chase the light

[IMAGEWORKS HALLOWEEN GALLERY]
Damn, people done good with the creativity for Halloween. Some great pumpkins were made and some of the costumes were wicked good. The CSI:Pumpkin is awesome, and the motion capture pumpkin is probably only funny to a select few.

It’s weird but I didn’t realize until today that I haven’t been home for the last 4 years during Halloween. It was weird to see it in action. My ‘weenyness is a little rusty. Everybody started showing up to work this morning in these great costumes and I forgot grown people actually do this! Last year on Halloween night I was on a huge overnight car ferry with two different biker gangs. One was the Coffin Cheaters and the other was some other scary sounding name. They were scary bearded men with chains but not very Halloween-like. The year before that I saw a pumpkin in a window in London that reminded me it was Halloween and then the year before that on a little island sitting by a bonfire and drinking with our kayaking group. I always seem to be finishing a show in the fall so that’s when I get to take some time off work for travel. I’m actually trying to make a wordy transition here from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Which is being done very poorly I might add… so on that note…

I leave in a few weeks for a trip to Fiji and I’m busting with excitement! I can’t wait to see all the people again and give them some of the photographs I took the first time around. Below are Petero and Tony, and George and his family. Petero works at resort now so won’t be on the trip, but Tony will be guiding the trip and George will also be with us. George’s wife was pregnant in that photo so that kid will be almost three now! And to accompany me on my voyage…? A brand new video iPod! See, my last iPod decided to commit suicide this week by throwing itself down a flight of concrete stairs. It was a horrible has I had to hold it in my hands during its last dying breath. I pushed it’s little buttons like I was trying to restart its heart… So sad.

[LUCHA VAVOOM GALLERY]

Over the last couple years I’ve been meaning to get over to Lucha VaVoom but had yet to actually get the energy. On Tuesday I receive my weekly “Flavorpill” email [LINK]. It tells me all the cool things going on in L.A. so I in turn also look cool. There was a blurb about Lucha VaVoom happening this week. A Halloween edition too! At the very bottom was a contest to win tickets for Wednesday nights show. And the question…? “Which Buxotica takes a name from a rebellious ’30s-era Mexican painter? The third through fifth correct answers each win a pair of tickets to this match.” So I fill it out with “Frida Kulo” and the next day I’m a winner! I get a confirmation email from New York that also went out to Rita D’Albert who runs and performs in the show in L.A. Hmmm… that name sounds so famliar? Google it, and she used to be a guitarist in the band The Pandoras and is/was hooked up with Andy Prieboy who is one of my favorite L.A. musicians ever. He’s an incredible artist. Andy had a brief stint with Wall of Voodoo and wrote “Tomorrow, Wendy” that Concrete Blonde also covered. He also was the man behind the stage show “White Trash Wins Lotto” which caused a big stir in L.A. a few years ago. But, it’s his solo work that I really love and his few releases out there are amazing. Totally unheard by 99.99687% of the world, but loved to death by the other .00318% of us.

BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS! Because now life is defined as B.L., Before Lucha, and A.L. After Lucha! I now have to refer to myself as being born in 39 B.L. The event was total mayhem which included some audience participation that was not supposed to be part of the show. Anyway, Mexican masked wrestlers, mini (midget?) wrestlers, burlesque Buxoticas, comedians, audience dressup, etc. It was sheer insanity like a Fellini film that comes to life. It’s definitely a see it to believe kinda thing but what a blast! Pictures don’t really do it justice. It’s basically masked men wrestling, girls taking off their clothes and shaking their boobies, comedians making jokes about the whole thing as it goes on, including Tom Kenny who is the voice of Spongebob saying stuff like “Fan-fucking-tastic!” and “Ouch, that even hurt my labia!”, and a crowd full of people wearing masks or dressed up as geriatric Elvises.

