Amy from the blog – The World is a Book… – is hosting this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #222 and she has chosen a topic I am all too familiar with – Mountains are calling and boy, are they calling!
Continue reading “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #222: Mountains are Calling” →
Good morning! Come on in! It’s a good day to have some hot drinks and relax.
Continue reading “#WeekendCoffeeShare – The Highs and Lows of the Week” →Continue reading “CFFC: Clouds” →
Continue reading “What do you see # 156 – Unapologetic” →
Seeing full-blown autumn colors can definitely classify as a fleeting moment as it’s constantly changing from near peak to peak to past peak. Yesterday was most likely the last real weekend to see autumn colors as we are expecting the temperature to drop about 10-degrees and rain this coming weekend. In my opinion, once rain comes, autumn colors are no longer pretty.
Yesterday’s trip was all my mom’s idea. She saw one of her co-workers post photos of Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon and thought it was pretty. Next thing I knew, she was calling her sister and brother-in-law (BIL), asking them if they were interested. Of course, they were. They’re off every other weekends and after this weekend, they will be working all the way into November. So I wrote, probably the last weekend for autumn colors.
Her BIL was driving. It’s always him who drives and it was a good thing it was him who was driving because I ended up sorta tricking everyone to go to the place I wanted to go.
The whole trip, for me, was full of fleeting moments because I was traveling with three adults who did not want to walk. My mom has back pain and can’t walk a few steps without complaining. She’s currently waiting to do surgery to fix that problem. Meanwhile, her sister and BIL just didn’t want to walk. They aren’t out of shape, they just prefer to sit and look at their phones all day.
Thankfully, they let me roam, for a very short time at least like a dog on a leash. If I venture too far, my phone instantaneously rings, one of them telling me to get back to the car. So I needed to walk fast and take as many photos as I could so I can have it for memory.
This was the my first time going to Provo Canyon. I’ve always stuck to the Alpine Loop as it’s closer to home and I happen to think it’s more beautiful up by Mount Timpanogos with all the aspen trees. If you’ve ever been in the area, you’ll know what I mean. Even in summer, it’s beautiful with its white trunks and its leaves dancing to the breeze. I made a trip there back in August (before the accident) and couldn’t get enough of the place.
I fell in love with this picture as soon as I blew it up on my laptop. Another fleeting moment as we were parked in one of those tiny turnout on the road and as soon as I got out of the car, my mom began yelling, “How can you do such thing?” She was talking about how I led her BIL to the Alpine Loop when I knew fully that it’d be a narrow road that required drivers of one direction to yield to oncoming traffic.
I drove on this road before and didn’t encounter any problem. The only one that might have a problem might be my mom as she doesn’t do well in narrow road situations.
Anyway, I ignored her and focused on finding compositions. After all, I only get this one shot and everyone was waiting on me, so I must make it quick despite I could stare at this golden landscape for hours, maybe days.
The Alpine Loop was surprisingly crowded. I’ve never seen so much traffic that it was backed up. Perhaps maybe because many people knows to come here to see fall colors and that this would probably be the last weekend of 2022 to see such color.
After my accident, I became very anxious whenever something comes too close to the passenger side of the car, almost like a kind of claustrophobia. With the traffic, my uncle was forced to steer the car toward the trees a few times, causing me to panic as I seem to be doing quite a bit lately. These were definitely moments I didn’t want to remember from the trip and was relieve when we were no longer on the narrow road.
All in all, I am very grateful for the trip as I got a photos for memories despite my time there was very limited. I guess my goal to see autumn colors in 2022 is now fulfilled.
This week, Ann-Christine from Leya is hosting Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #221 and she asked us to show our favorite flowers and tell the story behind it.
Continue reading “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #221: Flower Favorites and Why” →
Good morning! Come on in and grab a coffee or a tea, and sit.
Continue reading “#WeekendCoffeeShare – October 2022 Garden Update and Driving Anxiety” →Continue reading “CFFC: Texture” →
Melanie from Sparks From a Combustible Mind is back with another edition of Truthful Tuesday this week and as almost always, I’m a day late. This week, she asks:
Continue reading “Truthful Tuesday 10-11-2022 on a Wednesday – Phone and Doorbell Disconnection” →
This week, Terri at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives is challenging everyone with the color of Lava or a mix of orange, dark brown, and black. What an unusual mix of colors…
Continue reading “#SundayStills: Monthly Color – #Lava” →This week, Patti – hostess of Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #220 – challenges us to look at one subject three ways.
