Where did she go?

I have been away. Can you guess where?
My Sweet Hubby decided that I deserved a break, so he took me to see some of these.

We saw this too.

It is quite a famous view.

Do you know where it is located?

There are no prizes,

I just want to see who can guess where we went.
This is the inside of another famous building we saw while we were there.

Yes, I am spoiled!

For some people, this sign and the preceding photo will give away the answer.

This is where your "three coins" go.

Have you figured it out yet?

If so, tell me which photo gave it away.

No fair peaking at comments before you guess.

I took lots of photos (of course), and I had a lovely time. I will probably be posting from this trip for a month.

I will give you the answer Tuesday.
See you then.

Kat

Grand Tetons, Utah and Home

I drove most of the way across the Tetons. It was a rainy day and the sky was amazing. We went up over one pass with very steep grades and I realized it has been a long time since I did any real mountain driving. When we were down from the pass and my Sweet Hubby wanted to drive for a while, I almost had to pry my fingers off the steering wheel. I had to look to see if I had dented it, I was holding on to it that hard. I guess I was a little nervous (this from the kid who drove across the three sisters in Wyoming in the snow when I was 16).


The colors were amazing.

When we arrived in Ogden, we checked into the old Hotel Ben Lomond. This is one of the Grand Old Ladies. Hotel Ben Lomond is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once the finest Hotel in Ogden. The current owners are in the process of refurbishing and restoring it so that someday it may be again.

It is not the Holiday Inn Express, some things still are not perfect but the staff are quick to remedy problems. It is a beautiful old place with a lot of memories and perhaps, a ghost or two.

The first of the Hotel photos is the entrance foyer, then the grand staircase, details from the elevators and my Handsome Hubby in the posh elevator.

The photo of the Ogden Sky line was taken from one of the windows in our room. Just up the rode a ways was our first apartment, I had to take a photo of it too. That is where we lived when we first got married.

We spent a few days running around Ogden and most fun of all, visiting with family. We are both from that area.


Our last day there, we spent together in Salt Lake City. We spent our Honeymoon there and I still think it is romantic. We visited "Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore", The Magdalene Cathedral (photos of the inside

just don't do it justice but I had

to try. The gargoyle looks as if he came right out of Disney's Hunchback, yet he has been looking over the city for a long time). We went to Trolley Square and had Dinner at "The Spaghetti Factory" (another old haunt for us, we ate there many times while we were dating and on our Honeymoon) it is still just as good as always. I recommend the Spaghetti a'la Homer with Mizithra Cheese.

Our trip was wonderful but it is good to be home. On our first walk after we got back we found a handful of wild grapes that were ripe and ready to eat. I didn't get a photo, they disappeared too fast. The cicada

and bee were having a

discussion on the porch. They

posed nicely as if to say "welcome home" then flew about their business. The wine, a lovely reward. Hope you are having a lovely summer. School starts back up for me next week and the weather just maybe starting to cool a little, we shall see.

Kat

If you go to Charleston SC...

Hubby and I went to Charleston SC this weekend. As usual it was great. It is hot and humid in August. The temp was 95 F. That with the humidity is a whole lot hotter than 95 F in New Mexico. However; once you get downtown in the historic district, the ocean breeze improves matters considerably. So dress cool and casual. Put on your comfy shoes and lets go.

Parking is free on Sunday, but not Saturday. You can find some free spots on the battery and occasionally near the Aquarium (Just off East Bay). We got one of the rare spots by the Aquarium.

Shortly after we left the car, we saw a pelican soaring over head. WOW! How can something so silly looking on the ground be so graceful in the air? Of course he was way too fast for me. Sorry no photo.

From there we walked down towards the market. I have heard it referred to as the "Slave market" but slaves were never sold there. In the bad old days, slaves would man the booths. If I understand it

correctly, some slaves lived on their own and were allowed to trade or sell their own products in return for a share of the profit.

We stopped at several shops along Market. They were all doing a brisk business and many were particularly generous with their samples. We feasted on bites of spiced pecans and pralines from a number of places. Pralines are a lovely confection made by cooking brown sugar, butter, and milk together and using the result as a candy coating for pecans. My hubby makes the best of course, but of those that are commercially available in Charleston, "River Street Sweets" are unsurpassed. We also tried Gelato for the first time and bought a large Tiramisu flavored gelato to share.

Another unique treat, I tasted "Key Lime Fudge" (River Street Sweets) I know, it just sounds odd. It was really good.