During the final match two wrestlers were out in the audience flailing away at each other and some stupid drunk chick decides she wants to be part of the action and picks up a chair and goes after one of the wrestlers. I’m standing like 5 feet away and the wrestler turns and looks a little freaked out by this girl about to slug him on the head with a folding chair! Then security goes apeshit and goes all Rodney King on her throwing her to the ground and struggling with her all over the floor! There’s like 8 burly guys taking this chick down and then the stupid ass boyfriend tries to start pulling them off of her and then they turn and jump him and he starts flailing around! Then the crowd starts throwing water and shit at the whole scene and plastic water bottles are coming in and I decide it’s time to get the hell outta there because it’s escalating pretty quickly! I make my way out to lobby and quickly purchase a souvenir Mexican wrestling mask for fun and then I hear all this commotion. Security guards are yelling, “MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!!!!” as they come through the lobby dragging the idiot boyfriend out in to the street and chasing him away. I’m not even sure where the girlfriend ended up. Security handled it right though. Anyway, it was awesome and the best free thing ever.

[ABBY TRAVIS GALLERY]
[BLYTHE LYRICS]

Today had one of those “Dude you’ve totally been under a rock while this is going on” moments. There’s this thing called Tarfest every year at the museums and next door at the tar pits. Um, first off, worst name ever for an event. Tarfest! It’s tar-rific! See you at the af-tar party! Ugh. Well, I’ve lived across the street from this for the past 4 years and have never heard of it. But that doesn’t matter because it’s pretty lame. So, my point is… I was checking the website and a musical artist caught my eye. Abby Travis. [LINK] Hmmm… she’s cute, check the website quickly, music sounds great, hmmm, cabaret with a touch burlesque. Oh my God, it’s at 5:45? It’ll still be light out. In a park? Cabaret? This is going to be one tough show to pull off. Gotta check this out.

I headed over, all 200 yeards away, and she comes out and holy crap she’s freakin’ great! Daylight and all. Considering there were only like 15 people there she still put on a show. I would have crumbled in that position. Yikes, ballsy. So I have this total soft spot in my heart for burlesque type girls and was crushing on her the whole show. She did about 30 minutes and her songs were great. She’s hella photogenic too. I spoke to her briefly after the show and asked her about any upcoming stuff and she gave me her card which states… “Musician Extraordinaire Lifestyle Consultant”. Indeed. This HAD to be one of her strangest gigs.

During the last song she invited this one lady to join in, and boy did she. She started rattling off all sorts of poems and was cursing like a sailor at some parts. It was hilarious and incredible at how well it all worked. Abby actually sat down next to me in the audience and let the band just vamp and the lady kept going and going. I talked to her after the show too and it kinda ruined the whole vibe because I discovered she was a really angry woman and started bitching to me about never getting paid for her art, and how Jim Carroll this and Jim Carroll that, blah blah blah.. She even had these glazed over eyes that kinda freaked me out. Like the eyes of a yoga instructor or a massage therapist that are kinda mentally on a different plain then the world around them. Ok, nice talkin’ to you, gotta go… Give her mic though and she’s funny.

So who the hell is this Abby? I’m usually pretty on top of all the comings and goings of musical nuggets happening in town, but crap I’ve been asleep at the wheel with her. Let’s see… oh, she runs Club Mata Hari over in Los Feliz, during Lollapalooza 95 she played bass for both Beck and Elastica, oh and gee she’s just about to leave on an Australian tour as the bassist for The Bangles… [ABBY TRAVIS]

Let’s see if you like any of the following you might like her. Bowie, Dresden Dolls, Marlene Dietrich, etc… The torchy song Blythe that’s above is damn pretty. Great U2ish guitar solo too. From her new album “Glitter Mouth”, buy it if you likey it. Comes out January. You can hear more songs at her website. Singing girls make me weak.

Australian eye candy from a vacation I’ve never posted photos from. Maybe someday I can go through the 1000+ photos and tell the tale of the month long adventure. This was in Trinity Beach in Far North Queensland [LINK] on the last leg of the great South Pacific trek of 2002. Jill and I rented a beach side apartment for a week on the top floor of this building. We were very tired looking out at this scene, but it was spectacular. It was hot out and we had the air conditioner on. I love Australia.

