RV Block Party Weekend, Memories of the Longest Day

At Alfred A. Loeb State Park, Brookings, OR

I have sat outside for hours each day we have been at Loeb State Park.  On Thursday I noticed that there were lots and lots of people who seemed to know each other…there were many “locals” in the park, and they stayed all weekend.  The number of children on bicycles increased three fold, and on Friday and Saturday there were few turnovers within the campground.  (It is hard to see, but Bubba is looking down the street at about seven kids and three adults…at this point, most of the kids were down at the river swimming/playing.)  I commented to Marcia Saturday evening that it was like one huge old fashion block party…people talking, laughing, kids playing, everyone having fun.  It was like stepping back in time for me…we lived on a block where kids played outside all the time, football in the street…even baseball if we could get all the parked cars moved, and basketball was always at our house.  It was a time when kids could be kids…as long as we watched for the occasional car coming around the corner, all was well.  The same here at the park…it was nice to see.  By noon today, half the park cleared out…and at 3 pm, there were still 15 sites open.  This afternoon, only two children on bikes.  Amazingly, the noise level over the weekend was very reasonable. 

   

One day I went down to Brookings to get some groceries, check on getting the motorhome oil changed later on, and I decided to get some pictures of the Ocean in the Brookings/Harbor area, including a shot of the boat harbor along the Chetco River.  As you can see, the skies were clear…as they have been nearly every day that we have been here.  In fact, we had to run the A/C three times in the eleven days we have been here…but I never felt hot outside as long as I was in the shade.

I also did another walk…returning to the Redwood Trail that I struggled with on Father’s day.  No, not to walk this trail again…I am not a masochist…I just wanted to get better pictures of the scenic bridge that is at the start of the walk.  So I walked the couple hundred of yards up to and onto the bridge. 

When I went on the walk that Sunday, I turned left away from the bridge to start my walk.  By the time I got to the bridge at the end of the hike, I was just ready to get into the car and some air conditioning.  So Friday I drove back over and got these pictures.  It really is a very scenic, quiet place.

I could not decide which picture I liked the best…so you get to see the top three.  After I got my pictures, I returned to the car and drove over to the start of the Riverview Trail.  I was determined to do this easier walk again, but at a faster pace…so I left the camera in the car, and off I headed with my bottle of water at 12:20.  Made it to where the Riverview and Redwood trails meet by 12:50.  Around 1:05 I headed back to the car, and got to the car at 1:35.  That was about 20 minutes faster than the first time.

Thursday was the 21st, the longest day of the year.  As I sat in my chair outside, I see the moon rising over the trees on the hill to the east.  It reminded me of our night in Alaska…midnight as the calendar turned from the twentieth to the twenty first….camping at the Seward Waterfront RV Park.  The nights in Alaska are long during the summer…and though it was midnight, it looked like it was just dusk, and it had looked that way for a couple of hours already.  I look out the motorhome window, I grab my camera and was out the door.

A full moon just coming over the mountains on the other side of Resurrection Bay.  As I take picture after picture, I see this small fishing boat coming from the left headed out of the bay.  I see that the boat is going to pass right over the reflection of the moon on the water, and I got this shot above.  It is my favorite shot, I even have it as the wallpaper on my computer.

Later that same day, we realize that Skruffy is one sick dog…the Vet in Seward has gone on vacation, and off to Soldotna which was 90 miles away…it took three hours.  That is where the Soldotna Animal Hospital, Dr. Meezie Hermansen in particular, saved Skruffy’s life.  It was then that we found she was diabetic.  Since her recovery, she has been fed twice a day, 12 hours apart, with an insulin shot for dessert (she actually gets it as she eats).  Skruffy is doing GREAT now. That was one long day…a day which could have turned out much differently had it not been for the Soldotna Animal Hospital.

Seward Alaska – Too Much Love Boat?

Today marks our eighth day in Seward, and we have seen four cruise boats now.  Today it was the Norwegian Sun, operated by Norwegian Cruise Line.    This boat can also carry over 2,000 passengers, and nearly 1,000 crew members.  One thing about when these large cruise ships come into port…our Internet through Verizon is shot to heck because the passengers and crew use up the cell towers on us.

For the second time I found a young couple embracing as the cruise ship goes by…perhaps they were reminiscing about when they once were on a cruise ship, perhaps dreaming about a time they want to be on a cruise ship, or perhaps they just saw too many episodes of the “Love Boat”.  (If you don’t know what the Love Boat is, click here) 

My fascination with them is strictly photogenic…they make for a great picture.  Finding the right shot as it passes in front of the scenic landscape…and this boat by far is the most colorful, and reflected in the waters more than the others.

This ship also snuck in early in the morning, backing into the harbor.  Why some back in, while others go face first and back out is anyone’s guess.  With this one, the schedule said it was to dock at 7 am, but when the sun is up at 4 am, and it is light all night long, 7 am feels like it does all night…no darkness equals less sleep, so you get up when you decide to get up. 

 

A bit of perspective…got this little boat passing the big boat.  It is like a mosquito in size.

By 9:30 it was down at the entry to Resurrection Bay.  Looks like it is headed for that mountain shore, but it is staying in the deep channel of the bay, slowly turning to the right and headed out to the Pacific Ocean.

Previously showed a picture of Mount Marathon where the Mount Marathon Race will be held on July 4th, bringing around 30,000 people to this small community.  (We will be long gone, over in Homer by then.)  Well, thought I would bring a bit of perspective to this too. 

The hikers are up where the green just starts to disappear along the trail on the left side of the mountain.  One heck of a mountain...and the record is like 44 minutes!

At precisely midnight, the start of the longest day of the year, the moon starts to peek its full head over the mountain top.

Welcome to the first day of summer…what a way to start our summer.

Sometimes timing is everything…yes, that is a small boat between the moon and the moon’s reflection.

Just sitting in the motorhome, enjoying the view, waiting for my laptop to charge up so that I could finish the blog.  I look up and see this white reflection in the water and think, “Where is this coming from???”  Then, “Oh Marcia, look at what we get!!!”   I grab the camera and run out.  Came in to show Marcia the first batch of shots, got Skruffy and we went out for the latter bunch, getting the picture of boat crossing the reflection.  All of the previous nights we had put the cover over the front window by 11:30.  Not tonight…thank goodness.