Nobody on the Road, Nobody on the Beach

I have the week off work but still had to make a trip to campus for a meeting. Afterwards, I decided to head out Hookton Road for a walk. The sand is finally warm again yet I had the beach entirely to myself. The low tide offered up a handful of goodies to please the beachcomber in me and I was intrigued by fragments of what were surely huge sand dollars that were too fragile to survive the tumble to shore. I would love to find one of those gems intact.
It turned out to be a perfect day for beach house hunting. I spied a couple real possibilities. First, this cozy little number - the perfect little hideway to cuddle up with your (really small) sweetie for an evening mai tai (or maybe Sex on the Beach?) The architect is unknown though obviously there was some Native American influence. Faced to appreciate the gentle southern breezes, this little number will be the perfect spot to enjoy the Humboldt sunsets.

This second diamond-in-the-rough is more spacious - perfect for the growing family. Taking its cue from Mother Nature, this little cottage takes full advantage of the flotsam and jetsam of the area, using both rope and chip bags for gingerbread. An outdoor fire pit makes it a natural for entertaining. Although faced due west, sand carried on the strong winds from that direction do add to the coastal decor of the room living area.

I will present these options to Mark and we'll check the budget for a vacation home. If not available for purchase, perhaps we'll just visit and share the sunset with the residents.

Pomp pomp pompomp pompompompompomp pomp

OK...so I don't know the lyrics to Pomp and Circumstance (are there lyrics?) but I know from experience that the bands are tired of playing after the HSU and CR graduations last weekend. It actually began Friday night with the "Matriculation" ceremony for Academy of the Redwoods. The members of the first graduating class received recognitions, scholarships were dealt and a class photo was taken prior to the RiverLodge being transformed for the Prom which Glo attended until the wee hours.

The morning dawned early and frantic, starting at Monica's 8:30 walk at HSU. We grabbed Nana, found a decent parking place and caught the shuttle to the Redwood Bowl, arriving in plenty of time. I tried frantically to get a good picture of my first-born receiving her Bachelor's in Journalism but, since many didn't comply with the two minute limit in the photo pit, and there was a genetic vertical impairment in play, I barely caught sight of her as she descended the steps. Caught her coming in though. Unfortunately, with all the speeches and commendations, we had to be the people who leave as soon as their children perform in order to make the 11:00 Commencement at CR. We left as politely as possible, hustling to the shuttle to return to our car to get on the freeway and blast south where we came into the CR gym with just moments to spare before the first strains of Pomp and Circumstance began. My flash was being uncooperative so I didn't get a good shot of Gloria in her cap but this group shot is most of what is being called the "First Edition"; these kids graduated with their two-year degrees from CR while simultaneously completing high school. I wish it had been noted in the program since it would be quite a feather in the cap of CR but the Academy of the Redwoods early-college high school was well represented. So, two out of our three girls received proof of their education in one day. When it next becomes Hope's turn, hopefully she will be the only one walking and the day can be more relaxed and she won't have to share the spotlight. We're awfully proud of these two smarties.

ALL I'VE GOT IS A PHOTOGRAPH

My brand new camera in hand, I headed out to photograph the world and the people who live in it. Me, working for National Geographic? Nope. Me, at five-years old with my brandy new Kodak Hawkeye that I'm pretty sure my mom ordered off the back of Nestle's Quik...we LOVED our premiums and always bought the cool stuff offered on boxes of cereal and such. I'm pretty sure she bought one each for my sister Katie and I. We had just moved on to a new cul-de-sac in Santa Cruz - Harkleroad Avenue - named after the Harkleroad family who had surely owned the property that was mowed down and developed. Needless to say, living on HarkleROAD Avenue caused much confusion over the years... It was 1962 and ours was the first on the block besides the Harkleroad house. The Tribble's house ended up on that lot you can see behind Mr. Telephone Man, right on the corner of Harkleroad and Rodriguez.

As you can see by the picture, it was a quality piece. I think a spool of film held twelve pictures. You turned a knob on the bottom to advance the film, watching carefully the little window to see the arrows until you reached the next number. Turn it too fast and you might miss the frame then your next photo would be lacking half of a memory.

As I ventured up the street, I came upon a telephone lineman. Future paparazzi as I was, I apparently charmed him into this coy pose. The albums are full of cheesy pictures I took over the years, plenty of them black and white with rippled edges, notes in back (or sometimes in the border) identifying the people or place. See how my feeble attempt at cursive identified my subject? I kept this picture in spite of having no idea who he is but I know it was my first photo. The one that got me hooked. I wonder if my mom had any idea of what she was doing when she ordered that camera. Do you remember your first camera? Did you ever order cool stuff from the back of boxes?