Caught this little bugger building a web inside the front door. Considering the Black Widow normally eats her mate, this little Widower is lucky. The male is small and their hour glass is yellowish. Google search: “Black Widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America. Only the female Black Widow is venomous; males and juveniles are harmless…” Ok, at least he’s ok, but crap, if he’s got a little lady friend she can’t be too far away. Man, venom is one scary ass word. I’m sleeping with one eye open tonight.

[WEDDING PHOTO GALLERY]
How unbelievable does Brigitte and her father look?!? That’s awesome. Every photo I have of her from today she looks amazing. I met and used to work with Brigitte 8 or 9 years ago when we were trying to get our feet in the door of the visual effects world. So it was great to be able to watch her walk down the aisle to Greg today. Sure she worked on the Siegfried & Roy IMAX movie “The Magic Box”, but I won’t hold that against her.

Let’s see, it was Me, Jill, Amanda, Jake, and J.D. at one table, so it was a Sony themed table. Quite a few peeps from the VFX world were there to represent. They had mashed potato martinis out on the deck. Which is a large martini glass dolloped with potatoes and some stew and then you pick your toppings. How odd, but cool. I mingled a bit then caught up with Jill and let’s see, oh she was chatting with this girl. Um, hello??! Totally hot chick, curly haired, funny, rad eyes, bitchin’ smile, arm tattoo, hella cute, and quirky and cool, and, and… she was all, Italy, and I was all, yeah, Barcelona, and she was all that’s cool, and I was all yeah, and, and then I was all wow, and then I was all WOW, and… married. Ha! Ok, so, moving on. Then the dinner began, then the music played, then I had too much wine and got way sleepy, then they cut the cake, then the rest of my photos came out blurry, then I talked about cameras with Jake, then ate my truffle, then shot another blurry photo, then hugged Brigitte and shook Greg’s hand, then I said said my goodbyes to all including the totally hot chick with the curly hair who was funny with rad eyes and bitchin’ smile and the arm tattoo who was all hella cute and quirky and cool who was all “Italy” and I was all “Barcelona” and she was all MARRIED and stuff for Christsakes, then I hopped in the car, put the top down and had a beautiful ride through the city and downtown with the tunes a blaring.

Ya know, before a wedding you do all that gift registry shopping because it just makes it easier? Well, I didn’t find out until this week that they were actually registered someplace. So I log in and all that’s left are some knives or something. So I get the knives. Because, ya know, it’s on their list and stuff, but I’m not sure I’m all that comfortable with buying newlyweds knives. Jus’ saying.

I’m actually starting to like weddings. And that my friends is frightening.

…and they lived happily ever after.

Since I’m not going to any of Sheryl’s shows that are coming up I thought I’d catch her at the “free” Tower Records gig. Last month I caught the New Pornographers at Tower [LINK] and what a difference between the two experiences. That one was great without the whole corporate vibe that surrounded Sheryl’s appearance. I actually think there were more people there associated with Sheryl than actual attendees. It was absurd. It started at 11am, but by 10:45 there was only a small line of about 60 people. That line was dwarfed by all the security, technicians, VIP’s, Tower staff, limo drivers, papprazzi, and all her handlers. She really needs to cut a lot of these hangers-on and get back to a simpler thing. What a joke. Anyway, I got there about an hour before and was 3rd in line. Hilarious, this thing was a bust. They had the whole Disneyland weaving line thing thing set up and it wasn’t even needed! So I go in and walk right up to the stage and all the security are threatening people that “If you take a flash photograph, you’re out. No warning, nothing. You’re out”. OK, no problem, I don’t take flash photos anyway. Also, no video, “If you take video, you’re out. No warning, nothing. You’re out”. Jeez, this is becoming a drag just listening to them harp about stuff.

