Showing posts with label big blue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label big blue. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Sunday, July 06, 2008
all's well that ends well -or- we all do stupid things in our youth
Note the rocky shore line. Note the irregular wave sets. Note the shark like fin of one rock. (o.k. so I pointed that out yesterday, I still think it's cool.) Note the "triple dog dare you". Note the idiotic look of "where'd my board go?" Note the "What the hell, chicks dig scars" attitude.
Note the tale this is going to grow into over the summer... just don't tell mom.
Monday, May 23, 2005
...enjoys long walks on the beach, with toddlers...
After reading a post over at Mother of All I am having a terrible craving for salt air and sand in my shorts. I have a small penchant for the smell of a funky lagoon, the wharf and wet nappy hair. That coupled with a bunch of screaming kids makes my heart skip a beat. Throw in a warm smashed PB&J and a hot orange soda and I will elevate to seventh heaven!
Yes, I am talking about summer at the beach. The sting of being sun-kissed and the first gasp as you enter the briny shore take me back to my own childhood. It's funny, but back then it was o.k. to just drop off your kids for the day and pick them up sometime near 9:00 that night. As an adult the thought makes me cringe. Not so much about the child safety issues we deal with now-a-days, but if I were the drop off mom, I would just have to stay and hang out. There would be no getting me back into that car until sundown.
We were taught to swim almost in tandem with walking. We were given secrets such as the water won't keep bashing the tar out of you if you just swim past the breakers, and if you get caught in a rip tide, just swim parallel with the shore and in a very short distance you'll be free again. That and never put a dead jelly fish in your trunk to save for next Monday's Show and Tell.
One of my favorite past times was and still is: Making Sand Castles. While browsing the Deseret Bookstore last week I found a "must have" book for my collection: Sandcastles Made Easy by Lucinda "sandy feet" Wierenga. Not knowing how far I can go without breaking copyright laws I will neglect to post her photos of work...YOWSERS! So cool, so pretty, and so tempting to try.
I read the book in about 20 minutes, and although there are some laws of physics to memorize, it's not rocket science. She gives away her trade secrets and recipes for the perfect castle and sculpting sands. Who knew there was a science to it all? After reading her book I now understand why my attempts have been less than stellar, however well planned and executed. So watch out beach goers! I have knowledge. And knowledge is power! No sand is safe from now on. I am off to stake my foolish man's claim and build me a house on the sand.
Monday, May 02, 2005
Carlton's Log: Day Two, explore!
After the initial drive around town I made mental notes of where I wanted to explore while Thor was in meetings all day. I set out for State Street. Famous for it's promenade, but also for it's gorgeous and magnificent buildings.
One of my immediate favorites is Trinity Episcopal Church. This wonderful specimen of Gothic style architecture is a treat for the eyes. I could spend hours just looking at each hand hewn brick with their thousand colours of sand. The linear structure is fascinating as several stacked blocks are equivalent to one, each row of bricks being equal in height. The carved details in the stone arched windows and entries were perfect. To imagine the hands and minds that built this structure makes one feel like they are in the presence of genius. This is not modern technology, this is old world craftsmanship. The serenity of the whole property was peace inducing. The bells in the tower rang on the half hour, calling the worshipers into the sanctuary. On this warm spring morning, it was a great place to sit and sketch in my diary.
In the garden to the side of the chapel is a terrific maze patio. As I sat and sketched the window details, a young woman parked her car, got out and purposely and quietly made her way around and around to the center of the maze. It took her about ten minutes. As she was leaving she came over, looked at my sketches and struck up conversation. It seems she has attended the university here for the past four years. Any time she had questions about life she would walk the maze and meditation on her answers. Graduation is soon and today she was contemplating a job offer and move to Louisiana. Far away from family, friends and security. It seems the maze has always helped her feel closer to the One who will always give her an answer and be there when family and friends are so far away.
Walk to a door way and you are greeted with enormous wood doors with strong iron hinges. The doors are open and welcome you to enter. Inside the sanctuary the room is divided into three with two aisles leading to the front pulpit. All four sides of the room have large stained glass windows which glitter in the sunlight streaming through them. They tell the life of Christ in glorious colour and detailed images. The picture of the window here depicts the birth of Christ. Jesus in Mary's arms, surrounded by worshiping shepherds. The windows are tall enough to extend to the top of the second floor gallery and beyond. They are glorious and inspiring. The aisles are supported and divided by tall gothic pillars, carved with more detailed scroll work and high arches that build in layers to a point. There are trefoils everywhere, I am sure to signify the Holy Trinity.
Down one block and over one block stands the fantastic edifice of Jesuit Fathers with it's Cake and Icing details that make this one delicious building to look at! Bright white with contrasting sand coloured amazing scroll work and carved pillars, this is another example of artisans glorifying God. This corner facing church is across from a city park but has so many flowers, shrubs and palm trees to practically qualify as a park itself. The greenery shades and gives a coolness to this hot in the sun white structure. Gardens on both sides invite parishioners and passers by to sit and reflect on it's benches and low walled flower beds.
The picture here shows some of the minute details in this gorgeous door frame. All the doors in this church are surrounded by these arched carved beauties. I can't imagine the time and skill involved in hand crafting these! Wow, absolutely magnificent!
Carlton's Log: Day Two, the shopping
Everywhere you go in the city of Santa Barbara you can find some beautiful architecture. In old town, the promenade at State Street, there are hundreds of examples like the one pictured on the right. This is a detail of a doorway on an obscure building off the beaten track. The arch way border itself is about three feet wide, making a graceful arch at the top. It descends into the doorway about another three feet. For me, the amazing thing is that the detail in this scroll work is not repeated more than 3 times in the relief which is three stories high. Crazy! There are, in this particular doorway, 5 different "stripes" of relief connecting together to make one huge border. This example has fruit as the theme. The others had scrolls, animals, leaves, and cherubs. All for a doorway! This grand entrance now belongs to the delivery entrance for a store on the promenade, which has an even more grandiose welcome for it's guests. Whew!
