Moving Mountains

Song - Mountain Music by Alabama

Why are mountains so important?  

The snow cross on Mt. Tallac

Guide posts while traveling?  

Viewpoints?  

Sacred energy?

Different ecosystems? 

Recreation? 

Safety from enemies?

"More than any other natural phenomenon, mountains suggest the soaring of the human spirit and its expansion into new worlds." - Revd Phillip Parker

Mt. Tallac from across the lake

Living in California all of my life, I am used to hills, valleys and mountains.  It just comes with earthquake country.  Land is always shifting around here.

I have always lived at the base of Mt. Diablo.  It is considered a sacred mountain to California
Indian people. Just about every California Indian community who viewed Mount Diablo would, at
one time or another, make a pilgrimage to the summit area for ceremonies and the reason is that it was the creation point for the Miwok people or genesis for some California Indian people.

Walnut Creek is located at the base of Mt. Diablo

I am sure it has something to do with some kind of "home base" for me.  I know when I have been traveling and I catch a glimpse of Mt. Diablo in the skyline and I know I am close to home.

Also, weather seems to gravitate around mountains.  When it rains near my home, I look to Mt. Diablo for the hills to turn green or for those rare snow storms.  

Clouds seem to "snag" on it.  It's also one of the first areas to go "golden" as the grasses seem to dry up there first. 

Mountains reflect beautiful sunsets and moon glow.

Mt. Tallac from across the lake

But lately I have been thinking about Mt. Tallac, located in Lake Tahoe.  It is 9,735' above sea level and there is Washoe Indian folklore that goes with it.

I love the cross that is almost always showing.

Old postcard from the Tahoe flea market

The Washoe Indians felt that if there was no snow in the cross, it would mean that there would be a season of drought. 

Over 55 years ago, my grandparents bought a cabin at the base of Mt. Tallac on Forest Service land.

There have been many years of fun up at Lake Tahoe.  As kids, every summer we would climb part way up the mountain to little Floating Island Lake.  When I had my own children, they went to the lake as well.

Andy pushing off from shore on an "island"

Floating Island Lake has these incredible bog islands that detach from the shore and we would climb on them with a big pole and float around the lake on our own little island.  Over the years there are fewer islands but what sweet memories.

Oh yeah....back to mountains.....

Mr. B has climbed up Mt. Tallac at least once.  My older brother Dave, climbed it many times.  My younger brother Tim has climbed it while I waved at him through binoculars from the Baldwin Beach.  I have not had the pleasure of the climb, but I enjoy the majestic sight and beauty of this incredible mountain. It is on my "bucket list"!

Mt. Tallac from the beach

Mt. Tallac reflecing in the swamp

A great day to paint the mountain in the early morning.

View from Baldwin Beach

There is a beautiful meadow near the cabin.  My friends and I have spent days painting from this wonderful viewpoint.  I always dreamed that I would get married in this meadow but that was before practicality came into being.

The wildflowers in the Springtime

Marcy Wheeler painting in the meadow

It amazes me that there is a cross on the mountain almost all of spring & summer and it usually remains until the first snowfall of the next season.

The cross of snow on Mt. Tallac

My cousin Billy and brother Dave with Mt. Tallac in the background - love those old cars! circa 1957

"Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved." – Bill Bradley

Today is the Day

Sunday, June 10th, 2012, our son, Jon graduated 

from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo!

Song - Pachelbel's Canon in D 

The graduates filing into the stadium....Jon is on the left with a blue tassel....do you see him?  I don't!

Jon waiting to present his speech

It was a beautiful, sunny day. And after the large assembly at the football field, we returned to a smaller, more intimate group at the IT (Industrial Technology) School of Business.

My new sun hat...

...modeled by Tyler!

Hats were a must ..... as it was HOT!
For all generations.

Grandpa Cal & Grandma Betty

Mr. B

White doves were set loose but I wasn't prepared with my camera and by the time I took a photo, they were in front of the sun.....kind of an arty photo!  Let's just call it that and pretend that I designed it that way!!

Speeches were made, diplomas were given out, photos were shot and hugs & handshakes were everywhere.