So she comes out, and does “Where Has All the Love Gone”. A weak song on the new album. She plays keyboards. Then the keyboard is taken off stage and they play “Good is Good”. A little better song off the new album. So I’m watching and shooting a photo here and there and suddenly this idiot that was next to me, a Sheryl Crow “handler”, starts giving me all sorts of crap. He’s all frowning and and yelling above the song saying, “No more pictures with that camera!!!” “You cannot take anymore pictures with that camera!” “I mean it!” “After this, that’s it!” “No more pictures with that camera!” All I could think of was Steve Martin in “The Jerk” when he panics at the guy shooting at him. “He hates these cans!!” Except it was “He hates this camera!”

Now… since I’d already fired out about 80 shots, without flash mind you, I was actually OK with that. So as the song wraps up I shoot a couple more and put my camera away. Then the guy continues, “That’s it for you, no more!” “You cannot shoot anymore with that camera!” I looked right at him and said. Duuuuuude! It’s cool. Chill the hell out!!!! Which he didn’t really like all that much, but since I standing right in front of Sheryl he couldn’t really just grab me and throw me out. I’m not sure why he got such a bug up his ass, but whatever. Couldn’t believe it. The show ended and then I went to have Sheryl sign my CD. The prick guy who was standing next to me during the show was now standing right next to her and took my CD cover from me. Because YOU CAN’T GO ANYWHERE NEAR HER, because all fans are obviously stalking her or have leprosy! She said hello and signed it and then handed it to someone else who then handed it to me. She’s got the whole rock star in a bubble thing going on. Sheryl herself seems nice enough, it’s just the drama that’s going on around her that’s lame. Typical though.

Anyway, the whole thing was disappointing and ruined more so by the whole entourage thing. Give me humble indie band any day, who’s just damn happy you show up to their show.

No no no, of course I didn’t take that photo. Steve Bell and I were off to see Nine Inch Nails [LINK] tonight at the Hollywood Bowl. We met for dinner first at Zankou Chicken [LINK]. Which gets a namecheck in the Beck song “Debra”. “Like a fruit that’s ripe for the picking I wouldn’t do you like that Zankou Chicken” Vicki ate with us and then Steve and I drove over and parked across from the Pantages theater. The parking lot there is cheaper and then we took the metro train down to Hollywood and Highland. That way we didn’t have to deal with the insufferable parking fiasco that is the Bowl. Could that place suck any more for parking? 18,000 seats with 3000 parking spots. That’s only 6 people per car, ummm-yeah no biggie.

Anyway, got there while Queens of the Stone Age [LINK] were on stage and I’m sooo not into them. Ok, their two hits I like but that’s it. There was one 30 sec. spot where they were kinda rawkin’ but after that it was back to subparville for them.

Steve grabbed a couple of beers for us which were overfilled and spilling over so he had to take a swig of each on the way back. COMPLETELY FORGETTING HE WAS SICK WITH RABIES, SARS, OR LYME DISEASE!!! Maybe it was polio? Well, whatever was making his throat hurt! Fortunately he remembered and warned me so we could disinfect the hotzone with my shirt. I ended up drinking from the opposite side of the petrie dish. Seems to have worked.

Finally the lights went out and a low rumble started and off they went off for two hours. Trent only said about 5 words to the audience. Very personable guy. Ha. Midway through the set a curtain dropped in front and visuals came on and a whole ambient/mellow song section began. Yeah, I’d say that pretty much bummed everyone out. Lots of video of people having fun interspersed with war machine footage. Talk about a Debbie Downer [LINK].

We sat where the red star is behind their heads. Not so bad considering most of the seats forward of that are boxes. I’ll just repost my NIN remix I did for my own self indulgence. [The Hand That Feeds Remix LINK]

Tonight… The New Pornographers kicked ass. Destroyer, not so much. Immaculate Machine, way much. Things of note, they were total camera nazis and doing head to toe searches on the way in. The air outside was smoky as hell because of the massive brush fire going on over in the valley. After the show my car was covered in soot. None of that mattered though because tonight I had a date with rock and roll girlfriend .

