We enjoyed floating and fishing with Lori and Mike and four of his grandkids today on Nirvana, anchored in our favorite cove on Lake Travis. It was a fun time. The kids were great, and they caught 4 fish between them!
We checked out Brick Oven’s Jazz night for dinner. The patio was full, though, so we had to sit inside.
Another good day!
It was a good day on the lake. No wind. But lots of sun, it almost reached 100 degrees. Lake water temps are perfect right now, 83 degrees. We floated all day to beat the heat. Air conditioning at the slip sure helps, too.
The first dip in the water marks the beginning of summer for me on Lake Travis. I wait until after Memorial Day to jump in the lake. That happened this past weekend, and it was marvelous.
Monte and I anchored up in a lovely cove overnight on Saturday. Though the wind went completely calm overnight, it wasn’t too hot. But we did battle with no-see-ums and mosquitos, a first for me in about 15 years of playing on the lake. No matter. It was wonderful to be there.
We enjoyed a weekend floating in a full lake on our noodles with Marty, Sue, Kurt & Kevin. Welcome, Summer!
I enjoyed my extended weekend in Seattle. The wedding was the reason for the visit, but we used it as an excuse for multiple family gatherings. Noreen and David hosted rehearsal dinner on Friday, a post-wedding-reception evening party on Saturday, and a backyard BBQ with yard games on Sunday. They allowed for good visits with all my siblings, nieces and nephews, and a grand-nephew in one place – a first in a very long time.
The weather gods didn’t smile on the outdoor wedding, as it rained all afternoon. But, it was a truly lovely service and reception. God bless Neil and Miranda’s marriage. ❤️
When Memorial Day finally came along, we drove up to Paradise on Mount Rainier. It has been over 40 years since I last visited the park. We hiked a bit up the mountain, in the snow, and took in the views. It wasn’t a crystal clear, blue sky day, but it was majestic, nonetheless.
Mount Rainier National Park lodge at Longmire…
Just a pretty little waterfall…
And a prettier, bigger waterfall…
The view from the hike above Paradise, at about 6000’…
Now, I’m on my way back home. My flight flew past the north face of Mount Saint Helens. You can see the blast damage to the cone on this side of the volcano from its 1980 eruption. 
I flew to Seattle for my nephew’s wedding this weekend. I was looking forward to the stunning fly-by of Mount Rainier, but the clouds were high and thick and did not afford the usual view. I snapped a picture as we flew over the 14410′ high peak at about 17000′. Can you spot the top of the peak?
Happy Mother’s Day to the women who made us! I enjoy seeing all the photos posted by those marking the day, whether they are daughter, son, husband, mom, father, or friend.
I miss my own mom immensely. I feel the pain of friends who were denied the blessing of becoming a mom. I see the joy and pain of my friends and family mothers who live the ups and downs of their dear ones. This week I went to lunch with a friend who recently lost her 20-something son. She is strong and full of grace, but I cannot begin to imagine how terribly difficult this is for her.
So today, let us remember all moms — those who are here, passed, mourning, struggling, wishing, or praying — Amen.
This is the weekend of the MS-150 bike ride from Houston to Austin. I served as sherpa again with Doray and drove Laura and her friend Patty to Houston on Friday night.
This morning we helped her get to the start and then we drove east, instead of west, so we could do some birding on the coast.
We had a great day, logging over 80 species, and turned in at the hotel late and a tad tired. Tomorrow is another day!
I hid some chocolate eggs around the house again this Easter. Last time I did this, it took Monte several months before he found all of them! Hee hee hee 🙂 💙🐰🍫🥚
We went to the ballpark tonight to watch the Round Rock Express play baseball; they are the Triple-A minor league club for the Houston Astros. It was a good game! We won, too.
The Budweiser Clydesdales were there, too. It was a treat to see them up close.
This was the weekend of the Governor’s Cup Regatta on Lake Travis – a two-day set of races for all classes of sailboats, including Sunfish, J-boats, centerboards, and PHRF-handicapped multi-hulls and monohulls. We showed up early at Austin Yacht Club on Saturday morning; overcast, foggy and with storms in the forecast. Our class had five Catalina 30s registered. It would have been a fun weekend of racing.
But instead of racing, we sat through lightning-laced back-to-back postponements until all races were eventually abandoned for the day at 1PM. In the picture above you can just barely see the red & white striped AP flag (
) flying on the far right halyard of the flag pole – indicating that we were operating under a postponement at the time.
The same thing happened on Day 2, yesterday, except the N over A flags (
), indicating abandonement of all races for the regatta, were hoisted before 9AM.
It would have been nice to race, but I’ll take the rain! The picture above is a shot of the low clouds and rain over Arkansas Bend on Saturday. Even if there had been no rain, there was no wind.
We met up with Kurt & Barbara tonight at the lake. We watched the remote control (RC) sailboat fleet races.
We watched the youth Laser fleet practice.
And we cashed in on two-for-one burger night at the marina!
We crewed for Kurt on Camelot yesterday in one of the Austin Yacht Club’s Spring Series Races. A cold front blew into town the day before so it was cold! Temps started out in the 40s. We had to dig out our ear muffs, gloves, scarves and heavy coats. But, it turned out to be a nice day, in spite of the cold.
And we did well. Camelot took First Place in its class for the Spring Series!
I’m always looking for opportunities to visit our local museums. I heard about a new exhibit at the Harry Ransom Center on design and the Arts & Craft movement. So we took a trip to the University of Texas campus to see it today.
It’s a small museum but I enjoyed browsing the show.
We walked around campus a bit and grabbed lunch afterward.
We have a tradition with Tim & Fiona…taking their family fishing on the lake during spring break. They have three great kids, who are a pleasure to be around. We had a wonderful day today. The weather was perfect and the fish were biting. A good time was had by all.
Sheila365 