Sunrise – Page 5 – John Wise

Forgotten Oregon II – Day 6

November 28, 2011 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Disclaimer: This post is one of those that ended up being written years after the experience was had. Sadly, there were no notes taken so whatever is shared here must be extracted from the images and what memories they may have lent us. Fortunately, there was an itinerary still in my directory of travel plans, so that will help with some details. As to why this wasn’t noted or blogged about, I was in the throes of writing/editing my book Stay In The Magic and felt that any other deep writing would derail that fragile effort.

If you can dream of a better way to start the day than looking out on a molten sea with a fishing boat heading out past a lighthouse, please share that experience with me.

Okay, this would definitely enhance the experience. Linda’s Seabreeze Cafe and their oat corn waffle topped with tropical fruits and toasted coconut. Yep, now all is perfect in the world, except that we have another 12-hour drive ahead of us.

Make that 14 hours: how could we pass through Pacific Grove while the monarch butterflies are wintering over?

Not just a butterfly, mind you, but millions of orange and black fluttery little butterflies.

While we’re here, we should have one last look at the ocean, as from now on, we’ll have to get serious and drive like hell.

But first, we must linger and take in the Monterey Bay because we are here.

Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove, we’ll be back.

Oops, forgot that in San Luis Obispo, we’d be stopping at Yarn at the Adobe, but we’ll be quick.

Until we pulled into the Ventura area for a stop at Mussel Shoals.

No, Caroline, we don’t have time for you to take off your shoes and walk one more time in the surf. I swear, if those shoes come off your feet and you dare touch that water, we’ll be stopping at the North Woods Inn for dinner. I triple dare you to attempt such foolery. Fine, we’ll just get home at midnight, and it will be all your fault, like everything else. 🙂

Forgotten Oregon II – Day 5

November 27, 2011 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Last night we spent at the Umpqua Lighthouse State Park in the deluxe yurt with its own bathroom and kitchen. While those things are convenient, they take away from the rustic yurts that feel closer to nature. The idea of a TV in one of these defeats the magical sense of place I feel in the single-light-and-rickety-heater type of yurt I prefer. There was no time this morning to linger in the luxury of our temporary abode as we were out with the sunrise so we could tackle the 12 hours of driving required to get to Santa Cruz, California.

The drive is actually 538 miles via Highway 101, and it would be quicker if we took Interstate 5, but that road is every shade of ugly one could imagine. Time is not important; only life is important, such as this great blue heron.

We cannot stop at freeway pullouts for encounters with the ocean, and even if this delays our arrival time this evening, it won’t be the first time we pull into a motel at midnight.

Every so often, we remember to take some of the various seashells we’ve collected on our travels and part with them by returning them to the ocean. Strangely, the seagulls didn’t think we were tossing food into the air for them which is what I expected.

Something else: lightweight seashells don’t travel far when tossing them into the surf we’ve learned. From those shells taken from their place on a shelf at home, this is the final reminder that for a time, they returned us to other visits to a beach somewhere or other. It’s interesting to think that on subsequent visits, the sand we walk upon might include a solitary grain made from this particular shell.

Hmmm, like our seashells rejoining the ocean, did someone throw this old fishing vessel back into the sea so it, too, might break down into its smallest component parts?

Hey, threat of rain, you don’t scare us! We have arrived in late November, knowing full well the tempests with which the ocean gods deliver their fury on these shores at the time of their choosing, and while we are respectful, we are not fearful.

Blink, and you miss this double arch as you speed your way up or down the 101. Plenty of times, we’ve wanted to stop but were already too far past it to feel safe about backing up on the highway. Here, on an early Sunday morning, we are all alone at the overlook and, for the most part, on the road too.

I might be mistaken, but I thought these were liberty caps of the psychedelic kind. No, I don’t just pick any mushrooms with the hope they are something I want them to be; they were left right where they were growing.

