Wedding Photos

We went for a little drive so we could attend the wedding of Cora's cousin, Laura.  She and her (now) husband, Terry, are a wonderful couple, despite Terry's apparent poor vision (now I know you are reading this, so I'll have to be careful about complementing you Laura!).  

Below is a picture of Cora and I as we skimmed low over I-90 heading west. 

As we crested the summit I decided we needed a picture of the "fog/clouds" we were flying through.  Cora disagreed, but she didn't get to the camera first.  She was not happy that I was taking pictures while I was driving.

Nor was she particularly pleased that I wanted to take her portrait.  SEE?

I think she is very attractive, you?  She wasn't REALLY mad, though.

This is how she looked when we got to the hotel...isn't she cute?

We checked in and then went to meet with the rest of the family for lunch!  Yes, that handsome guy in the John Deere hoody and that lovely lady in the purple blouse and the cute little kid are not, technically, related, but I think they may as well be family, since I have become quite fond of them!

We returned to the hotel and readied ourselves for the coming wedding!  I think Cora looks beautiful!

I was there, too...

And, I gotta say, I looked pretty damned good!

And, I decided to grace the Grandmothers of the bride and groom with my presence in a photo, too!

Well, the ceremony would be here, but we were asked to put our cameras away.  A shame, too, since I could have graced SOOO  many more people with my image.  Oh, well.

They had a beautiful cake...fresh flowers!

Oh, and the bride.  Oh, I was going to try to not say anything nice about her...but...I can't.  She was beautiful, too!

Oh, and that guy behind me isn't a bouncer, though, I always thought he'd be a good bouncer, no, that's my brother-in-law!  Ryan.  He really is fond of me.  It's not obvious, but he loves me!

I loved the fact that it was in a museum, but, maybe, the best thing was the men's room.  I know what you're thinking.  "Men's room?  What could possibly be in a men's room that you would enjoy SO much?"  Well, here.  Look at the view!  As you finish peeing you turn around and- WHOA!  There's Tacoma!  Gosh, I feel a little OUT there!  Still, aside from the various families driving by ogling me, it was a beautiful view!

Oh, and then there was the bride and groom.  Almost forgot about them with the bathroom view!

but, the best part (Sorry, Laura) was the B-17 engine!!!!

The museum was beautiful from the exterior, too!

Of course, maybe the most beautiful thing, that is, the most touching thing was the Son-In-Law/Father-In-Law dance.  Not ALL weddings have this dance, so I think it was quite special that this one did.

So, it was fun at the wedding, plus, Cora and I got to see Rita, Bob, Wayne, and Goldie!  They were the life of our table!  Here we see Rita talking with her hands!  

It was a great evening!  Cora and I went back to the hotel room and relaxed.  This morning we got up and had breakfast with her parents.  Then we all packed up and went our respective ways.  Cora and I headed for Seattle.  Looking for our beloved fish stores.

We found the fish stores!  Oh, here are a few pictures of the corals that were on sale.  Oh, and those prices are in dollars.  DOLLARS!!  That green coral on the right IS $275!!!

Doesn't it make you want to have your own REEF TANK?

Yes, that one on the far left says $450!!!!!  YOWSA!!!

You will all be happy to know we did not buy these!  I spent some money my sister, brother-in-law and my wonderful niece and nephews gave Cora and me!We bought what they call frags.  Short for fragments.  These are pieces of viable corals that WILL grow.  You just have to have patience.  On the bright side, they are CHEAP!  We got some awesome little frags.  We got some Zoanthids (these are little polyps) and a couple mushrooms.  AND we got three fish.  They are just damsels, but they are very pretty!  I think, with a little work, we will have a beautiful tank.  Thank you Sis for the push!

It was a long day, but we made it home!  here we are on the trip back.  Please compare with the picture above...I think we look tired, don't you?

 But, it was a good two days!  You know why?  Because I always go places with this wonderful woman.  We share so many interests and so many memories...well, it is hard to imagine a time without her.  Laura and Terry, I hope you are as lucky as I am.  Congratulations!

Getting That Old Feeling...

Does anybody out there ever get the feeling that you need to do something? I don't mean, "Man, I feel like baking a cake." Nor am I speaking of, "Did I turn the stove off before we left for the grocery store?" No, this is a deeper, more beating purpose-filled need. Yes, I am speaking of the need to see airplanes. It appears to be a relatively rare malady, and it only affects a surprisingly small percentage of the population, but it is none-the-less debilitating to those afflicted with it.

