Leaving the Northwest soon, gotta share some family pictures

Jenna and me having our morning coffee

 This is a real potpourri of pictures, ranging from my trip North to Seattle with a few Christmas shots thrown in for fun.

I am leaving this evening for 4 weeks out of the country, and I don't know why I put so much energy into "worrying" about forgetting to bring something I will need. In all my travels, once I am on the way, I know I have everything I need, and I've survived losing things I thought were crucial more than once. (Wallets, plane tickets, I almost lost my wife and one child on the way to Mexico once- we all survived)


 At any rate, so far this Winter has been a grand adventure now I look forward to revisiting and playing with my Guatemala Family. Hopefully I will have something useful to offer besides play,
but when all else fails I am exceptionally good at goofing off.

The boys playing helicopter pilot

 Case in point, can you see the look of pure childish pleasure on our faces?

(That's a helicopter over my son in law's left shoulder)

Little Mt. Shatsa (I think)

 This is actually from my drive down to Berkeley, but Mt. Shasta was just as gorgeous on my way back in February!

 The Tacoma family has a new resident member.
Grandma Cheri (Grammy) has moved to Gig Harbor, and judging by the grin on her face I think the move has sparked some of her childhood creativity.



Egan hurt is leg a few weeks ago playing Superman, but finally he is up and walking/running/jumping again. No surprise there,
I don't think you can keep that guy down.

Personally, I think they both look great in my hat! (But they didn't get to keep it, they have to grow into it first)

B

Kayla shining her light.

Kayla and Joshua having a quiet moment

Grandpa flying his plane with the Bedients

 All in all, the past six weeks has been primo pilot training time for me. I have flown in winds that I never thought I would be able to fly in. I have flown at truck stops along the way.  Honestly I don't make very good time while traveling by car these days. I am always on the look out for new sites to fly.
In Berkeley my flying spot was a beautiful park on the San Francisco Bay, and I probably did give myself a few new gray hairs flying over the Bay.

Taking an afternoon walk

Kayla bombing down the sidewalk on her Princess Bike

Time to close this and put away my computer. I will be updating this from Guatemala next time. I'm not bringing this computer, so it will be interesting to see what I can do checking in with my iPod and from internet cafes. Don't be expecting much spell checking :)

Adios Amigos

Leaving Berkeley and 1958 flashback

I have had three marvelous weeks in Berkeley, played a bunch, worked a bunch and even made a side trip to Santa Cruz to see Avery the newest addtion to our family (my grand nephew) You can see he loves his pet chickens.

I feel great gratitude for my California friends and family.  It's nice to get away from Winter weather and especially nice when I have a creative job or two to work on. This year we did a fairly major kitchen utility room remodel/face-lift at Masia's house in Berkeley.

Here's a clip of "Hobbitville" in Berkeley a very cool (and old) building complex in
Berkeley.   Hobbitville

Had a great two day drive North to Shay and Rob's house and big fun playing with Jenica and some new toys (big kid and little kid)


I am experiencing an old phenomenon I call "So much external stimulation -  no time for reflection"


My choices at this moment, sit here and journal some more, get outside and enjoy a beautiful sunny Groundhogs Day in Oregon City, talk my son in law into taking a break from his work and flying (rc airplanes) with me, go get the fixings for dinner tonight, have lunch with my daughter.

I choose "all of the above -- minus the sit here and journal part.  However, I promise myself to get back on track with my mission to tag or bookmark significant times in my life. Maybe the firecracker in my dad's cigarette story will be next.

Here's that story: The year was 1958, my best friend and fellow hell raiser was Nandor Kuhlman, a Hungarian friend from St. Thomas Catholic School.

Berkeley the "Flashback" city for all old hippies.

I have spent a bit of time the past few days walking around the Campus of U. C. Berkeley. The Students are gone on Winter break and when you subtract the students, and the women, you get a very high percentage of Jerry Garcia look a likes wandering around the campus. (If I hadn't shave my beard off last month I would be one of them.)

What can I say?
That's Bazerkeley

On the personal quest to tag my life to chronological events I got to thinking the other night I do remember where I was during a few major earthquakes, and those earthquakes where easy to look up on the web;

Feb 9th, 1971 at 601 am (22 yrs. old) I had a near death experience. It would have made for a weird headline. "San Fernando Earthquake kills hippie in Pasadena basement, the house is intact, a 30# fire extinguisher fell and crushed his head" (Actually it missed me by a good 8 to 10 inches!) What was I doing sleeping in the basement? That's another story.

May 18th 1980 at 8:32 a.m. (31 yrs. old) Mount St. Helen blows. I did not feel the ground shake, but I did hear the explosion 300+ miles away. I know it for a fact because I was by myself loading rock onto my 2 ton truck (one of many many loads for the rockwork on our two houses and the garden walls) I heard what I thought at the time was someone blasting, later I factored the speed of sound with the distance I was from St Helen and that explained the noise I heard.

Borah Peak Idaho, October 28, 1983, 6:06 A.M. (34yrs. old) Cheri and I are laying in bed in the Studio (before the "big house" was finished) The first thought was that a bear was shaking our back door, then we notice the hanging lamps swinging and realized it was an earthquake. It was centered in Challis Idaho about 350 miles away. In Challis there was extensive damage and two children were killed by falling debris on their way to school.

California Sunshine

My friends stuck in the "frozen white North" are going to be a bit jealous at today's treats. I drove my car with my windows down and I got to listen to birds singing!!
Flew my plane twice and had a lazy day traveling!

Correction on the 1963 historical blog entry last week. It was actually 1961 and I was thirteen when I cut school that day. I did the math, I left Palo Alto when I graduated from eighth grade I turned fourteen that Summer!
I have one year out of 62 nailed down now, here's another: 1966 I Graduated from High School and I was eighteen.



I thought an image would be nice so here is the Senior class for Pasadena High School, I found it on Google images, This is Pasadena Texas however, our class was much bigger (1100 +/- grads in my class)

Talent Oregon - The ONLY "Talent" in the US

I'm heading for the Bay area for a few weeks of "working" vacation. Made the decision yesterday to fly down to Guatemala in February --- Yahoo!!

I'm trying out this website for lodging (for this little trip, I have a GREAT place to stay in Guatemala.

It's another "power to the people" site, check it out!
http://www.airbnb.com/

On the road agian - New resolve - New everything

This year I don't think it's going to be the standard travel blog of previous years. I am inspired to write more while out in the wild world, but this years resolve is to:

1. Stay in the wild world while:
2. Reflecting and chronicling the phases and transitions in my life (tweet style, 140 characters or less) and:
3. Take time to reflect on these life experiences that have shaped me (In a longer form but set aside from this blog)

I will keep it fun for me by including photos - old and new,
from time to time a little rhyme
And - Who Knows?
ANYTHING GOES!


Yes the date is May 20th 1963. I was a school day.
It was at a college party bar in the foothills of Palo Alto
I was 15 Yrs Old!
NEWS AT 11:00

Update: Got to figuring in the middle of the night, it had to be 1961, I left Palo Alto the Summer between 8th and 9th grade - That would make me 13 yrs old for my first "hanging out at the bar" experience.

2011 - getting closer to HEAVEN

140 characters - perfect length for a soundbite. Heard it on NPR must be true.  My goal: ken's life in tweets http://moredepth.blogspot.com