily involved with it.

One morning, for whatever reason, there was steam rising off a fence separating two yards. And an interesting reflection in the big window.

Is that a patio there? Some shingles off a roof? Hey, I don't know...I'm just throwing stuff out there.

I'm gonna try this one again. This is a shot from in front of the Surftides looking north. The Jetty, the street, dips and rises back up a little further along in the road. It was this scene that I caught. I thought it interesting looking through all the poles and wires strung along the street. 

I'll try this shot again. I'll shoot it when it is later in the day; when the sun will be coming in from the left side of the picture instead of the right.

Who knows!! I might even use a tripod for this shot. (Oh, who am I kidding! I'm too lazy to bother with a tripod.)

Hahaha, don't act so annoyed. You know I've been shooting these. But the deal is, I'm seeing them a bit differently now. Rather than a straight-on shot like I've usually done, I actually shot this picture by moving my camera so I was looking slightly down at the mailboxes. I like where I'm going. Hahaha, changing point-of-view is big for me. I'm too set in my "Stand, aim, shoot" mode. I need to shake that up a bit and this is a step in the right direction for me.

Nothing big here but, y'know, little steps get you where you're going.

Eventually.

I've been taking announcements over to the local AM radio station for a while now. I give them the announcements about upcoming Audubon events and the good folks there read them over the radio during their morning shows. One of the 'personalities' I've talked with is Keith Altomare. 

He does the Monday through Friday 1000-1200 show mixing music with interviews, news and opinions. He has, from listening to him talk, quite a long history in radio, well, in entertainment media. In addition to the morning show, he and his wife own and operate the Bijou Movie Theater downtown.

He said I could take pictures as long as I didn't show the rug. I agreed and told him I'd photoshop any bad spots that were showing. And I did. That rug has been photoshopped left and right, y'all.

I was there dropping off another announcement for an upcoming Audubon event, a Bird Walk on the 13th of February. I really like the relaxed and informal attitude of the folks at KBCH. Laid back and, yeah, effective. They play some great tunes and put out a lot of good information for the community.

KBCH - Rockin' LCO every day!!

News! Information! Music! Talk! Sports! 

Yaquina Bay Communications

It's a small town operation and you can definitely tell. The station is on the second floor of this building, above a mattress store. They've got two rooms and a big window looking out over the parking lot of a...Burger King.

Which is, conveniently, where we ended up after I dropped off the announcement. I had been listening to KBCH, 1400 AM, and I heard where Burger King had introduced a new shake, a Dr. Pepper Shake, to their line-up.

And it sounded good. Hahaha, advertisement does pay, I guess. Regardless, there we were. I got the Dr. Pepper and Carol got an Oreo Shake.

I can positively state that they were both...ga-oood.

Muy delicioso, y'all.

Another entry to the 'This and That' file of what's been happening is that eight Scouts in Troop 47 have advanced in rank since December 16th!! 

Woo-Woo!!

That's quite an achievement. This proud Scout is now a Star Scout!!

And, presented in the order they were taken and not indicative of their importance...cuz there ain't no importance with a 'This and That' presentation, here's another road shot of The Jetty.

There have been some foggy mornings on the coast lately.

Heading out to walk to the store...with my trusty camera...and I saw these guys getting a selfie with the ocean in the background. 

It looked interesting to me, the great expanse of green with the flash of red in the background. In my mind I had sorta seen a blue background because of the ocean but the day was flat and overcast.

I've always liked this. It really sets off this Cape Codish looking house. Makes a great accent. I've been taking pictures of it every-so-often and have not been well pleased. Here's what I saw but it is just short of being good.

Somehow.

Hahaha, you'll see this in my 'Views From the Road" album on FB. 

I've been taken with the winding roads, either around the 'Hood or traveling from Point A to Point B.  It's one of those unexplainable things like my penchant for cropping nearly everything into a panorama format; mail boxes, gulls and flowers.

One of those mysteries of life. It just is. To quote one of the many terrible Vietnam movies, The Deer Hunter, where Michael is berating Stanley for always needing help...

"Stanley, see this? (Holds up a bullet) This ain't somethin' else. This IS this. From now on, you're on your own."

In other words, sometimes you just have to shut up and accept it as it is.

This is this.

Combining two of my recent fads, B&W and that wooden flag, I tried something different.

Aw, c'mon, at least I'm trying!!

There's a driveway down the road where someone, some industrious someone, put small rocks in a pattern stuck in concrete. In addition to standing in awe of all that labor, I keep seeing patterns and textures and...trying to get that picture.

I'll keep on trying. Count on it. 

You'll thank me later.

Here's another one of the works that industrious guy put together.

Hahaha, yeah, it does look pretty cool in color. 

Good thing I can do both, right!?!

One of the many charms of LCO is that there are so many unique homes here. They've just recently started doing the 'cookie-cutter' style homes in this area. Ah, we're getting homes but losing something with them. 

