Olympic National Park

Another week-end of adventure!!

Larry had a freebie airline ticket that was going to expire soon. We decided to use it (and my companion pass) to visit a National Park that we missed the first time around.

On our way to the airport in Nashville we stopped at Bell Buckle, TN. A very tiny town with a quaint "strip mall" of about 8 shops. It didn't take long to browse! But, it's oh so cute.

We arrived in Seattle Friday evening; then early Saturday morning (which was easy since we're still on Eastern time in our heads) we started driving. We drove about 4 hours to get to the Olympic National Park visitors center, going South around the Sound at Tacoma and then North to Port Angeles.

That's where we learned it was another 2 1/2 hour drive to the rain forest; after all, that's what we came for. They have oceans and mountains in the park too but we've seen those.

So drive we did. As you can imagine it is a pretty drive. This river/lake has hints of glacial stone in it, like a diluted Lake Louise (in Canada).

The rain forest was not at all what we expected. There are a good percentage of Maples - Big Leaf and Vine Maples, to be specific. And, it's fall in this neck of the woods. The result was a rain forest with a good bit of light and not the thick, dark, lush forest we expected. There was plenty of moss and some good size trees but no Jurassic Park type stuff. This is not a tropical rain forest!

Did I mention it was raining? Get this - the West side of the mountain (where the rain forest is located) gets 12 feet of rain each year!! It's probably a rare day when it isn't raining there.

Here's a big leaf from the Big Leaf maple. I didn't put it there - honest! Someone else must have placed it there. For emphasis, Larry is holding a

Big Leaf Maple leaf in his hand, comparing it to his own big hand. The trip back to our hotel from there was only about 2 1/2 hours. We're so glad we didn't have to go back the way we came. Not only that but we rewarded ourselves with Round Table pizza! That's the only negative thing I can say about Tennessee. There are zero Round Table pizzas.

Before hopping back on the plane for the trip home we browsed around Pike Plaza. We visited the very first ever Starbucks (been there before but this is the first photo), bought some yummy Piroshky for lunch, walked around a bit and called it a day.

Family Reunion

On about a week & a half's notice, Mom and Dad scheduled a trip to our house. They stayed for 5 days, family came from all over, and we had a wonderful time. I'll let the photos say the rest (because there are so many to share).

On Thursday,Larry & Dad went out to play with the WaverRunner.

David, Ben and Sarah arrived Friday evening.

On Saturday, the rest of the troops arrived! We couldn't get one picture with all of us so hopefully someone is really good with photoshop and will splice everyone into the photo.

We celebrated 3 birthdays, all within 4 days, Dad, Deborah and Larry.

Bocce Ball was a big hit, even on our sloping lawn/walk-way.

Those of us who remained on Sunday went to the Chattanooga Nature Center. Here, we're in a treehouse!

David and family arrived in 2 cars from three different starting points so they did a caravan back home. Bye!!

Reunion

Thirty plus years ago, Mike & Dodey were our youth pastors. It's been about 32 years since we've seen them. Back then, they were adults and we were kids. Now, we're almost the same age! They are missionaries in Chile and have been for a long time.

We were thrilled to have the chance to see them again (after their week of vacation in the Pigeon Forge area). Our visit over breakfast went by oh so quickly. We feel like we could have talked for hours more. But they had a long drive ahead of them and we had another engagement ourselves.

After saying good-bye, Larry & I headed straight home because we had the opportunity to cruise the Southern Belle (a riverboat) for free. It's a little reward for volunteering at Riverbend - a local festival. The boat meandered a little ways down stream and up stream a bit and then back again. It gave me a good opportunity to get a few more photos.

Southern Belle

Aquariums (Ocean & River)

Rock Climbers (two of them)

The River Aquarium

Okay - so Seahorses aren't in rivers (fresh water, you know). Don't ask me why they put the seahorse exhibit in the River Aquarium. I'm just glad they're there because they are so interesting.

There is an Ocean Aquarium next door. Laura and I visited that one a few months ago. This time she and I took a couple hours in the fresh water. I'm going to post a whole punch of photos in my online photo album soon. Let me know if you want the link to that.

Here's a sampling. The first is me, petting a Sturgeon. Then, we got a kick out of the turtles - of course!

Creation Museum

Nearly two weeks ago now, Larry and I met Carl and Karen in Cincinatti (they traveled from Indiana on their Victory motorcycle) with the express purpose of visiting the new Creation Museum. But first, we had dinner and spent the night - going to the museum first thing Saturday morning. We were fortunate that they opened a little early and we got in before the big crowds started.

It was interesting to say the least. A little entertaining, a little educational, and a little evangelical - though not really geared for the skeptic.

Adam names the critters.

Noah's Art model - A cut-away of just a portion .

It's time to play!

