I love odes.

O Mighty Sea,

How relentless
is your offering of beauty to us,
how unceasingly
you wash it upon our feet.

So humble an act.

For though serenity and tumult
parade upon your surface,
your full depth is never disclosed,
your full strength is never exerted,
your capacity to sustain or destroy,
never fully revealed.

How humbly you greet us indeed.

So much so,
that every man's compulsion
is to stand upon your shores
and contend with you.

To capture or experience?

One issue I found myself struggling with on this trip is when to put the camera down and simply experience the moment.

This is a new issue for me.   Until recent years, I was definitely a proponent of live-the-moment don't just capture-the-moment from behind a lens--much to our family's chagrin.  We rarely force our kids to sit down and smile for a picture (and it shows in all the holiday pics).  And it doesn't help that I simply have a preference for candid photos which developed in the course of my journalism degree.

But the tables turned a bit on this trip.  I wanted to capture EVERYTHING.   As a result, I spent too much time feeling disappointed/frustrated about my lacking photography skills, missing the timing of a particular shot or the inconvenience of lugging my big camera around.  But I just wanted to take it ALL with me when we left.

For example, the last night of our beach house stay we realized we could see the daily fireworks display at Seaworld from the back balcony.  Now this was exciting for two reasons.  It felt like a closing celebration of our whole trip AND (because of the Texas drought) we have not seen fireworks in two years.  I was wowed for about 30 secs then remembered, "Zoom lens!!"  I raced through the house, grabbed the lens, stumbled on to the porch and set the camera to rapid fire.

My pictures sucked.  I know nothing about night photography and basically missed the whole display in my zoomy-zoom fervor.  I totally missed it; all I captured was my failure to live the moment.  See:


So to those of you who have a camera as an appendage, how do you navigate the live-the-moment vs. capture the moment dilemma?




Now here are a few I definitely do NOT regret :)

Rest...

...Play.  That pretty much sums up our trip.

I did have fun with my zoom lens.  What better way to look directly at the sun?

Soar

Snuggles in the sunset glow.

The Sparkler with her first sparkler.

Fire dancers.

At the beginning, Hannah insisted on mom for everything.  By the end, only Mimi would do.  I can't imagine how that must feel for a grandparent.

Beach-tired is the absolute best kind of tired.

The last day, I took Elia for her first roller coaster ride on a beachside wooden coaster. We got to sit in the very front. 

Afterward, we bought souvenirs and ate ice cream.  She was so completely happy it brought tears to my eyes.

Beach Super-Awesome-Amazing House

Ok, the house really was soooooo cool.  I've got to show you just a bit...

Hello Ocean, every time I walk in the room.  Yes, Please and Thank You. 

Hello comfy sofa and happy rug.

Hello updated kitchen with the view that makes dish washing a pleasure and not a chore.

Hello sunset shining on our faces every night.

We spent many a moment eating and listening to waves roll in.  Therapy for the busy life.

The dryer was broke part of the time, but I secretly didn't mind.  Affront the oceanscape, laundry-folding seems to loose that boring-chore aspect. 

Lunch on the porch.

Styling services provided by Le Sea.

And the place came with a swimming pool!

Arty hallways

TVs in every room.  My kids hated that.

We were so busy enjoying the view, Hannah had to put herself down for a nap.

Free wi-fi utilized heavily by me, for your benefit of course :)

Thank you Mimi and Pawpaw from the bottom of our hearts!

Sandy-ego

Sorry it's been a while.  Apparently UNacclimating to awesome weather, constant outdoor time and relaxation is harder than I expected.  This first week being home has been "grouchy" to say the least.

So lets look back at the week before, in which, we basked in sand and sun and grandparent glow.  

The view from the balcony of the beach house Michael's parents so graciously shared with us!

The water was cold, and the kids could care less.

My husband has building in his blood.  No small-scale castles for us!

I think you can find the rainbow just about anywhere if only you look hard enough.

Elia endearingly named these "Ham Jellyfish."  They were everywhere but the sting didn't hurt too bad. 

I was really taken with the distinction between shadow and reflection.  Both reveal form but only reflection reveals color.  There seems to be some truth to mine in that dichotomy.

Beach bunny.

We occupied the entire top floor of that building in the background, and yes, it was super awesome.

Also full of the builder instinct.

The Brave One.  She did not fear the surf one bit though it bested her more often than not.

Sandi V-Force

I love it when she is silly.  I hope it never goes away.

Such peace-of-mind to know your kids are safe in one place.

He will be a surfer at some point.  I'm sure of it.

More Vacay

All right, I've got to step it up a notch.  Life is moving on and I can't dwell in this vacation hangover much longer.  There is a LOT more to the Redwoods stuff, but I'm going to save those for another day when we all need a healthy dose of green.

Onwards to San Francisco!...

We drove to town that evening.  The kids took their first city bus ride down to Fisherman's Wharf.  We ate clam chowder in bread bowls because that is exactly what Michael and I did ten years ago when we honeymooned in San Fran.  It's the only place in the world where I find clam chowder tasty.

That black rock in the distance is Alcatraz.  I couldn't be bothered to hunt for a better angle for love of the chowder had consumed me, or rather, I it.  

A chilly and determined V-Force

We were in exactly this spot ten years ago.  Would have never imagined, back then, revisiting the city with four of our own little warriors in tow. 

Last tourist stop, Ghiradelli.  It was anti-climactic but tasty.

Ever the artist.  I love this girl.

And the most splenderific moment!  Michael and I had thus endured two weeks with no espresso.  Our dire need and greatest delight was a morning stop at Ritual Coffee.  If you need real deal coffee in San Fran, GO THERE.

Wooded-Throne: Textures

One of the most astonishing aspects of the forest is the intense texture.  I would try to imagine how an interior decorator would make a living room feel like this forest.  Doubtless, it would take copious amounts of fabric and materials.  But such a project could never come close because the fabric of this forest is alive.  Every surface is covered, draped or piled with rich living breathing organism.  Even the inorganic elements added by humans are--not long after--robed in velvety green.  

To be quite honest, it often made me think of heaven. The capacity of this place to support life is downright heavenly.  Most are familiar with the the phrase in the Lord's prayer, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."  So as an exercise in imagination, I try to envision places as they would look in heaven.  When I think of cities, I see them go from grubby and lifeless to sparkling color.  But when I think of the Redwoods in their heavenly form, they don't look much different.  I don't see how this place could be improved upon.  To me, it's beauty is complete or at least as close to perfection as it can be in this age.

So, I hope you enjoy what I see as a small glimpse of the textures of heaven...