Surfing!?!?!

Sitka. October 6, 2010. Surfing. Seriously? Is it real surfing? Really? Still shaking my head. OK. A couple of them were on boogie boards. Really? In Alaska. Is that allowed?

Growing up in Sunny Southern California, I apparently have some prejudices about what surfing should look like.

Insulated wet suits are not part of the picture I have in my head.

You should see the bottom when the tide goes out.

When Tom tried to teach me to surf in 1979, I was too scared. (What?!)

When Alma taught me in 2007, I was too out of shape (hey, it got me to the gym and working out). And I realized I wasn't "scared" in 1979, as much as feeling awkward in front of a boy (Tom, not Alma) I wanted to continue to impress. And I didn't want to deal with the learning curve. And how I might look. So I was still nervously laughing at myself at Launiupoko Beach Park. I'm vain enough to think I shouldn't have a learning curve. But I do. And I'm getting ok with that.

Once again, Alaska in the fall

Here we are in Alaska, in the fall.
It's the off season and the tourists and mosquitos are gone. One can walk into the Sitka Super 8 and get a room for the night. Or better yet, call a B&B in the morning and check in later that afternoon. I can recommend the Cinnamon Bear run by Terry and Sylvia.

If you don't fish or hunt, there's not a lot in Sitka. Some cool history is here. Well, wait. There is hiking. Back to fishing. It seems one must own a boat to live here. Nearly everyone, from the trailer dwellers to custom homes, there's a boat on a trailer parked on the property. Even the Super 8 had 2 boats parked along side.

Now, more on the hiking. The first hike we wanted to go on had police tape across the trail head. Not an active investigation going on, but an active bear. Specifically a sow and cub. They were spotted on the trail recently.

All the bear stories come to mind. And the joke. About wearing bells and what one finds in grizzly scat.

And somebody's talk about Bear Island up here. Bury the guts when your fishing and stuff like that.

We found a trail where the tape was taken down. And followed it. May we always have a trail to follow.

Another fall break.
I started this blog last year at this time. I've only posted a few times. Could say it's because it's just one more thing to do. Or not.

This week we're headed to Sitka, AK.
It's the title of a Louis L'Amour book, so I was quite excited when Ben suggested it.
Sitka sits on the footprint of the Tlingt village where the people have resided for hundreds of years I guess. Last week, the weather in Sitka was reported to be 55 degrees and rainy. The information also read that it seldom gets below freezing. I was trying to figure out what clothes I would be packing. I like wearing the fall clothes that I get to wear twice in January or February in Mesa.
This will be the third time that I will visit Alaska. I've seen such a small piece and could never hope to see the variety there. When I see pictures and documentaries of far away places, I see the camera's view, and I always wonder, what's behind the photographer. Why did he/she chose that scene? And can you move it to the right/left just a little, so I can see the view in context of the rest of the horizon?

Teaching the section of English 1-2 has made me much more conscientious of the details of grammar that I have been ignoring for a number of years. The subtleties that refine a sentence to more exact meaning.

It's not a bad thing, grammar. I learned to diagram a sentence in college. I loved the procedure, the order and rhythm of a sentence. Each word or phrase has a function and is in a place for a reason. I like reason and order. I like chemistry for that reason.

In science, it doesn't much matter what you discover or conclude, if you don't write it down, if you don't communicate, it pretty much didn't happen. And if you can't communicate your ideas, whether in science, in a blog, a letter, a phone call, a book, who will hear you, who will consider your ideas and respond?

Jack Clark in "Patriot Games" by Tom Clancy solves a dilemma based on that thought. His wife, a surgeon if I remember, was forever writing notes and ideas down to remember and would say something like "If it isn't written down, it didn't happen". OK-I got the notion from Tom Clancy. I remember reading it in the book and now I use it with/on my students. (Miss, I turned it in!" "Show me" "See, here it is!" pulling out of backpack "Where is the date stamp?" "oh. hm. I guess I forgot to turn it in")
But have you ever had to call a company and complain or resolve a problem, and didn't write down who, when, and what, and then expected something to change and it didn't and you had to do it all again? Document, document, document.

So expect some documentation as evidence that I was in Sitka Alaska.

And that's why this is meandering.

Even after raising 4 children, I neglected a rule for traveling. Take a snack. Make sure they (you) eat.
By the time we got to Maui Monday afternoon, I had eaten all the snacks I brought. I needed more food! I was beyond hungry. And got cranky. I couldn't get my mind in a better place. Maybe I could blame low blood sugar.
And I am really working to get over myself, thinking plans should go my way. "Why make anything harder than it has to be?" I kept asking Ben to myself.

And I have gotten into a really 'shot myself in the foot' routine that seems to be part of getting ready for a trip. And that is to stay up way too late the night before. So I am starting out exhausted.

Tired and hungry. Not a super smooth start to a vacation. But the condo is nice. The wind is blowing. The sunset pretty.

The cleaner was finishing up at the condo when we arrived, so we went across the street to the beach. With consternation, I took one look at sand and all the people on it and "eww". There were too many people. When we have been on Maui before, somehow we have seen fewer people on the beaches. OK. So we were camping. And this time we decided to do the "resort" thing. If that means all these people around us, take me off the guest list. Too much like my dad and granddaddy. If there was one other person in the campground, it was crowded. The Aiwohis invited us to join their family on a beach Tuesday night. That was a nice quiet place; just a few others enjoying the late afternoon sun.

The vacation definitely improved within hours of arrival. Pretty much as soon as I got some food inside of me.









We fulfilled our desire to ride the Hana Highway on a Harley Davidson. We rented a Road King.



We love Maui.

http://picasaweb.google.com/elfblf/Maui?authkey=Gv1sRgCJTpu__Y3-qZXQ



Aloha from Maui!

Having a great time.

Wish you were here.

Not the picture I would have chosen. But just trying to figure out how you can look at my vacation slideshow. If you so desire. Won't hurt my feelings if you don't, or just want to fly through it.

It's mock staghorn fern BTW.

budding flutist

Darling husband decided to REALLY learn how to play the flute last fall. He went and signed himself up for flute lessons. Hasn't missed a day of practice yet. I ended up picking up the violin after years to help him through some timing issues he used to have. Now we like to pick out songs to play. Never enough time or often enough, but we like it. This is his 2nd public perfomance. He earned 4 A's in front of judges 2 weeks ago. I admire his tenacity, perseverance and he likes classical music now.

randomness on a saturday nite

busy
overload
so relax. do nothing saturday. temple worship. follow blogs. dinner with friends.
dance I want to dance. just shake and sway to music and let the tension go...
wandering thru videos, utube, monkeysee
bellydance, plaza de anaya, inside the bungalow-that's yoga, then on to hula lindy strawberry koi
i have wanted to learn hula, forever, and belly dance since 1993
on hold
like drawing and art classes
what about music history, art history, fusion of philosophy, science advances, architecture styles and renaissance and...what is a doric column what makes it so...

seasons in life

time will come

when it is time to make time

2 adult children moving on

Navy sailor, challenge, find out what he's made of
he's a Flake
there is a core of steel

the wanderer
on the move again
looking, ever looking
running
and carrying the baggage along

the quiet one
across the continent
ties i can still feel
is he content in his awayness
looking for himself

her
battling fear
demons keep calling
seeking help
one foot in one foot out
looking ahead, holding on
wanting

the quiet of a sunday
promises of healing
restorative
strength for another round

one more day
one more step
the beat is calling
the music is playing
one more dance