Today is the last in summer's trilogy of holidays. Labor Day means that fall's cooler temperatures cannot be far off. While a good part of this holiday weekend was spent doing yard work, yesterday John and I spent most of the day playing.


After breakfast at the Atlanta Bread Company in Maryville, we took a late morning hike in the Great Smoky Mountains. This was a stroll really, a short 5-miles to stretch our legs. We started on the Little River trail, circled back on Cucumber Gap and returned to the car on Jake's Creek. Lots of cars in the area but most people had picnic baskets in hand and were looking for a good spot along the river to relax. We saw very few people on the trail.

In the evening, we headed downtown to watch Knoxville's most spectacular fireworks display, aptly named "Boomsday." In previous years, the city held the celebration on the Labor Day Monday meaning many kids were very late getting to bed on a school night. Several years ago the city moved the show to Sunday night providing attendees a day to rest before the school and work week begins.


With attendance in excess of 100,000 people, our city police did not appear to have a good game plan for traffic. Cars, pedestrians and poorly timed traffic signals produced a lot of chaos but people arrived in mass, lined up to buy $4.00 funnel cakes, listen to the bands, hangout and watch an incredible fireworks display. The photo above is the view from the Gay Street Bridge, looking down on Neyland Drive, sight of the event.


As twilight fell, sunset in the city produced its own light show.

Boats of all sizes crowded on the river for front row seats to the show.

At 9:30 pm, the show began! John and I squeezed in the Baptist Hospital parking lot with hundreds of people. By showtime, there was little standing room left. Aside from the hospital building (left in the pictures), we had a great view of everything but the "waterfall" on Henley Street Bridge.


The fireworks came in so many colors and shapes. Each display was more beautiful than the one before.

Some fireworks were shot high into the sky while lower fireworks were launched from the bridge. The mix was spectacular and kept the crowds cheering.

I thought the bows were particularly beautiful.

Wow! A mass of red!

And lots of pastels!
We had a great time at the show and look forward to the 2006 Boomsday celebration!

It is birthday time again in our part of the world! Today is John's birthday, he finally caught up with me. We went back to the Melting Pot to celebrate, this time with John's son, Lee. We decided to eat "light," consuming only a cheese fondue, mushroom salads and a big pot of chocolate fondue...light?


John is smiling cause he knows the chocolate fondue will be placed in front of him shortly. I am smiling cause he can no longer remind me that he is younger than me!

This was Lee's first trip to the Melting Pot. I don't think it will be his last. His eyes lit up at the chocolate, just like his dad's.

You have seen this picture before! This plate of fruit was just as good as the one we consumed on my birthday!

And finally, the chocolate, the yin and the yang! Happy Birthday John!

I have been glued to Panda Cam recently, spending too much time absorbed in the sights and sounds of giant panda, Mei Xiang, and her little 7 week old cub. He (the cub) is quite active now making lots of sounds and wiggling around. Zoo keepers expect him to take his first steps in a few weeks. Check them out at http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/GiantPandas . Although it takes some persistence to get connected, the effort is worthwhile

This morning the sisters and I accompanied Daddy to open house at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. ORNL does not hold too many open houses for the families of its employees and retirees; the last one we attended was around 1962. Daddy had a particular interest in this open house whose purpose was to showcase the new Spallation Neutron Source project. This is a field of science he studied in the early 80's until the government decided it had no future and the grants dried up. Twenty some years later it is the hot science field.

We knew, when the notification letter said "cameras welcome," that we would be limited in what we could see and where we could go. No surprise to find lots of police and security on the ORNL reservation, directing traffic and blocking roads. The open house was limited to a couple of buildings and we spent most of our time in a long hall filled with posters and pieces of equipment. Daddy enjoyed talking to some of the scientists active on the project and we enjoyed spending time with him.

Just off the bus in one of the new Spallation Neutron Source office buildings. We ran into Gid Fryer (right) and Virginia Douglas (middle) who copped a couple of passes from Virginia's son-in-law. Gid and Virginia had an open bottle of wine stashed on their person. A little early for cocktails in our book but they were playing by their rules.

Daddy is getting an explanation about this piece of equipment from the scientist in the yellow shirt. Carol is standing behind him to his right listening intently and understanding. Leslie and I are, at this point, in way over our heads.

Shazaaaam! A SMASH Rig.

This is one of the new offices for the project. The offices are scheduled to open in October 2005.

While Carol and Daddy were absorbing the science, Leslie and I found beauty in the architecture in the buildings and windows. This is a floor to ceiling window at the end of the hall and looks out on the office building in the picture above.

Daddy asking questions and studying the information.

While in the cafeteria line, we saw Carl Remenyik (left), friend of the family and another retired ORNL employee who is still doing consulting for the lab. Carl's family is in Europe and he was by himself so we adopted him for lunch. We always enjoy having Carl around!

