Along the Malecon

The world of house sitting is an interesting one. A house sitter we "met" online a few years ago, Deborah, we've now met in real live while she is also house sitting in La Paz. We've enjoyed several outings together including a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. After our meal, we had a pleasant walk along the Malecon and participated in a Friday evening perambulation by the sea.

Jardin Velasco

A common resident of the parks in La Paz are the White Winged Doves. This one we found Jardin Velasco.

Cathedral of Our Lady of La Paz

The cathedral is modest affair. Certainly compared to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this is an unimposing facility.

Ensenada Muerta

Ensenada Muerta (Dead Cove) is an interesting little place. There's a boat ramp, a section of sandy beach on one side and a bar/restaurant on the other.

Driving Over the Mountain

To get from the La Paz to the beach on the road we chose required driving over the mountains. This provided us with an impressive show in the sky with the clouds taking on beautiful shapes.

The Turkey Vulture

On a ride in a different direction out of town toward the coast, we came across a collection of Turkey Vultures waiting near a very smelly (probably fish) dinner.

Driving North of La Paz

Hurricane John is lurking of the west coast of Baja and is bringing in some clouds. We learned this afternoon that towns farther west of us have had power outages due to wind but so far, no rain.

With the clouds comes a reduction in the oppressive heat and a more interesting sky for photos.

Todos Santos

Todos Santos is a lively small town on the Pacific side of the peninsula. Apparently home to the (most likely "a") Hotel California.

Northern Crested Caracara

Not far outside the "bustling" center of San Pedro, we found this handsome fellow sitting atop one the multitude of cardon cactus lining the roadway. This is the Northern Crested Caracara.

San Pedro

We headed west and south toward Todos Santos and along the way we passed through the village of San Pedro. Out beside the road we found this fellow roasting a few goats for the restaurant at the roadside.

Museo de La Ballena

We choose to head over the Museo de La Ballena to learn about whales. Naturally, we assumed it would be air conditioned. Naturally, we were wrong.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

As the heat continues, we thought it'd be smart to visit a nice cool church to take some photos. Well it was nice to visit this church but it was far from cool. You will notice in some of the photos that you see fans. Of course they are off today since there is no service in progress.

Along the Coast to Playa Tecolote

On yet another hot, clear afternoon, we took a drive along the Sea of Cortez to the small seaside resort of Tecolote. Along the way we saw a diverse range of habitats. Above is a look back toward La Paz.

A Bit of Breakfast

Yesterday we decided to rent a car for the duration and our first outing was to have breakfast at nice restaurant in El Centro. The best freshly squeezed orange juice ever.

The Pacific Coast

Our drive from San Jose del Cabo to La Paz took us along the Pacific coast line before heading east to La Paz. We stopped for lunch at a small resort call Cerritos Surf Town.

The Next Adventure

Tomorrow we start our journey on our next adventure. We are spending the night in a hotel near SeaTac airport so that we can catch a 5:30 AM flight out Wednesday morning bound for San José del Cabo in Baja California via San Francisco. From there we drive to La Paz to start our month long house sit.

Pied Currawong Behavior Finally Explained

I finally have an answer to a question I first posed back in August of 2016. We visited the Japanese Garden in Toowoomba, QLD and spied a pair of Pied Currawongs engaged in a rather strange behavior. The original post and the the photos are found here.

Over the Mountain

A drive over the mountain to Albemarle and Nelson Counties took us first to Chile's peach Orchard where we got to enjoy the beauty of the Blue Ridge mountains in all their sunny day glory.

A Visit to Downtown Staunton

A visit to Beverley street reveals a few treasures. One is worth at least 3 cents.

Anzac Biscuits

Yesterday we gave our presentation about our adventure in Australia to our friends (old and new) at Sunnyside in Harrisonburg. We provided some Australian recipes for the kitchen so we'd have some further inspiration fo the audience. The big hit was the Anzac Biscuits. So many people asked for the recipe, I'm posting it here for all to enjoy.

A Little Housekeeping

Now that we've had some time to reflect on our Australian adventure and relax a while, we've generated a bibliography of the many things Australian we found to be helpful, fun, and interesting.

In the sidebar on the right of the blog, you'll see that I've removed the no longer useful clock with the time in Australia and replaced it with an updated list of web pages associated with the blog. Have a read through the bibliography to find a list of books, films, and TV that are about Australia, set in Australia or are written by Australians.

Enjoy

By the way, this incredibly clear stream in the photo is on Fraser Island. Quite drinkable.

Cat Portraits

Now that I've had time to catch the cats here in a post that isn't silly or unflattering, I made a couple portraits for your enjoyment. Above, we see Maguire sitting on the sofa relaxing (what else does a cat do?).

A Few Antiques

Took a short road trip to Lexington for lunch the other day (no, not to the Red Hen) and stopped at an antique mall for a quick look about. Out front we found some statuary that made an interesting composition.

Arriving in Virginia

I am finally recovering from a long and tiring trip across the us to visit Staunton. We are taking care of Dougal and Maguire for our friends the Mickels. I thought you'd appreciate a few shots of the rather large specimens in our charge.

An Outing with Seamus

Now that it is officially summer in the northern hemisphere, this means it is finally spring in Snohomish. A warm day with few clouds and Seamus is ready to go with mom and dad to explore town a bit.

Finding things to photograph in Snohomish

You can find the darnedest things in some of the shops in Snohomish.

Woodlawn Cemetery

Not far along the road from the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery is Woodlawn Cemetery. Lots of ground-level markers here although the one above has an interesting addition of stone/cement boots.

Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery

Now that it finally beginning to act like spring time (since summer is almost upon us), we've had enough sunshine and lack of rain to make a trip into a grassy cemetery possible. Quite a different experience from such visits in Australia. There, the burial fields seldom have much grass or rain. Here, everywhere is a lawn, well manicured and cared for.