Continue reading “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #220: One Subject Three Ways” →
Good morning! Come on in and grab a coffee or a tea, I have lots to tell you.
Continue reading “#WeekendCoffeeShare – The Longest Day of the Week” →
As of Sunday evening, I was home again, in my own bed, enjoying a quiet night rest. No more sharing a bed with Mom, no more listening to her snoring, and no more having to listen to her loud YouTube playing all night long. The trip has ended at last.
Continue reading “US-Canada Trip 2022 After Thoughts” →
Tina from Travels and Trifles is the hostess for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge and the theme of Treasure Hunt is chosen.
Continue reading “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #219: Treasure Hunt” →For reference, day 11 is referring to September 30 2022.
Continue reading “US-Canada Trip 2022 Day 11” →
Good morning! My my my, is it October already?
Continue reading “#WeekendCoffeeShare – Last Day of Vacation” →
For reference, day 10 is referring to September 29, 2022.
2 more days until home…
I felt a bit better, not coughing as much, though my voice still sounded pretty bad. The tough part has been getting through the night because that’s when the stuffy nose comes and I begin to feel like I’m choking. I think it might be caused by the dust in the motels which exacerbated the problem.
We stopped by the New Jersey State House in the morning. It was sorta a drop-by since we were heading toward Trenton to avoid bridge tolls. In the west, we call this the Capitol Building. I’ve never heard of it referred to as “State House” before. I learned that when I couldn’t find “New Jersey Capitol” on Google Maps.
This is definitely by far the oldest Capitol building I’ve ever been to. It was originally built in the late 18th Century before it was burned, rebuilt, renovated, and added several more wings over the years to accommodate the growing state.
It was also the one with the tightest security measures. It was like going through the TSA checkpoint at an airport. I must empty my pockets, place everything in a bucket, and walk through the scanner. We were also not allowed to tour the building ourselves. We needed to call and schedule a tour. Thankfully, the people at the Capitol building were willing to do an impromptu tour.
I learned a lot about the state of New Jersey on this tour like how it’s blueberries and peaches are well-known. I find it so fascinated to learn fun facts like these. The tour ended after 20 minutes and our guide led us to the door.
The outside of the complex is just as interesting as the inside like this tree that was dedicated to George Washington who famously crossed the Delaware River nearby and this fountain, which makes a great photo opp.
After the State House, we headed to Chambersburg, PA, where we will spend the next 2 nights and we’re planning to tour Gettysburg the next day,
For reference, day 9 is referring to September 28, 2022.
It’s day 2 in Philadelphia and I would say it felt more relaxed than normal. There wasn’t much rushing from place to place. I think the expectation has been lowered ever since we got sick, to not try to see the entire city but to focus on one place at a time. If there’s time, we’ll see more.
Mom seemed convinced she contracted COVID from the guy sitting next to her on the plane. He wore a mask and his wife next to him seemed to be on medication that made her sleepy and confused. She was listening to the symptoms of COVID all night long.
We stayed in a hotel in downtown Philadelphia the night after staying in the worst motel imaginable. The downtown hotel felt like heaven compare to the other motel. The first thing I did was take 2 showers to rid the smell of cigarettes from my body and hair. I washed and rinsed and washed and rinsed until I could no longer smell that dreadful scent.
We spent the morning visiting the National Constitution Center, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Once again, mom didn’t like it because of the so-called “skewed perspective.” I wanted to read every placard on display in that museum but each time I found something interesting, I’d get pulled away by mom.
The exhibits I enjoyed the most were the Civil War and Women’s suffrage exhibits. I find Civil War to be one of the most fascinating time in US history and I briefly listened to a podcast on women’s suffrage last month, so I was excited to learn more. Mom was uninterested to go to both exhibits but thankfully, she let me go alone while she waited outside.
I don’t know why I keep getting the feeling of being undermined. For example, I got hungry and wanted to make myself a bowl of noodle soup. Mom wanted me to wait until she got back but I figured I’m a grown-up and I can make it myself. I overheated the water and made a tiny mess in the microwave.
“I told you to wait for me.” She clicked her tongue. I hate it when she does that because that’s when I know I done something she thinks is wrong which has been often on this trip.
Anyway, it’s back to Jersey tonight because we couldn’t book an extra night in downtown Philly. We’re heading back to Trenton, NJ to see New Jersey State House before crossing over to Pennsylvania and head for Gettysburg where we’ll stay for the next 2 nights.
This is Another Story