Who knows where we are or who even cares as we delay the inevitable of needing to join Interstate 5 because we chose to dawdle next to the Oregon coast?

A final glance back at the ocean with the longing in our hearts that it won’t be long before we return to once again stand in awe of this most perfect stretch of land and sea we’ve visited on so many occasions.

And let’s not forget that it’s fall at this time of year with the ensuant colors that arrive with this season.

Who cares where beauty is found as long as it is found and can be appreciated?

Grabbing desperately for those reminders that will tell us we were in Oregon.

I believe this is scientifically known as a “Cuddle of Shrooms.”

Back to Buffalo, New York

October 25, 2011 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Somewhere west of Montreal, Canada

We stayed somewhere west of Montreal (maybe Cornwall, Ontario), but I wrote just that at the end of yesterday’s post.

Tim Hortons in Morrisburg, Canada

Tim Hortons was in Morrisburg, Canada, and I have to say that I am more impressed with Strader Auto next door as they were the clue to find out where we were on the map on this day. Congrats to them for still being in business; as far as Tim Hortons goes, there’s no rhyme or reason they are as popular and ubiquitous as they are. Had we been able to find poutine for breakfast, we might still have tried Tim Hortons, but we’d have known to spit it out, opting for potatoes, cheese, and gravy instead.

Somewhere in Ontario, Canada

When I think bucolic living, this would do it for me right here, but then in 60 days, when the bitter cold of the region’s winter kicks in, I’d likely not continue holding fast to that idea.

Prescott Rotary Lighthouse in Prescott Ontario, Canada

Passed the Prescott Rotary Lighthouse which was an ice cream shop in Prescott, Ontario, Canada. Did we stop for ice cream? I have no idea but from the angle of the sun, I’d guess it was still too early for that, and in any case, we have some ideas for that when we get into Buffalo.

Caroline Wise and John Wise entering New York State near Alexandria Bay

We crossed into New York at the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority at Alexandria Bay and still had 240 miles to go before reaching the city in which I was born.

Bocce Club Pizza in Buffalo, New York

Pizza from Bocce Club on Bailey Avenue in the Amherst neighborhood of Buffalo is a mandatory stop, not just to satisfy our hunger but to allow us to carry with us some much-needed, awesome cold pizza on our flight home tonight.

Fowlers Chocolate in Buffalo, New York

This is Fowler’s Chocolate. I think I shared a photo of the place back in the year 2000 when we visited here while Caroline and I were on our first cross-country trip, and while I may proclaim not to enjoy nostalgia, that’s just lips flapping when it serves me to sharpen my edge-lord persona. Bocce Club, Ted’s Hotdogs, Anderson’s Custard, and Fowler’s with their orange chocolate are pleasures from my childhood I can’t ignore.

We had one more stop to make this afternoon, and it was quite possibly a mistake. Our great aunt and uncle, who used to live near Santa Barbara, California, in the town of Goleta, skipped back to the place of their birth, Buffalo, New York. Not only that, they bought a house across the street from where my father grew up and where my aunt Lillian was still living. They didn’t so much move as they escaped due to a part of their past catching up with them that brought my aunt shame and anger because of so many unresolved issues. Once back here in Buffalo, it was obvious that my uncle’s health took a severe turn for the worse, as he was a shell of the man he used to be. Now, we were left with the tragic image of a couple half-broken and seeming to be quite unhappy in the last stages of life. Woody passed the following year, December 16th, 2012, at the age of 88.

Kings Canyon – Day 4

July 5, 2010 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Hume Lake at sunrise in Kings Canyon National Park, California

The original plan was for us to drive out of the national park late in the day yesterday. Instead, we opted to grab a night at Kings Canyon Lodge, which had a free room – on a holiday weekend! We’ll have a few more hours in the midst of all this spectacular beauty, although we’ll get home later. We arrived at Hume Lake just at sunrise when a breeze blew through and disturbed the water’s glassy surface. Ducks were beginning to stir, and a light fog was lifting off the lake– a perfect sunrise moment. But we had little time to linger.

