Now this is summer!

Ahh, camping on the coast......the best weekend getaway! We managed to get some down time after my first eye surgery (cataracts) and pitch our tent. We joined the private practice team and were blessed with a beautiful weekend. Blue skies, very little wind, warm days! This is why I live where I do! We are an hour away from the beach and the camping is the best!
Never say never, though! We did pitch the tent (after I said NEVER AGAIN....we took the grandkids camping two years ago and it rained so much we had to literally bail out the water and I wasn't looking forward to tent camping ever again!) and it actually was very nice.


The evening was pleasant, even though the wind increased. We watched a beautiful sunset.
Love this guy!
Love the tranquility of the ocean....
Some one made a palm tree stand out of kelp/seaweed! Pretty funny to see it just planted on the beach.
The next morning I went for a short 6 mile run with Diane, one of the owners of the clinic. We had a great run and stopped off at Devil's Punchbowl. The next post will describe this phenomenon in more detail!

We spent the day hiking with our newest member of the team, Bailey and her husband Ryan. They were a lot of fun and we enjoyed the sunset together.
Someone on the beach made the route markers....these were part of the trail markers a lot of early travelers used to mark the way for others following. It's just a mixture of rocks stacked and each in unique.

Saturday night's sunset was again nature's show!
Ahhh....fireside.....
One of the most interesting facts about this beach are the "octopus trees." These are very old spruce trees that grow roots above ground due to the high volume of rain and wet that this area gets through the year. These roots were so big, that kids were playing around them and making forts.
A great weekend getaway....ready to go again soon!

Summer?? Really???

We took a break from my running schedule and work to spend a night at Crater Lake Lodge. This trip was a Christmas gift from my sister and one we so were looking forward to! It had been a wet, cold spring and early summer in our area but never did we expect to see all the snow at the lake! There was still 5 feet of snow and the rim drive and hiking trails were still closed due to snow.
This was our view of the lake when we arrived.....it was foggy, grey, and misty/rainy weather. It didn't bode well for a summer retreat but here we were, committed and ready for a relaxing two days!

The lodge is beautiful; rustic with no phones or TV. We turned off our phones and grabbed our books and sat by the fireplace. It was magical.
We managed to get in a little hiking and picture taking! Most of the paths were snow-covered but we ventured forth and discovered some plant life making a determined effort to coax summer into reality.


The lake is spectacular and changes colors with the sky. Of course, it was mainly grey and foggy but still breathtaking.
My favorite spot.....the fireplace in the main lodge.

We woke up to a sunrise that surprised us. We expected more fog but the clouds parted and we witnessed a beautiful sunrise.


Our exit through the park on the way home was so pretty. Even though it was July, we had a blast playing in the snow. Only wished we had brought our snow shoes - who would have thought to do that???

San Francisco, here we are!

We awoke to a beautiful sunrise and some sadness as well. It was a glorious 15 day cruise and one we will cherish. We think we could get used to this!
We were escorted into the harbor by boats - some pleasure boaters but mostly by the military.

The icon of San Francisco - the Golden Gate Bridge!
Alcatraz
Our escorts! Made us realize how incredibly serious our military and coast guard take our safety and security. Guns were in full view and they had a no-nonsense approach! We had 4 of these bad boys next to our ship.

Sailing under the Gold Gate Bridge. Quite impressive.
The bridge is behind us....on to port....

We truly did have a great time....can't wait for the next cruise....oh wait.....that would be in 8 weeks!

Three days at sea!

Once we left Mexico, we spent the next three days at sea. Our final destination was San Francisco, but it wasn't an easy three days. There were very rough seas for two of those days so we hunkered down with books and hot drinks. The shorts were put away and jeans were donned.

We took in the galley tour along with a presentation by the chef and maitre d'. It was quite informative and humorous. Who knew how much consumption there was on board with 2400 cruisers and 900 staff???

I'm not sure who was in charge of cleaning the kitchen every day.....what a job!


These two sous chefs really hammed it up for us during our tour!
One of the MANY arrangements the kitchen crew made - the flowers are made from radishes.
So only one person is in charge of making all the coffee?? Not really.....he/she just makes sure the machines are well stocked.
There was always an abundance of desserts!
Greg and I with our waitstaff. These guys totally spoiled us on this trip!

Last port before home: Acupulco, Mexico

We chose not to take an excursion at this port. We spent the day just wandering about the town. When we first got off the ship, we were bombarded by the locals to "hire me...I can take you to the best places!" One particular gentleman was so persistent he followed us for about a 1/2 mile before he realized we weren't going to take him up on his offer. We had amazing weather and a beautiful sunset and sunrise. We knew it was soon to end!

Huatulco, Mexico

We arrived a Huatulco, Mexico for a day of swimming and sailing. We didn't take our cameras with us on the sailboat as we weren't sure how much water we would be exposing them to. So we took pictures of the port, dock and a lone bird fishing for its lunch. This town is quite small but an "up and coming port of call" according to the brochures!!!

Back to blogging!

Okay, I've had enough grief from family to start this blog back up. So bear with me as I begin to edit the rest of the cruise pictures and find my momentum again. And stay tuned....a new blog has been started that chronicles my bucket list adventure: The Goofy Challenge. Once I figure out how to make things work in the layout (Aimee, I need help!), I will add the blog to my list and you can follow those adventures as well.