We have been home for 3 days and it seems like all I have done is sleep, laundry and clean up gear. Greek Fest offered the opportunity to spend an evening out and we grabbed it. Unfortunately it was one of the hottest evenings of the year and the activity was outside. We think Greek Fest is the best festival in Knoxville (hosted by St George Greek Orthodox Church) so we dressed cool and prepared to sweat!


Youth dancers performing traditional and modern dances from Greece. We wondered about the very warm clothing on this hot day in August.

This is a pretty hot group...hot (heat)! From left Daddy, Lee (John's son), John and me. I am eating a gyro (with a silent G). Based on a conversation about pronunciation with one of the members of our West Coast Trail group, I was on a mission to find out if the g was pronounced as an Italian g (as Bill thought) or no g (as I thought). Although I was wrong about other pronunciations we discussed, I was dead on about this one!
A warm Leslie and Mike. They closed on their new house yesterday and have been busy moving things in. This was a respite (in the heat) from the even hotter task of moving.

A Baklava ice cream dessert! Until next year when the festival will be moved to the 1st weekend in October....

I pirated a couple of West Coast Trail photos from Will Skelton's collection. He practices more patience with his photos than the rest of us "point and shooters". The first picture tells the true story with ladders....down rungs to a slanted platform to a small boardwalk to another set of ladders. This story is repeated often along the trail, both up and down. We had some group disagreements on the direction we preferred. I tend to prefer the down ladders, my muscles are stronger. Bill, Barbara and John prefer the up ladders. Not sure about Will and Kim.


The 2nd photo captures the tale of roots and mud. If you were lucky enough to climb over the massive Sitka tree roots without tripping or slipping, you would most likely have to pull your feet out of some real boot sucking mud. Along the areas trail was the only option, the roots looked like they do below. Along areas that the beach was an option, the trail was less eroded and the roots weren't quite as bad.

West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada

Our group of adventurers arrived home today signaling the end of a long and very challenging hike on the West Coast Trail. My backpack and gear are full of sand and covered in mud. I am nursing the remnants of a black eye (contact with a root), battered knee (contact with a boardwalk) and bruises. All of this is accompanied by physical and mental exhaustion. In another week I will tell you what a great time I had, but right now it is enough to say that I successfully completed the hike.

Below are a few pictures of our adventure. Member of our hiking group were Bill Adams, Barbara Allen, Kim Robinette, Will Skelton, John and me.


Day 1-August 8. Day 1 was all forest hiking. We hiked through a lush rainforest filled with grand Sitka trees and large ferns. Most of the day was spent navigating the roots and mud pits. This piece of forest hiking made the hardest trails in the Smoky Mountains look like bunny trails. We were glad to see this day end and happy that we had chosen to hike the trail from the hardest end to the easiest. Campsite on night 1-Thrasher Cove.

Day 2-August 9th. We did everything right on this morning and beat the tides to Owen Point. This photo looks out on the sandstone rocks in front of Juan de Fuca Strait. The photo was taken from a cave. Owen Point is quite a spectacular place and worth the 6:00 am wake-up call to catch the tides just right.

Day 2-August 9. John and Bill are contemplating hiking along the sandstone shelf. Parts of the shelf were very slick and hiking with care was in order. The tidal pools within the shelf were our favorite. We spent a lot of time studying the different marine ecosystems in the pools...fish, crabs, muscles, seaweed and anemone. Campsite for Day 2-Camper's Bay.

Day 3-August 10. Yep, that is me climbing off the suspension bridge and onto a ladder. Day 3 brought 926 rungs of ladders...up and down. And yes, the ladders are as steep as they appear in the photo. This was a particularly painful day; physically the hardest we experienced. We thought we were home-free after this but we didn't realize the mental challenge Day 5 would bring.

Day 3-August 10. We camped at Walbran Creek on night 3. Kim and Will share stories of the day's adventure with Bill, Barbara, John and me.

Day 4-August 11. Bill has just crossed Walbran Creek. The crossing was more than a rock hop, it amounted to a calf deep wade. Bill became legendary on the trail for his speed and big pack. He beat most everyone into camp by 2 or more hours.

Day 4-August 11 Will and Kim prepare to cross Walbran Creek...backpacks on, sandals on, boots in hand. The creek flows directly into the Juan de Fuca Strait and has a bit of current.

This was my favorite day! We spent a lot to time beach hiking and had our 1st of 2 lunches prepared by Native American food stands along the trail. On this day we enjoyed cheese burgers and chips at Chez Monique's. I also had 2 Diet Cokes! Yum!

