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We spent a day at a local art festival. The venue had some lovely gardens that we wandered through when we needed a break.
I only had my iPhone to use for taking pictures and did a lot of editing when I got them back on my computer. I was pleased with how well they came out.
I was pleased with the focu and rich colors I got with my phone.
Ddd
We recently had a new experience - cruising on a river boat. We took a sternwheel steamboat down four rivers - Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee and Cumberland. Then we followed up with a few days with family.
Along the way we were in St. Louis, Missouri - Alton, Illinois - Grafton, Illinois - Cape Girardeau, Illinois - Dover, Missouri - Paducha, Kentucky - Clarksville, Tennessee - Nashville, Tennessee - Lynchburg, Tennessee.
The paddlewheeler was fun and not at all like the cruise ships we are used to. VERY tiny towns we stopped in along the rivers.
Here are some of the best views...
Reflection of our hotel in the windows of the hotel next door:
St. Louis Arch:
Three of the six flags mounted on the front of the boat:
The infamous sternwheel:
The boat in Grafton:
Bridges were beautiful. This one is in Cape Girardeau:
Detail from the 'front porch' of the boat:
Early one foggy morning on the river:
Walking in Dover:
Decor on the boat:
Along the riverwalk in Clarksville:
Outside Lynchburg:
With so many days of beautiful weather it was hard to decide what photos would best represent the whole of the trip. I chose these 12 and will turn them into a calendar with the next 'free' offer I get from Shutterfly.
Ddd
Snapping pictures, cropping and editing from a trip to the coast.
I wanted to record the late afternoon shadows on this rustic door. It looked like a subject I might want to tackle with my new colored pencils.
I got the set of 72 PrismaColors and have not had a chance to play with them yet.
Love the shadows of the leaves, the wood grain and the various greens.
Ddd
On previous cruises I have played with the blank book craft that they make available.
The kit includes a blank book, a sheet of stickers, a sheet of die cuts, two ribbons, a crocheted lace, a bottlecap, some paper clips, photo corners, brads and three sheets of printed cardstock.
Let's see if I can find pictures of the previous books I made:
For this one I used the printed cardstock to create pockets for the front and back covers before decorating with stickers and a tag. FRONT:
So, I wanted to do something a little different this time, with the same supplies.
I cut an aperture in the front cover, backed it with clear cellophane from the original packaging and added a piece of map paper with stickers behind that.
The rest of the front got other decorations to further the theme:
I used one of the ribbons to create a permanent bookmark and added an arrow charm to it. Then on the inside of the front cover I backed the aperture decor with blank paper and added a couple of tags and a clip:
The back cover got a couple of printed cardstock attached to create a pocket:
The envelope is just there to show the pocket layers.
SO, that is the end of the Field Trip review. Something different coming tomorrow.
Ddd
In the kit of paper crafts we got a plastic luggage tag sleeve and hanger and a diecut for adding our address.
The diecut was a foldover so we could decorate the back with more of the kit supplies.
This is the tag I made:
There were still a lot of diecut bits left over but I left them for future crafters to use.
Ddd
From some of the left-overs of the first card, I made a second front that I will just add to a white card front:
We did have access to some foam tape so I was able to add some dimension to this one.
Ddd
On the cruise there were some sessions for making art projects.
We got a packet of supplies that contained white cardstock, printed cardstock, some printed diecuts, ribbon, an envelope and a luggage tag.
I made three projects from my kit.
Today's project is the first of two cards:
These types of crafts are not my favorite (cut and paste with limited pre-selected supplies) but I understand that they are catering to a clientele that (if my table-mates are any indication) know nothing about paper crafting.
In every session I ended up showing people how to use a brad, how to use a 'snail' glue runner, etc.
A nice break in the day, though.
Ddd
For its one required 'foreign port' our cruise ship docked in Ensenada for a day. We've seen enough Mexican ports to last us our lifetime so we only stepped on the dock long enough to take pictures of ourselves and the ship and then got back aboard.
This was our view leaving port:
It's always fun to see the seals/sea lions perched on the buoys:
They also cover docks, rocks and play in the bay:
I guess these mammals are increasing in numbers everywhere and causing much distress to fishermen. But they are still a novelty to us and fun to watch.
Ddd
We only had time for one more museum and chose the Model Railroads.
They had several rooms (28.000 square feet) with vast landscapes and featured O, HO and N scale trains.
We didn't get to see it all as we had to make a run back to catch our ride back to the port.
In fact, we didn't even get to use our fourth museum pass at all, due to time constraints.
I can't imagine trying to see all 15 museums, let alone participating in many of the other activities at Balboa Park.
Ddd
For our second museum pass at Balboa Park we selected the Aviation and Space Museum.
There was an amazing number of things to see here but we did't take many photos!
There is an atrium where aircraft hang overhead and they were neat to view:
This museum covered everything from the start of aviation through the plans for privitazation of space travel.
This actual suit from the early days of space travel was fun to see:
We chose to NOT ride the simulator that enclosed you in a capsule and gyrated you every way from Sunday. I'll KEEP my lunch, thank you!
Ddd
The first museum we toured with our pass was the San Diego Museum of Art.
Their main floor had a focus on Asian and Middle Eastern art. There was a lot of pottery, sculpture and religious objects.
The upper floor was featuring an exhibit called Brueghel to Canaletto. Like our time in the Getty in LA, we were content to stand so close to works by famous painters.
There was one I don't have the identity of the artist:
a Brueghel:
a Canaletto:
a Rubens:
and a Tintoretto:
even the frames are astounding!
Ddd
The largest urban park at 1,200 acres featuring 9 performing arts and international culture organizations, 15 museums, 14 restaurants, 19 gardens, 13 recreational activities including hiking and biking trails, a dog park and 9 other attractions - including the San Diego Zoo.
