A trip to the library

When I was younger, my mom would take my brother and I to the library on summer afternoons to listen to stories and then check out books. One of my favorite stories that I can recall (ok, it's the only story I recall) was Paddle to the Sea. It was an old story, of a boy who carved out a little Indian sitting in a canoe. The boy had worked hard on this carving and had painted him too. The boy takes the Indian in the boat and tests it out in the water. I don't recall if the boy purposely let the Indian float away or not, but "Paddle to the Sea" floats on down the stream and makes his way to the ocean. Most of the book tells of the Indians adventures in the rough seas. I believe the boy actually finds the Indian again, at the end of the book. This book was one of my favorites when I was younger and I was pleased to find the book on my dad's bookshelf (way up at the top).

So earlier this week I was driving through Oregon City and I passed by the old library. The library was in the really cool old, brick buidling, donated by Andrew Carnegie. The windows were old with lots of panes and there were high ceilings on the top floor. The library became too small and by high school it had moved into an empty space by a grocery store. It's lit by fluorescent lights and has no character what-so-ever. The only light comes in from the double doors at the front of the building. So much for making you want to curl up with a good book. There was a park surrounding the old library with 4 swings, a slide, and wading pool that filled up during the summer. The library was also located across from the firestation, so it made for excellent field trips for pre-schoolers. I decided to take pictures at the library this particular day, and the picture I have above is of one of the swings on which I used to "swing to the sky".

Sponteneity

My friends sometimes poke fun at me for being a planner…sponteniety is not usually in my vocabulary. Today I brok that rule. Around 10.15am I was watching The View (episode 2000!!) and I decided I needed to go to the beach. It was a rainy day today, but I would brave the weather with waterproof clothes (one of my best investments). Since I have a new (to me) car, I am excited to drive anywhere for any reason at all. I nice, long drive to the beach sounded like great fun. And besides, I could take all the pictures I wanted since I didn't have anyone with me. The ocean is more turbulent in the winter and I don't believe I have seen it so rough.
It down-poured the whole way to the beach. The Wilson River was so full and the poor fields on the way to Banks were completely flooded. I feel bad for the state of those fields and I hope the productivity of them isn't ruined for the farmers.

I braved the rain and even jumped onto a little island in the middle of a rushing creek so I could take a picture of this gushing waterfall coming out of the forest. See picture below. I love making the water look "flowy". It's sort of a cliche' since waterfalls have been overdone, but oh well. It continued to pour until I hit Tillamook. I was pretty excited to see the flooding there. It reminded me I needed to revisit my photos of the same trip this summer so I can make some comparisons.

I didn't have any rain again until I left for home.

I traveled the "Three Capes Scenic Route", which is normally a busy route with packed parking lots at each of the capes. Today, I seemed to have the coast to myself. It was very peaceful. At Cape Kiwanda I walked out onto the beach just before sunset and just sat there. Behind me a 4-runner drove out onto the beach, spun a few cookies, then went back. This made me laugh so much that I decided I was confident enough to drive on the beach, too. I ran back to the car and plowed my way onto the beach. I did literally plow my way since I found a clump of sand behind my license 10 miles down the road. I snapped a few pictures then spun a few cookies myself, and headed back on my way to 101. So exciting! I had never driven on the beach before..I guess today did have a purpose!

Further south on the coast I stopped by Neskowin, the site of 30+ family reunions. The golf course in town is aptly name "Neskowin Marsh Golf Course". The photo says it all. About another 150 yards past that tree is the first hole. My relatives are going to get a kick out of this picture!Another amazing picture is of a fishing boat out on the horizon. Not knowing it was a boat, the picture looks like a sunset.
Overall, it was a nice little road trip for me. Out of the 100+ pictures I took, I managed a few great ones, so I'm happy.

Today's theme song is "Stars of CCTV" by HARD-fi. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE this song. I think I have repeated it enough to last well over an hour. Check it out. Go Brit bands…they rock.

Whistler/Blackcomb with da club

This last weekend my school's snowboard club (which I help coordinate) took a trip to Whistler, BC. My friends and I organized the whole trip and it succeeded! I have never had the opportunity to coordinate a trip and kind of liked being in control. We're not talking crazy-control, but I liked knowing exactly what was going on. I was especially pleased with the coordination of getting everyone home when they wanted. Many people wanted to leave early and I was able to make that happen. One girl said she was very happy that I was taking the members' opinions into consideration and not being a dictator about it. That made me so happy! I read a quote once that asked what they key to success was, but the way to failure was trying to please everyone. Humm….maybe I should listen to this. Below is a picture of the whole group.
While in Whistler I snowboarded runs no more than twice. There are SO MANY! I was so excited to have great powder while we were there…I deserved it after the temperatures in the teens last year. Below is a picture of the scenery from day 1.

It really is a small world. While dancing at one of the clubs when we were there I saw a fellow (young) teacher from PCC. I did a double take really, to see if it was really him. He is *terribly* cute..it was so fortunate to run into him! Below is a picture of us. It's sort of a bummer that it's not in perfect focus. =( Oh well, I didn't take the picture, so that's why….hehe.

 Ok, I lied.  No picture of us here. hehe =)

Brilliant idea!!

I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but I think I shall use my blog to discuss pictures. I tend to take a lot of pictures when I go anywhere and this will be my opportunity to talk about them and tell stories.

Let's begin!

New blog for a new year…

A friend of mine showed me WP and I was hooked. Stay tuned for more!