Fall Colors in Nature

There is nothing like the colors of any autumn season to calm my soul and brighten my day.

Just look at ALL the color on one tree... from GREEN to YELLOW to GOLD to ORANGE to RUST to RED.  God is amazing in all his creativity to "paint" a tree so many colors JUST to announce the change in seasons.

 

Even an individual leaf is a work of art.

 

We were in Seattle a couple weeks ago and saw this fall landscape while exploring Discovery Park which is on the Puget Sound with killer views of the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges.  If you walk (or drive) to the western portion of the park, you will see West Point Lighthouse, which was our destination. 

 

I highly recommend visiting Discovery Park if you have a couple hours and want to adventure just west of downtown Seattle on to Magnolia. 

The fern-bordered trail included stairs a plenty.  And since we parked our cars at the top of the park and walked down to the lighthouse, we kept joking about how fun these stairs would be on the return portion of the hike.  What goes Down, must come Up...





 The park is situated on Magnolia Bluff and has tons of trails that allow dogs. It's an amazing combination of tidal beaches, open meadows, endless views including dramatic sea cliffs.

 

This land used to be the Army's Fort Lawton, so the park still includes this simple white chapel with it's yellow windows glowing with the afternoon light.  

 

I can easily escape from the crazy pace of my workday by just looking at these autumn photos and it lets me stop to simplify and be thankful.

 

Fall is definitely my favorite time of year.

 

Autumn in Chicago

For our One-Year Anniversary, my wonderful husband took me to Chicago.  I had never been to Chi-town and have always heard how fabulous it was. 

 

Everyone was right... it is such a cool town, especially this time of year.  One of the things that stood out was the abundantly creative fall plantscape throughout downtown. 

 

 

From small pumpkins and cabbage plants in black topiary urns in the Gold Coast section on Walton Street...

To uniquely tall and grandiose fall decorated containers at the base of the John Hancock Center.  This is the 4th tallest building in Chicago at 1,127 feet and the plantscape art was a compliment to it's height. 

 

 

These planters made you look up to the incredible building heights

 

In front of The Art Institute of Chicago, the large pots welcomed you to the season.

  

And on Michigan Avenue, each block had different chrysanthemum arrangements, but this was my favorite with custom iron angled trellis woven with autumn branches.

Not only does this city exude architectural wonders, but the restaurants were culinary adventures and a Chicago Bears game at Soldier field topped it off (what's fall without football?)! 

Unfortunately the Bears lost to the Saints, but it was a perfect fall day for football.

And I'll be returning to Chi-town any chance I can get.... such a fun city.

Romance in Paris

My new favorite place in Paris ... where Tim proposed.

Photo by Ian Ayres

It was a magical evening in June.

Thank you, Ian ...

This photograph is the perfect wedding gift!

Weekend in Pismo Beach, CA

View from the hotel room

If you're looking for a place to get away for the weekend, consider a weekend in Pismo Beach, which is half way between Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

We stayed at The Spyglass Inn, which is perched above the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the hotel is dog friendly.  It's an older hotel with renovated rooms, and some of the ocean view rooms now have a fireplace, but it's the location that's worth the stay. 

Spyglass Inn is two story yellow building

The hotel has a decent restaurant with the same incredible view, plus outside patio dining options if weather permits. There are steps down to the beach where you can enjoy tide pools or walk about a half mile of sandy beach.

Directly across the street is a wonderful local high-end grocer, DePalo & Sons, where I will now stop on any road trip along the Central Coast. 

They have great wines, pre-made foods, deli, bakery and gifts; open 7:00a.m. to 10:00p.m.  I bought gourmet cheese, crackers, fruit & wine to enjoy the ocean view back at the hotel.

For breakfast, the best decadent treat is a stop at Old West Cinnamon Rolls which has been in business since the late 1970's and was a favorite stop of mine during college.  They hand make their cinnamon rolls throughout the day, so they are often served fresh out of the oven.  My favorite is to the cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting.

For a day drive, go north on Hwy 101 to Los Osos Valley road, south of San Luis Obispo, and drive west to Montana De Oro State Beach ("Mountain of Gold" in Spanish).  It is a very scenic drive past farms and rolling hills with the final mile winding through a eucalypus tree-lined road about 5 miles west of Los Osos.  There is a small camp ground and lots of hiking, but the highlight is walking out on the cliffs south of Spooner's Cove beach to watch the powerful ocean surge crash against the rocks. 

For lunch on the drive back, stop in Los Osos for the best burgers at Sylvester's.  It's well worth the stop with generous portions.  There is also a good executive 9-hole golf course at Sea Pines if you have the time.  It's east of the sand dunes with great views of Morro rock, which you can enjoy while looking for any lost balls hit out of bounds on the third hole.

If you have any room for dinner that night, I recommend a small local place at Scotty's Bar & Grill in downtown Pismo Beach.  Their food is great, especially all their sandwiches, followed by a much-needed walk downtown after dinner to work off all the food intake over the weekend.  If you've been to Pismo Beach, let me know your favorite stop in town. 

China Travels

I had the privilege of going to China for the first time, two weeks ago, and we had an amazing trip.  We began our travels in HONG KONG ...

Walking through streets in Central, Hong Kong island

In Kowloon looking across Victoria Harbor to Central, Hong Kong

Then on to BEIJING, China's capitol ...



The Forbidden City

The Great Wall - Mutianyu Section

One courtyard within The Forbidden City

China Club hutong

And finally on to SHANGHAI...



Old Shanghai neighborhood



Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong





View of The Bund across the Huangpu River



Night lights of Pudong from our rooftop dinner view at M on The Bund

More China travel details to follow, but I wanted to share some favorite photos for those who have asked to see a few.  Xie Xie (Chinese for Thank you) for being interested ...