Welcome to The Hotel Del Coronado- Such a Lovely Place

Finally, some photos from our stay at the Hotel del Coronado-


View from the second floor lobby.

Here's the courtyard of the Victorian building which is rumored to be haunted with a guest of 120 years ago, a Katie Morgan who died on the premises. Now according to our amateur ghost whisperers aka our boys, poor Katie Morgan wanders the halls, moaning, "Oh, why can't I check out? Oh why??"
View from our room, no, Life doesn't suck.

There was perfect surf for the boys' first surf lesson. Unfortunately, our youngest sons's lesson ended when he got stung by a stingray, Ouch!
Gratuituous cute picture of our dog, Charley who misses us so whenever we go away. He's a living teddy bear who looks like a little golden lamb in this photo.

The Midway Museum in San Diego

Last month, we visited the San Diego area and paid a visit to the Aircraft carrier museum, The Midway.

This carrier had a crew of approximately 4,500.




The control tower as seen from the flight deck/runway area.

The engine control room complete with mannequin sailors.

This plane is one of the "Shamrocks", part of the Fleet Replacement Squadron.

My visit left me awed and humbled, and appreciative of the sacrifices of those in uniform, both past and present.

Thank you for stopping by,
and to see what else I've been up to, please visit me at

Fun Pictures from Vacation

I saw some beautiful and fun things on our trip to Oregon including stops in the town of Weed and in the city of Sacramento, California.

"Weed" like to Welcome You to Weed pretty much sums it all up in this agricultural and timber town in Northern California. The name is its own attraction in our grass growing state.

Many of the restaurants, stores, and hotels in downtown Ashland, Oregon have water bowls for our four legged friends including this one outside the Ashland Springs Hotel. (I am intrigued by the doorbell (Dogbell?) on this "Dog Bar" and wonder if this is for the dog to ring to order a steak or burger from the hotel restaurant? Or some stronger libations besides water?)

Here is the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, California. It is very reminiscent of the U.S.Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Old Town Sacramento reminds me of the French Quarter in New Orleans without the jazz or strip joints.

Thank you for your visit today and I wish you Beauty and Fun in your day and travels too.

Pink Sunset in a Sculpture Garden

Beauty can be found in unexpected places like this sculpture garden we happened upon on a dead end street outside of Sacramento, California.


(Please double click for a closer view.)

For more Pinkaliciousness, please visit Beverly at Pink Saturday. Thank you.

Color Carnival at The Websters Yarn Shop

On our vacation last week we spent some time in the beautiful city of Ashland, Oregon. Ashland has a delightful downtown with interesting shops and restaurants. One of the stores that we enjoyed is Websters Shop for Yarn. I find any store dedicated to crafts and handiwork to be so inspiring. Even though I don't knit, I have an abundance of knitters in my life and I so enjoy the finished product including a felted doll my husband purchased for me from this store. (I will post a picture of the new addition to my doll collection soon.)




Thank you for your visit and if you crave more color in your life, please visit the Color Carnival.

Fishing for Our Dinner in Oregon

Here are additional pictures from our wonderful vacation at Lake Of The Woods in Southern Oregon.

This is Mount Shasta which is near the Oregon/California border and visible from our lake cabin resort.

Our family went out with a fishing guide on the Lake of the Woods and we caught 5 fish and lost a whole bunch more. Fishing requires a deft touch and lots of technique. We caught plenty of fish for our dinner and it was delicious dredged in flour and spices and pan fried thanks to my husband. I, of course being the one person in the family who does not Particularly Care for fishing, caught the first, most, and biggest fish with my grand total of "TWO". My husband and our sons each caught "One". All in all a great day. Even for this Non-Fisherwoman.
Our youngest is proud of his landlocked sturgeon, a relative of the salmon.

My husband rented a little boat to fish with the boys later in the week. Our oldest son caught two yellow fish and released them.
The big thrill for the boys was they got to drive the boat.

Thank you for sharing in my vacation, it was wonderful to be together in so much peace and natural beauty. Even fishing.

Oregon Rocks and Rolls

Here are a few pictures from our vacation at Lake of The Woods in Southern Oregon. (Please double click for a closer view.)

The Lake of The Woods Marina has Adirondack chairs perfect for lounging.

The view from the chairs-

Our "put out" place on our whitewater rafting trip on the Upper Klamath River.

The intrepid adventurers with our great guide, Paul B. from Noah's Rafting, Ashland, Oregon.

More pictures and some tales including fish tails to follow soon. The job thing sure does interfere with all this other stuff unfortunately. :o(

Thank you for your visit and also for noticing my new blog layout due to the creativity of April Showers Blog Design. I am also getting my Very Own Blog Button so I can run with the Big Girls.
Thank you again, Best Alway, Martha

Observations from Travel

I'm back safe and sound, very happy to be home and flush with a fabulous and fun filled vacation in Southern Oregon.

Some lessons from my travels include-

If there are toilet seat covers available, by All Means Use Them.

I need a separate piece of luggage for all the electronic chargers. I am the official keeper of the chargers, blue tooth, check, ipod, check, rechargeable batteries, check, I'm like Scotty in the minivan, in charge of all power sources.

We do live in an international city, I forget how culturally diverse even my suburban outpost is in LA County.

A husband who excels at laundry is a Very Good Thing.

Good car tunes includes "The Boss" and "Trout Fishing in America".

Dorothy said it best, "There's no place like home."

Travelogue with pictures to follow in subsequent posts.