Happy 242nd birthday America!
Barbeques,
Fireworks,
Day off from work.....
Yes, to all of those,
but there's more, there's
Patriotism.
I stand
with my hand over my heart during the
rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
I sing,
usually off key, but I sing,
and I'm proud to say I know every word.
I get choked up.
Yep, unabashedly,
I'm a patriot.
Having seen Ft McHenry and looked out over
the harbor in Baltimore,
that those brave men defended from the British,
and saw where that lonely, famous flag flew in 1814,
choked me up.
Then, having seen that actual flag in the Smithsonian,
replete with cannon holes,
and pieces missing from
souvenir hunters after the War of 1812,
being taken care of in this century,
choked me up.
This song sums it up pretty well.
And yes,
it chokes me up too.
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I also want to see my country.
I love to see different places in the US.
It's a bucket list of mine to see all 50 states before I die.
So far,
I've made it to 33.
But,
I've got 17 yet to go.
That's the reason for vacations!
Yay!
Some of my favorite places are national parks.
The forests, waterfalls, mountains and waterways
are my absolute favorites.
Iconic structures and historic areas are favorites also.
Having just returned from the San Francisco area,
I saw some things again,
as well as some new and beautiful things
that my son shared with me.
We waded in cold tide pools in Carmel
with anemones and starfish.
.
Looked out to sea, where whales spout and breach in the distance,
and low clouds hung on the horizon.
The beautiful beach at Pacific Grove.
Lake Tahoe with the sun sparkling off its crystal clear water.
A favorite quiet picnic spot on Lake Tahoe's shore
called Secline Beach.
A gnarled redwood root makes a beautiful
frame for a waterfall pool
in the mountains above Lake Tahoe.
At one point we were at almost 10,000ft!
Old growth redwoods in a neighborhood
playground in picturesque Mill Valley,
complete with a cool mountain stream.
No need to fight the crowds of Muir Woods,
this area is equally amazing!
Then in historic Sutter's Mill where the
whole state got its start with the discovery of gold.
Virginia City, and the Comstock Lode of
silver and gold
Carson City, Nevada's capitol
and
Reno,
with its understated glitz
and beautiful Riverdale area.
But, the main reason for this visit was
to spend time with my oldest son.
A few bittersweet moments shared, knowing I have
to leave him.
Sometimes its hard to let go.
But,
the shared moments of seeing new and exciting things
makes up for the distance.
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The hens were ambivalent about my home coming.
When I got home, the dog was happy, as always,
so I naïvely thought the girls would come running too.
Nope.
Just Lucy came.
Curious Lucy.
Oh, well.
Now I've taken a backseat to the CEO.
I've even started calling them
Daddy's Girls.
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Remember, life is short,
so in the immortal words of
the Isle Brothers
"Its your thing, do what you wanna do......."
and
as always
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