wet floor and random thoughts

I got up Monday morning and found a large part of my kitchen floor covered with water. Apparently the hose that delivers water to my refrigerator's water dispenser is broken. I threw down about six rag rugs - some of them rather heavy and went in to the office early to knock out a few things, figuring I'd wait a couple of hours until the plumbers were at work and save a chunk of money on a night call.

When I came home, I found all the rugs soaked through. This is the one the least affected, probably because the water ran in a different direction. This one is, however, still largely wet. The lighter pink color is the dry area.

While I waited for the plumber to get here, I decided to resize photos and delete some I really don't need. (I have several hundred photos of birds at Creamer's Field, not all of them great shots.) I have a bad habit of dropping all of them into a folder on my desktop I call "camera dump," then forgetting them.

As I was working through them, I was reminded of some of the trips I've taken and places I've been. It reinforced for me just what a beautiful and varied place we all call home.

My photos of Georgia, Florida and New England are still in boxes, waiting to be scanned, as are the ones from our drive from Pennsylvania to Seattle when we came to Alaska in 1978. Pictures of Sitka and Juneau are also awaiting their turn at the scanner. One day - maybe this winter - I'll get to those.

It was only when I got my first digital camera that I really started shooting anything that moved and some things that didn't. Before that, I was trying to be thrifty and save some money on film and processing, although to be honest there are still a lot of those from the old film days.

Oh, I'm rambling. Back to the topic at hand - our beautiful country.

I grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, about 2 hours north of the Maryland line. I never appreciated its beauty until I went back home as a visitor.

I would sit on the porch with my dad and watch the sun rise through the trees next to the Susquehanna River. Of course, the company helped make it special too, but it is pretty.

I grew up looking at the Susquehanna every morning when I woke up. I've always loved that river - back then it was wide and slow, kind of a lazy river. Today, there are more trees hiding the river from view. This was taken a few miles further south, near Harrisburg.

My dad always had lots of flowers in the yard and on the porch. Here are a few:

These are butterfly bushes, so called because they attract the beautiful insects.










I remember trips our family took when I was small. We'd go to Potter County, in the northern part of the state. We visited Tioga County, near Potter, and Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon.
http://visittiogapa.com/canyon.html That part of the state is heavily forested, and beautiful. It's full of streams and rivers and the air was so fresh and clean.

I went to college just 12 miles from the canyon and a group of us would go over there on weekends to hike and enjoy the view.

Other favorite places in Pennsylvania included Gettysbury and anywhere with Amish populations. We had a number of Amish farms within a few miles of our homes and their fresh produce and homemade breads still make my mouth water. In fact, I have a fair collection of homemade rag rugs I got from an Amish roadside stand near where my mother lives.

Georgia and Florida also had their special attractions for me. I loved the palm trees and the big leafy trees with Spanish moss hanging down. Although I wasn't too fond of the heat and humidity, and I couldn't grow a lawn in Georgia's red clay to save my life, I loved the lakes. I thought Savannah was an especially beautiful city.

One of my favorite places is Washington, DC. I love walking the mall and visiting the museums and monuments. The Lincoln Memorial is a favorite and the Vietnam Wall is moving and thought-provoking as well as a beautiful structure. The energy of that city is phenominal.

I lived outside Boston, MA, for about six months when my husband was at training. We moved there in October, after several years in Augusta, GA. What a change! I worked just off the bay and saw the water every day. The year I was there, Boston had a horrific snow storm - only emergency vehicles were allowed to move the first couple of days. Then they allowed public transportation to move.

That move took us through South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Our trip from Massachusetts to Alaska took us through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, a short piece of Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington state.

