Seen on River/Road Trip 2010: Peace

Spotted on the Banks of the Salmon River, Idaho

May Peace Prevail on Earth!

For more information about Peace Day, click here.

Seen on the River/Road Trip 2010: Benched

There is so much creativity out there, and so many different ways to be benched:

Warning signs of what will happen when you're benched for good.

Sharlie's Triangle was spotted in McCall, Idaho, and has whimsical frogs in the posts, and is surrounded by a dragon protector.

If you misbehave in McCall, they'll bench you in the ultimate timeout, ye old-fashioned gaol.

When you get further north into Salmon River Country, the benches begin to reflect their aquatic mascots.

If you sit in this final bench too long, they'll load you up and haul you off.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

And once again, that annual event has rolled around, Talk Like a Pirate Day!

ARGGHHHHHH! Me thinks that somewhere in my brother's genetic heritage is that one mythical Mediterranean seafaring relative that we can't quite track down through the genealogy.

I mean look at him. He constantly is walking the plank whenever he's on the river, and would sing "yo ho, yo ho" if it didn't make him seem even more odd than he is.
Lest you think that pirates only exist on the coasts, let me tell you, from actually seeing them, that pirates are still operating on the river ways of Idaho. They call themselves prospectors -- modern-day gold prospectors, but they are still like pirates.

They have a twisted sense of humor. Check out the label on their watercraft. I wouldn't recommend that landlubbers make comments about prospecting, panning for gold, or anything snarky, because you never know where pirates are lurking. Suddenly, these scurvy lads all descended down the boatramp, having emerged from the brush. From the looks of them, they were probably up there drinking some grog ...

Talk about bilge rats. All they needed was a jolly roger on the raft!

For more information about Talk Like a Pirate Day, click here.

Scenes from the River/Road Trip 2010

Seen on the River/Road Trip 2010: Great Feets

l-r: "me and my shadow" actually, Grandmary and Grumpa Max walking around McCall, Idaho; ankle deep in sweet beets in Burley, Idaho; my lack of time for a pedicure before the trip is starting to show; river guide's feet; fashion "statements" ala Grumpa; our river guide's tan lines, day 3 (see the evolution here); Nathan is limber; our family includes a dog pack; and Nathan and his toes

River/Road Trip 2010: Toy Society Drop

Made and Dropped by: Auntie Nettie
Number of toys: 2 -- Roly Poly Panda and a Patriotic Bear
When: Monday, August 16, 2010 at around 10:30 a.m. MDT
Where: Reststop on 84W, near Boise, Idaho, USA

Auntie Nettie says:
Auntie Nettie, Grandmary, and Grumpa Max were on their way north to go rafting on the Salmon River. Outside Boise, Idaho we HAD to stop at one of the reststops on 84. While I was in "refreshing" and scouting for a sight to drop one toy, Grandmary stayed behind with the car. When I came out, Grandmary mentioned that she had seen a tired and harried mom rush two adorable girls out of a car, while also dealing with an infant. She remembered being in a similar situation with three little kids in a hot car on a long car trip, so told me to leave the two toys on their car, in the hopes that it would cheer up the family after a long trip.

We left the toys on the windshield, hoping that it didn't freak out the mom and that other travellers would leave them undisturbed. The toys did garner some second glances. We didn't stay around to see what the reception was. All we could hope was that they brought a smile to the faces of the girls and gave the mommy a break.

Stay tuned to The Toy Society to see if they were found.

Letters to Ollie J - Sept. 15, 1997

9/15/97

[New York]

Dear Grandma [Ollie],

Please forgive me but I was waiting for my film to come back from the shop to send some of the better pictures to you. It’s amazing what I found on the roll – things from my trips to Boston in October & February, JJ packing to leave, and pictures from my long awaited vacation earlier this month. On the one hand, I can’t believe the time has flown by and on the other it felt like the summer crawled by due to work [Caramoor Festival]. I loved being at the Cape. I finally had a chance to really relax in an environment that had nothing to do with work. I walked on the beach, explored an old wreck of a pier, fed seagulls, shopped, and even painted Mom’s bedroom in the trailer. I’ve been back to work for exactly a week now and as much as I was pining for the weekend, I didn’t really expect to have to take Friday off – but my car had other ideas. I spent the day dealing with my brakes, which had magically disappeared. Thankfully no on got hurt, the mechanic wasn’t unreasonable and my car feels MUCH MUCH better.

So life is to back to work, work, and more work, but I’m looking forward to seeing JJ in a few weeks and going to Maine over Columbus Day weekend.

I love you and miss you very much.

Love

[Auntie Nettie]

enclosures:
Prints of boat wreck on Uncle Tim’s Island, on Wellfleet on the Cape
“Hidden Stairs” on Uncle Tim’s Island, on Wellfleet on the Cape
Old North Church, Boston, MA
Jetties on Mayo Beach, Wellfleet on the Cape