General Sherman in Sequoia National Park, California

The General Sherman tree!

Small waterfall on the Congress Trail in Sequoia National Park, California

We do decide to take time to enjoy the sights at the General Sherman trail after all. Eight years ago was our last visit to this corner of Sequoia National Park, and being right here in the middle of the park, it would have been a shame to skip a return walk through the woods on our way south. Everything is different. Well, the trees are all the same, but the parking lot has moved, and the trail is altogether new. The next thing that strikes us is the evidence that yesterday was a major holiday that brought out the worst in people. Trash is everywhere. Paper, wrappers, bottle caps, pieces of plastic, and toilet paper. That’s right, TP. Who is it that thinks about bringing toilet paper out on the trail, squats next to a giant sequoia to take a pee, and then leaves her wad of paper right there at the foot of the tree? Good thing there is all this beauty around us competing for our attention.

Caroline Wise standing in the trunk of a giant Sequoia tree in Sequoia National Park, California

Something these photos have trouble conveying is the size of the trees. With Caroline standing in the trunk, it’s easier to get the idea of the enormous footprint these giants have imprinted on the hillside. Besides the General Sherman tree at the beginning of the trail, nothing looks familiar. Had there been a billion fewer mosquitos, maybe we could have walked slower, allowing us to remember a few familiar locations; instead, we hoofed it. The Congress and the House parts of the grove were the only other trees that stoked our memories.

The Senate in Sequoia National Park, California

The Senate stands tall over the rest of the grove, likely doing a much better job than the old wooden characters back in Washington, D.C.

On the loop trail near the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park, California

As we are leaving the trail, everyone else is joining it. Less than two hours to cover the two-and-a-half miles, a land speed record for the snail hikers. The truth of it was the motivation brought on by the angry hordes of mosquitos. Before leaving the park through the south exit, we have to endure a partial road closure that is regulated by a light, a long, painful red light that takes forever to turn green. Eventually, though we are quickly descending the mountain to rejoin urban America. Oh, the misery of forcing ourselves back into reality.

A motel sign for a motel that is long gone in Yucca, Arizona

Most of the drive home is through the desert. From out in the Mojave east to that infamous hotspot Needles, California, we cruise along at ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit. Here comes Ludlow and Dairy Queen, yummers; a chocolate malt sounds good right about now. Off the freeway, and OMG, there are ninety-five cars and three hundred other ice cream-hungry travelers here. We don’t even get below fifteen miles per hour as we turn around and are right back on the I-40. At the last possible second, I pull off in Yucca, Arizona, to photograph a town that has all but disappeared. A defunct neon sign is all that remains of the motel that is no longer to be found.

Dry Tortugas Day 2

November 16, 2009 JWise Photo of the Day, Travels

Sunrise on Fort Jefferson on Garden Key at the Dry Tortugas National Park

It was still dark out around 5:30 when we awoke. In only a few minutes, the first blue-gray twilight would begin to illuminate the morning sky. A thick cloud cover gave doubt whether we would see the sunrise at all, but as the sky filled with a deep red and orange glow, we were glued to the dock, watching the day come into being. As the light spread across the calm, warm waters of the Gulf, an occasional fish would break the surface, leaping for something unseen by us. Mesmerized, we sat there while the world turned from darkness to beauty.

Sunrise on Fort Jefferson on Garden Key at the Dry Tortugas National Park

An hour later and still, we sit dockside, gazing eastward at the oncoming day. The fishermen who also spent the evening on the Dry Tortugas have begun to stir and will soon be gone.

Sunrise on Fort Jefferson on Garden Key at the Dry Tortugas National Park

Fortunately for us, the cloud cover was to break up after hanging around the early part of the day to lend dramatic flair to the morning sky and reflective ocean waters. With the dawn comes the idea we could easily have spent days here on this little island paradise.