We Traveled up to the Top of A Mountain...Or Perhaps it was a Glimpse of Something More!

The trip up the side of this mountain was not my favorite thing in life! To travel for miles on a thin passage just wide enough for one vehicle, with a drop that went on forever was not a drive I enjoyed, nor did my family enjoy making it with me. Having said that...I would not have missed what was waiting for us. We must at times face our worst fears in order to find fulfillment and this was the case as we arrived at one of the most beautiful and peaceful places we have yet to travel this summer! The pass up was one you can only know by experience and so is true for the feelings you experience as you spend time walking the river, and the paths of this site. The hot springs were something we had yet to experience and it was amazing to sit and relax in such a simple pleasure. The calmness I received during this trip was to prepare me for my break from a summer filled with fun, laughter, tears, family, friends, and amazing memories and bring me back slowly into our world of schedules and life's expectations. I could not have asked for a better way to end my summer than to sit at the top of a mountain with new friends and talk, laugh, share, and breath the fresh air of a space filled with such powerful beauty. May we each take the time to challenge our fears and enjoy those simple rewards that are waiting for us within the world we live!

The Water was OHHH SOOOO Cold

AHHHH-Can it Get any Better?

PEACE-In the Middle of a Busy World

To Relax on the Top of a Mountain in the Hot Springs!

Breakfast by the Fire

Chilling at Camp

Catching "Air"

Reliving Those Many Days we Spent on the Front Porch Swing

We recently traveled back to our hometown. What a wonderful time for our children and us to reunite with family and friends. I spent some time walking the streets of this small town, reliving the days we lived here and raised our children. To be back with these many memories was an experience I cannot put into words. What a wonderful experience to be able to travel back and see all the people we shared so much of our lives with. We are blessed to have been touched by each of these beautiful people over the years. I give you these pictures as they can give you more than my words could ever provide. Blessings-

Having Fun with Old Friends

"Lucy and Ricky" Hosting a Night of Fun

Our Backyards were Always Filled with Friends

Time with Cousins

More Time with Cousins

And Yes...There was More Cousin Time

And Even More Time with Cousins

Family Reunions

Grandma Time

Fun On The Farm

Water Time

The Old Youth Group Together Again...Part of it At Least

Nanni Time

Energetic Moments

Lazy Afternoons

The Carolyns

Friendships that Last

The Gathering of the Men

Catching Up On Life

After All These Years the House is Still Filled with Teens

A Night of First Times

Girls and Giggles

Watching All the Changes

Lucy and Ethel Together Again

Sharing an Evening with Old Friends

Sharing All Our Changes

A Fun Walk Through the Gardens

And of Course There was Willow

Willow...What can I say to bring this energy to words. A place of dreams, magic, and love! I first experienced this warp in time when I traveled there as a young child. My children were recalling their experiences of years gone by at Willow recently while driving through the hills to once again arrive in the valley. We laughed as we remembered one of the years at Willow when they were just toddlers. Days of dancing in the prairie and catching crayfish in the creek! The magic of this space draws me each year! We have grown to live the whole year for this one weekend. To share the music, the food, the fun with so many friends.

The Magic is All Around

Dancing at Willow

Wayne with Several of our Teen Friends

Willow...A Place Where Life Stands Still

Morro Rock-One of the Nine Sisters-Ancient and Beautiful

We traveled here with our family plus two! Nestled in the midst of unique seaside cottages, behind a gate covered with lemons, we found our home for the weekend. Could we have chosen any better for our last weekend at the ocean before our extra son and daughter who had shared the past several weeks with us were about to head back to their homes? We had all lived and shared togethor in many new settings. This, however was to be one of our favorites! Our family loves to return to this community set at the base of an ancient volcano. A place where the pace of life is slow and the people look you in the eye and smile. A place where stories begin and where endings are magical! The smell and feel of the ocean! The caress of the morning fog. The beauty of all of nature sharing this space! The smell of dark coffee blended with the sweetness of sticky buns and the subtle scent of the ocean brings ones soul back to life with that old familiar sigh...This is the space my children had been dreaming for months of sharing with their friends...

Gathering Treasures at Dawn

So, we began our time here...Morning comes early at the ocean if you want to find Sand Dollars! This was our morning ritual and one that not everybody could drag themselves out to join. We would crawl from our warm beds to throw on the layers and walk sleepily to the ocean's side. Surrounded by fog and the sweet smell of the ocean, we would begin our beachcombing. The silent meditation as you walk searching the sand for yet another treasure. The squeals of delight we heard as they were found! The sand between our toes and the cool fog filled air caressing our cheeks brought us to the beginning of yet another magic filled day.

Saving yet Another Starfish

Wayne began a mission of his own as he walked the morning sand searching for sand dollars but also keeping his eye open for yet another of Nature's beautiful creatures! We became mesmorized by the beauty and the uniqueness of the Starfish we found living in the tidal pools! Some, sadly, did not find their way to these cool baths of water. There were just a few hours to wait before this entire area was once again under the ocean, but even this was too much time Wayno felt for these little beautys to wait out , drying on the sand. He began searching for those few unlucky fellows and would kindly deliver them to a near tidal pool to await the waves that would take them back out to the ocean's depths.

The Morning Fog is So Refreshing

Coffee and a Book Before we Hit the Beach

Life is good you know when you have risen with the sun, walked the beach searching for treasures, saved a few fellow creatures, and come back to a warm cottage to a warm pot of coffee, a book, and a daughter curled up beside you!

Ahh-To Ride the Water!

The boys could not wait to get out on to the ocean and with a little coaxing the girls agreed to join in the fun! What fun it was! We spent two hours out in the Bay, watching a seal swim by as he played beside a large yacht headed for dock. We rode the waves as our friends, the pelicans would soar along side us just at eye level. What fun it was to feel the ocean's waves lift and fall beneath us. There was of course the water wars between the girls and guys!!! The races were on across the bay as well as the quiet moments of drifting. How enlightening to glide across the ocean surrounded by all the creatures who dwell in Morro Bay.

Exploring a Sandbar out in the Bay

The Sandbar...A place we had watched and wondered about from the edge of the bay. A place we had questioned locals about as we ate at Roses. This was a place we must explore! This was a good reason to kayak out into the Bay! What pure amazement filled us as we first set foot on this land! It was unlike any space the six of us had ventured on before. To step and then to sink with each step...six, maybe twelve inches into the cool wet sand! Not what we expected but something we had to investigate. How far could we go down if we were to jump?!? This was one of the many things we spent doing as we explored this new found land. We also found that on the back side of the sandbar, you actually could walk without sinking and off we went to explore even more of this space. Rocks filled with holes! Rocks that would splinter in your hands. Rocks that would shatter when thrown at other rocks! Wow!!! How many hours we could have spent. And how close exactly will a seagull let you get? So many experiments this sandbar held for us! It was just as exciting and more as we had all dreamed it would be. But then again, what part of Nature isn't if we just take the time to be once again a child and explore, laugh, and question?

Searching for Treasures

Skimboarding-A New Found Activity

Bry has been dreaming of this new found love since last Spring! What it would be like. Could I really stay up? He first had the excitement of choosing just the right board!!! This in itself was of course worth the whole trip! Once it was chosen and then purchaed, he went to waxing the board with extreme care. Then he was off to the ocean to see just how it all worked. I am happy to say, he is addicted and is already planning how he and his friends can rise early on Saturdays and trek the couple hours it takes to get to a beach. Board all day and be home late that same night! It is good to have dreams!!!