Change Is Hard

…but change is certain.


11 Comments

Searching for the ends of the earth

The ends of the earth at Point Pelee in Canada.

Karma continues to challenge us with photo hunts.  She gave us extra time to find our own personal ‘ends of the earth’ and it’s a good thing she did because here I am coming in at the last second with my choices. (Make sure you click on the photos to get a better view.)

The inspiration for this hunt came from our trip to Point Pelee in Canada earlier this summer.  Point Pelee is a piece of land jutting out into Lake Ontario.  From the sky it looks like a sharp edged triangle but when you’re there it feels like a very small version of Cape Horn, South America, with waves come toward it from two directions.

While we were in Canada we also visited a more famous location – Niagara Falls – where I had another ‘ends of the earth’ experience as we stood just at the edge of the falls, looking down at the Maid of the Mist tourist boat.

The ends of the earth at Niagara Falls.

Traveling to another Great Lake two years ago we explored Lake Huron, and at one point walked through tall marsh grass, our feet getting more and more wet as we got closer to the lake.

Looking for the ends of the earth.

It was easier going at Tawas Point State Park where the ends of the earth was more evident.

The very ends of the earth at Tawas.

But since Karma’s challenge I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for some ends of the earth photo opportunities closer to home.  It wasn’t easy without being near a large body of water.

You can see the ends of the earth just past that last stand of trees.

Or maybe the ends of the earth are even closer to home.  Maybe right down at the end of our road?

Can you get to the ends of the earth from here?

But in the end I felt like I needed to find the ends of the earth in Northern Michigan, on my favorite lake, Lake Michigan.  We gazed out over the lake from a platform built above the dunes at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park.

Extending the ends of the earth just a bit further.

And we traveled up to the very tip of Michigan’s little finger, the Leelanau Peninsula, to see the very ends of the earth, where someone had perfectly expressed my feelings about this part of the country.

I heart Lake Michigan.

I could go on and on talking about very special places where a person can experience beautiful ends of the earth.  But it’s getting late and Karma’s deadline looms.  Thank you once again Karma, for keeping me observant.  And for giving me another excuse to travel, always on the lookout for something special to capture.

Can’t wait for next time!


12 Comments

Home again

Just got back from picking up the Katie-girl.

The woman manning the front desk at the kennel told the helper person to get “the calm Sheltie.”  Right.  They said she was “really quiet.”  Right.  That she “liked to run in circles in her pen.”  Really?

She barked at me the entire way home.  After two walks around the yard to sniff everything and a rousing game of frisbee in the back yard she’s finally settled down with a big sigh for a nap.

We got home at 2:30 a.m. last night.  I could do with a nap myself.  More on our trip later.  (Thanks Ellen for the post about our visit!)

Yawn.

 


10 Comments

Saying goodbye to the Pacific ocean

Yesterday was spent with the ocean; driving along it, walking beside it, smelling the salt in the air – feeling the wind in our faces.

Most of the day was spent near Big Sur, south of San Fransisco.  We tried, earlier in the week, to visit the Pacific when we were north of the city…

…but fog made the driving hazardous and we gave up after a brief touch.

Yesterday, our last full day in California we wanted to watch the sunset over the Pacific.

So we picked up burgers and ate them on the beach while we waited.  It was perfect way to end a lovely vacation.

Today we’re flying home, going back to our real lives, our Katie-girl, my job.  But not before I get to meet Ellen in person!  She’s coming with her two dogs and we’re going to go for a short walk!  I can’t wait!

I have so many other fun and interesting things to share with all of you, more than I can ever get into this blog,  but for now please enjoy the sunset over the Pacific.  Complements of me.

 

 


9 Comments

Alcatrz musings

Alcatraz…what is there to say except that I’m glad I never lived there.  Such sadness in such an idyllic spot with views to die for.  Some did.

The cells were tiny, spare, hard.  The best ones had sunlight.  Solitary confinement cells didn’t have any light at all.  We got to go inside a solitary confinement cell while the guard shut the door with a clang.  Six or seven of us stood silent in the hot, humid total darkness.

Freedom makes a person smile.

So much tragedy here, the images are ghostly, faint, movie-like, and yet they were real.  Much is told by people that lived the story.  As one said, “Not much good came out of a stay on the rock.”

Still there were bits of beauty if you looked very carefully.  The color of a roof…

…the shape of a plant…

…the yawn of a bird.

This is an amazing place.  A place to take away lessons about resiliency and hope.

A place I won’t soon forget.


8 Comments

Golden day in San Fran

Yesterday we wore ourselves out walking in San Fransisco, starting with the Golden Gate Bridge.

Then taking a bus tour through San Fransisco…

…leaving us on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge in Sauceleto where we wandered around and listened to street musicians.

We took a ferry back to San Fransisco…

…then walked about a gazillion blocks, past protesters at the Federal Reserve…

….and took a cable car back to the Wharf.

We are tired.

And I won’t even talk about the naked guys on the beach or protesting Wall Street bailouts in front of the Fed.  Sorry, no pictures of that!

Today we’re on our way to Alcatraz.