Don't Sit So Close - It'll Ruin Your Eyes

Misu is a smart cat. I think it's because I only allow her to watch educational programming on the computer and no TV.
She really enjoyed this episode of The Rest of Everest.

Rainy Day Nap (cats only)

Hey, might be moving over to WordPress. Still learning the ropes. No decision has been made yet. In the meantime, check out my first official post at the WordPress bodanzarama.

What do you think?

Who will die first...

Before I post again? Hard to say. Summer was gone in a flash. And we are recently back from two weeks in Turkey. I'm working feverishly to edit, sort, arrange about 3,ooo shots into a manageable 300 or so for a blog dedicated to the trip. I'm also gathering info and facts and memories. Labor intensive but a labor of love. In the meantime, I will post a few entertaining shots like this one from my last trip to the grocery store.

Live from my G1!

Change of Seasons

This morning, around 7 am, from the balcony of our hotel room.

Orcas Island Jaunt

We just got home earlier today from an overnight trip to Orcas Island. The weather was and is great. Today is sunny and in the 60s. A very nice way to begin Autumn. Yesterday we hit the road relatively early to drive to Anacortes to catch the 10:05 am ferry. The ferry stops at Lopez Island and Shaw Island before it drops us at Orcas Island.



Here is the view from the Orcas Hotel, our home for the evening. And this was also our view from our room, just one flight higher. Our room had a balcony. We sat out for a while, watching the ferries come and go and listening to the seagulls argue.

We've stayed in this hotel before. It's old and charming. The pics on the website are quite flattering. Not that it isn't nice, but it's old and creaky, and doesn't look quite as fresh and new as the website. The walls are cardboard thin. Last night was proof. Think of the Paul Simon song, Duncan -

"Couple in the next room
Bound to win a prize..."

I had to leave on the bathroom fan in order to get any sleep at all. We cruised around the Eastsound Farmer's Market. I picked up two varieties of hand-made soap. S grabbed a fresh raw oyster for an on-the-go snack. For the rest of lunch we headed to Olga to eat at Cafe Olga.

Here we are on top of Mount Constitution in Moran State Park. What a view. You can see Mt. Baker clearly. So many islands are visible from this point Lummi Island, Sinclair Island, Cypress Island, Blakely Island, to name a few.
On the ferry back to Anacortes, we had a primo spot in the very front, one of the three front row cars. Of course, for 2/3 of the trip we rode backwards. But we still had excellent views. Here is Mt. Baker again, as seen from our spot on board the Yakima.

Not Too Far Get-A-Way

We wanted to get away but not too away. We wanted to see some water but didn't want to deal with the long ferry lines. We didn't want to be gone all day. We headed to Camano Island State Park located on, well, Camano Island. This is the very first place I ever went camping. J. K. and A. C. and I camped overnight and I spent a very uncomfortable night in the back of a pick-up truck. But we had fun.
S and I left around 8:30 in the morning, stopped in the U-District for coffee, stopped again for a snack and a potty break. We hit the beach by 10:45. We snagged a picnic table at the very end of the beach. We had the place to ourselves. I was looking for pictures and critters and interesting things. I found lots of color and texture. For example, this poor starfish. Looks like he got caught up in the tide and couldn't find a hiding spot. He's upside down, by the way. But this is how I found him.
We had a picnic lunch of yummy things like olives, roasted peppers, hummus, dolmas, blueberries, and some dark chocolate for dessert.



Before we left we spotted a couple bald eagles. This is as close as I could get but you get the idea.