...and then I heard....

"So, what's the care and feeding of this tattoo?"

Then there was a chuckle. I guess no one had ever asked that question before.

Good thing I was paying attention because this was important stuff.

"Make sure you leave that pad (bandage) on for at least 2 - 4 hours."

"Wash with anti-biotic soap."

"Let air-dry."

"Put on a tiny, little bit of Neosporin or fragrance-free lotion."

"No swimming or soaking in a hot tub or bath."

"It'll scab over, but absolutely don't pick it off."

"Keep it out of the sun."

"Use sunscreen after it heals, so it doesn't fade."

"It may itch as it heals, but DON'T scratch it"

Yep. That was all good to over-hear when Phillip was asking the tattoo artist about his new tattoo.


We had a great trip to Maui. The weather was GREAT! The snorkeling was AWESOME! The food was YUMMY! The scoops of ice cream in the chocolate dipped waffle cones were HEAVEN!

The sunsets were incredible!


Our trip went smoothly all the way around. We had a blast!!! We can't wait to go back - yes, we will definitely be going back. AGAIN. Probably next year for our 25th!

The first day back, Phillip went to San Fran to a film seminar. No rest for him. Jet lag will be catching up with him.....

The next morning, I was awakened by some weird crunching and smacking sounds.


Looked out the window and was greeted by this guy....Yep. He was outside the window chomping on the grapes! and I noticed a few of my tomato plants chompled (is that even a word?) into little green sticks. All the foliage GONE! All the fruit HISTORY!

Looks like he had a cohort.


Oh well. I was still on happy Maui time. So, WHATEVER!!!!

Oh yeah. That advice I was so glad to over-hear? Well, what's good for the gander, is good for the goose.....

Introducing my NEW. My FIRST. My TATTOO! My Three Maui Sea Turtles Tattoo. One for each of my boys....It didn't hurt nearly as bad as....as....as plucking eyebrows or waxing or getting ears pierced. Or having babies! This was a cakewalk compared to any one of those things!

AND...I hate getting shots or having blood drawn. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!

Ta Ta

Sunsets

Turns out, even though we missed the first nights sunset, there is an equally, if not better, one the next night and the next.

I've taken scads of photos with my phone, hoping to be able to post, but alas, I cannot find the option to do so!

The Blogger image upload page is there, but it doesn't recognize my phone as an upload link. Bummer!

So, here's the deal. Close your eyes. Then imagine holding a paintbrush or two. You're dipping the brushes in vibrant orange, red, yellow and eloquently dragging the brushes horizontally across a purple/blue canvas. Moments later, you add a few strokes of deeper orange. Then some accents of even brighter yellow and red. You stare in awe for a while. You cannot believe the colors you are seeing. You take a zillion photos because as the paint mixes, it changes from moment to moment, becoming different, yet just as beautiful.

Then you dip your brush in lavender and blue. Brush it on gently, leaving the edges glowing in yellow and orange. You marvel at what you see. Add a darker shade of purple and deep blue. It's stunning. What a masterpiece!

Even darker still, with just a hint of radiance around the edge.

Stare. Enjoy. Take it all in, for soon it will gone. Mere moments, in fact.

You've dipped the large brush in the deepest, darkest blue, almost black. You cover the canvas entirely. The sun has set. Your canvas is primed for another day.

No Photo Post

Greetings from the Valley Isle.

Yes, it's a shame to not have a photo, but I still haven't figured out how to add a photo with my I-phone.

Just know that the island is beautiful and hurricane Felicia dissipated to a little bit of high winds and some rain. It's a bit cloudy but 80+ degrees and a bit humid.

Today was a perfect day. On-time flights. A row of seats all to ourselves. No lost luggage. No line at the car rental - clerk said they had a ton of cancellations due to the hurricane warning - which truth be told, was our intention as well, up until the last possible moment.

Ate a nice lunch at Rubys restaurant - it's become a first stop off the plane tradition. Used a buy one, get one free coupon and saved some $$.

Checked into our REALLY nice, beachfront, 1 bedroom condo that we booked on Craigslist for 1/3 the "normal" price.

Went for a walk on the beach in front of our 5th floor window. Splashed in the surf - got soaked. Decided to go "all-in" for a 45+ minute swim in the warm, crystal-clear blue water. It was spectacular!!!! The water hasn't been this nice for us since our first trip in 2005!

Rinsed off and then sat in the spa for a few. Then, took a dip in the pool.

Took a real shower and then a walk to the grocery for snacks.

Missed the sunset, but the view was still spectacular.

Planning to go snorkeling and picnicking tomorrow. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate. It's supposed to, but with our luck, who knows????

See ya tomorrow......

Be Careful What You Wish For.....

So, as it would happen....Phillip insisted *wink* we go back to Maui to chill a while.

It's amazing the online deals that can be found right now. The only thing is... the weather looks like it may not cooperate - AGAIN!

The online Weather Channel has shown rain storms for the last two weeks. Now, there are flash flood warnings going on throughout the islands. Tropical storm Felicia's lurking in the neighborhood causing up to 15' swells. That should churn up the ocean really good and murky. Not so great for snorkeling. Oh well.

We've survived the Maui island earthquake in 2006. The Kauai Tsunami warning in January - however pre-mature it may have been - we were still spooked as heck!

Not sure how long it takes for the ocean to clear up or a tropical storm to dissipate, but hopefully not long.???

Here's to wishful thoughts of nice, sunny weather, calm seas and a smooth plane ride.

I won't be blogging from the island this time around. We don't even have any scheduled activities this time. No para-sailing. No helicopter rides. No zip-lining. Just a whole lotta R & R - in the tropical rain, er, STORM???