Like this home. Unique and so very different from the other homes on the block.

Whup!! There it is!!

I am predictable and, in a lot of instances, so very consistent. Like this time with some more mailboxes. I'd like to point out that, for this shot, I lowered my camera a bit.

Livin' on the wild side.

There it is!! Our future Taco Bell.

Hahaha, and I'm excited about it!!

It'll be around a half mile from us and it'll be open all the time. I know I don't need any more fast food but I'm looking forward to getting Crunch Wraps, ordering on-line and picking it up and...ah, you get the idea.

¡Es muy emocionante!

And, still walking but going a different way, I saw these daffodil buds. Spring's coming, Buddy!! And I'm ready for it!!

Heading down to the house on The Jetty. I get a kick out of how the zoom lenses compress things. Pulls them in together.

Très chic...

And, finally, walking back from the store, we stopped in the Casino's Seafood Restaurant, the Chinook. It's where the American Legion meets for lunch.

Anyway, I wanted to see how much a beer cost and so we stopped and I got a root beer and a Bud Lite for...$3.50. 

Hahaha, that works for me!!

So, we're sitting there at the small fireplace looking out over the ocean and I thought I'd set the timer and get a selfie. I had it all set and pushed the button and rushed back to my seat to get into an appropriate pose and...

,,,here comes the waiter. 

Great timing. I'm trying to tell him just a minute and still pose for the picture and I'm failing at both.

But I'm persistent and so I set it up again.

Ah, success.

And so, there it is. Taking life one walk at a time. Enjoying the little things and having a cold beer every once in a while. Seeing life one adventure at a time.

They say you find what you're looking for. If that's true then happiness must be in deciding what you're looking for. Not what you're seeing.

Hahaha, life is good.

          Hooah!!         

Chapter 16 - Life is a Highway

Life's like a road that you travel on

When there's one day here and the next day gone

Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand

Sometimes you turn your back to the wind

There's a world outside ev'ry darkened door

Where blues won't haunt you any more

Where brave are free and lovers soar

Come ride with me to the distant shore

We won't hesitate

To break down the garden gate

There's not much time left today

Life is a highway

I wanna ride it all night long

If you're going my way

I wanna drive it all night long.

                                            Tom Cochrane "Life is a Highway"

Fun Facts: "Life is a Highway" , a song written by Tom Cochrane is from his 1991 album "Mad Mad World". The song was Cochrane's most famous song, as it was a number one hit in his native Canada. The song also peaked at number six on the Billboards charts in the U.S. in 1992. 

The song has been covered by Rascal Flatts for the 'Cars' soundtrack, as well as by Whitesnake, Chris LeDoux, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Jerry Jeff Walker and Home Free.

And, so, all good things must come to an end.

Fun Facts: You know the old saying "All good things must come to an end." It was supposedly coined by Geoffrey Chaucer way back in 1374.

It's a simple phrase, yet, like other simple phrases, a true one. Things we enjoy, things we find comforting, things we love and embrace eventually come to an end.  A good song, thought we may want to continue singing it at the top of our lungs, comes to an end. A TV series, though it may be our absolute favorite, also comes to an end. A job you've poured yourself into for years also comes to a point where it is no longer fun. 

All good things come to an end. 

Yep!! And so my visit with the Grandkids had to come to an end, too. And that meant a long drive back to LCO.

I wrestled a bit on which route to take. On the one hand, I wanted to drive back up The 101. It had been a pleasant drive and there was a lot to see. But I learned that a small part of The 101 had washed  away in a sinkhole in Harbor, Oregon and that, coupled with the knowledge that it would be a slower, hence a longer drive, made me go with I-5.

Ah, I-5. Infinitely more boring and tedious but, obviously, faster. 

I went for the fast route.

And so it was that early on a dark Saturday morning, well before the sun would rise, I loaded the last of my things in my Ol' Faithful Mini, whispered a fond farewell to the Grandkids and crept, quietly, out the door for the open road, adventure and LCO.

It wasn't until 0748 that I captured my first image on the road. A long, flat, boring and mind-numbing stretch of blacktop along 580 heading north towards a rendezvous with the even longer and, honestly, more boring I-5.

I was listening to the Thirteen Gun Salute, which is, oddly enough, the thirteenth historical novel in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian. It was first published in 1989. This rousing saga is set during the Napoleonic Wars and the the War of 1812.

So I was able to ease some of the boredom with the adventures of Captain Jack Aubrey and the crew of the Diane as they sailed from the coast of South America to the South China Seas to carry out the political business of His Royal Highness, the King of England.

Haha, it was more entertaining than watching this particular scenery float by.

By 0946, the scenery had pepped up a bit and become, marginally, easier to look at as I entered my fourth hour of driving.

