Wait a moment
A heavy night rain, with wind, was followed by a cloudy morning sunrise, the moments changed as the sun rose. Can you see the glow of sunrise on the storm pond? I shot and shot; the images piled up. Yes, this was a different morning than my usual. I am lucky to witness such beauty. Thanks.
Losing battle
My original title was: “Loser”… too unkind. It could’ve happened to me.
Well, maybe wind challenged? Umm…? So this played out next to us. Poor guy. A small kid. Don’t get scorched. Put up an umbrella. Of course, if you are a tourist to the beach, go cheap. And light (weight). And, you get what you pay for. Throw good money after bad…? You can rent: hourly, daily, week – an umbrella, beach chairs. A good looking young woman will even plant the umbrella and take it away. Easy. No muss, no fuss. Ok, not a loser. Amateur! It was fun to watch. I made up a whole side bar narrative to go along with the pics. Bottom line – go with a better umbrella.
Stormy Weather
We dive here. The resort across the way in the image is Dream. There’s blue sky over there. They used to be very crowded with divers. Now my place is where the crowds are. Maybe they became diver unfriendly? Who knows? Waves on the ocean are nothing without some comparison. So, look across and there are whitecaps. You can see some swells. I’m not a boater nor a sailor. I can tell you the wind was steady and hard from the left. The stairs are covered in waves. Hey! I just noticed the stairs! My! They weren’t there before. Someone put them in. Neat! You used to have to jump about three feet into the water. No big deal unless you are there and about to jump. We would fall backwards into the water, no jumping forward. I don’t know why. But falling backward is unnatural. And there is a moment of panic as you let yourself fall. Nope. Not my cup of tea. Ok, they took care of the jump. You can walk the stairs into the water. The trick is climbing back out. No easy feat. There is nothing under the stairs. Right, there is no floor! Go figure!
Anyway, we dove in the morning. We were down an hour. The water was smooth as glass still and calm. And when we emerged, it was as though the world had changed. I did not pay attention. These are not intimidating waves for an experienced diver like me. Smug, aren’t I? But within minutes we got word the resort was closed for diving. There was already a sandstorm in Jeddah. And the wind was picking up speed. Gee, it’s about thirty minutes south to Jeddah, no more than about 15 miles. Sunny, windy, a few waves, and we had to stop diving. Hey! I don’t make the rules. I just play safe. And besides, I was a bit chilled from the first dive. It’s still not full blown spring here. That damn water is colder than my dive computer says. There are times when 79 degrees feels a whole lot colder than it looks. Yes! Mixed metaphors and fractured sentences….
Sideways – “The Kiss”… Sideways
Did I mention it rained on the ceremony? Yup! Sideways! Can you guess from which direction? People commented that they were concerned things would blow over. Those are forsythias. Nice, huh? And it would have been the bright blue sparkling Pacific Ocean in the background framed between the mountains. Everything is now covered in picturesque mist. Actually, you cannot see the rain. Any worse and the image would have been lost in fog. And yes, it was a cold windy rain. Have I mentioned rain? I’m laughing hard now. But it was anything but funny then. It would have also been a great photo to hold an umbrella over their head during the ceremony. That suggestion was a nonstarter and vetoed out of hand as I struggled to keep the rain out of my own face. It don’t matter, I know it was cold in that dress. Eric did this shot. Remember? I was not permitted to hold a camera. Imagine that!
Like father like daughter – Jules confided to me the next day – “Dad, I got all concerned. I wasn’t going to see you and mom walk down the aisle. You went before me.” Details, right up to the last second… Jules was still sweating the details. Yeah… alike.
I never cry. Well, once in a while…but today… I cracked up when Jules walked down the aisle. She started to cry… that cracked me right up. But in the rain, who could tell! Even Louise (that’s her in the background) cried and had to pause and compose herself during the ceremony. It was her first. Can’t you tell? She’s the one that got the guests to walk down the hill in the mud. And this kiss? They were leaning over just to stand straight. Misty. Foggy. Priceless!
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