Oh, and our new walkway will be completed whilst we are gone. How's that for trust?

But, it looks great so far and I can't wait to see it all done.

Gotta get. I have a ton to do before we can even think about leaving....

Alfred Loeb Camping 2009

So, remember a few posts ago I said we went camping. Well, it was A.J.'s birthday that Thursday and he didn't exactly start his new job at Dairy Queen like he thought. Long story short - DQ hired four new people that were 16 or over already whilst A.J. was waiting to turn 16 and now he is on the wait list to "maybe" start work sometime in mid-August.

Anyway, Phillip and I had planned to go camping with our friends, Kristin and Jeff, for Thursday and Friday, to try out our newly acquired RV. Since it was A.J.'s birthday weekend and all, we suggested he "call-a-friend" and get ready to go with us. After much rumbling and debate, he decided maybe it would be fun to go.

Birthday Boy (Mr. Make-A-Face) and his Friend, Jeremy.

So, off we were the next morning, Thursday, his birthday, heading towards the Oregon Coast in search of a "hopefully-not-so-full-campground-with-two-adjacent-RV-hookup-sites". This was our first experience with an RV and we wanted the full treatment. Electric and Water Hook-ups. True, the RV has holding tanks, batteries, and a generator, but if we were going to give it the run-down, we wanted to try it all.

Being the Summer, and with the economy the way it is right now, more and more campgrounds are FULL, FULL, FULL and many are first come, first serve. This would be interesting. We crossed our fingers and set out following our friends truck and trailer.

Following Jeff and Kristin towards the Coast.

First stop. A cute campground along the Smith River. No Hookups and a little too cold and shady, I think. Next stop. Jedediah Smith State Park. Four sites left. Drive around the tiny, winding campground road like an RV train - us being the caboose. Yes, four seemingly nice sites. River close. NO Hookups.

Back on the highway. Heading North towards Brookings. We take the turn off about 1 pm to go about 9 miles inland to Alfred Loeb on the Chetco River. About 2 miles in, there's a sign - Campground FULL. Oh no! We all pull over and decide to "take a chance" because the nice lady on the phone said checkout is at 1 and we may get lucky.

Back on the road. We pass two trucks and trailers going the other way. Either - they just got turned away OR there are two spots waiting for us! Keep hope alive.

We finally arrive and the first spot on one side is open #2 and the second spot on the other side is open #3. We pull into one and Jeff and Kristin make a pass through the campground "just to see". They found a couple right on the river, but wait, there's a tent tucked way back in the trees.

Alfred Loeb - Site #2. Don't ask me what that splot is? It was there when we got there....I don't want to know.

The campground was FULL! We got really, really, really LUCKY! I wasn't sure what our options would have been if it wouldn't have worked out. Even the BEACH sites around Brookings were FULL - and COLD and WINDY! I hates the cold and the wind!!!

This campground was very, very nice. We'll definitely be going back - and keeping our fingers crossed - 'cause ya can't make reservations....

The Boys' Tent.

HUGE, OLD stump!

Our camp table. Complete with recycling bag. AND mouthwash to spray around the campsite to keep the mosquitoes away - THANKS, JEFF!!! Great Idea!!!!

Our RV.


Dishes - DONE!

Cleaning out the cast iron pans.

BBQ.

Morning campfire.

The beautiful Chetco River.

The river was so shallow in some parts, Kristin and I just put our chairs in it and relaxed, keeping our tootsies cool.

There were a bunch of little crawdads, red salamanders, some frogs, and tons of minnow schools.

Gunney played for hours in the river. Wonka would have had fun too. He'll definitely go next time.

So calm, fresh and relaxing.

A cool ring of rock. Man-made of course, but fun!


I think I found a Flintstone flip-flop..?

Another HUGE stump.

Awesome fern.

Jeff and Kristin's dog, Gunney.

Gunney in the bay in Crescent City. No, it's an otter. Or a seal. OR maybe it is Gunney????

I'm Still Here....

A big Hi and Hello from Grants Pass. I know. I haven't posted in a while. It's been pretty busy around these parts.

We've been working with the "crew" on the huge rock placements for the entry way.

What an undertaking! I don't think I realized just how heavy those big 'ol sandstone slabs would be. Sure, there's over 6000 pounds of rock total, but I thought each individual rock would be manageable....WRONG! This sandstone is more dense than concrete, eats diamond saw blades for lunch, and given the chance will squish a finger or two.

We've been continuing on Phillip's home office - installing baseboards, hanging the closet door, attaching door trim. I'll post pictures once it's done.

Still have to paint the closet door, closet door jamb, entry door & its door jamb. Then, finally, he can begin moving in and decorating.

This will be HIS sanctuary. HIS place to write. HIS little escape from the rest of the world. NO phones. NO customers. Nothing but what HE wants to do. A little music. A little T.V. and a WHOLE lotta rest and relaxation. Trust me, he needs a break from the daily grind.

True. He does have an awesome job. He gets to be creative everyday, but sometimes a detox from it all will be nice. A retreat where he doesn't have to try and create the impossible from thin air. I think, in over 20 years of working in the entertainment industry, the only thing he wasn't able to deliver was the floating-ring hat. YES, believe it or not, years ago, when we were up in Seattle, a magician actually made a request for a hat with rings that would float - without any attachment ie: wires or strings....He's good, but come on. Defy gravity!???

Any who, we have been busy, but things are getting done around these parts. I should be able to "reveal" the new walkways by the end of the week. I can't wait to share. Heck, for that matter, I can't wait to see them too!!! AND all before Christmas....

****map and photo credit: The old National Automobile Club travel guide from 1969. My, Grants Pass has grown since I was ONE!!!!