Day 4-August 11. John hiking on a sandstone shelf. We were fascinated by the patterns sculpted into the shelves by the waves. We thought they looked like farm fields plowed for the spring plant.

Day 4-August 11. Our first glimpse of Carmanah Lighthouse high on a rocky cliff! Shortly after this picture was shot, the three day fog lifted and we spent 1.5 hours at the burger joint, soaking up rays and enjoying the food.

Day 4-August 11. Our evening camp at Cribbs Creek provided us with our best sunset along the trail. The campers at this site lined up like paparazzi to photograph the changing light patterns.

Day 5-August 12. This was our longest and most mentally difficult day. The hiking guide said the hike, 9.9 miles to Tsuisiat Falls, should take 7+ hours. We were definitely apart of the + in the 7 + hour estimation. After beach hiking the day before, we decided to stay on the trail for Day 5. This was not our best choice; we discovered the beach cut off time and mileage. Oh well, we finally made it to camp before dark.

Trail hiking did provide the opportunity to hike on the cliffs high above the strait. This type of hiking provided views that we would have missed from the beach.

Day 5-August 12. John and Barbara high above the Juan de Fuca.

Day 6-August 13. On this day we took the beach where possible, but we still could not escape the inevitable ladders and boardwalks!

Day 6-August 13. I actually enjoyed this day, or at least parts of it. I did get weary of the ladders and uncomfortable on the broadwalks after a pretty nasty slip on Day 5. If you look close at my left knee, you will see a couple of cuts.

Day 6-August 13. Our final and favorite campsite, Michigan Creek. How do you like our "room with a view"? We spent much of the evening watching the tide crash into shore and drift back out to sea. Several campers claim to have seen whales but we didn't.

Day 7-August 14. An early morning (4:30 am wake up) to begin our 7.5-mile hike out to catch the bus back to Port Renfrew. This was by far the easiest of the 7 hiking days but certainly not a walk in the park. The photo above is from the Pachena Lighthouse...in the fog of course!

While all of us feel a great sense of accomplishment, John and Bill thrived on the physical challenge and say they would do it again. For the other 4, once is enough!

Getting ready for a "big" trip is always an exercise in organization, anticipation and anxiety. This weekend I have been knee deep in all three. But I am happy to report that, with the exception of food, I am all packed for our 7 days on the West Coast Trail and partially packed for the 5 days that will be scattered between Seattle, Victoria, Port Renfrew and Vancouver. Whew, with only a few days to go and a work related trip to Grand Rapids in between, I am beginning to sweat the small stuff.


Polishing and re-weatherproofing the leather of my boots. The key to happy hiker feet is a pair of comfortable, well cared for boots!

Last week I spent Thursday in Portland (for work). The day was bookended by two days of gruesome travel, including two wakeup calls at 4:15 am (Wednesday and Friday) and airline mechanical problems. But Portland...priceless! It is quickly becoming my favorite city.

My flight arrived at 6:30 pm on Wednesday. Dave and I immediately headed to Salty's on the Columbia Seafood Grill (3839 N.E. Marine Drive, Portland). Although I had a delicious dinner of wild salmon, wilted spinach and garlic mashed potatoes, my eyes were fixed on the Columbia River and the kayaks, sail boats, canoes and speed boats out for the evening. Along the river path, joggers, walkers and bicyclers were active.

The evening was clear and from my hotel balcony, I enjoyed watching the colors of the sunset reflect on the Willamette River and Mt. Hood in the distance. What a trip to leave my camera at home! Morning brought another clear day, another beautiful view of Mt. Hood and sculling on the river. Also a day of work. I look forward to a future trip when John and I can explore the city and discover it's many activities.

Running short on time this weekend so we chose a less time consuming venue for hiking...urban hiking.

Our Saturday morning trek was mapped by John and included a course around UT and Fort Sanders. We parked near Neyland Drive and were "on the street" by 8:30 am. Beginning at the base of The Hill on the campus of the University of Tennessee, we hiked up and down the steps between the buildings, making a circle around The Hill. Next we took in the Fort Sanders neighborhood slowing down occasionally to absorb the changes in this transitioning area. We looked at once elegant homes, now crumbling with disrepair under negligent owners and student tenant's. We contrasted this to the brand new, massive apartment buildings that rob the neighborhood of character. We even stole into a small courtyard located in the center of an old brick apartment complex to look at the old fashion concrete fountain and bright summer flowers (we never knew this piece of tranquility existed).

The last leg of our hike took us into the neighborhood behind "The Strip" (across from Fort Sanders), where we paused on Terrace Avenue to look at the home of Jane Smith. Jane, a long-time friend of the family, passed away several years ago. Jane was a guiding force for me at different times in my life and I have avoided her house since it was turned over to the University. I was surprised to see that it still looks residential. Several houses in the neighborhood have been torn down to make way for new University buildings and I suspect Jane's is not far behind:-( This is another reminder that change is constant.

