Today, I wanted to stop and take a shot of the Baylands marshes. The plan was to park the car and take a quick snap before the rain started. Well….The wind picked up and started whipping the rain. The umbrella for protecting the lens from the rain collapsed and Mother was not happy.

Three of us went along Hwy 1 for Father’s Day. It was a beautiful day and we stopped at Pigeon Point lighthouse first. Lucky for us, there was a mother and calf humpback whales offshore. They were flapping their flukes and breaching. Next, we stopped at Butano to let Bill see the redwoods. There we decided to recreate the famous “Angry Gnome” photo. Since the exposure was 13 seconds, we had fun playing with the ghosting effect.

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Some of you may have read about my recent adventure at Henry Coe State Park. In a nutshell, I had my ass kicked and was totally whipped. I went almost 7 miles but it was the major elevation changes that were a killer.

Of course, Mother learned for herself…

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I talked to Mother today (04/09) and she asked where her pictures were on my blog. In particular she had been regaling her co-workers with stories from her vacation. Oddly, this is one of her favorites from her recent trip. Here is the background…

Mother and I went to visit the Berkeley Botanical Gardens. The rhododendrons and azaleas were peaking and the gardens are gorgeous. Mother was enjoying herself looking over the pool at the Japanese Gardens. So, I asked Mother to sit in front the azaleas and enjoy the view. She said she felt very relaxed but her body language says otherwise. After reviewing the shots, we both had a good laugh over her ‘relaxing’ visit to the Berkeley Botanical Gardens. After the fact, Mother claims that it was the damp, chilly breeze bothering her and causing the expression and clenched fists.

This is another photo that Mother wanted posted to the blog. We went for a short hike with the two dogs. All the small creeks and streams are running right now. Sunol is green and looks like pictures of Ireland. Note: one day, I want to visit Ireland. I asked Mother to smile while I capured her moment “mid-adventure”. She said “No!” and never looked at me. For me, I picked up a tick, was bit, developed an infection and now wonder how to keep those buggers off of me.

Mother came for a 2 1/2 week visit over the Christmas holidays. We went for a hike early Saturday morning out in Sunol. Chip took the dogs to Lake Elizabeth so we went without the girls. We set a pretty good clip along the road. We veered off the trail for the “secret spot” and continued along the small trail along Alameda Creek. With the recent rains the trail was blocked and we could not ford the stream.

There was a questionable trail up a pretty steep bank (about 3 stories of height). I say “We will have to turn around.” As a I turn around, Mother had already started climbing. I moved up behind her with the camera and tripod. About 2/3 of the way up, the climb became very steep. Mother had to climb along on her hands and knees. I had to guide her and eventually move ahead and pull her up. We did make it to the top but it did take a toll. After a while to recover, Mother decided she may want to try it again!

Whenever I call my Mother, it is always an adventure. I called her a few days ago. She was very talkative and started a steady stream of conversation right after I said “Hello”. Her monologue goes like this…

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Mother recently visited California.  I took her to Butano State Park. It is a beautiful place with a winding stream, redwoods and ferns.  Unfortunately that day, it was also cold, damp and drizzly. She declared “I do not think I like it here!”.  Then, mother noted that the redwoods did not look all that big.  I asked her to pose in front of an enormous stump with its sister tree. The resulting photo is called “The Angry Gnome” shot.