From the market area, we walked along King Street for the antique shops. The fountain picture is a courtyard that is part of one of them. The area around the fountain is as peaceful and cool as it looks. There are not as many antique shops as there used to be, but there are enough to provide a great afternoon or two of happy hunting.

My favorite jewelry store, "Dixie Dunbar's Studio"

(http://www.dixiedunbarstudio.com/jewelry.asp )is also along King Street. Her designs are always unique and and to me, feel like summer. I saw two different turquoise necklaces that I really liked. This perfect piece of coral was the best thing in the store. I always come out of there inspired.

Sunday morning we had a long leisurely breakfast at our hotel. (Not as nice as Sunday morning at home, but then, I am spoiled rotten) After breakfast we attended our old Unitarian Universalist Church. We were not the only ones who felt the need to be with other Unitarians, the seats were full. Summer services are usually not that well attended.

The service was centered on music. (Uh-oh, there she goes again,). One thing that sticks in my mind is the idea of finding, or identifying a theme song for your life. Mine would definitely be "You can't always get what you want" by The Rolling Stones.

After the service,

Hubby and I tool our walk along the battery. Lovely views of the water on one side, amazing mansions on the other. I could not capture the clean, salty smell of the water, or the sound of the sea, but I took lots of photos. What a wonderful
weekend!

On the way back home in the car, we listened to "The Bridge" FM 105.5 as long as we could get a signal then "Infamous Angel" A CD by Iris DeMint.

What is your theme song?

Have a great week, Kat

One day early

I am posting one day early as I am scheduled to work tomorrow. I don't usually work weekends but I don't mind. It is Saturday and we were surrounded by fog this morning. very atmospheric. The temperature was lovely too. I didn't even look at the thermometer. I took today's first photo from the steps to my back door. The building is an old summer kitchen.

We went for a short walk before breakfast. We had some mail that needed to go in the box. I took my camera and on the way back I got the pictures of the mushrooms and the choke cherries. I have no idea what kind of mushrooms those are but they are quite pretty with the dew drops.
The choke cherries are another matter entirely. I
remember picking and eating them up in what I
believe was Ogden Canyon as a child. I am originally
from Ogden Utah. We went choke cherry picking with some of my parent's friends and I remember Frankie telling me I was going to have a belly ache if I didn't start putting more in the bucket and less in me. I must have been about 5 at the time. I remember it was a pretty day and that I liked the fruit, but I don't remember if I ever got that belly ache.

I was thrilled when we discovered we had wild choke cherries here. That is until I discovered that they like to grow high up in the tree
and we can't reach them.....
Oh well, the birds are happy and when they are happy, they sing. We get a chorus almost all day long.

The screens on my front windows, well most of my windows, are old. I like the view from them
and how the screen shows as part of the pattern. It all adds up as part of why I love to live here. The other day this moth stopped by to visit and I of course, had my camera in reach. I initially wanted to
see how good of a close up I could get of the moth through the screen. When I looked through the lens, I saw this and decided it was what I wanted.
This old place charms me in a new way nearly every day. (Kind of like my husband. He has been charming me for more than half my life.)

The strawberry pancakes are another example of how much my husband spoils me. This was breakfast a few Sunday's ago. They taste even better than they look. I am quite lucky.
He is my love and my best friend. We have done a lot together and are planning on doing a lot more.
We both want to travel as much as possible before we get much older and we enjoy our home together. He is my biggest fan and always cheers me on. With that note, I think I will go see what he is up to. See you next week.

A squirrel from Savannah and a visitor at home

Good Morning! It has been a busy week. We went to Savannah GA over the weekend. This squirrely guy lives in a park across from the Unitarian Universalist Church. Usually the photos I post here are from my home area, this guy was just too cute to pass up. You just know he is getting ready to say something interesting.
I took several photos of him and my husband took this one. He is a good deal taller than I am so was able to get closer. (Not as close as the picture looks, I have a great camera.) I took a lot of flower photos. The weather was perfect for walking.
It seems so odd to travel without the children. I keep expecting to meet up with them. I don't feel old enough to have adult children. At the same time, it feels like we are on a date. My Hubby is a lot of fun to spend time with.

Now this turtle guy was a visitor at our place. I was about to turn in to our driveway after work and I saw what looked like a big rock in the road. Sure enough, a turtle. I put the flashers on the truck, (dirt road, not used much) and went to get the camera and my hubby. After we both admired the fellow and I took several photos, we put him off the road safely, back by our well. He did not stick around the next day, but we enjoyed his visit all the same.
Breakfast is about ready, more next week or sooner.