come along on a Vintage Vacation!

Hey, Sweet Hearts...

Ya wanna come along on a Vintage Vacation with us?

I thought you might, climb on in & let's get outta here!!

Driving down Route 66, listening to the

Rat Pack on the radio,

we've come across the coolest motel in town.

If we weren't towing our trailer behind us,

we just may have had to stay a night or two in a tee pee!

But who needs a tee pee when we have a

1960 Deluxe Pathfinder?

We've got everything we need in a mere 17 ft.

{Do you see that little door in the back? That's where our porcelain toilet is, only the best for my friends!}

Finally, we've arrived at our destination...

that didn't take too long, right!

Isn't she a jewel? Think of the stories she could tell us of all the places she's traveled to
and the happy family's that laughed inside her walls.

How rude of me...come on in & let's get comfortable!

Let me turn on the transistor radio.
Hey, how bout a cuppa joe or an ice cold soda?

There's nothing like drinking an icy cola while you're setting up camp.

Even though we're dry camping, we still have all the convenience's of home.
Thank God for generator's & hubby's that know how to do
'all that stuff'!

Time to put on our cowboy hats & venture to the outdoors.
I wonder what great views & vistas await us there?

Looking out the window it appears to be pretty darn hot & dry!
Hark en, I hear something calling to me.
Oh, that'd be our Corona's...
don't forget the limes!

Watch your step & close the screen behind you to keep those pesky flies out.

What's this??
We've stumbled upon an oasis...
right here in the Angeles National Forest high above Los Angeles,

a little piece of heaven!
It's the East Fork of the San Gabriel River
with it's white water...

& glimmering pools.

It's ancient rock...

& the lure of color.
{that's my man gold panning far off in the distance}

Wow, we're in for a treat...get your camera out!
It's the mythical water nymph, kai.

Look how he floats & hovers above the water's edge.

Of all the water nymph's
kai's the hardest to catch,
cuz he blows in like a summer breeze.

See how both of his arms are wrapped in shimmering dragonfly wings
& he skims the water on his tame angel fish.

Here on the water,
he is master of all he can see...

above & below the crystal clear waters.

What a lucky shot of the spry water nymph
unaware of our presence.
He plays & frolics
without a care in the world.
Simple Joy,
that's the true secret of happiness!

kai seems to have befriended the man who searches for the
golden treasures that the earth might reveal.
They must be kindred spirits,
one with the sparkling water...
How poetic is it that in the middle of our campground,
'a river runs through it'!

I'm so glad you came along on our
Vintage Vacation with us
& were able to enjoy our many adventures in
the back woods of LA! lol
Until we meet again sweet friends,
Happy Trails to You!

XOXO

freedom don't come free

{listen too...}

"Let the world go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike,

that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans,

born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace,

unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,

support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty. This much we pledge and more."

"to those nations who would make themselves our adversary,

we offer not a pledge but a request that both sides begin anew the quest for peace..."

"Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.

Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need, not as a call to battle, though embattled we are,

but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation”,

a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.

And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America can do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

John F Kennedy's Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961

Have a Happy 4th of July my Sweet Friends!

And when the words 'Thank You' don't begin to express my feelings of pride & honor & gratitude towards our American Hero's,
when I am at a loss for words & can find nothing else to say,
I am always mindful that...

'Freedom Don't Come Free'!

XOXO

fishing & the circle of life

This is like a miracle to me.

I can't believe my Dad is hanging out & fishing with us at our own Lake Gregory here in Crestline, Ca!

Many of you know that my dear Daddy was nearly killed in a motorcycle accident

7 short weeks ago on Mother's Day...

but here he sits with my sweet hubby along the shore of the lake, fishing pole in hand, surrounded by beauty & breathing in the joy that is 'Life'!

As I sat & watched my Father baiting his hook & casting his line out, I remembered back to when I was child...to when he baited my hook & helped me cast out my line.

And again I am reminded of the great 'Circle of Life'.
During the day my line kept getting tangled up as if it had a little snag in it & yet every time I tried to cast it out my Father would say,
"That was a pretty good one Susie!"

Sadly, this was our best catch of the day.
A tiny Perch, which after the excitement of reeling him in
was released back into the lake to live another day.
I guess in some way that was his 'Miracle'.
For me, fishing is a metaphor for Life.

As the day progressed, several times I was reminded of one of my favorite movies,
'A River Runs Through It'
& knew that I would watch it as soon as I got home.
As we dropped off Dad at the lovely cabin

he rented for a week,
I suddenly felt a little sad.
I explained to Robert that it felt as if my child was spending the night at a

friends house for the very 1st time.
I was worried that he would feel comfortable, or that he had everything he needed, or that he just might miss us during the night.
Again, there's that 'Circle'.

After I got home I did watch 'A River Runs Through It' & I will leave you with the bittersweet & heart wrenching words of the writer of this beautiful book,

Norman MacLean.
Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead,

but I still reach out to them.
Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fishermen in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon, all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the

Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise.
Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.

Yes, I did cry.
XOXO

a father's day blessing

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,

The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,

The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,

The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,

The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,

The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,

Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,

He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so,
He called it ... Dad
~~Author Unknown.~~

Sweet Hearts...

This Father's Day is a miracle for our family.

I wish for you the miracle of unconditional LOVE
& a Father's Day filled with...

the touch of a loved one, a smile from a child,

the sweet sound of laughter

& the joy of family!

XOXO