De Haze, De Haze

We are currently on a vacation in the Canadian Rockies celebrating the 50th wedding anniversary of Mrs. Eyes and I.    Flying into Calgary last Tuesday, the pilot on our Alaska Airlines flight announced that visibility at the airport was very poor due to the dozens of fires burning in British Columbia.  That was the first thought I’d given to concerns that the smoke might interfere with the incredible views we hoped to see around Banff and Canmore.   Our concerns were confirmed as we pulled into our hotel, the Blackstone Lodge.  The towering mountains visible from our room were vague silhouettes against the gray, smoke-filled sky.   By Thursday, when we took our first tour of the Banff area, the haze had lifted some but my photographs were hardly what I’d hoped for, color faded toward gray by the smoke in the air.   It is interesting how the human eye can perceive the beauty of a scene but the camera can only capture what it sees.

Maui at Seventy Three

Since my wife Muri and I moved to California in 1971, we have vacationed in Maui 7 times.  The first time we were here with our good friends, Don and Jackie, we spent half the time on Oahu and half the time at Napili Bay (perhaps the prettiest bay on Maui).   The second time, we brought our two children and spent time on both Maui and Kauai.   While Kauai is beautiful and less 

Monday Smiles – 19/6/2014

So, here is is, Monday again.  Since Monday is the sole surviving theme day, Monday Smiles, here on Older Eyes – Bud’s Blog, posting on Mondays sometimes requires a little creative smile-searching.  Not that I don’t have a very good life but like most humans, I am sometimes inclined to take the everyday blessings for granted … and in doing so, I forget to smile about them.  That is exactly the reason I originally added Monday Smiles to my blog … and exactly why it remains.  But this week, no search is necessary.   If you’ve been following along, you know that my wife, Muri and I just returned from a Mediterranean vacation which gives me two things to smile about … memories of a great vacation and returning home.  Yes, those of us with Older Eyes do like to return to our daily routines.  So, I thought I’d offer the ten best things about our vacation and the ten best things about returning home.  No, this is not a David Letterman routine … it’s not meant to be funny.  Then again, I don’t find him very funny.

Monday Smiles – 3/24/2014

I woke up this morning thinking I was ready to smile.   Muri and I are planning a Mediterranean cruise with our friends, Ron and Kerry.   We have been planning it on and off for at least a year.   We finally got serious a week ago and picked out a cruise line and destination.  However, Ron and I are both frequent flyers on a certain airline which allows us to have our choice of premium seats … and maybe even upgrade to business class using miles.  Nice, right?  Except if we are making our own flight reservation, we need to coordinate with the cruise lines.   And see which flights have good seats available.  And decide if we want to stay in Rome for a few days before the cruise.  And what cabins we want.

Monday Smiles – 7/16/2012

Yesterday was Muri’s Birthday.  If you’ve been coming around here for more than a year, you may remember that we went to Maui for her birthday last year … and I spent the week torturing my readers with pictures of her birthday vacation.  Finances are tighter this year … and we’ve committed to going to the Grand Canyon with our Grand Kids (and their parents) next week.  So this year’s birthday outing was a little less grand.   Lake Arrowhead is nestled in the San Bernardino Mountains approximately one mile above the L.A. Basin and a little over an hour from Anaheim Hills.  It is a beautiful lake surrounded by pines and mountain residences, from A-frame cabins to multi-million dollar mini-mansions.   The lake hosts over 4 million visitors a year. There are 400 guestrooms in hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts as well as 500 cabins and condos, and also provides large facilities for conferences and retreats.  The de facto center of town is Lake Arrowhead Village, a small outdoor retail area featuring outlets, galleries, restaurants and, of course, tchotchke shops.  The temperature is typically 5-10 degrees cooler than it is at home and nearby Bluejay is home to one of our favorite restaurants.

Monday Smiles – 7/2/2012

One of our favorite getaway spots, particularly in the winter, is Dana Point Harbor and more particularly, the small grassy park along Mother’s Beach.  We can set up our chairs in the shade of an oak tree and read, write, or talk while watching toddlers dig in the sand or splash in the gentle waves.   Paddle boarders, kayakers and dog walkers come and go, providing background people watching.  We can walk the mile and a half path along the marina, commenting on the peculiar boat names, and if we want, nullify the calorie loss of our trek at our favorite ice cream shop.  We don’t usually venture here on summer weekends because of the crowds.  The grassy knoll we like to have to ourselves is likely to be inhabited by four or five large families under colorful canopies and parking is likely impossible.

Monday Smiles – 6/20/2011

I have a confession to make.   In spite of posts on being a romantic, Sacred Spaces, and new jobs, I’ve been somewhat of a grump lately.  No, not a curmudgeon … a garden variety grump.  When I’m at my best, two of my most positive qualities are mindfulness … the ability to accept each day as it unfolds … and the ability to accept others as they are, even when they are not playing according to my rules.   Not right now.   I seem unable to recover from small disruptions of my daily plan … and people doing the same things they always do are annoying the hell out of me.   Errands to take care of, the new project, and a proposal to write compete with my daily routines, leaving me feeling as if I’ve accomplished nothing at the end of the day.  Time alone with Muri has always been one of my antidotes for times like this but unfortunately, she’s been grumpy, too.  We may not be dragging each other down but we aren’t lifting each other up, either.