I managed to walk through a botanical garden, actual two, that are just one block over from State street. AMAZING flowers and shrubs. The pathways are winding and help you relax and just drink in all this nature. The birds sing and chirp and there are nannies with strollers, lovers hand in hand, and plenty of old timers who are willing to explain this or that flower or tree if you just ask. I could have spent plenty of film in these parks!
After walking through the parks I headed for the promenade and set my sights on Sur Le Table where I picked up some goodies for home and kids. It was nice to have a slow shopping experience and read all the labels and pick up things, explore, and browse the store shelves. I even made a few phone calls to folks to share my finds, which was fun!
Thor called me just about the same time my tummy was, so I grabbed the world's largest grilled chicken burritos (thanks to Tony's on the promenade) and headed back to meet Thor for lunch. We split one burrito and thought we were going to burst! Thor went back to work and I decided to take in the hotel and snap up some pictures of the great blessing we were sharing!
Check it out! We have a couple of parents hanging out on the porch. They were busy all day long bring food, and chirping to the little ones tucked behind the wires. I believe they are robins, as daddy bird has a flaming red breast. On the opposite pillar we have another set of parents, big black birds who built their nest on the outer side of the pillars next to a conveniently placed drain spot. They too were busy flitting in and out feeding their newly hatched offspring. Needless to say we have one busy and chirping porch!
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Carlton's Log: Day One, the drive!
We had wanted an early start. Thor got a call and needed to go into work to settle some things before we hit the road. He gets home about 1:00, then some more "at home work" and we finally get on the freeway at 2:30.
The weather where we live was windy, bright and sunny. Off into the distance I can see dark storm clouds and the hot beachy plans begin to fade. But not to fear, I will be perfectly content no matter the weather... I will be at the beach!
Along our drive we encounter wind, rain, sprinkles, bright sun and back to sprinkles and rain by the time we drove through Thousand Oaks. I was worried for a bit, but the skies above Santa Barbara were filled with spring and the outlook of a sunny weekend was on the horizon!
Our drive was the kind that inspires folks to "load up the truck and move to Beverly! Hills that is. Sunshine. Movie Stars!" The skies above L.A. were clear as can be. The wind had swept the air clean and you could see across the valley for miles. The hills were very green and amazingly enough - the freeways were moving fast and with all 6 lanes loaded!
As we drove I kept thinking of my Gramma, who lived in Michigan in the 50's, decided to visit the friends out west in "Los Angeleeze" in December. She saw what winter was like here and that was that; they never went back home.
We drove through all kinds of pretty scenery, but when I caught my first glimpse of that blue ocean my heart skipped a beat! Have I ever told you how much I love that ol' Big Blue? Our Hotel sits right on the beach and is quite lovely. We were staying at the Fess Parker Resort. This 4 diamond resort meanders along the beach front for an entire block. The south corner has a gorgeous open air pavilion and the hotel lobby, offices, conference rooms and restaurants. The one, two, and three story buildings (all named after flowers) that house the guest rooms are placed in two rows facing the beach and are followed on the north corner with tennis courts. We found the entrance and drove around. We were greeted warmly by valet, porters, and bellmen who welcomed us and removed the baggage from the car. They directed us through beautiful etched glass arched doors, flanked with beautifully carved wood. The large window in the lobby was also etched and gorgeous. The desk clerked got Thor registered in about 2 minutes flat. This is probably the quickest registration (save Hawaii) that we have experienced. They offered us hot coffee (no thanks) and plunked two huge warm chocolate chip and walnut stuffed oatmeal cookies (thank you very much!) into Thor's waiting hands. Although we didn't eat them right away, they were the perfect combination of moist cookie with a crispy edge. Yum! The gal at the desk directed us back out to the valet, who in turn directed us to drive our car around to our building - Camellia; "It's quite a walk. Driving can get you almost to the front door. Inside you'll find an elevator to the right and you're there." O.k. then. We get in the car and he was correct. This is an all time first. A valet who wants to save you money and walking! Our luggage arrived about 3 minutes after we did and the bellman was terrific.
The view from our 3rd story room is of the back side of the building in front of us. But if we look to the north a tad we can see the ocean, and even the Channel Islands. It's a spectacular afternoon and the weather is cooperating well. To the left is a botanical garden, swimming pool, spa and 18 hole putting green. To the right shuffle boards and tennis courts. Our room is nice, with a king bed facing the sliding glass doors that lead to a tiny, but effective enough porch. At the foot of the bed is a cushion covered dressing bench. Nice touch! There are a love seat, an over stuffed over sized wicker chair, a desk with two chairs and a dressing area. The bathroom is o.k. When I say that, I am comparing it with other hotels we have stayed in of the same rating. Trust me, it was better than home, just not the best I have ever seen in a hotel. The floor tiles we typical ceramic tiles, about 3 inch squares and the tub had the same tiles in a 5 inch version around the walls. The water was HOT, which may have given the 4 star rating a boost!
Thor was given his itinerary for the conference and within that a personal letter from the host suggesting certain places for this and that. Where he would go for dinner, etc. We drove around and got our bearings of Santa Barbara and ran into, quite by accident, Arnoldi's; one of the suggested eateries. More on our experiences there next post.
So here we go. My impression of Samantha Brown and her Great Hotels segments. I may never get my passport to Europe but I'll let you in on whatever places Thor and I are blessed to go to. I am quite spoiled and very lucky. Sit back. Read a while and let's see what else Santa Barbara had in store for us!
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