Rusty Relics in Monroe

This past weekend, we went to Monroe, a few miles away to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. First, I must clarify a bit of confusion. The Washington State Fair is held in Puyallup, away south of Seattle. So, must because this is indeed the Evergreen State, the state fair is not held at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds. Think of it more like one of the many showgrounds found in Australia. It is a place for events, including a country fair.

The event this past weekend was Rustly Relics, an antique and junk exhibition.

Lan Su Chinese Garden

Our last stop on the tour of Portland took us the solitude of the Lan Su Chinese Garden. Actually, it wasn't very quite since it was pretty full of people.

Pittock Mansion

A visit to the Pittock Mansion takes us to the highest point in the city. From here we get a good view of the surrounding areas.

A golden Korean fir tree putting out cones for the summer.

 Of course, it is only PNW summer now seeing as how it is still in the 60’s #NoBetterLife4Us.

via Instagram

The International Rose Test Garden

Wouldn't be a trip to the City of Roses without I show you a few roses, now would it? A stop on our city tour took us to Washington Park to sample the International Rose Test Garden. Here we found oodles of roses of every size, shape, and color.

The Willamette River

We signed on to a half-day tour of Portland to get a feel for the place. Our first stop was by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) on the banks of the Willamette River. While there was no time to visit the large, modern museum (we will certainly need to return for an extended visit), we did get to walk down to the river to see the city and a few of the many bridges.

Portland Farmer's Market

Not all our trips were to see lots of water located in various directions out of town. We also spend time in the city exploring. One of our first expeditions was to the Portland Farmer's Market located in a park near Portland State University.

Along the Shore Near Tillamook

After venturing east to see a little of the Columbia River, we next turned west to the Pacific Ocean. Our intention was to go to Cannon Beach. But the entire rest of Portland made the same decision. When we got within about 10-15 miles of our destination, we hit a line a traffic that extended as far as we could see.

Columbia River Gorge

We drove east along the rive on the Oregon side on I-84 but for the return to Portland we opted for the more scenic two-lane route on the Washington side. At one point, we rounded a curve high on the side of a hill where we could stop and look back east along the river.

Bonneville Dam

We've been off to Oregon for Memorial Day weekend to do a spot of pet sitting for two energetic kitties. While here, we've done a bit of exploring about. One of our first outings was a drive up the Columbia River to see the Bonneville Dam, its associate power generating station and various fish ladders and bypasses.

Kids

Our neighbors have two young boys, Kit and Winton, who came for a visit and decided painting was going to be fun. Seamus tried to join in but the older boys were pretty far ahead of him.

Sky Valley Motorcycle Show

On Sunday last, the entirety of 1st St in Snohomish was blocked off for a major spring event; the Sky Valley Motorcycle Show. Kind of like having a car show where everyone brings out their spiffy vehicle and finds food, drink, and friends but wearing different clothes and riding on two wheels instead of four.

Flowers and Boxes

Did some local window shopping in the sorts of places that Snohomish is known for...plants and antiques. In fact, we went to a place that sold rose that had antiques!

These fuchsia in the hanging basket above caught my eye. The colors and shapes are most interesting.

A Trip to La Conner

Visiting the historic town of La Conner takes through the southern end of the Skagit Valley. We stopped at a terrific farm stand to see what we could not live with out and I stepped across the street to take in the view. the sky was cooperating with its textures and swirls.

B&W Retrospective

As we take care of business here in Snohomish and deal with doctor and dentist visits, I've looked back in recent folders and reprocessed a few shots in B&W. I like the leaves above for the 3-D effect due to the separation of the leaves and the background.

Bottles

One of the shops in Snohomish sells a variety of bottles. The ones shown above made a nice image, I thought.

Snohomish Farmer's Market

The seasonal Farmer's Market here in Snohomish has started. It is filled with plenty of folks you only expect to see in the Seattle area.

The Random Stuff Sold in Stores

I'm sure that you, loyal follower, have noticed that I frequently include shots of random things that I find in the local stores. I have found that I just enjoy photographing these collections of oddments that have been placed as commercial tableau. They are interesting because they are curious and not found in any homes I ever visit, and because the types of things assembled together are often not things you'd see together anywhere but in an antique store.

Seamus is Really Walking Now!

Seth and I took Seamus out of a walk around the block the other day. I thought you'd appreciate a few images of the little man walking about.

Tulip Town

Leaving Mt. Baker, I drove west to catch I-5. This took me to Bellingham and then I turn south on the expressway. A short way south of Bellingham, I saw a cloud bank in front of me as I drove, clearly rolling in from the west. It was a combination of fog and cloud and seemed to cover everything. Indeed it did. From that point onward, I was in clouds for the next 5 days until the sun finally came out.

But a stop along the way at a tulip farm called Tulip Town not far from Mt. Vernon (about midway between Bellingham and Everett) once again brought a bit of sunshine into the day.

Nooksack Falls

While on my tour of the now deserted-for-the-season Mt. Baker Ski Resort, I found an odd bit off to one side of a parking lot. This small hut is located here beside a giant tree for reasons I cannot fathom. Perhaps people came up here to hunt in the summer 50 or 75 years ago. It certainly makes no sense now.

After seeing this curiosity, I headed down the mountain and found a turn out to see Nooksack Falls.

Mt. Baker

After breakfast and filling up the car for climb up the hill, I started the drive up to the highest place I could drive, the Mt.Baker Ski Resort. The highest altitudes, all the mountains around are covered in snow. This is a new things to this littl' ol' southern boy, but it was pretty cool. I picked the perfect time to go. The clear blue skies and the warm temperatures made this a pleasant and safe trip. The roads were clear and dry.