Warren's Place

I acknowledge and remember you with debt and gratitude.



We were visiting a local cemetery yesterday, and we saw this section for veterans that was decorated for Memorial Day.

You can read about the history of Memorial Day here.

--Warren

Coast Guard boat motors into the bay. This picture was shot through a picture window from the Spinnaker Restaurant in Sausalito.



--Warren

Formal:


Informal:


What?


Kissing Cousins:


Thanks for checking in.

--Warren

Madison's parents needed time to get ready for moving to their new house so Gail and I volunteered to take Madison out last Sunday. We went to Burlingame for lunch. After lunch, we did a little shopping. We ended up going to dinner at our friend's house where Madison played with her friend Megan.

--Warren

Pictures follow:

Gail and I frequently go to Carmel and the Monterey area via scenic Highway 1 on the California coast. One of our break stops is at Pigeon Point Light Station, a bit north of Santa Cruz. It's an opportunity to stretch our legs and to see if we can spot any gray whales on their bi-annual migration. The lighthouse itself is a historic landmark. It was closed recently due to safety reasons, but the grounds is still open.

Lighthouse:



Foghorns:



This photo shows the weathering of the foghorn building due to the relentlessly harsh conditions that often occur on the coast:



We are often seen doing this, looking for whales. On this trip, we were late in the migration season, so we did not see any whales during our short, 15 minute stay there:



You can read more about Pigeon Point Light Station Here:

Pigeon Point Light Station Info Page

Added: 5/13/3005

The following pictures were taken by Gail.

The area around the lighthouse:







Me, coming to get my camera back:



Thanks for reading.

--Warren

Happy Mother's Day!

I happened to dig out an old set of archived b&w negatives to review. I came across some portraits that I shot of my mother back in the 70's. I often used my parents as models to practice on. I probably shot this picture with a Nikon F2 and a Nikkor 50mm f1.4, and I developed the film myself in the makeshift darkroom that I created from our tiny bathroom.

Now that my darkroom is digital, it was easy for me to scan this old negative and process it in Photoshop.

I think she was around 46 years old in this picture (I'm 47 now).

A couple of years ago, we almost lost Mom to cancer, but she fought back after her major surgery to remove the tumors. She refused to undergo chemotherapy, but she seems to have beat the cancer now. She is a strong, but gentle and good natured woman. I think it shows in this picture.

If you like what you see on this blog, please drop me a comment or an email to let me know. Thanks for reading.

--Warren

For our 22nd anniversary celebration outing, we cruised up to Copia last Sunday. Copia is a wine, food, and art museum located in Napa, right next to the Napa Wine Train station. It was a very pleasant spring day, and the drive there was fun.

Entrance to Copia:



Copia offers wine tasting, art exhibits, educational exhibits, half hour educational programs, gardens, and a world class restaurant, Julia's Kitchen (yes, that Julia (Childs)). You can read more about Copia on their web site: copia.org.

We learned all about Zinfandel at this seminar, which included a small taste of a local Zinfandel:



Modern Architecture of the interior, stairway to the art exhibits upstairs (photo by Gail):



One of the educational displays scattered throughout the main floor(photo by Gail):



The edible gardens are very interesting. The large garden area is planted out with herbs and vegetables that are used in cooking classes, and I would assume, also by the restaurant.



Garden Art:



This is the largest Swiss chard that I've ever seen. They were about 5 feet tall, but from this angle, they look like giant redwoods:



Closeup of the Vivid Red Stalks:



Does anyone know what this is? It looks like a gigantic head of red lettuce:



For Gail and me, going to Copia was not the real point of this story. The real point is the fact that we were out together, having fun and exploring something new, and still enjoying each other 22 years after we got married. Gail reminded me that we took a shadow picture of ourselves on the beach at Mendocino on our honeymoon. We decided to recreate the picture in front of Copia.



--Warren

There is a small garden within Golden Gate Park called Shakespeare's Garden. The garden contains over 200 flowers and plant mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnets and plays. When I look at this row of benches, the romantic in me envisions a pair of lovers at each bench enjoying the garden.

By the way, Happy Anniversy to US! Gail and I celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary today.

--Warren