I could see where the weather was still a bit chancy in areas. Fortunately, I didn't run into any foul weather until I crossed over into the mythical Land of Oregon.

And, by 1006, the passing view became more interesting.

These reminders of the land's violent volcanic past are easily seen from the I-5.

And there was some great sky to look at as I motored on down the highway. This was taken at 1039, approaching my fifth hour on the road.

And, so far, I'd made one stop for gas. Hey, it was $2.04 a gallon and in California I wasn't about to pass up a price like that.

It sure helped pass the time looking out for some scene that might be photographable. Diverts the mind, so-to-speak. 

After all, there is only so much attention you can give to a spoken story over the hours. The mind needs a little help to get the time to pass by easily.

Northern California is not without its charm, too. There was a lot to look at and the dramatic skies were helping to set the stage.

It was now 1050 and you can see how greatly the landscape changed in just 11 minutes. 

Uh, WOW!!

The sky is what makes these pictures for me.

Nothing behind me,

everything ahead of me,

as is ever so on the road.

                                             Jack Kerouac "On the Road"

Amen, Jack. Amen.

Fun Facts: Along the Cascade Range. More than 500 volcanic vents have been identified in the State of California. At least 78 of these vents have erupted, some repeatedly, during the last 10,000 years. Sooner or later, volcanoes in California will erupt again, and they could have serious impacts on the health and safety of the State's citizens as well as on its economy."  

C. Dan Miller, USGS 

Well, duh!! Ya think!?!

"California is the most geologically diverse state in the nation. We are known for our earthquakes, landslides, and flood hazards. But our nearly forgotten hazard is our volcanoes." 

Dr. John Parrish, State Geologist of California. USGS

Hahaha, all kinds of potential for fun in California!!

There's a storm across the valley, clouds are rolling in,

the afternoon is heavy on your shoulders.

There's a truck out on the four lane, a mile or more away,

the whining of his wheels just makes it colder.

                                                           John Denver "Back Home Again"

And the snow helps make it colder, too.

It was 1132 when I got this picture. Nearly six hours into the trip and I just made it across the Oregon-California border. I'd covered over 350 miles at this time. 

Fun, fun, fun.

And I was on my last two discs for The Thirteen Gun Salute.

I wasn't surprised and I'm not bragging or complaining, just observing, that shortly after I crossed on over into the Oregon Territory, the weather, which had held all through California, turned nastier the farther north I travelled.

It seemed as if it would just threaten, beat its chest a bit and then sulk away. At least that's what I was hoping it would do.

But I wasn't too confident.

At 1238, hour seven on the road, the weather was seriously getting nasty.

I caught a little precip right after this, but nothing to fuss about.

Then it cleared and looked like it would be easy sailing. It was 1255 and it was right about now that Jack Aubrey and Steven Maturin successfully concluded their mission; wrecked the Diane on a uncharted shoal while going home; weathered a particularly foul typhoon which destroyed their ship and, finally, began making a boat from the salvaged hull of the Diane with which to sail on to safety at Batavia. 

A story which is to be taken up with the next installment, The Nutmeg of Consolation.

But, Hey! I had rainbows in the sky, no foul weather for me,

No Sireee, Bob!!

In fact, things were looking rather pleasant.

Until 1504. In my ninth hour of driving, with two stops for gas and three stops for relief, I ran into this gully-washer.

I mean it was pelting down with such force and vigor that I had to slow the Ol' Mini down to 50-55 just so I could try and see what was happening ahead of me in enough time to stop if necessary.

It was thick and it was nasty.

And it lasted for over 20 minutes until I was able to drive out of the worst of it.

But things still looked dicey and so, as I neared the turn that would take me to the Central Coast of Oregon, I had my fingers crossed.

Finally I arrived at Exit 253 in Salem. Now I was heading west...and this was the view to the west. 

Yikes!!

It sure wasn't looking warm and fuzzy.

But, Ta-Da!! I made it. In fact, once I got on OR 20 and OR 18, I didn't get anymore rain. That works for me!!

It was 1652 and I had been on the road since 0543. Eleven hours of steady driving and I had covered the 680+ miles from RWC to LCO.

Hey, it's good to be back home again.

Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend.

Yes, 'n, hey it's good to be back home again.

                                                              John Denver "Back Home Again"

Thank you, John. I couldn't have said it better.

I did better than I thought I would. I had some serious discomfort in my knees and left hip and leg but, y'know, all-in-all I was doing good. Thank heavens for Mr. O'Brian and his wonderful historical imagination and his skill in writing an exciting story. It helped the time to move along.

And, thank heavens for the Ol' Faithful Mini. Stout fellow, she carried me safely and quickly home.

And I'm glad I was able to go. It was a grand adventure, coming and going.

Hahaha, you find happiness where you are, right!?! 

When there's one day here and the next day gone.

Life is good.

          Hooah!!