Railroad Regatta In Santa Rosa A Real Hoot!

Despite the record heat, great fun.. photos to follow!

This guy had a great start but ran off the rails almost immediately. He did eventually make it across the finish.
















Looks like their fan lost a part, but at least they crossed the finish line. Notice the lade with the broom to clear the tracks. Temps were in the hi 90's Sunday!!











Not sure how this is going to work, but it was a true hand car... you can see the pump action handles above.













Daddy powered rides!! Straight from Burning Man I bet!!









Afterwards, we cooled off at the Russian River Brewery with a couple pints of Blind Pig IPA, easily one of the best beers in the country.

Great Breakfast Place in Newport, OR

We ate at Cafe Stephanie two mornings in a row, the second with chums Jim and Nikki Broadwell, down from Portland to meet us, who loved the food as well. They start the breakfast with scones brought to the table and they are quite good. We had sunny weather so eating outside was a special treat. We highly recommend the place and if ever back in the Newport area, will certainly head there again for breakfast... maybe lunch too!






We stayed at the Shiloh Inn, which we also highly recommend. We had pets so were restricted to one building but it was on the beach with great views and they have free cookies and coffee 24/7.

Third Wedding Anniversary

Yes, it came and went. Sept 22 to be exact. We chose this year to eat the remains of our ceremonial wedding donut from our celebration at VooDoo Donuts in Portland OR.
http://www.voodoodoughnut.com/

Pix of the event and the prestigious donut below.


BTW, we finished it off with a bottle of Korbel Naturale, one of our fave sparklers.














Toasted Coconut as I recall. Delicious. When in Portland, visit them.

Oregon Coast Adventures!

Back from our trek (with the doggies) along the central Oregon coast, our first visit, and I have lots of photos to pass along and some recommendations for places to eat and stay, all coming in the next few days.
Meanwhile, a couple highlights:
Newport was worth the visit for many reasons, among them



Rogue Brewery, a beer drinker's paradise.










Fries from Local Ocean Restaurant, which Kay maintains are the best she has ever eaten










A real fishing harbor













A great spot for Breakfast, Stephanie's Cafe


















And of course, lighthouses, this on at Yaquina Head


















All photos taken with my Nikon Coolpix 5700, a true work horse of a camera.


And speaking of cameras, here's a favorite photo location near Bandon, OR:

Tomorrow is Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Yarrrr!!!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/

The Erratic Joe Wilson's Shameful Record on Troops and Veterans

Joe Wilson: one good reason not to move to SC or even spend any more money there.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Optiver Accused Of Oil Price Manipulation By CFTC

What? Oil prices manipulated for speculators profits??



Who knew? This story should be watched and followed up on.
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Another Reason I Don't Live in GA

STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. — Police say a 61-year-old man annoyed with a crying 2-year-old girl at a suburban Atlanta Walmart slapped the child several times after warning the toddler's mother to keep her quiet.

A police report says after the stranger hit the girl at least four times, he said: "See, I told you I would shut her up."

Roger Stephens of Stone Mountain is charged with felony cruelty to children. It was unclear if he had an attorney and a telephone call to his home Wednesday was unanswered.

Authorities say the girl and her mother were shopping Monday when the toddler began crying. The police report says Stephens approached the mother and said, "If you don't shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you."

Authorities say Stephens then grabbed the 2-year-old and slapped her. The child began screaming and Stephens was arrested. Police say an examination showed the girl's face was slightly red.

What is going on in South Carolina??

Having spent time last year in SC, especially in Beaufort (Pat Conroy territory), and even considering a relocation after Kay retires, I am naturally fascinated with the political shenanigans going on back there, what with the Gov flying down to Argentina for a cuddle session....
But now some real fun news is breaking from there. The outing yesterday of the Lt Gov as a closet gay man doesn't count. No fun there, just hypocrisy. No, this story is really good. Thanks to FireDogLake for bringing it to light:

http://firedoglake.com/2009/09/01/midnight-in-the-garden-of-trash-and-hypocrisy-south-carolina-gets-smutty-smuttier/

Afraid of Heights? Don't Look!! Half Dome Ladder Alert

If you have never had the amazing experience of climbing to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite, this photo will give you an idea of what it looks like if you look down while hiking up the cable ladder for the final push to the top. I was one of the fortunate ones who was able to spend the night back in the late 70s, which is no longer possible.
This photo comes from Google Earth and has no credit so I don't know who took it. The photos from our trip need to be scanned (this was way before digital) and I plan to do that in the future.