Workmen were busy framing this house that was right next to our condo during out stay in southern Alabama during our recent vacation. Something about it really attracted me. I love watching construction and so I could kind of see what the guys were doing while we were doing my beach thing. All day long we could hear saws, hammers, nailguns and such. I loved it. I’m just wondering who is going to be able to afford such a house. It may look small in the photograph but it really is huge.
We were on vacation last week on the Alabama coast. The coast means beach and the beach means water, lots of water. I had some waterproof recyclable cameras and I took them out in the water. They are not as good as digital cameras but they took a good soaking and kept on going. And to be truthful I like the timeless look that some of them like the above have.
I could fearlessly hold the cameras just a few inches off the water. I have a “waterproof” camera also but I would never risk it. Sorry, I’m an engineer and I don’t care how good the seals and gaskets are, they will fail at some point.
I beg your pardon for the selfie. And no, I wasn’t drunk. After getting a gouge taken out of my forehead this year I’m in a high spf mode these days, note the big hat and the technical shirt which worked great in the water. I didn’t feel weighed down or uncomfortable at all.
Well, this is more like it. Heather and I really like the beach.
Another pic of son, He is a great swimmer and is like a fish. We’ve been taking him to the beach for years.
A highlight of this year’s vacation to the “Redneck Riviera” of Orange Beach/Gulf Shores, Alabama was a kayak ride down the Bon Secour River which feeds into Mobile Bay.
We rented the kayaks from BeachNRiver Kayak Rentals near the town of Foley. BeachNRiver is located on a creek just a few hundred yards from the Bon Secour so it is very handy an d “Ranger Rick” and “Beaching Betty” the hosts were very nice and informative and made sure that we were ready for our outing. We used BeachNRiver three years ago on our first trip to the area and loved the experience so much we came back. (I can’t find my post fromthat trip!!! or I would link to it) They do a great job.
The river flows very slowly and is free of obstacles so the kayaking is pretty easy going both downstream and upstream.
The river is pretty narrow at first but soon opens up. There are lots of houses backing up to the river with boat docks facing the river. They ranged from just shacks to some pretty luxurious homes and everything in between.
We passed a few motorboat and sailboats made from SpaceAge Panels, on our trip. Every one of them idled down to not make a wake as they passed us and the people on board always had a comment or two as we we went by. The river is a happy place and the people using it are very respectful of each other.
A highlight of the trip was a dolphin we say making its way slowly upriver. All I had for cameras were waterproof recyclables so I don’t have a good pic of the dolphin, or any pic for that matter but still it was great to see. The dolphin was surfacing frequently and I could hear it “breathing” which is something I had never heard before.
The great thing about a kayak is that you are almost at one with the water. You can glide over sandbars and just kind of cruise along and feel like you are part of the river. They are easy to maneuver and propel. It is a little tricking getting in and out of them if you are not used to it.
In addition to the dolphin we saw lots of ducks, herons, and pelicans.
Our outing took a little less than four hours and we were a good tired when we were done. We all agreed that the expedition was the highlight of our vacation. We loved the beach but it was nice to get away from all the hustle, bustle, and people for a few hours.
It is time for our annual vacation. Every year we think stuff like “Maybe we should go to Washington, D.C. or New York City and do something cultural. Are you kidding me!
After a year of accruals, flashes, and forecasts, and three plans, yeah I want to go to Washington during the hottest part of the year and walk around. Nooooooooooooo!! I can do that at home. Give me the beach where I can get some sand between my toes.
The trouble is that the drive from the three year plans, accruals, and forecasts involves a gut busting drive between Tulsa and the Red Neck Riviera. So we did most of that today. We drove through Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Okie politicians love Mississippi because no matter what the Tea Partiers do to destroy Oklahoma’s public schools and infrastructure there is no way that they can match what Mississippi has done to themselves. So we are hardly ever in last place.
I do love the Yazoo City McDonald’s though. What great colorful arches against a great sky. I mean we never eat at McDonald’s but their restrooms are always clean. I have to admit that I think their coffee is pretty good and I love their sausage biscuits but I’m the only one who can eat gluten in my household so it is not a happening thing on a trip. Anyways, we are in Jackson, Mississippi tonight and tomorrow I’m going to have sand between my toes.
How about you? Do you like sand between your toes?
I went running earlier this week at Lafortune Park here in Tulsa. It is a huge complex with playgrounds, picnic grounds, batting cages, an American Legion ballpark, two golf courses, a library, fancy croquet courts, tennis courts, and a high school complete with a football stadium and yet another baseball stadium, and some nice ponds and fountains, all linked together by a popular three mile running/walking/strolling/waddling trail that I use frequently.
It was a sticky morning and when I finished I needed a little extra cool down walking time and so I walked over to the ponds behind the library and saw the “same old thing” in a new way so I pulled out my trusty old free, Pantech generic no-name phone and used its HDR camera to take a pic.
Have you seen something old in a new way before.
Hello there, this is my first post on YogisDen.us. I have been blogging for years as Yogi’s Den on blogger and now I am trying to get all growns up with a wordpress blog on my own domain and contracted host. Wish me luck. It is very different from blogger is my first report. To those of you that came over from blogger, welcome and please bear with me as I try and figure this out. In case you are wondering I moved all my posts and comments over from blogger and am in the process of putting in redirects to send everybody over here who lands on the old site.
And by the way, in case anybody doesn’t know, that young man pictured above is my son Logan. He is very good natured. He has to be to put up with me.
This is my Dad. He used to be pretty skinny, not so much any more. Same thing with me. It might be a genetic disorder. I think this is high school graduation photograph. I just love that tie.
This is Dad with brother Bob and me on Dad’s knee. I just love that hat of mine. I wonder what ever happened to it? I’ll have to hide it from Heather if I find it. She has a way of throwing away my most treasured hats. I don’t know why.
I am not sure where this is. I’m sure we were visiting relatives somewhere. How come everybody Dad is color coordinated. The little girl is my sister Ellen. Dad looks like a KGB spy here. Mom is no longer with us. I really miss her. She and Dad made a great time.
Dad wasn’t really a KGB agent, he was a Forest Ranger. Why a forest ranger is baby sitting cows is something I can’t figure out.
As far as me and my brother were concerned nobody ranked any higher than Dad. We had the run of whatever Ranger Station we were at, and we considered ourselves deputies. One time at Payson, Arizona we came across a National Guard officer of some sort who was waiting to talk with Dad about a big fire that his outfit was going to fight. He was kind of joshing Bob and I along, we must have been about 7 and 5 years old at the time. We told him that he better wait and check with Dad on that before he did anything. He thought that was pretty funny. Yeah, well, we were serious.
Here is another shot of Dad the Forest Ranger and brother Bob and I. I am wondering whatever happened to my Smokey Bear. I am not sure why brother Bob is looking the other way. Probably he is looking that way because he was told to look the other way. Brother Bob can be bad about stuff like that. Me too sometimes.
Here is a more recent photo of Dad. He is a great guy to sit and talk.
Happy Fathers Day Dad, I love you.
Oklahoma sure has some beautiful skies this time of year. No wall clouds here so its okay. We in tornade alley know all about wall clouds, echo hooks, supercells, squall lines, rain shrouds, microbursts, wind shear, and the difference between a tornado warning and a tornado watch as well as all sorts of other atmospheric physics. This night we could just enjoy the rose colored sunset.
Plus most of us marvel at the stupidity of the storm chasers.
When things go wrong I sympathize with their loved ones and friends who are left behind.
