I was invited to join my sis on a trip to Southern California. We flew and we landed at the John Wayne Airport in Orange County. My brother Enri took a picture of me standing underneath John Wayne's hand...now that I look at the picture I should have done something corny, like shake his hand, and if ever in that part of the country again I might just do that.
The trip was, with all intent and purposes, to get together with our cousins for my Uncle Robert's memorial. He passed on and last Saturday would have been his 85th birthday. We haven't seen our cousins for several years, and because of busy schedules on all our parts we haven't been keeping in touch. We arrived on Friday at 5:00p.m. and the memorial was planned for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Saturday morning all three of us woke up at the crack of dawn and after a Starbucks coffee headed out to Newport Beach.
Living in the Pacific Northwest with all our different species of Pines and Fir trees, I was in awe to see a Palm Tree. You might say that is funny, but it is a true fact. The Palm tree is very unusual. Traveling along Highway 101 you leave the Pines and see the Redwoods in all their ageless glory, and you have to really go south into California to see these Palm trees.
We stopped in at Newport Beach in Orange county and watched the surfers, sailboats and one fellow was even paddle boarding, which is a very awkward manuever, this guy was standing up and with a paddle was headed out from shore on his board. A wave would come and he would attempt to surf and end up back on shore...then he would do it all over again.
The surfers were waiting for that big wave to come along and some wiped out when it did...
After watching the surfers my siblings and I ate breakfast in a small eatery that served a great vegetarian omelet. I always feel funny taking out my camera to take a picture of my meal so you'll have to take my word for it. I did take a picture of my brother Enri and sister Mona since they looked so happy to be in sunny California.
We went back to the beach after breakfast and headed out to the wharf. The people there were fishing for mackerel and the fish were biting, some poles had three mackerels on the pole at a time.
It was getting close to noon and it was time to head out to Long Beach and go to our Uncle's memorial. Back in the early 60's we all migrated from Holland to the States and moved all over the continent. Uncle Robert lived on the East Coast for a couple of years and then he and his family moved to Southern California. Our family migrated to the Pacific Northwest and have stayed in Oregon and Washington. After the memorial we all got together to reminisce on the passing years and reconnected thru picture albums that were stacked on a coffee table. We were all so busy talking that I didn't take any pictures...
We left on Sunday morning and on the way home I did manage a picture of Mt. Mazuma ( Crater Lake) from 40,000ft in the air.
We all arrived back in Seattle tired but happy. It was a wonderful trip and our families have planned another get together in August...
Talk to you soon...
Frans Ponderings
The Waterfront Blues Festival is a tradition in Portland, Oregon. Starting on July 2 - July 5th, it benefits the Oregon Food Bank, and the local musicians perform for four days. On July 4th they have a terrific Fireworks display that also has music orchestrating the works.
To get into the Blues Festival there is a donation of 2 cans minimum plus $10.00 or more a day which all goes to the Oregon Food Bank.
It's great...you can sit all day and watch the sailboats and motorboats drift by on the edge of the waterfront while your listening to good music.
So knowing that we probably couldn't get into the festival in time, given the miles we would have to drive and finding available parking, we did the next best thing...
We found a spot on Marquam Hill...a view way above the city were you could see all of Portland, Oregon celebrating the fourth...
The grand finale was majestic and noisy...
On that line of thinking, and being optimistic about the weather, I woke up to a misty, rainy day that only the sparrows and robins love...I don't mind the rain so much, but it is difficult to plan further construction in the garden when the temperature is in the low 80's one day and the next day it is in the upper 60's.
We have had some beautiful sunsets this past week. Towards dusk we have gone outside and witnessed some dramatic skies filled with bright orange, reds and several shades of grays.
The surfers were waiting for that big wave to come along and some wiped out when it did...
We went back to the beach after breakfast and headed out to the wharf. The people there were fishing for mackerel and the fish were biting, some poles had three mackerels on the pole at a time.
The blueberries are looking quite full and they'll be nice and plump in a month...I'm looking forward to putting these in my yogurt...
I glanced around me and noticed the other sites and the folks that were tending their parents, and families by honoring them and adding flowers and flags. I thought that at least Burt and my mom weren't alone and had an empty spot with no vase filled with flowers.
The Boy Scouts placed several hundred American Flags on all the sites. We thank all those veterans who lost their lives while fighting for our freedom.
