Hey, you know a guy around here with a piss yellow deuce coupe, supposed to be hot stuff?

This weekend the Comox Valley Cruisers held their annual Graffiti Bash, this time taking over Courtenay's main street and a couple side streets. Classic cars, hot rods, concept cars and even motorcycles lined the streets for us to peruse. Well up to three hundred vehicles from all over the island and afar participated.The Comox Valley Cruisers are a local organization which meet on a regular basis, usually at the local A&W ( how appropriate is that!) and are involved in helping many charitable groups including Yana and the Food Bank.

I am not much for cars and such but this is the second such event which I took in. One of my friends is a cruiser and owns two vehicles....RSS67 Camero and a 1929 Essex Roadster. She participates in showing her cars as well as volunteering in the event.
Even I can appreciate the beauty, the lines, the chrome, the vibrant colors, the old time rock and roll blasting through the streets....





...and for some reason it brings out all the men!

Check out my Flickr for more photos.

July 11 1924

Early Sixties...Yellowknife, N.W.T. with two girls who miss you.

I will never forget you. Today you would have been eighty-four years old. In honor of your birthday, I am going to indulge in a piece of cheesecake.

I love you xoxox

Life Sentence

Now the hard work begins...

Life's A Beach

Three days in a row Charley and I have hit the beach. I just have to say the word and she up and heading to the door. Today was ninety minutes of beach combing, splashing, wading and of course a photo shoot.
Her first time actually walking in water up to her knees...and she sat down in a pool of water. So much for her bath last night.
Miracle Beach has a separate beach access for dogs and attached to that is a dog walk that meanders through the bush...across a few little bridges and sand dunes.
Never at a loss for new scents and little crawlies. The tide was out a fair distance. We immediately wandered to the ocean's edge and came across at least eight herons. There is an estuary in the area which next time we will explore.

I think both Charley and I are beach bums in training!

Ticket To Paradise

Sometimes we take things for granted. I have lived on this island for forty years and to me it's home. At times I don't even look at what is staring me in the face...the absolute stunning beauty all around me.
I literally live no more than five minutes away from two gorgeous beaches, Seal Bay Regional Nature Park and Kitty Coleman Provincial Park. These past two days I took the time to go out and appreciate both of them.
Naturally the camera and Charley came with me. My sister also joined in for our nature walk today. The trail down to the beach was canopied by towering evergreens and blanketed on the sides by a carpet of lush green ferns. The sky was slightly overcast and kept the hot sun at bay.

Coleman Beach last night was fairly calm with the waves gently lapping the shore. The smell of campfires in the air made me nostalgic of our many summers camping on Hornby Island. I want to go camping so bad!
Charley as always thoroughly enjoyed herself. She loves nothing better now than walks with me, whether it's around the loop or special trips to the Air Park or nearby beaches. The ocean smells entice her. Her nose is continually on the ground.
Canopied Trail
Colors of the Sea
Beach Butterfly

I have another 'Beach Day' planned for tomorrow. We are going yet to another one nearby...Miracle Beach which again is only a little more than a ten minute drive away...the two of us and a picnic lunch!

Looking Back

It seems a lifetime ago when these pictures were taken. I can barely remember how it felt to be in my late teens with all the angst, insecurities, doubt and fears about the future. I can, although remember some of the goals I had wanted to accomplish.

I had a flare for art and thought that I would have loved to become a fashion designer. I drew endless pictures of the human body clad in my wonderful designs. I even entered an art contest advertised in a magazine. Little did I know that it was a marketing ploy to sign up students for a correspondence art school. I rarely pick up a charcoal and sketch pad anymore.
I also remember dreaming about the ultimate trip...a safari in Kenya and a visit to the outback of Australia. This must have come from my love of watching Untamed World. I never did take either of those trips...I do however enjoy my armchair trips on the Discovery Channel. I have been lucky enough to see a bit of the world...Holland, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. I haven't seen enough of Canada and only a wee corner of the USA. Yellowstone National Park was breathtaking.Many weekends were spent wondering through my uncle's back property ...day dreaming. My dream was to live in a cabin by a lake, a dock to moor the boat, mountains in the distance, rocking chair on the porch and the loons calling in the early evening. As of yet, I have not had any place to truly call my own. Maybe I don't really need to because in reality home is were the heart is.
As young teenagers we all have hopes, dreams and wishes and if we knew then what we know now...maybe some of them may have come true. Our priorities change and hence our goals and wishes. We can never stop having those dreams. They are what keep us going every day. I now have a whole new set of dreams....maybe someday I will share them with you as well.