Dear Neko,
I totally understand why you like being in the band The New Pornographers, because they freakin’ kick ass. The added bonus for me is that you come through town twice as much and I get to spend an evening with you singing to me. Don’t think I didn’t see you looking out at me in the crowd. It was great we were able to get together in Seattle recently [LINK]. What a romantic getaway that was, huh? Well, it’s no wonder seeing that we’re so compatible according to celebmatch.com [LINK]. And they’re never wrong! Check out that physical connection, in spades baby! I can still remember the day we met, you were sitting on a shelf at the Sony Style store at the Metreon in San Francisco. It was the year 2000 and you had just released the follow up to your debut album. 5 years? My oh my, has it really been that long? Your eyes were peering out of that jewel case at me while you sang Set Out Running to me. Not to get all Renee Zellweger on you but you had me at “Want…”

And that guy who kept yelling “Neko, I Love You!” all night. No, it wasn’t me, but that guy really didn’t mean it. He was all drunk and stuff and was just looking to get laid. That’s so insincere.

Next up Autolux, Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails at the Hollywood Bowl.

[PICNIC PHOTO GALLERY]

After attendance worries and a delay due to death the picnic finally got pulled off. Having been out to Calamigos Ranch for the Disney Company picnics I figured it would be hot, boring, and filled with people I didn’t know. Turns out, it was beautiful out, I had a fun time, and it WAS filled with people I didn’t know. But that was OK because I could seek out my friends that were there and together we could wonder who the hell all these people were. Imageworks used to be on just two floors of the building I’m in and now it’s sprawled itself into about eight different buildings all within throwing distance. So attendance wasn’t a problem. After it was over it was so nice out I raced my car up and down Kanan Dume, through the tunnels, down to Malibu, and back up through Topanga. It was so James Dean of me. Except for the wrapping myself around a tree part.

[BIG PHOTO OF NICKY]
Proof that the lens is the most important part of a camera. Then of course the tripod. Then maybe the camera body. Before the trip up to the San Juans I was trying to justify the cost of this lens. I’m not sure I actually justified it in any rational way other than it’s just one of the best lenses out there [LINK]. It was funny, but when I was up at the islands and looking for Orcas, I’d pull out the camera and people would start asking me questions like I was some sort of researcher or something. Fortunately after years of reading and collecting books about them, I do know a lot more than I thought about the resident Orcas and could actually answer some questions. Hmmm… career change?

Oh, and it’s my birthday today. Just one of the 50 billion Virgos born this month because all our parents that had sex during the winter holidays. When I was in elementary school I used to get all bummed out at being a Virgo because it was so obviously a feminine sign. I wanted to be a Leo, Taurus or Aries. Come on those are cool manly animals! How come I’m stuck with some some virgin woman? What’s a virgin anyway? I was probably 5 and full of questions , but I think it was explained to me that she was virtuous. I doubt you can even go near astrology in classrooms these days let alone explaining what a virgin is. I only thought it was cool after the girl I had a little crush on, Jyll, was the only other Virgo and the teacher made each of the signs stand up together around the sides of the classroom. I was friends with Jyll the rest of the way through school due to that one little event.

A few years ago I came across Willo’s website [LINK] via a link from a link kinda thing. When I first started reading her website I always felt like I was mentally shouting while reading it because man, she used exclamation! points! like! nobody’s! business!! Everything had exclamation points! Cat! Sofa! Deadpan! I hardly ever use exclamation points, I’m more like… “Holy crap, the roof is on fire.” Period. Because that’s more like me to just sit and watch a house burn down.

Anyway, hardly a sentence of hers goes by without it being effusive! So after reading her entries over a period of years I realized it’s an accurate reflection of her personality. Which was really cool because since then I’ve chatted to her on occasion about music n’ stuff and she’s totally gung ho. She’s always a good source of info on bands that are coming through town and I’ve picked up a lot of cds based on her tastes. I got to connect the words with the actual person this weekend.

