Hanging Out in Salem With Friends

We arrived tired and still wet but Len and Kay took us in, fed us and today drove us to several interesting photo opportunities in Salem. I had forgotten that Salem is the capital of Oregon and the capital is full of lush gardens, parks, and sculptures. We are still at Len and Kay's tonight! We thank them for their hospitality, great food and conversation.

As our 'photo day' started we stepped out in mere sprinkles and I took the opportunity to photograph the front of their home  Then on to the capital and finally, for fun, a carousel.

The statue above the capitol is that of a frontier man.  Very impressive and imposing, especially against the brewing storm clouds!

Tom got a good shot of the dome inside the capital. Pioneer man would be sitting above the stars.

From the capital we went to a carousel that was created for the community by people who live in the community. Each piece was carved by local residents and was funded by residents who had a part in the design and symbols placed on each piece. I have never seen such a gorgeous carousel.  For $5 you can ride and the ride is a long one.

Fall colors are not profuse here, yet!  But, once in a while you see a tree that is strutting new fall fashion colors.  I fell in love with this tree.  It is NOT following anyone else's trend . . . just my kind of tree!

Tomorrow we are back on the road.  We are rested and grateful to have friends that offered us a great place to weather the storm.  We are excited to get back into full time photography.

Appreciate each of you.  Have a great week.

Trip in a Storm

Ah, yesterday!  Seems like so long ago.  We woke to rain and it never, not once, even for a minute, stopped. Wind?  Oh yes,  Quite a storm we are having up in the Portland and coastal areas!!  But, we left anyway and promised to be careful.  First off, get lost!  Miss a key turn and you can end up in the dock area along the Willamette River.  Never fear, an interesting place for breakfast shows up.  Named Dockside Cafe, it proved to be a great place to enjoy breakfast. Like so many places along the road, it has a history.  You might look it up. Think of the Tanya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan drama, finding trash in their dumpster that led to convictions . . . fun place! Camera was in the car.  No problem, I am thinking iPhone . . .

Along the way we shot a few scene, anything that looked possible with light rain. One stop yielded a bridge. At the same location we captured images of a juvenile Double Breasted Cormorant. (You might be thinking that Len is assisting on identifying the bird.  You are right.)

Then Tom caugh a comical look.

Our goal was to get to Astoria.  There is a well known shipwreck piece north of Astoria.  We thought it would make a wonderful photo opportunity.  Obviously, we were not prepared for this storm's landing . . . Tom got out and took a couple of photos.  I was content looking at photos shot earlier on my iPad.  He gets back in the car, wet and windblown.  "There is a really good photo out there for you if you want it!", he says.  Not going to pass up a challenge like that, I headed out into the biting rain.  As I braced and kept getting closer to the wreckage, fighting to simply stay vertical AND protect my camera . . . along comes this jogger into my frame! REALLY!!!  Tom was right.  

After the beach shot we realized the weather was really getting intense.  Beautiful, but just a bit crazy and scary.  We headed inland to Salem and spent the night with Len and Kay. Nice hot chili and great conversation. Today we are planning on heading into Salem and taking some photos of the capital and maybe even a large carousel with hand made horses. Weather permitting, of course.

Thinking of friends and family.  And yes, thanks for the reminders that it is sunny where you are.  I hear a bit of bragging bravado here!  LOL.

Stay dry.

It's a Rainy Day in Portland

We have a nice warm room.  Which is good as it has rained all day and the wind has been more than these old photoggers wanted to deal with.  Our Nikons got a well deserved rest.  We ventured out for dinner, however. We sat by the window in this lovely Thai restaurant and watched as a couple stopped just in front of us.  They each had a large umbrella.  They engaged in a rather heated discussion and their animation was tilting their umbrellas in just such a way that they were dumping water onto each other.  It was hysterical and I really wanted my camera (which was safely stored in the car). By the time I thought of my iPhone they had moved on down the sidewalk. Dang it!!

So, today's travel photos consist of me grabbing two quick ones with my iPhone.

Then I got to playing around with taking photos of the rain through the front windshield.  You can tell I am going through extreme withdrawal!  LOL

We head for Astoria in the morning.  What better place to see a storm move ashore than from there. Right? We will end the day in Salem, OR having dinner with Len and Kay.  For those not on the photo distribution list, Len is our incredible bird photographer (along with many other photogging talents).

Hope your Sunday is delightful.