It seems I always have 3 things on hand: paper, something to write with, and a camera. Those ideas and great shots aren’t going to just record themselves!
While searching photos for images of my wonderful and recently passed mother-in-love (my second mom, mom to my honey), I found this little nugget. My photo habits might just predate the need I have to write (and write and write).
What habits or hobbies do you have from waayyyy back? I’d love to hear!
Update: After messaging with Natalie (see comments), I realized I nearly always have 4 things on hand: paper, writing tools, camera, AND a book (or multiple books-one I’m reading and several on standby in case I finish reading a book and need the next read).
Reading, writing, and taking photos, those are my lifelong loves in the categories of hobbies and habits. WE go waayyyy back!
Talk about a super salad! The salmon Caesar salad at Bennett’s Fish Shack in Ocean Shores is over the top!
While on vacation in Ocean Shores, Washington, we followed the suggestion of our hotel desk help and walked to Bennett’s to eat dinner. What a tasty mouthful!
Blackened (Cajun) salmon (a generous serving), romaine lettuce, plenty of parmesan cheese, delicious dressing, croutons, AND tomatoes, pepperoncinis, avocado slices, and lemon! I loved the addition of a few extras to the salad. Just thinking about it is making me hungry.
This salad is one we will go back for on our next trip. Or maybe we will try some of the other tasty looking meals. Popular hang-out!
The Hill kids, Mark (blue suit), me (tallest), Tracy (white knee socks), and James (bib), next to the family roadster!
Station wagons and me, we go way back.
In the late 80s, my husband accepted employment with a new company, one benefit being a company car. “Anything would be cool, but please don’t come home with a station wagon. And especially not one with fake wood details.”
Ahem. Yes. He came with a station wagon. Adornment of imitation wood panels? Whew. Dodged that faux grained bullet.
Even earlier than the 80s & 90s version of the station wagon work vehicle was the early 70s family models owned by my parents. We had at least 2 different family touring vehicles, blue and white. Those wagons could really hold people and belongings. And pets, groceries, camping equipment, children, toys. Nothing like the little trunks in modern cars.
The family station wagon, mid-trip exploring the Arizona desert.
Some of my fondest memories are the days we spent exploring the southwest. We’d load up 2 parents, 4 kids, and 1 collie dog. The first mandatory stop would be a mini-mart so we could purchase the required bologna, cheese, white bread, and soda for our snacking pleasure. Sometimes we ate hot dogs (always cold) instead of bologna, but either one was a treat. Then we would hit the road.
The Arizona desert is a wondrous place for questing. Forests, rivers, desert lands, mountains, ghost towns, dirt roads, historical sites. My parents loved to haul us around seeing what we could see. I have vivid pictures in my mind of those trips, but I can’t help but wonder if we didn’t drive mom and dad the slightest bit crazy. 4 kids and a dog in a station wagon? Even if we did use the fold-up seats in the way back to separate us.
Horned toads, tarantulas, snakes, spiders, scorpions, cacti, sagebrush, thorns, stickers, heat mirages, dust. Treasure is all in the eyes and heart of the explorer.
What about you? What memories do you have about a vehicle or early days with your family? I’d love to hear your tales on this #ThrowbackThursday.
Photo taken at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima, Washington. I’ve gone through these gates so many times, and all it took was one glance in the right light to see the XOXO designs in the center of the gates. What a fitting tribute to the loved ones who have gone before us.
Happy Hump Day Haiku!
Haiku Challenge: Let’s play with words! Share a haiku with in the comments. I’d love to read your thoughts.
We ‘hiked’ the trail at Selah Cliffs Natural Area Preserves on Saturday.
Where: Seven miles north of Selah, just south of mile post 3 on SR 821, or as locals know it, the Yakima Canyon Road (slightly northeast of Selah)
Distance: RT about 2.5 miles, if you go all the way to the cattle guard and fence that signals the Military Firing Center boundaries
Discovery Pass Required: Yes, though many parked beyond the nature preserve lot on the old canyon road
Tips: No toilet facilities and not much shade; Bring binoculars, bug spray, water, and hat
This is a local, easy hike with the hardest parts being concern for ticks, rattlesnakes, and heat. The views of the Selah Cliffs are gorgeous. As per signed instructions, we didn’t traipse off the path, which means we also didn’t see the basalt daisies for which the area is known. Judging by the trails leading up to the basalt cliffs, I’m sure some disregard rules. OR they could be game trails. Yes, I’ll go with that.
The hike/walk leads along a gravelled path for most of the distance. Towards the far end (headed east), hikers must go through a barbed-wire gate. After that, the gravel disappears and more clambering is required. During the entire hike east, we watched the Fred G. Redmon bridge loom ever larger and closer. Soon enough, we stood beneath the massive structure and listened to vehicles boom overhead. It was fascinating to look, listen, and call aloud. If you stand in just the right spot, your voice will echo back. I tried recording the echo, but there was too much interference.
We saw and heard a waterfall, but couldn’t get through the underbrush to get close. Plentiful birds, spiders, insects, lizards, and evidence of other wildlife kept us searching and entertained. The scenery was gorgeous, the basalt columns beautiful, and amazingly, the traffic overhead was negligible.
Everybody loves Hump Day – Wednesday! Otherwise known as half the week is gone, we’re over the hump, and we’re so close to the weekend we can taste it.
If you enjoy Haiku, join in by sharing a Happy Hump Day Haiku.
Love, Laughter, and Life 