The end of Summer fun....

I was going to blog about our family vacation this July,
but the photos are at home on my desktop...
so I decided to interrupt my Spain Travel log and
remember THIS weekend...
I know, totally out of character to be "current"
but here goes!!

We had a great visit with Mick and Joni Ward...
they came to our cabin for a too short of stay,
we wish it had been longer,
but grateful that Mick got out of New Jersey
before the hurricane and hope
his looooooong flight home today was not too bad!!

We had beautiful weather while they were here.

Here we are at the Cooper Lake Campgrounds

And with Mick here to drive the boat,
Ron finally got some "play time on the water"
Here he is wake surfing...
and wakeboarding....and totally impressing me that he still has "IT"

the weather, the lake and the company was great!
(and the man on the board was was mighty fine too!)

After having lunch on the boat, we
drove them to Salmon La Sac and hiked the short distance
to Cooper River....

There is a deep pool of water with a rope swing
that Ron has been "eyeing" all year....
(if you look close you can see the guys across the river with the rope)

See the splash after one guy jumps off--
and see the idiot still holding on to rope AFTER
he swung out over the water and then crashed back onto the ledge!!
(Ron decided NOT to join them after viewing their skills!)

Here's another great photo of Mick and Joni--
yes, I know that the other photo is almost the
same, but here you can see how cute they are!!

Ron has become somewhat famous...at least in our family,
for his infamous back dives...he has displayed this talent
at Kipu water falls in Kauai, off the cliffs at Lake Cle Elum..
and at every pool or lake we have been to.
So today was the day he conquered the rocks at Cooper River

(yes, that is Ron half way down backwards!
the other man is just there to show perspective!!)

and once was not enough...
oh no,
he had to push it...
reassuring me that I would be a very wealthy widow...
I just didn't want to become the caretaker of an invalid idiot!
and he flipped again!!

Just because he could!!!

and of course he survived....

It was nice to go to the branch with Mick and Joni on Sunday,
after lunch they had to take off and hopefully catch a flight back to New Jersey
in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.
It is always so much fun to spend time with good friends...
thanks for taking the time to play with us!


Monday.....
All summer I have wanted to go kayaking on
Cooper Lake--
but there has never seem to be the time
with all the projects around the cabin

But this morning,
Ron said that since the wind was blowing too much
to finish staining the shop and woodshed,
it was time to Kayak!!

So I became Kayaking Karen for the morning...

Isn't this the most beautiful alpine lake....
Love that there is still snow on the mountains...

We paddled the perimeter of the lake and
had lunch at one of the sand bars

We really had a fun morning...
now I have to start looking at Craigs list for some used kayaks

But lest you think that it was all fun and games today...
I have photos to prove that we do work...
Ron finished staining the shop and woodshed

And I disinfected--scrubbed and cleaned the ENTIRE cabin
(yes, I know photo is sideways...it won't rotate for some reason)

WHY did I become a cleaning whirlwind....



Because.....
We had a nocturnal visitor last night until 12:30 am!!
After trying all manner of persuasion,
Ron became the mighty hunter and we are now pest-free....
and yes, he looks cute....but he poops WAY too much to be inside!


So with aching muscles we ended the weekend
relaxing in the hot tub,
under the stars and the milky way
grateful for another summer together....

Burn Baby Burn~~Spain~~ Day Six

Our day started with the Dwarf and Giant Head Parade...
a bit of a let-down after last night's parade gala!

The Dwarf Heads were obscured by the crowds....

Most were there for another firecracker competition display...

After the parade and firecracker show we made our way down to the beach...
we passed more sculptures, doomed to their fiery demise tonight

My beach boy....
walking in the surf of the Mediterranean Sea
(I still can't believe we are actually here!)

Ron and Mike body surfing....

and then they decided to swim out to the buoys!
Can you see the yellow buoy and two dark heads in the sea...
that's them...
they still think they are in their 20's
and they proved that they still have "it"

After spending another day in the sand, surf and sun
we made the sweaty trek back to apartment
for our much needed siesta....
tonight's festivities don't even start until MIDNIGHT!

We left for dinner around 9pm...
here is where we ate last night
(it was too dark for photos)

We are having the time of our lives....

We choose our restaurant tonight because of their
white linen tablecloths and friendly staff....
not for the free wine....really!

Our waiter was extremely helpful and friendly,
at one point we think he suggested he and I become partners...
(we think he meant in operating a restaurant...
but since my Spanish isn't the best... who knows what I said "yes" too!!
Alas, this is the last photo taken by my trusty Casio camera...
It decided to protest my 500+ photo-taking abuse
and stop working...
so the rest of the night I only had my trusty iPhone
to capture the night's adventure!


We joined the masses in the main square

The show started with the famous fire crackers...

Next were the flying, falling HOT embers!
I was hit in the head by a 4 " long smoldering "cracker"
The people on the rooftops hurried to the opposite side
of the roofs to avoid the heat and the dropping ash!
So CRAZY!

Here is the TV shot of the main square's sculpture going up in flames

During the melee to flee the falling ash
we made our way to the adjacent street
just in time to
see another flaming pyre!

After viewing the burning of a few more,
we needed cooling down.. so unlike the majority of the crowd
who chanted "agua, agua"
to get the firemen to turn the hose on them...
we settled for visiting our favorite gelato shop!


As soon as the fires were put out
the city's street cleaning crew were in place
to wash the streets..
very efficient and orderly in this chaotic celebration!!

Here are the remains of one of the sculptures...

Fireman checking the embers...
he then turned his hose on the crowd...
we left in a hurry!!

It was now after 2 am so we wandered back
to our neighborhood "monument"
and arrived in time to watch it burn...

Mike and Claudia sitting on the curbs...

Ron and I joined them in the gutter!!!

The Bomberos (firemen)
arrived--so the party was about to start....


Waiting in anticipation for the fuse to be lit...
note how close the apartment buildings and crowds are standing
to the soon to be fiery pyre
The smoke from the EXTREMELY loud
fire crackers...

the flames...

people in the apartment building hanging out balconies...

Burn Baby Burn

still can't believe they did this 91 times
all over the city!!

Now the firemen start hosing down the flames...
and then as the crowds chant...
"AGUA, AGUA"
they turn the hose on us!!

We were a bit too tired and too old to
participate in the wet t- shirt contest
so we backed away from the crowd and the spraying water

and made our way back to our apartments and waiting beds
which we grateful dropped into...
smelling like smoke, with ash falling from our hair
and our hearing muted from the fire crackers!
A good time was had by all!!