She was heading down to L.A to meet up with some friends and I caught up with her Friday night at World Cafe in Santa Monica.

So it was dinner with 3 people I didn’t know at all, and then Willo who I knew through words only and the random fish eyed lens video clip. Her friend Dee was along, another friend from high school who she hadn’t seen in 10 years, and the added bonus of Steve from thesneeze.com. If you haven’t read his series of “Steve, Dont Eat It” [LINK] do yourself a favor and have a laugh. After dinner we hopped down the street to Finn McCool’s for drinks and some more of Dee’s friends joined us and then further down we hit Shane’s.

I chatted with Renee for awhile (above picture) which was fun, because it’s more than likely I’ll never ever see her again, but she was cool and was laughing at what a random group had gotten together. Which is also funny because on Sunday I went to shoot some pictures and there were 3 pictures on my camera that Willo took. None of Willo though…

So there ya go, above is a photo of Willo’s friend Renee who I met about an hour before and may never see again! I dig the photo though, it wreaks of rich mahogany. So yeah, it was really to cool to meet her and her friends and she’s very cool. Awesome night out. Although I suppose I should Willoize it and say, Awesome night out!!

1. Merry go round / Mckenna’s tomatoes / milking the green / so it grows.
2. That girl’s face / sky writing / out da hole / pass the deodorant.
3. Caffeinated devil bees / and the hive / I hate math / seagull on rocks

More Exquisite Corpses [LINK] that have come through the cooker. First and second one I did the bottom piece. The third one, the first piece. To see the other three I’ve worked on and get the lowdown, go here [LINK].

After missing the movie I was headed to in Los Feliz by a few mintutes, I blew it off and went to La Luz de Jesus to see the new Shag show. I had told Jill we could catch it when she had time, but I was there, and nothing to do, so I buckled and went without her. I checked out the show and noticed on my way out that Shag was going to be there that night (in 4 hours) to sign copies of his new new book, The Art of Josh Agle. I left my phone at home, so I bailed with the intention of coming back and picking up the book and saying hi to Josh. I got home and called Jill, who I thought was still at work, but forgot was actually at Brigitte’s bridal shower and would be done at 5:30. Perfect. Met her there picked up some books and met Josh and had him sign them and he put a skull in mine and a monkey in Jill’s! She owns Vice Monkeys [LINK] so that was cool. It’s kinda funny because earlier this week while I was Southparking [LINK] a bunch of people (via Willo’s site), I put a skull on my shirt [LINK]. Perfect. I’m not a big autograph hound but it’s better to have it signed than not I suppose.

Let’s see, this week in history. Gas prices suck, hurricane Katrina sucks, it’s September 11th tomorrow and that sucked, my Netflix stock is going through the roof and that kicks ass, Starbucks seems to have stalled and that kinda sucks, my desk is a mess which sucks, El Coyote’s food really doesn’t suck that much.

S?ɬ?ren Ragsdale [LINK] pulled off a brilliant bit of conceptual artwork here at work. Or in his words, “A reprojection of practical photography onto low-resolution proxy geometry”. In layman’s terms that means he shot a picture of himself working at his desk, took it to Kinko’s and got it printed onto vinyl, and stitched in all the eyelets. Now he works 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Of course it got Farked [LINK], and all hell broke loose. S?ɬ?ren also stablized the transformation images on John Stone’s website [LINK]. It’s friggin’ incredible [LINK] to watch. Smart people + creative ideas = joy.

My friend Ergin [LINK] from Albania lost his childhood friend Dorian in an accident and that really sucks. There was a memorial and screening of his films at the Echo Park Film Center and it was good to see Ergin doing well. Ergin was in a lot of the films and it was cool to see their lives in Albania. That’s good and does not suck.

