The Beach

Here are a few photos of my beach excursion this weekend. The first one is from our hotel room looking out on the wharf towards Monterey. This particular hotel has been here for ages and is the only one actually right on the beach. We slept with sliding door open so we could hear the ocean, it was awesome.

The second and third are night shots and day shots of the Santa Cruz beach boardwalk. It was pretty packed with people during our visit but it was not "Disneyland" packed where you could not move at all. I think this place is not as popular because it does have less to do there and is smaller. But I don't care, this town, this place is going home for me so it was definitely a walk down memory lane for me.

I did not do as well in the race we ran as I had hoped. There were 15,000 participants! It is customary for walkers or slower runner to be in the back. This was not the case and it was basically a free for all. It is really hard to pass people sometimes and I wore myself out just trying to get free of all the people and get a pace and rhythm. The cool thing though there we about 40 different bands playing all different kinds of music on the course. Punk rock, bagpipers, reggae, beach boy music, you name it someone probably was playing it.

Overall the weekend was a blast. It was fun to go to my home town again. I am doing my best not to let my disappointment in my race finish color the entire weekend. Looking at these pictures, makes me want to go back...soon.

Water

Water, water every where in all different looks and forms!





I have been looking over my Alaska photos and there is one common thing that runs through most of the photos, I seem to be obsessed with water. Of course there is water in some form every where you turn so it is not hard to have water be your subjected.

Here are four different water photos for your viewing pleasure! The first photo is of Emerald Lake (big surprise on the name) and it is actually in the Yukon Territory in Canada. The lake was perfectly still while we were there and I loved the clouds and trees reflected in it. Some mineral(the names escapes me) causes the water to look so green.

The second photo is of ice. Breakup had not occurred in many areas so there were quiet a few lakes and streams still covered or partially covered in ice.

The third photo is just of a random body of water but I liked how it looked with the trees and clumps of grass.

The fourth? I think that it is the Susitna river. A river in Alaska that is pretty well known for the fact that all 5 species of salmon run the river. There were places the river was huge, but this is a small fork of it.

So you can see, I am fascinated with water in all its various forms.

I apologize if the formatting is off or weird..I really don't know what the heck I am doing, I just wing it you know?

What is it?

Well, since you asked, I will tell you. This is an aerial view of what is called a braided river. On our Alaska trip, we took a small plane ride. (saving those details for another post). I was intrigued by the river viewed from up high. This is a glacier fed river that is currently frozen. Glacier fed rivers not only bring down water from the glacier but rocks and sediment. When a finger of the river fills with so much sediment and rock that the water can not pass, it creates another channel for the water. So it is a random braided sequence of the water and rocks coming down the mountain and quiet beautiful in its own way. And you can not really see the beauty of it unless you see it from above.
To me some how this is what life is like. Certain parts and places of our lives get choked off with frustrations, anger, just stuff. You thing your life is going one way and it is a dead end then you have to navigate new waters. You have to find the way to push through, let go and create a new channel so that life flows again.
All the twists, turns and changes and decisions we make may not seem like much when we are in the midst of them. But from above them they are a beautiful maze, each one different from the other making us who and what we are.

Wordless Wednesday...Denali aka Mount McKinley

Ok, so not so wordless after all. Denali or Mount McKinley is only visible about 20% of the time. At 20,300 feet give or take, the mountain creates its own weather so it is usually shrouded in clouds. We were lucky, we had a clear and pristine view of the mountain our entire trip....Which, by the way was a trip of a lifetime. Will share more later but for now, here is Mount Denali in all her glory and splendor.

that's all.

Mother's Day

I am surrounded with some quality women in my life. I have some great friends and sister in laws. And I have also met some really awesome bloggy women too. These women are stay at home moms, retired ladies, full time working moms, students, so many types of women. Each one has wonderful gifts, talents and are beautifully unique. And to top it off, they are great mothers.

So to each one I want to say, I am glad you are in my life, you have made an impact on me through your friendships and by the way you love your kids, sacrifice for them, and some days, not beat them within an inch of there lives..lol .

You each have my deep respect and I honor each of you today.

Happy Mother's day to you all. Maybe you be esteemed, loved and honored by your families today..you are the heartbeat of your homes. ♥

Monday

I know I have ignored this blog way to long. But hopefully I am back! It has been a busy last month getting my besties daughter's wedding ready to go. And it went off with out a hitch on Saturday. The weather was perfect, the bride the most beautiful I have ever seen and nothing but perfection was achieved. It was so much hard work leading up to it, especially for my friend. But the payoff was Saturday evening and I know it was well worth the work.
Looking forward to some other things in the offing for me and the hubs and maybe some weekends that are not so busy. Of course now, training begins.....

That's all

Suz

Wordless Wednesday

I will be here.. on Friday and Saturday. Can't.wait.