When we first moved here, we had plans to build a Bocce Court. We envisioned groups of people coming over to hang out, BBQ, play Bocce, etc. When we first moved here it was late fall. By Spring we had talked to our neighbors and learned that mosquitos are a summer time issue. I can vouch for that!!! They're little but powerful. The idea of spending evenings outside became less appealing. Besides, it was going to cost thousands to put in the court and it would be a permanent structure. We began to have our doubts.

Now that it's mid summer it's really beginning to dawn on us that water sports are very popular here. With the Tennessee River winding through town I 'm not sure why we didn't realize this before. We've already been on the river with friends and have invitations to join others on their boats.

We've not been boat or water people in the past, but then, we've not had easy access to water either. Taking the plunge to buy a boat was just a big much for us. They're expensive to buy and probably even more expensive to keep. A better alternative for us would be a personal water craft. Yes... motorcycle for the water - so to speak.

So we took the plunge!! (Is that a pun?) After looking at the brands, models, & features in both used and new we decided to get a 4 stroke WaveRunner. We were looking at used when Larry found a dealer in Rome, GA with a new one for sale with a price about the same at the used we were looking at. He went there on Tuesday and bought it. It sat in our garage until yesterday when we took it to the river for the first time to see if it would float. I'm happy to say, it floats very well.

The first hour we were to run the motor at 2500 rpm. In the water that translate to about 3 miles per hour. The second hour the rpm can run at 3500, which is about 4 miles per hour. We got a nice scenic view of the river banks for two hours. May I interject here that we live in a beautiful area?

Finally after two hours we could speed it up. We took it up to about 25 - 30 miles per hour and had a blast. Before we left, Larry grabbed the camera and took a picture. Wanna come play?

We bought an inflatable pull toy and we're looking forward to having some fun. We may even go back out this afternoon.

July 20, 2007 - The landmark day.

Three months to the day from when Ben and Laura arrived (Apr 20th), we passed our final inspection!!!

Laura is moving in as I type (Ben is at work). This is a wonderful day because it means we can all go back to some form of normal routine. No more working long hours - after already putting in a full day at our regular jobs. No more grungy clothes and dust in our hair... if we have hair. ;-) No more fast food or making do with not-so-healthy choices. Yeah!!!!

This is the start of it all. The whole reason we did this big project to begin with.

This is Laura's photo and I'm sorry I can't make it any bigger. I saved it as a jpeg hoping it would behave. Oh well. You probably can't tell very well, but we found this in the kitchen cabinet with exposed wires sticking out of the top of it. We thought if this is how the breaker box looks what's the rest of the wiring like? So, we tore it all down and started over.

In our enthusiasm to get started, we didn't get much in the way of before pictures. Here's what's left of the kitchen when we got a photo of it. All the remains of the cabinets is all the cabinets there were - and the breaker box was in the far left upper cabinet that you can't see. That window to the right was hidden behind painted paneling. The only counter tops were below those cabinets on either side of the sink. The stove stood on the left side and the fridge was on the opposite wall from the side (behind and to the right of the camera). The old kitchen was in the middle of the house. On the other side of the wall is the bedroom and to the left where you see studs is a little closet and then the bathroom.

In this "after" photo, the short wall is where the concrete wall used to be. The kitchen use to be on the left side of this photo. Now, the kitchen is behind the camera at the end of the house.

In fact, the whole floor plan has changed. The bedroom closet was on the left wall where the window is now (we added that). The far wall had a window in it which we covered and put the closet there. It made more sense to use the end of the long side for the closet.

The kitchen is still very small - just a one person kitchen; but, it has a lot more in the way of cabinets and counter space. And, it doesn't cut the house in two anymore.

The fridge goes next to the cabinet to the right which will make it feel even smaller I'm sure.

This is the old bedroom wall. Again, you can't tell much but the walls are paneling, painted over. This may be the only window we left as original

The "Before" bathroom was dark and old and, although functional, not pretty. Look how modern now!

A wide-angle lens would sure come in handy about now. It's really hard to take photos of a small space with a normal lens.

Laura made curtains before the final inspection so she was ready to move in.

Ahhhh.... What a nice feeling to be done!

Finishing Touches

We're getting close. It won't be long now. In fact, we may call for the final inspection this week.

The floors are done, the kitchen cabinets are going in, the toilet & vanity are in, the bathroom door is installed and trim work is in progress. Laura is still painting as of this evening (as I type).

There will be more lower cabinets going in on the left side, as well as the fridge. It's going to be a one person kitchen but it'll have lots of cabinets.



The view from the bedroom. Laura is painting the opening where the A/C will be installed.


See how thick the walls are in this part of the house. It's because of the brick walls. But - also notice the green grass outside. We all love the green!!

Ben and Laura are anxious to move in and we're all anxious to take a break from the long hours. We're all very tired of spending every spare evening working on it.