Jon receiving his diploma

Grandpa Cal, Jon & Grandma Betty

Megan & Jon

Jon & his brothers - Tyler & Andy

The whole happy family

Jon with his money lei that I made for him!

Me, Megan, Tyler, Grandpa Cal, Jon, Grandma Betty, Andy, Ashley & Mr. B

After the ceremony, we celebrated at a little outdoor restaurant across the creek from the Mission. Yummy food, great service and lovely ambiance!

The bridge takes you to the Mission and there are walking paths along the creek.

My baby boy is growing up - sniff!

Just when did THAT happen?

"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance." --- Alan Wilson Watts

Tapas, Bubble Gum & Cosmos

Song - Bazooka Bubble Gum by Tha Heights


It is so exciting and emotional to have your son (or daughter) graduating from college.

Jon is our middle son and the first of our children to graduate from college but I just didn't know.....How ....special....this would be!

All three of our sons are in San Luis Obispo for Jon's graduation as well as their girlfriends and my parents. What a quaint little college town!

We walked around downtown and shopped this afternoon.
We went to Luna Red for dinner tonight at the base of the SLO Mission. It was an eclectic mix of Tapas. Very tasty!

It was great to be with the family and to share old stories and reminisce
.
Afterward Mr. B went out with the youngsters. I took my parents to buy a hats, since tomorrow's graduation will be hot and out side.

Dad bought a fedora like Frank Sinatra and mom bought a light weight garden party hat! Very cute!!! I'll try and snap a photo tomorrow.


But.. Just after dinner we took my parents to.....

"Bubblegum Alley"

Lets leave it to say that they were not impressed!
Years of students leaving their bubblegum essence. Mmmm....

 

Some consider it historical, some consider it a landmark, some think it terribly unsanitary and others think of it as art!  

According to Wikipedia.....

History

According to the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Improvement Association, the history of who actually started this gum fiesta is "a little sketchy"^[3]. Some historians believe that the tradition of the Alley started after WWII as a San Luis Obispo High School graduating class event^[4]. Others believe it to have started in the late 1950s as rivalry between San Luis Obispo High School and Cal Poly students. As soon as the Poly students suspected that the high school was trying to out-do them on the gum walls, the college students stepped up their game and immediately became more creative, thus launching Bubblegum Alley^[3]. In any case, by the 1970s Bubblegum Alley was well under way. When shop owners complained that it was "unsanitary and disgusting"^[5], the alley underwent a full cleaning. The gum graffiti survived two full cleanings in the '70s^[3], but when, in 1996, the BIA attempted to have another full cleaning, it was not passed.

Recognition

Throughout the years, San Luis Obispo's Bubblegum Alley has been featured on a number of television shows, news programs, and in newspapers around the world. Newspapers such as the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have addressed the disgusts and delights of the gum wall visitors. Other newspaper articles have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, the Times Union from Albany, New York, and The Guardian in the United Kingdom. KSBY Action 6 News did a story about the alleyway and broadcast it nationally.^[6] TV crews filmed the alley for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That's Incredible!, Real People, and on PBS^[5]. MTV featured Bubblegum Alley in the show Call to Greatness.^[7] The crew picked Bubblegum Alley to film the episode on breaking the world record for largest bubblegum bubble. It featured record holder Susan Montgumery Williams, or as she's known in the business, "Chewsy Suzy", and at the end of the show a graphic was shown that said that while she was there she blew a 24-inch (610 mm) bubble, which wasn't shown on TV (Her record bubble, which was blown on national TV in 1996, was 23 inches). ABC’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not also aired a story on October 14, 1984 about the alley. It was also featured on an episode of The Girls Next Door on E! and mentioned in an episode of "United States of Tara".

________________________________________________________________________________


We also celebrated my birthday when we returned to our hotel in Grover Beach.

Me (one year older) and Ashley!

Glow in the dark Cosmo shakers! What every girl needs.......

Brought one home - Come on by to help me celebrate!

Tomorrow Jon was asked to give a speech to the I.T. graduates.

I can hardly wait!

"The tassel's worth the hassle!"  ~Author Unknown