gambier island

our very good friends
have some property
on gambier island.
we love to go there.
our kids love to go there.
they have it perfectly
set up
for tons of fun.
there's a tree house,
a fire pit,
a hot tub.
you can kayak,
tube,
sail,
swim,
hike,
practice archery,
or darts.
it is peaceful,
relaxing,
and mind clearing.
my favorite is to
look out the windows
of the cabin from my bed
in the morning -
and then kayak the bay
first thing -
when not many others
are up and about -
and it is quiet.
we are tempted
to buy a place there
ourselves.
these photos are from
several trips there.
last weekend,
they let us go by ourselves.
we took the girlfriends too.
made a quick trip
over to gibsons landing
for lunch -
and ice cream,
and a bit of browsing.
we bought a boat -
this year,
and i keep wondering why
we didn't do that
a long time ago.
we have had
some awesome adventures.

this one fell off the dock into the drink and needed rescuing

sleeping on the dock

street art

a glass garden

last weekend
saige & i went to seattle
for the 'revolve tour'.
i had a great time
just spending the
time
with
her.
the tour speakers
were really good.
though we both
could have done without
the screaming girls.
but,
our highlight was later.
we went downtown
to see the
chihuly garden & glass.
and it was
truly amazing.
we were
in awe.
we could have spent
all day there.
and if i lived locally -
i'd have a membership
so i could go
whenever i wanted.
if you are ever
in the seattle area
i highly recommend it.
it will
blow.your.mind.
these photos absolutely
don't do it justice.

a glass beach

one of the highlights

of our trip -

was glass beach.

on the west coast of california -

in a town called fort bragg.

the story is, 

in the early 20th century -

residents used the cliffs

as a garbage dump

into.the.ocean.

i don't know who

EVER

would think 

this is a good idea.

but anyways...

the dump was closed in 1967 -

and clean up began.

they set fires to reduce the piles,

and larger items were removed.

the ocean did the rest.

the combination of 

the pounding waves,

& the large rocks 

that line the beach

broke the garbage down

and tumbled everything around.

the whole beach 

is filled with 

beautiful,

smooth,

colorful,

interesting

pieces of glass & pottery. 

we could have 

spent a lot more time there -

just hunting for treasures,

but we still had a long way to drive.

my favorites were the pottery.

i tried to figure out

what each piece

may have been.

 

if you are ever 

anywhere near that area.

i recommend dropping in.

an art-o-mat

my art-y friend anthea
told me about
art-o-mat.
it is
an organization
that converts
old cigarette machines -
to dispense art!
how cool is that?
so while we were in vegas
koen and i went on a walk
to check it out.
the website
says there are 8 machines
in the cosmopolitan hotel -
i wish i'd had
more time to find them all -
but maybe it was for the best -
i would have bought
a piece from each of them
probably.
check out their website
to see if there is one near you -
or if you'd like to submit
some art for the machines.
i am thinking about it.

this is art by mike filippello

and by kelli busch