Joyce and Bob's House Concert

All around South West City, Missouri, acoustic music fans mark their calendars for the second Saturday in June at my sister Joyce and her husband Bob's house concert on the grounds of their 120 year old home. About 150 people show up, some arriving Friday night for choice camping spots around their ponds. By mid-day Saturday the kids are swinging on ropes into the pond or canoeing or generally running around while their parents pick and strum and enjoy good food.

This year the entertainment featured Shannon Wurst and 3 Penny Acre , with Ernie Hill opening.

After the formal part is over, the picking, strumming and singing goes until the wee hours followed by a hearty breakfast in the morning. I'm glad I got to be there there this year. And in answer to the obvious question, no, I don't play...but I listen real good.

Family photo

I realized while we were all together for Bryan's 65th that we hadn't had a family photo since...well I can't remember  This was taken with Melissa's camera , with some coaching from Melissa.

San Francisco's Historic Trolleys

San Francisco has always been special to me; my grandmother Crow was born there in 1880 and we lived in San Anselmo across the Golden Gate bridge when my brother David was born in 1947. We returned often to visit. In college I used to fly from Los Angeles to San Francisco for $13 and take the Greyhound from there to Oregon. Yes, that isn't a typo, it was $13.

We took this photo from our favorite viewpoint in the hills just before you cross the bridge.


This trip we stumbled on something we hadn't done before. The F Line that runs along Market from the Ferry Building to the Castro district has beautiful antique trolleys from around the world: from Milano Italy to Brooklyn New York. These have been lovingly restored and some have been painted in the colors of several old trolley systems, such as Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City, and Los Angeles. The Italian car even has some of the original signage and the wooden slat seats. Of course we rode the line from one end to the other and then back again. The cars were so beautiful I could have spent days trying to photograph them all but I did capture a couple. Take a moment to look at their website to enjoy the scope of their international collection.

The Lost Coast and More

Melissa asked what our top 5 destinations were and I'm working on that list. There are so many, but then today we drove down Hwy 101 along the north California coast between the Oregon border and Ferndale and I was reminded of how truly full of surprises that area is. I first went there as a child on family camping trips along the Jedadiah Smith river just a few miles from the Oregon border. The state park is in the redwoods right on the river and you can even see river otters there if you are lucky.

We discovered the historic Requa Inn about 20 miles south of Smith River about 15 years ago and have been returning ever since. It is located just above the mouth of the Klamath River and was once the ferry crossing for those heading south to San Francisco. Once the bridge upriver was built and the canneries closed the little town of Requa died. When the hotel burned down it was rebuilt in 1913 and we try to stay there whenever we can.

You can sit in the rustic lobby or on the porch and watch the sea lions catch salmon, walk to the mouth and watch the members of the local Klamath tribe gill net salmon or drive to the viewpoint and watch the sunset. In the berry season we pick bowls of blackberries to put on the pancakes the hotel serves with their gourmet breakfast.







Next stop is always Trinidad, about another 20 miles down the coast. It would be easy to drive by but don't miss it. The town hangs on the cliffs with the lighthouse overlooking the working harbor way down below. There is a cozy restaurant just above the boat ramp. The lighthouse is actually a memorial lighthouse and is a replica of the one inaccessible on the head behind town.


Finally there is the Lost Coast where you truly can get lost for days hiking or driving along the rugged coast behind the charming Victorian town of Ferndale. The town was settled by the Portuguese and one year we arrived in time to see the local Portuguese Day celebration complete with costumed children pulling wagons carrying the church icons.

All this is about 250 miles north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. I don't know where this trip fits on our "best of" list but it is certainly worth exploring for yourself.

Floating Market of Damnoen Saduak

One last thing on my list before we leave Bangkok: the floating market. It turns out the "real" floating market is about a 2 hour drive east of the city so we hopped on a minivan at 7am. Unfortunately it is now primarily a tourist attraction but still, it was great fun to wander along the sides and observe the tour boats dodging the actual fruit, vegetable and food vendors. And the colors were superb.

Here are some of my shots from today. I wanted to try Melissa's color trick (left) but I need to take lessons from her when I am in SD later this month.






















































































Hard to believe that this is our last full day in Thailand. Thanks to the magic of the international dateline, we leave Bangkok at 6:50am April 3rd and arrive in Seattle WA at 9:30am on April 3 which represents about 18 hours of real travel time. Thanks for joining us for this great adventure. Next stop, PDX

How To Make An Umbrella

We visited several Chiang Mai handicraft factories and my favorite was the umbrella factory. The process starts with the bark of the Saa tree (Mulberry) which is stripped from the limbs of the living tree so that the tree isn't killed and then boiled and pounded to a pulp.
The pulp is dissolved in a vat of water, sometimes with a natural color die added, and a fine screen is passed through the vat, collecting the fibers. This thin coating is left in the sun to dry.
The next step is to make the frame from sections of bamboo.

The ribs are carefully cut and fitted and then set in the sun to dry as well.
Here are some frames and painted tops drying in the sun waiting to turn into patio umbrellas.
Once the saa paper has dried, it is peeled from the screen and cut into circles and carefully fitted to the ribs. It is coated with waterproofing and dried.
The final step is the delicate painting. This particular factory also makes silk and pure cotton umbrellas as well.
This is the paper umbrella we bought, antiqued before it was painted.

Orchids, Orchids Everywhere

Chiang Mai is known for its flowers, particularly orchids. When you fly with Thai Air they present everyone with a fresh orchid. Fortunately orchids are willing subjects for photographs so enjoy an orchid garden with me.

Ok, I know the lotus to the left isn't an orchid but this is one of my favorite photos from this trip. As always, if you want to take a closer look at any photo, a larger version is available if you click on it.