A couple of trips took me to Hawaii - Oahu specifically. The first trip was in January, shortly after we'd endured more than a week of 50 below zero temperatures. The "cold snap" in Honolulu of 60 degrees was heaven! My second trip was in May/June on the North Shore. Although I loved the lushness of the island and the vibrant colors of the water and the flowers, I'm not sure I'd want to live there. It's hard enough to get out of Alaska to visit other places, and from Honolulu it's a 6-hour flight to the mainland. I was so very glad to land back in Seattle. To me the flight seemed very long.

In recent years, I've had the chance to do more travel - much in the American Southwest. San Antonio was a nice place to visit for a week, but way too hot and humid for me. I did enjoy the Riverwalk, but was surprised it was not a greenway, but a very commercial area. I expected to see lots of grass and trees. Not so.

Although there were plenty of trees, I didn't see any grass. It was a bustling place, with restaurants and stores and lots of people. The boat trip along the Riverwalk was great fun though.

I also enjoyed seeing the bluebells and my very favorite part of the city was the Alamo.

I've made several trips to Arizona and more recently to Las Cruces, New Mexico. My good friends Bonnie and Junior lived in Yuma, AZ, for a few years and another friend, Mae, and I would visit them. We drive to Phoenix for some spring training games and shopping and visiting. After a long cold winter, Arizona in March is as close to perfect as I've seen. It's normally not too hot and an afternoon or evening at the park seeing a good baseball game makes it even more special.

Our time in Las Cruces visiting with Bonnie and Junior is always great. We shop in Old Mesilla and they have taken us to some very good restaurants. Catching up on news and spending time together is the best part of the trips.

This year I met two of my sisters in Phoenix and we drove to Yuma to see another sister. It was an exceptional trip. Being with the three of them was great. We talked, we ate and we laughed. We walked in the desert. We took tons of photos. The only downside was the heat. It was over 100 degrees - not my kind of weather. But it was sunny and we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. The worst part of living in Alaska is the distance from family.

Although I enjoy my trips to the Southwest, I think it would take some adjusting. I love lots of green, and the desert is brown - and sometimes seems bleak.

We did see some green, but I prefer big leafy shade trees. The desert has its own beauty, but it's not my first choice.

My sisters departed Phoenix first, and my plane left several hours later. Our pilot flew us over the Grand Canyon (the real one) for a short while. I was really disappointed - I was in the front row and my camera was in the overhead bin - so . . . no photos. However, even from well overhead, it was spectacular and beautiful. One day I hope to visit it and see it from the ground perspective.

All of the places I've been have had a special kind of beauty - and all very different from others. But my favorite is Alaska.

Since I've been here, I've visited a few places in Alaska - Sitka (one of my very favorite cities) is a small town accessible only by air or sea. It sits right on the water, with small islands dotting the area. It was the site of the transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. Mt. Edgecumbe, a volcano, is nearby - absolutely striking when it has a snowcap. The Alaska Native and Russian influences are evident all over town.

I've visited Anchorage, Seward, Homer, Fort Yukon, McGrath and Nome. I like going to Chena Hot Springs and Denali National Park. The train ride to the park is wonderful and relaxing.

As I was driving home today, I saw the peaks of the Alaska Range in my rear view mirror. The mountains, the northern lights, the rivers and oceans - the wildlife and the people all make Alaska special. It's nice to visit all those other places, but I truly love living here.

fog rolling in at the base of Mt. Margaret, Denali National Park

moose feeding a few miles outside Delta Junction

the Alaska Range at Delta Junction

pool at Chena Hot Springs

Denali National Park colors

grizzly at Denali National Park

flower at Georgeson Botanical Garden, University of Alaska Fairbanks

This thing has rambled on long enough. I started it Monday - it's now Wednesday and I'm (again) waiting for a plumber. After cleaning up all the mess and yearning for a good hot shower, I discovered I have no hot water. So I'm scheduled to get a new water heater today. (I sure hope he makes it!)

I apologize for the long and winding prose here. There are so many beautiful and fascinating places in our country, it's hard to pick just a few.

I'm so fortunate to be able to visit different places and especially so to live where I do.

Happy August!