Thank you so much Grace for sharing your world with us! We could tell just how much you cared for others in your community!! So so nice to see you and get to know you better! You are a very talented and gifted person Grace and we both love you!!
Some history about Abingdon and Grace: The last time that she visited Abingdon, the town we grew up in, she obtained an old rat trap made in a small factory. In fact, Grace's Great Uncle, W. Chauncey Hooker, was the inventor of the mouse trap. Also he invented the automatic farm-gate opener and the small pearl handled folding knife! Ty had forgotten all about this factory in Abingdon!
Highway 1, up the coast of California, with a detour through the Napa Valley wine country was beautiful! The vineyards, tasting rooms, and wineries are unforgettable! Several valley shots are from high up on a bike trail overlooking this special area!
The surf on the rocky coast prompted these thoughts by Ty:
The Ocean
Relentless, never ceasing motion...
giving birth to rain, fog, mist, to enliven that on the shore;
constantly sculpting, shaping, forming, rounding a jagged
island to give a basking place for the seals..
forever breathing, soothing those who stand in awe on its shores.....
sometimes calm, mostly pounding, and endlessly powerful.....
carrying various life forms to new, nourishing habitats.
But wait, what's this?..... a plastic six pack strap and a few flip flops....
oh yes, the most intelligent life form has contributed a major
challenge to the life of the oceans and other waters on our earth!
How devastating!!!!
The Redwoods..... in northern California was our site for three nights. What a lush and green place, must be like a rain forest. These beauties grow from a tomato sized seed to 500 tons and 300 feet tall! The constant mist from the ocean and cool weather makes this one of the few ecosystems in the world to support their growth. The Roosevelt Elk and black bear are inhabitants and other furry little animals, of course.
We stopped in Astoria, Oregon, a town founded in 1811 where the Columbia river empties into the Pacific forming a violent "bar". The Pacific water slams into the torrent leaving the Columbia forming one of the most turbulent and dangerous areas of water on any of the U.S. coastlines. A wonderful museum here speaks of the history as well as the rescue training of the Coast Guard.
In 1803 President Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, doubling the size of the country. He then directed two young military officers, Lewis and Clark, to form an expeditionary group to explore and evaluate the lands commercial potential, an elusive path to the Pacific, report scientific findings, and make peace with the native population.
Poem by Janet: When we were in New Orleans, we had asked a Louisiana Creole lady directions to a street. She told us and then said, "There you'd be!" So this poem is about remembering her and the wonderful people there! Grace and I also talked some about living in the present!
"There You'd Be"
There you'd be....
standing in the present while
catching glimpses of each moment....
savoring smells of nature's scents....
listening to the rhythm of the earth's melody....
appreciating this precious time well spent!
Then without fail.... it always happens,
a robber called "the past" taps upon
your joyful heart and slides you backwards...
onto a descending scale of wrath.....
then once again, in the darkness,
.... there you'd be!
Then comes a sudden rush of grace
with some breathing and meditation....
which silences the spirits of the past.....
then off you'd go.....
back to a more solace space....
like a soothing blast of unending love.....
a "there you'd be"... whispering... "Now Make It Last!"
Don't waste a moment!
Animals we saw: seals, banana slug, elk, skunk
Funnies : sign on a restaurant in a coastal town "The Greasy Spoon Cafe"
Janet heard a young boy with his mom, leaving a Redwood trail say, "I didn't get to see a bear Mommy!"
A few more pictures of Yosemite and the trip there