[PACIFIC NORTHWEST PHOTO GALLERY]
[PRETTY MUCH THE MOST BORING VIDEO OF MY SEAPLANE FLIGHT I COULD HAVE MADE]
Woke up totally late this morning and had to rush to the airport to return the car. I was 1/2 an hour late but they didn’t dock me. Had they tried to charge me I would have just taken the car for another day. Caught the bus from the airport up to the city to check out Bumbershoot, but no bands that I wanted to see were playing that day. I skipped. Just shopped around and had a Turkish Doner down by Pikes Market. Hadn’t had one of those since the Lord of the Rings days in Wellington New Zealand. So good. It rained pretty heavily on and off all day and I still had a night pass to use at the Space Needle so I headed over there. It was really beautiful up there and the clouds and rain made it pretty dramatic looking. The monorail broke down so I got screwed out of my return trip to downtown. Had to take one bus, then pick up my long haul bus back down towrds the airport. Flight leaves in the morning. Miss it already. Photos from the past ten days in the gallery above.

I had to get up early this morning to pick up the car and head out to the Gorge for tonights concert. Can’t say much for the hotel I’m at but it’s home for the next three nights and it’s cheap. Just need a place to stay while I’m out site seeing. On the way out to The Gorge amphitheatre for The Black Crowes and Tom Petty I stopped in Snoqualmie for lunch. I decided to hike down to the base of the falls. After all my waterfall trekking in Australia paid off with some beautiful sights, I figured I’d give it a go. Yeah, it was pretty much straight down. Made a stop at the Wild Horses Monument to stretch the legs and hike up another incredibly steep hill. I’m going to be soooo beat having to drive all the way back to Seattle after the concert.

Anyway, Black Crowes, finally back together and playing again. Now, I’m a pretty big Black Crowes fan, but hell if they only played like three songs I recognized. One of the reasons I wanted to catch this show was, well I missed the L.A. show and it was going to be at The Gorge which kicks ass. (of course tickets for three L.A. shows go on sale when I go home, but whatev) Also, I’ve never seen Tom Petty. One more classic rock act to cross off the list. Both the Crowes and Petty were kinda… eh. No matter though, the Gorge is pretty much the best place ever for an outdoor show.

I left a little bit before Petty ended so I could beat the traffic out to the single lane highway exit. 20,000 people exiting a concert, some drunk, and a 2.5 hour drive back to Seattle with them is not my idea of safe. I stopped once back at the Wild Horses Monument. IT WAS PITCH BLACK. Looking up you could see the Milky Way going from horizon to horizon. I spent about 1/2 an hour trying various exposures to capture it. Finally got one. Barely got back to Seattle before the head nods started happening.

Special guest Mom The Blogger…

Woke up to a few clouds which finally cleared to bright sunny skies! Had breakfast, chatted and decided we would take one last drive to “the other side” to look for — what else? WHALES! Stopped by Lime Kiln and Phil spotted them heading south!!! The whale boats hadn’t even found them yet! WOW-we really weren’t expecting to see them! They were just cruising south quite rapidly…no time to play! We saw ( Capt. Phil sez) 4 females seem to be the first ones, 1 male and a juvenile, for sure, figure there were about 20 but counting black fins can be challenging! Chris was snapping pics and we kept scouring the water for their next surface. One of the males did a spy-hop —–way out of the water! Was fun to watch them and try to figure out where they would surface next. Just pulled up a rock and watched the spectacular picture before us…they are amazing animals. Besides seeing the whales, the water was soooo blue and the skies so clear we could see the buildings on Vancouver Island….much clearer than yesterday when we “made the loop” in the boat.

Once the “parade of whales” had passed, we too, like they, headed south to South Beach to see if we could catch them down there. It is a low lying rocky beach strewn with logs of various sizes and rocks of all shapes sizes but each one rolled smooth as if they had all come out of a rock tumbler… actually guess they had as they rolled through the water. Chris headed south, Phil north and I started sifting through the rocks to find some specimens to take home…..all of us spanning the waters for the —–big black fins! The elusive whales were gone again…no where to be found. We all enjoyed the quiet time on that serene peaceful beach. Finally decided we were all hungry and would head for the boat after one last glimpse of Cattle Pass. We could tell from the beach it had some white caps and was a bit “gnarly” compared to the time we went through it yesterday…..drove over closer and it was moving quickly-the opposite direction we had passed through it yesterday. Chris snapped some more pics and headed for “The Brewery” for lunch.

