Sail Boats and Ships in San Diego Sunset :)

Hi Everyone! :)

I hope you are all having a Wonderful Summer and doing lots of Fun in the Sun activities :)

And for my Blogger Buddies in the Southern Hemi, it will be Spring soon, YAY! :)

It has been a few weeks of Crazy Summer Fun, lots of photo taking and lots of Sunshine, which we were very happy to see, finally! :)

But, I have taken sooo many photos that I am still working on my photos from our trip to San Diego back in March (yes, I have a tons of excuses as to why I am so slow!!! LOL!!!)

I really wanted you all to see these. I'm very proud of them :)

So relax and enjoy!

This ship is "The Star of India" with H.M.S. Surprise in the background :)

I loved touring these ships and one day I would really love to go out for a sail in one; better put that wish on the Bucket List :)

As the light started to change and from the different angles that I took my shots I LOVED the effects I was getting :)

These 2 photos of "The Star of India" were taken about an hour apart and I love the way the light changed :)

A little warm layer on this one too! :)

H.M.S. Surprise (SOOC)

The Star of India right as the Sun went down, shooting right into the Sun :)

I LOVE the light in this shot :)

This ship is the replica of H.M.S. Surprise used in the movie "Master and Commander", starring "The Man" himself Russell Crowe; my Son and I are big fans and we LOVE to watch that movie together :) 

So, to go on the ship and stand possibly where "The Man" may have stood made me feel like a little star struck girl again and believe me that doesn't happen very often (He! He!) I'm pretty blaze about famous people having lived in L.A and London but "The Man" well, what can I say.........that wouldn't totally embarrass me, LOL!!! :)

I know that some people would think this is a crappy shot as it is all dark but for me it was all about taking a shot directly at the sun that highlighted the rigging of the ship and then to get the flares of sunlight effect was just perfect to me. :)

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" or when I say it is (He! He!)

I think I see some Pirates escaping in a row boat, LOL!!! :)

Again shooting into the sun to contrast rigging :)

These 2 photos I put a warm layer across and I really like the 

effect :)

The Next 8 photos are all a little different in their light, contrast and textural presentations that I just couldn't choose, so I put them all in and you can decide if you have a fav. or not. Again shooting into the Sun as it descends I LOVE the flares, the reflection and patterns on the water and the calm outlines of the Sail Boats, it really could have been taken at a port anywhere in the world, that made me think how universal Sailing is :)

A little warm layer on these last 5 :)

This last one I couldn't resist playing with on Photoshop (as I am very, very slowly learning how to use it :) This is the same shot as the 5th one but of course that is the SOOC shot :)

Well, I hope you like these and let me know which photo is your fav! :)

Have a lovely Evening :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Astoria Revisited!

I can't believe it has been a month already since my Hubby and I went on our Anniversary trip to Astoria, Oregon. To read the post about where we stayed click HERE :)

On the Friday drive over to the coast the weather was glorious, one of those beautiful Spring days where you feel so alive and truly grateful to live in the NorthWest. But, on the Saturday morning we woke to this! (below)

"A Bridge to Nowhere" (the Astoria Bridge, shot taken from the Oregon side looking at the Washington side of the Columbia River.)

The North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment, WA. ( see sunnier photos and more info HERE :)

It was a pretty bleak day and looking at the surf and rocks and mist below the Lighthouse you can understand why it is called "The Graveyard of the Pacific"

"Almost 2,000 vessels of all types and about 700 lives have been claimed by the treacherous waters off the Peninsula over the past 300 years." (from Long Beach Peninsula Visitor's Bureau)

These Fishermen certainly experienced the Surf first hand!

This Juvenile Seagull was looking at me like "Are you going to Feed me or What?" (Click on the photo for a larger image and see how wet those little feathers really are :(

We saw lots of these big Ships passing our Hotel, I love Ships! (I really think I must have been a Pirate Wench in a past life) (He! He! Dream on!)

Then, on the Sunday we awoke to blue Skies and Sunshine! (a typical Spring weekend weather pattern here in the N.W.)

We went to visit the Astoria Column.

The Scenes painted on the Column depict the history of the local area. From Native Americans thru Lewis and Clark's adventures and the coming of the railroads.

It is a beautiful Pictorial lesson in local History. (If you look closely on the right of the photo you can see one of the little wood gliders they sell at the gift shop for people to launch off the top of the column, such fun :)

Astoria Bridge from the Column.

One of the period homes in Astoria, this one sadly neglected but eerie and stunningly Beautiful in the state it finds itself. But there are many beautifully preserved too! (See HERE :)

Crab Pots at the Port of Ilwaco.

Colourful Fishing Floats.

This photo (2010) is of The Wreckage of the Peter Iredale grounded in 1906 on the Oregon coast.

I hope you enjoy reading about some of Oregon's history and it's beauty. We who live here really love it and I think we even enjoy complaining about the rain :) But we do have beautiful sunny days too :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.

Anniversary Trip to the Oregon Coast.

This past Weekend, my Hubby and I took off for a few days to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary in Astoria on the Oregon Coast. Astoria was named for John Jacob Aster who was a founding member of the Pacific Fur Company which established a trading post on the site that is now Astoria in the early 1800's. Astoria is located on the mouth of the Columbia River as it joins the Pacific Ocean. We haven't been to Astoria for a long time and it was just a really nice break and great fun to explore. We stayed at a relatively new Hotel, The Cannery Pier.


"The Cannery Pier Hotel is Astoria's newest luxury boutique hotel, built on the site of the former Union Fish Cannery 600 feet into the River" (from their Blurb :)

Front View of Hotel and the Astoria Bridge.

Cute Breakfast area.

I love the high ceilings and the balconies in their public spaces, nice and airy and open, there is lots of cozy seating around gas fireplaces and beautiful glass windows to view the river. (OK, so this is a night shot:)

The decor is very appealing, I love these metal fish. They also have done a great job with collages of old photos and easy reading history boards.

The Hotel is away from any other buildings and even though the Bridge looks close the traffic is so high up you do not hear it. I completely forgot to take a photo of our room which was really nice, so here is a link if you want to check them out :)

Just to give you a little perspective on the size of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, which was built in 1966 and is 4.1 miles long, it runs from Astoria in Oregon across the Columbia River to Megler in Washington State. Just take a look at that boat in comparison to the bridge :)

And here is what I got to see from my balcony out over the water, these beautiful, majestic ships.

And I think this gives you a great perspective on how large these amazing ships can be.

We really had a great time :)

More photos to follow in future posts :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.