Now, I have a few options open to me. One is the small Air Museum here in Yakima(not really an option since the coolest thing they have is a main gear to a B-1 bomber). Another option is the Museum of Flight across the Cascades, in Seattle(large collection, but it is all out of reach of the normal museum visitor: no touching or alarms go off). There is also the Olympic Air Museum and the Flying Heritage Museum (these might allow me to get closer to the aircraft. I am certain that I could talk someone in to letting me near an aircraft, especially given my intense feelings for aircraft, and my credentials[which aren't credentials, but people who work in museums like to share with those of similar interests]). If I had military ID I could go to the museums on base at McChord and Fairchild AFBs.

...but I have a deeper need. I am thinking either a re-visitation of Pima Air and Space Museum or a new visit to the Air Force Museum in Ohio or the SAC museum in Nebraska. I don't know. It is difficult to decide. Either way, I would be able to see one of the four remaining B-36s. I have seen two of the four, but my goal is to see all four remaining ships, and hopefully, what remains of the one in Walter Soplata's back yard.

I like B-36s because they are so damned big! I mean BIG! The wings spanned a length of 230 feet! The fuselage was 162 feet long! It had 10 engines! It could remain airborne for a little over 50 hours...without refueling! It could fly at a weight of over 400,000 pounds. It was an awesome aircraft and still is if you get the chance to see one up close.

I am also a big fan of the B-58, one of the fastest bombers ever, and, quite truthfully, most sexy bombers ever.

So, anyone want to take me to an air museum for the sake of my health? It would really make me feel better! So, do any of you live in Ohio or Nebraska?

On a different note, it is snowing outside...something guaranteed to make me feel better.

Goin' To A Museum!!

Most of you know that nothing makes me happier than a museum...ummm, errr, except my wonderful, lovely wife, who lets me go to museums. Well, today Cora has bowed to my whimpering and whining. We are going to go to Everett, Washington, to the Flying Heritage Collection to be there for their last fly day of the season. They fly aircraft in their collection every so often, to keep pilots current and to use the machines (keep 'em lubricated, etc.). They do this throughout the summer. I have never been, so when I discovered they would be flying an Me-109 and firing a German Flak gun...well, I had to go see for myself.

The Boeing Restoration Center is there, too, as is the Stormbirds Project hangar. I my also be able to see one of the Guppy-fied 747s that Boeing is using for their new 787! You can see some more views of Paine Field Boeing plant here, this gentleman runs a neat site.

So, I go armed with a camera and an aviation enthusiast's silly grin! Cora tags along because I told her she could stop at a store...silly girl, the only store she will see is the gift shop at the museum!!! Wah-ha-ha-ha-haaaa! My evil schemes are so fun!

Well, we might stop at a few of her stores on the way back...

Photo Tag

So, I was sitting here, minding my own business and my wife tagged me with this photo tag thingy...the rules, probably pretty standard by now: Link the person who tagged you and, here's the important part, go to your photos, go to the fourth file folder, then select the fourth picture.

I think you guys lucked out, because you could have been looking at airplane parts in disrepair or even Toby's bum (See Cora's site). Here it is, Four of Four (Sounds like a Borg from Star Trek, doesn't it?). This is Cora in front of an Me-109(Yellow nose) and a Spitfire (Blue and red roundel..oh, they are airplanes by the way) at Seattle's Boeing Museum of Flight. We visited it with my Family in Spring of 2006.


Because that one was slightly out of focus and because I have not posted airplane pictures for awhile, and I am fond of my own pictures of airplanes and Cora, here are a couple others from that trip which ARE IN FOCUS. Cora and the Concord...(sounds like a singing group, doesn't it?)


And this is the German Messerschmidt Me-109 that was in the background of the first photo...cool, huh?

Now, I am supposed to tag some others, however...well, they have better blogs than I and so I am reluctant to tag them...but, TAG I WILL! (And I like their blogs, so hopefull they can consider it a sincere form of flattery) Here goes:

Lisa (from amotherlode)

Jen (from Blissfully Caffeinated)

I hope you ladies don't mind (I was out of options [and even if you do mind, I tried, right?]).

(And maybe it will help you on a slow blog day)

Do you think I used too many parethesis in this post? (I think I did.)