Chris’ plane was to leave at 6:35, so needed to get back so he could catch his flight. Had a chance to chat some more about the incredible animals we have observed. Checked out his pics and he got a full shot of one that is cruising just the top of the water….quite striking! Gathered up Chris’ things and headed for the plane dock. His plane arrived about 6:10. Six adults and 2 dogs got off the plane..the dogs were only on leashes so had view seats on their journey!!!! One other passenger boarded, Chris got on and they left at 6:20 – 15 minutes before the scheduled departure….no wonder we missed his landing!!! …when they get their passengers they leave-time or not!! Guess with a maximum of 8 passengers one can do that!. Since we missed his landing, we we prepared for his departure. Watching one of the other planes take off about an hour earlier, looked like he would be leaving right over us for some really good pics! The plane motored away from the dock out into the San Juan Channel and took off out there without winging back our way so missed his take off as well! Did get some pics of the plane motoring away. Was sure great to have him with us this past week!!!!!! Had a wonderful time! He survived all nights sleeping “on the kitchen table”…..he will probably have a really good nights sleep tonight on a “real mattress”. He will be in Seattle for 3 nights then home Monday morning. The concert tomorrow night is at a place called Gorge Amphitheater overlooking the Columbia River.. Pics look beautiful.

Well, is cold and windy tonight….will see what tomorrow brings……….

~Mom

And thus concludes Mom The Blogger’s contribution to this weeks posts.

Special guest Mom The Blogger…

What a beautiful day on the water!!! Left the slip at 9:05 and headed south to Cattle Pass in search of – orcas! The water was calm and no fog!!!! Quite different than yesterday. Not a lot of boats out. Cattle Pass was even calm and based on our Current Chart it should have been. Passing through the pass, we headed for whale rocks just off of Lopez Island. Came upon many Stellar Sea Lions and Chris began to snap pics! Lots of activity in the water. Phil says they live there because it is named “Salmon Banks” and has an abundance of salmon there. This is also a point where the orcas are often seen. Chris caught a great pic of a sea lion catching his dinner. The sea lion had the fish in his mouth, snapped it in two and threw it in the air. Chris caught the shot with the fish in the sea lion’s mouth!!! See pic…………Phil says he sent it to “fishy heaven”! We saw seals, dolphin, and cormorants. Chris snapped a great shot of several cormorants sitting on the buoy. Started listening to the whale boat channel on the radio, but no one was responding. We headed north up the coast of San Juan. Cruised and spotted the water for whales and any other critters that we might see, however, no whales in sight today. Wonder where they go…………….?????

Once we passed the lighthouse, headed for Mosquito Pass into Roche Harbor. The current was with us and was a pretty journey that took us into Spieden Channel. Reports on the radio of a minke whale up on the east side of Waldron Island, but still few boats talking. In the channel on the way back to Friday Harbor, the water was still calm, with a few tidal currents. As we approached Friday Harbor, Phil spotted The Pardys to the port side of us. Chris got a great shot of them with Lyn looking through her binoculars. As we pulled into the slip, our neighbor Brian and a couple of his friends came over to help take our lines as we came into the slip…a welcoming party!

Phil washed the boat off and Chris and I headed for the laundry and market. Barbecued hamburgers and corn and was actually able to sit outside to eat tonight.. seems it has been too cold or rainy the last few days to eat out. After dinner, Chris went to take some pics and I went up to a marimba concert that was happening in the park. To cap the night off, (which was cold by then ) we went up to get some ice cream!!!!! Cold—but good!

Was a GREAT day on the water!! Got to see lots of wildlife and was fun this evening viewing the pics that Chris had taken. When we get the boat to CA, want to pick three or four (which will be hard) frame them and put them in the boat to remind us of the beautiful sights of San Juan Island.

~Mom