Cheryl and me at the Husch Vineyard west of Ukiah

Cheryl and me: this is our 7th "girl trip."  We've been to  the Grand Canyon, Miami, Ojo Caliente a bunch of times, and now the California wine country.

Apples in Vichy Springs

Apples were ripening in Vichy Springs.  I just had to eat one that had fallen to the ground.  Tart, crisp...not quite ripe, but still delightful.

Congratulations, Emma!

2011 Academic Rodeo Results
Math Bee results and Spelling Bee results

The official results are in!  Emma placed second overall in the Math Bee competition for 5th and 6th graders.
And because she is among the top 5 spellers in the 5th and 6th grade based on a written competition, she qualifies for the oral spelling bee to be held Saturday, October 8th in Waco.  Papa Tom and I will be there for sure!

Clouds in the valley

If you look closely, you can see clouds hanging in the valley, in front of the hills.  Love it!  This was on our way west, to Elk and Highway 1, along the Pacific coast.  I can't believe I didn't take a photo of the Pacific: gray-green waves and giant, craggy rocks rising out of the fog, 

California, here I come!

Our little Ford Fiesta was the perfect road trip car, getting more than 30 mpg.  I can't think "California" without hearing  Arnold's pronunciation.

Vichy Springs, outside Ukiah, California

On the trail with Cheryl.  Somebody went to a lot of trouble to create the dirt stairs!

Hanging the suits and towels out to dry, outside our hotel door.

Mark Twain and Jack London both soaked here.  Cheryl and I wondered if we were resting our heads on the very rocks that Twain and London had.  Found myself pulled to whitewash a fence . . . .

There's that wonderful apple tree again.

Bridge to the springs.

My feet!  The iPod Touch was so easy to carry around for photo taking.

After close to 90 straight days of triple-digit temperatures in Austin with no rain, it was wonderful to see green grass, wild flowers, and a moss-draped tree!

You know you're in Northern California when . . .

dinner is raw veggies wrapped in a fresh collard green.  Mmm!  I can't explain the purple glow.

Concrete surf wagon

Back in the day, those would have been wood panels on the side of the wagon, perfect for hauling surf boards and surfers to Padre Island.  This wagon is concrete, located outside the Surf Museum in Corpus Christi.  I took a peek inside the museum while in Corpus for a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission hearing in September 2011.

With Big Chief Darold at the South Congress Food Trailer Court

Big Darold is an actual Mardi Gras Indian who relocated from New Orleans to Austin after Hurricane Katrina.  He and his wife made the suit behind us.  You can see the hole for the face.  That thing must be heavy!  Luckily, Mardi Gras isn't in the hot, humid summer time.

Acrocats

Checking out the South Congress food trailer court

Rain clouds!  We actually got rained on Saturday after about 100 days of drought and more than 80 days of triple digit temperatures. Yea!

In LA, everyone's a screenwriter/actor; in Austin, everyone's in a band

Tom and I spent a cool (that is, below 100 degrees!) Saturday afternoon under the oak trees in Guero's  outside music venue while about 80,000 other people were at Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits music festival.  We were there to hear Too Blue, a blues band whose members are school teachers and a civil engineer by day.  My co-worker John Beeler is sitting next to Tom; he took off when the UT game started.

Co-workers Pam and Amy.  Pam is dating the bass player/civil engineer in the band.

Millie's favorite things

Cat food never tastes so good as when Millie claws the bag open to help herself.  She's done that since kittenhood, if we let her.

Millie doesn't like water, but she likes to hang out in the bathtub when it's empty

Otis and Jade at the downtown Portland Public Library, September 1, 2011

Fox in motion

I hope you can now access the video.  I changed the setting from "private" to "unlisted," which means only people who have the link can view the video.

And while I was in Portland . . .

Jay's house came down.  The house was standing when Tom left for work last Thursday morning.  By his lunch break, the house was rubble.  And by quitting time, everything but the steam shovel was gone, gone, gone!  Jay's business, ironically, was Wolfguard.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't a wolf that blew the house down . . . .

Raven's Roost

The Raven's Roost is a very interesting restaurant/antique store.   I'm guessing that the booth and table where we ate could be purchased.  Probably the dishes too.  Eating here is like walking into a furniture/antique shop and being able to sit down at any of the tables for sale and order breakfast or lunch.  The RR also features live music.  Austin, take note!

The red leather jacket is one of Anjanette's earlier Raven's Roost finds.  

Fox threw down a piece of plum she'd been gnawing on just before the photo was taken.  You can see part of the RR behind me.

More train time

I took Otis to Vita, a vegan restaurant near LaWanda's house, for dinner  Friday.  He wasn't at all interested in his vegan burrito, even though he usually likes beans and chili.  Instead, the booth top was the perfect train track for Thomas and Percy.  Check out the bicycle gear decor next to Otis.  Portland is definitely a cyclist's dream town.  Lots of bike lanes and rules to protect cyclists on the road.

Yum! Thanks, LaWanda!

One has not done Portland until one tries at least one Voodoo doughnut.  There's even a Voodoo Doughnut truck, kind of like an ice cream truck, that makes the rounds.

So may choices!

Okay, if you're going to devour a doughnut, it might as well be one slathered in Oreo cookies!  Not pictured is the doughnut covered in M&Ms.

An afternoon at Portland's Director Park

Right in downtown Portland is Director Park, a delightful  place to hang out, read in the sunshine (at least on this day), catch lunch at the outdoor cafe, play in the fountain . . . .