Our ticket included transportation to and from the park, a quick driving (orientation) tour and entry into four museums of our choice.
I thought I'd include pictures from the quick orientation drive:
The buildings, as you can see, are beautiful.
Ddd
The day we spent in San Diego was a rainy one but, being Oregon people, we don't mind a little rain. We started with an open-sided trolly tour through old town.
Along the waterfront were some nice views:
Of course, someone will alwaysdrive into your perfect shot!
The old historic houses were neat to see:
On the way back to the port we enjoyed seeing several tall ships:
Hard to get nicely composed shots when you're whizzing by in a bus, but the photos are a personal reminder of what we saw.
Ddd
Our next port of call was Santa Barbara. We arrived at dawn:
A trolley tour through the hillsides took us 'near' where some famous people 'sometimes stayed', 'used to live', or 'once built'. I would be quite happy to never hear the name Ty Warner (the creaator of beanie babies) ever again.
We drove past the famous 'most beautiful courthouse ever':
and stopped at the mission to admire even more of the Santa Barbara signature architecture:
Most welcome view? Our cruise ship at anchor:
In spite of it being touted for the history, architecture and the famous residents of the past - most of the tour got out to shop at the mall. Nothing special, just another American mall. Sigh.
Ddd
Did you know that visiting Alcatraz is the #1 reason tourists come to San Francisco?
The tour boats take a limited number of people each day.
you are toured to various cells where infamous prisoner were incarcerated, view the implements and routes of attempted escapes, and hear the voices of former prisoners, wardens and guards.
You get to step into some of the cells, too.
Creepy!
Ddd
Our trip included only one day in San Francisco so we decided to focus on the Golden Gate Bridge, riding the cable cars and visiting Alcatraz.
We arrived by boat so our first views of the Golden Gate were before dawn, by boat in heavy fog. Fortunately, they light it well so the photography turns hour phenomenal:
After the fog started to lift there was a nice view from across the harbor
Then we took a tour over to the far side to a viewpoint wayside
We watched a street artist create amazing skylines with spray paint:
We got a nice view of Coit Tower from our ship:
We caught a cable car by the waterfront and rode it up to the end of the line and back.
View along the way:
A view from the cable car at the top of Lombard street. In the distance you can see Coit Tower and our cruise ship in the harbor:
Alcatraz deserves its own posting so wel'l tackle that tomorrow.
Ddd
Before planning our trip to California, I had never heard of the Getty Center. Hubby was the one who added it to our itinerary. SO glad he did!
Many years ago I took college courses called Survey of Art 101 and 102. Through the photos in the textbook and the slide shows (in a darkened room, just after lunch - zzzzzz) I was exposed to the great artists and their works thoughout history. I have since always desired to tour the Louvre, the National Gallery in Washington, DC, or the National Gallery in London. I just wanted to see the brushstrokes for myself.
What I did not know was that the Getty Center is considered to be among the top 25 museums in the world... and I got to go there!
Not knowing the scope of the collection we did not leave ourselves nearly enough time so we only saw about 1/4 of the permanent collection and none of the special collections, sculpture gardens, or botanical gardens.
In the galleries, nothing was roped off, so you could stand with your face literally inches from the surface of a noted artist's work and see every dot of color and every brushstroke. Here are some of those I photographed (a couple I have lost the artist info).
There was one room of just illuminated manuscripts.
Sculptures included a Rodin:
...and several by Degas:
I don't have info on the scultors of these figures:
Among my favorite paintings are these by
Goya:
Camut:
Monet:
2 by Renoir:
Sargent:
and my dream viewing - Van Gogh:
Standing in front of these magnificent works (and many more) was a thrill and we have promised ourselves we will be back to spend more than one day exploring this place in detail.
Ddd
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island is 22 miles long and 8 miles across at its greatest width. Despite the song lyrics, the island is located about 22 miles off shore south-southwest of Los Angeles. A ferry travels several times a day from Long Beach.
Coming into the harbor at Avalon we were struck by how mountainous it was and how small the town was, despite its popularity.
Many tours will take you up into the hills for hiking, zip-lining, and other adventures. Other tours included parasailing, mini-sub, and glass-bottom-boats.
We chose to rent a golf cart and toured ourselves over the roads up in the hills overlooking the town.
Ice cream, walking the streets, and a late-afternoon ferry completed our full-day trip to Catalina.
Ddd
Not actioned packed, but educational. Our next stop was a visit to the La Brea Tar Pits. This was something I was fascinated with.
Out in front is one of the tar pits complete with bubbling gasses, oil slicks and the stinky smell of fresh asphalt.
Inside the large museum are the massive skeletons of (many extinct) animals large and small that have been excavated from the tar over the years. These include mastadons, saber-tooth cats, camels, dire wolf, horses, bison. Other smaller animals like rabbits, skunks, and various birds still live today.
As you tour the grounds you can see crates and containers of animals and materials from the excavations that have not been processed yet, more open tar pits, and go in the building where the current excavation is taking place.
In this pit they are at about 16 feet down and you can see the string grid that they use to keep track of exactly where everything was found.
Totally fascinating!
Ddd
One of our adventures while in LA was to visit Universal Studios.
We're neither one much for 'rides' so we stuck to the tour. It did include three 4D experiences that were pretty awesome, but don't lend themselves to photography.
The tour of the lot takes you through a western set, a lakefront town, a city, and different time period residential. All of them are 2-dimensional - just fronts.
This area was being used for filming of a TV series thile we drove past.
Back from the tour we walked around the grounds where they have lots of shops and restaurants whose facades mimiced those seen in various Universal movies and TV productions. This Lucy look-a-like danced in the street.
There were characters and set pieces for posing, too.
We saw everything we wanted to see here.
Ddd
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