Things are happening faster now. Friday and yesterday we painted. Today we laid tile in the kitchen and bath. Everybody was involved today. Laura cut in the line along the ceiling. We couldn't put masking tape on the ceiling yesterday because the tape pulled off the recently dried paint - yet we wanted to keep painting. So Ben rolled paint as close to the edge as he could yesterday and Laura came in today and filled the gap. It's a good thing Laura is good at this!

Larry laid tile and Ben cut them to order. Tomorrow the electrician comes to finish the wiring. Hopefully, the electrical inspector will come the next day and we'll be good to use the new electrical system. Right now, every is run off an extension cord from our house.

Special Olympics Equestrian Center

A couple weeks ago there was an article in the Saturday paper about a new Special Olympics Equestrian Center - and... they were looking for volunteers. A week later, I was there ready to serve. The only thing lacking was riders. It's a new program and not all the bugs are worked out. I ended up hanging around, talking with the founders and watching the horses. About the time they were getting a couple horses out to ride, a thunderstorm broke loose and we all high-tailed it for the barn. It poured for about a half hour. Afterward, everything was slippery wet. No riding that day.


I will go again because even if all I do is hang around horses I'm good. But, if I can hang around horses and help people too, that is really cool.


There are only two horses in this "ranch" that are gentle enough for the kids, though they are looking for others (by donation). There are several other horses here though, some being boarded and some of their own. Here's some photos. One is a rather wild Mom with her promising colt called Milkshake. The other is a TN Walker. I think you'll be able to make these large by clicking on the photo, if you're so interested.

Aquarium

During the lull in remodeling while the electrician was doing the wiring, Laura and I visited one of the two aquarium buildings - the ocean (salt water) version. It has a butterfly garden on top. The penguin exhibit is new. Here are some photos.

I hope you can see the details in this.

Yeah! Sea Turtle!

Only one of many butterflies.

We have plans to visit the fresh water aquarium soon but we'll have to wait until the remodel is done or there's another lull for some reason. Stay tuned!

Remodel update

It's been too long since I've updated the blog. To tell the truth, I haven't been good at keeping up with email either. We've been too busy! It's been more than two months since we started the major remodel of the rental.

After tearing down all the walls and removing the insulation (prior post) there was the task of building new interior walls, not only for the bathroom but also for re-routing the plumbing for both the kitchen and bath, which was mostly external before. The city required that we have a electrical contractor do the wiring. He finished the rough-in less than two weeks ago. After the electrical and building inspections we got straight to work installing new insulation. Then we hung sheetrock and are now taping and mudding the joints. Keep in mind that we're doing this while working our regular jobs - which takes Larry out of town 3 days a week. Also, we're doing this in 85 - 99 degrees with varying degrees of humidity. Actually, the humidity has only become an issue in the last couple weeks. Prior to that we'd been dry for many weeks.

So - here are some photos. Things will probably start moving along quickly now and I'll try to take photos and get them posted.

The guys are working on the shower area.

Framing interiors walls

The clothes closet shows insulation.

Larry's in the kitchen.

We've come a long way baby - and there's more to go!

Wildlife in the backyard (photo replaced)

Earlier this week, it was Lightning Bugs. This morning I saw something new. I opened this bathroom window this morning and saw a critter about the size of a raccoon but definitely not a raccoon. It had brown coarse fur and a small head like a rabbit but no rabbit ears. When it scurried away it revealed a thick round tail about 8" long.

It occurred to me it might be a Porcupine. The drawing in the dictionary seemed to confirm this hunch - if we imagined that his quills were relaxed and laying flat on his body. After Carl and Karen left for home this morning, I looked online to confirm it. The photos online showed quills being quite obvious. It also said that Porcupines are in the West part of the US and the Northeast, but not the Southeast. There went my theory.

So I did some more research for mammals in our area. Carl and Karen were right! It was a Groundhog- or often called a Woodchuck. In my mind, Groundhogs and Prairie Dogs are the same thing. My mind is wrong!!

This photo is of a baby Groundhog in the neighbor's yard. There were 2 or 3 babies running around quite boldly for a week or so but now I haven't seen them for over a week.

It just keeps getting more interesting here all the time.

Lightning Bugs

Guess what we have in our front yard!!! Yes! Fireflies - or Lightning Bugs as the locals call them. We saw them last night when arriving home at dusk. Larry and I are so excited that we're like little kids. We can hardly wait until dusk tonight to see them again.

Our friends, Carl and Karen stopped by today for a visit and they think we're silly to be so excited; perhaps you think so too. But, considering there were no Fire..., uh' em, I mean, Lightning Bugs where we grew up, we think this is pretty cool.

The only other time we've seen them like this was outside Chicago while camping at a state park near Algonguin. It was cool then too.

Larry was saying that it's the little things like Lightning Bugs, the many songbirds and the Dogwoods in our neighborhood that make this such a very nice place to live. He is so right! We feel blessed.