Karen's Space

Boy, am I behind with blogging!  This is hard to keep up with full time job.  Anyway, here are some photos from family vacation at Niagara Falls (Canadian View) this past June. By the way if you're planning a trip for 10+ people, decide on how you'll split shared costs such as food, car rental, gasoline, etc. I ended up paying all, but was the family trip worth it?  Absolutely! We bonded and disagreed (sometimes). It was a great 'reconnection' opportunity. Even today, we talk about it. I might suggest that we make this into a family tradition.

American Falls (left) and Canadian Horseshoe Falls (right). To enjoy the Horseshoe Falls, climb the tower for couple of dollars. It's too foggy to see anything from land level.

This is Horseshoe Falls view standing right next to it on a ledge (left). I wanted to capture how "thick" the water is flowing. It flows roaring fast - literally. The water chops away about 8 ft. of cliff every year. Compare that with 8 ft. of glacier falling every day in Alaska.

The guide said a handful of people attempted to jump from it (why would anyone do that, I don't know) and only two survived - one of two being a little boy who fell by accident.

The photo on the right is up-close-and-personal view of Horseshoe Falls. We were on "Maid of the Mist" boat that took us about 100 ft. from the fall. It was so tall that it was painful to arch my neck and look up. The sheer amount of water falling down was just un-describable. Try taking a shower underneath, you'll be bald that instant.

A real vacation is one that gets you away from day to day life completely, not just physically but psychologically, no matter how long or short. I was fortunate to have one of those vacations thanks to a colleague (now my long time friend) who retired from corporate life to enjoy a rural life in Walla Walla.

It has been a long time since I last took a long drive (I used to love these long drives down the endless highway). Leaving behind cold, wet, cloudy home, I drove straight to what was expected to be warm, dry, sunny Walla Walla. What met me, however, was another cloud... but warm and dry temperature.

Ever since my friend retired, I began counting the months to see how long she'd last in the country. The moment I arrived, I could see how different her life is now and that its been keeping her quite busy. She has approximately 4 acre land and she wants to grow vegetables. Here's a snapshot of her kitchen view (yes, her kitchen has this picture perfect view), small part of land that she managed to plant vegetables, and the a grape vine that came with the house (apparently, it's normal to see a vine or two in a regular home in this region).

My friend and her husband showed me around town. Of course we had to stop by nearby wineries. Columbia-Crest is the biggest in town and one of the oldest in the state. It's visitor center looks like a mansion, and its vines are pretty old (I find it interesting that vines look like giant ginseng). Tagaris is a smaller winery, but their restaurant offers great food at reasonable prices.

After a great meal and a sip, we stopped by McNary dam. The triangular block weighs a ton, and hundreds of them were dropped in the river to form a base for the dam. The river divides Washington state from Oregon state.

Next to the McNary dam on Washington side is this long ridge with strange rock formations. They look like giant mushrooms growing on the land. If you look closely at the picture on the right, you'll see a flipped automobile. It seemed to have gone off the ridge.

Although I didn't get bright sun I was hoping for, the clouds gave me good contrast for a dramatic photo-shot. These are from McNary dam. Don't they look like some sacrificial site? The picture on right used to be homestead when they were building the dam.

These are from Umatilla National Wildlife Refugee. Umatilla is known for large chemical weapon storage. As you drive around, you'll find some white spring or mushroom looking poles here and there to detect any chemical leakage. Other than the horrible thought of what could happen, scenery is gorgeous!

I am counting on another visit in September -- a great "crush" time for wineries.

A week ago I read an article on WSJ about rice shortage and its impact to already skyrocketing crop price. I didn't think much of it until I ran out of rice yesterday and went to Costco... only to find no rice. I tried two Asian markets and found no rice there either. What's up?! After talking to the store manager, I learned that they're releasing limited number of rice bags per day per household, first come, first served. This is more serious than I thought! I called my friends and family nationwide to warn them but was shocked to learn that they have no trouble finding rice. It's all the Teriyaki store owners in my state who are hoarding the rice. I shall not be surprised if Teriyaki stores charged extra for rice. I suppose I could go on no-carb diet now...

ref: Rice shortage hits home in Seattle

Some relationships are just a weird mix of love and hate. My fanatic love (and sometimes hate) for my hometown NBA team is exactly that. My team? It's the Lakers. Don't tell me. I know... everyone hates Lakers; everyone hates L.A. The team (like its city) is known for its scandals, accidents, and theatrics more so than its talent. Perhaps that's why I've been ignoring it for the past couple of years or perhaps it was the losing streak.

A week ago when NBA playoff began, I was pleasantly surprised to find that Lakers were back to their old form -- a championship quality form. Now they deserve my attention. 1 down 15 to go... hopefully it will be 2 down 14 to go.

Don't I sound like investors waiting for market to bottom and start rebounding? 

I put away my winter clothes this past weekend, and I had to bring them right back out again. It's April and almost May... are we to reach Summer without Spring this year?