We continued in the direction of the car, pausing to peek in the window of the Jerusalem Grocery (ground level of Shelbourne Towers) and walking backwards on the new Plaza at the Clarence Brown Theater to read the series of bronze tiles depicting the history of UT. The entire hike took about 1.45 hours and provided us with a great workout and an interesting morning.

This morning we went out again, this time on a hiking course selected by me. We parked at Calhouns and hiked from the waterfront to the end of Gay Street and from Gay Street to Henley Street, winding our way through the city. Along the way, we looked at architecture we had never noticed before, gazed in windows of downtown galleries that were new to us and looked wistfully in the lobby doors of renovated condominiums. This hike was shorter, only an hour. We ended the morning with breakfast at Market Square Grill. Although I was not happy with the food we were served several weeks ago, we ordered blueberry pancakes and were pleased with the meal. Another great morning exploring our city!

Tonight John and I headed downtown for another Market Square event...Shakespeare on the Square! Shakespeare on the Square is an annual production put on by the Tennessee Stage Company. Plays, this year Macbeth and 12th Night, are alternated every other weekend for 4 weekends in late July and early August (Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights). This weekend, our only available time for the play watching, netted us an evening with Macbeth. While not a devotee of Shakespeare, I thoroughly enjoy theater, especially outdoor theater so I eagerly anticipated the evening!


We called ahead for pizza! The Tomato Head (on Market Square) had our 9" pie, #13 (rosemary chicken, pesto, carmelized onions, olives and goat cheese) ready for take out when we arrived. Not as many people on The Square as we anticipated but a respectable crowd! To the envy of many around us, we unfolded our chairs, flipped open our pizza box and gobbled down our slices.

The actors were very prompt at 7:00 pm (look just in front of the buildings, you can see them making their way to the stage). The lady in the black dress with the floppy pink hat may look like an actor but she was not in this production!

The stage was constructed to resemble the Globe Theater in London. The above photo of the witches was taken during the opening act.

We had a great time at Shakespeare on the Square. Our only complaint is the sound system. The speakers sat on the ground in front of the audience so between the muffled voices of the actors, the breeze blowing across the microphones, locust chirping, birds singing, noise from the outdoor tables at the Tomato Head, not to mention our hearing isn't as good as it use to be, we missed a lot! But people watching was great and the evening near perfect.

After the play, we headed down to the waterfront for "Friday Night Lights." This event is new for 2005 and is intended to draw people downtown. We thought it was a bust but will reserve final verdict when we see if it is carried over to 2006.

This afternoon I found myself sitting in the office in the last few minutes of the workday, cutting my fingernails with paper shears. Tonight marked my return to pottery class and I forgot to take care of the nails!

I have been away from the studio for 4 months and was a bit apprehensive about my return. From the moment I walked into Campbells Ceramics, I knew I had found a great place to learn. Only 3 students, including me, signed up for the class. Katherine (with fabulous green stripes in her hair), had never worked in clay before. Michele, experienced in hand building, signed up to learn throwing techniques. Perfect! Our young, talented instructor, Shadow May (hometown, Homer, AK) had infinite amounts of patience and we all made great progress.

Working on the wheel, I was able to pull together one of the techniques I struggled with during my first series of class...centering the clay. I decided to ignore my desire to make things I can take home and concentrate on mastering the art of "pulling" the walls. I feel a nice sense of freedom with this goal, testing the limits of the clay and learning what works for me. No pressure to create a masterpiece (or a mini piece:-) Unfortunately, I will miss the next few classes but look forward to getting my hands in clay on my return from Canada.

Today is the last in our annual series of summer birthdays, anniversaries and parents days. These events glue our family together and I am sorry to see them come to an end.

Today is Carol's day! She patiently sat through the cakes, meals and gifts that marked her sisters birthdays and now it is her turn. Happy Birthday Carol :-) In our family, the birthday person picks the restaurant and Carol chose Up the Creek in Maryville. This is a family favorite as we all like to indulge in the not so healthy selections of fish and chips, the "Grouben," or Mother and Daddy's favorite...fried oysters.


After lunch, Daddy, Mother, Carol and I made a stop at TCBY for ice cream cake (another birthday tradition). Carol picked the "Decadent Chocolate Chocolate" cake and it sure was rich!! Even the most dedicated chocolate eater (Daddy) could only consume a small piece.

"Yummy chocolate cake," say Daddy, Carol (center) and Leslie. Leslie and Mike joined us for lunch and cake and filled us in on their exciting house hunting adventures. They were off shortly after cake to capitalized on the Sunday 2-4 o'clock open houses.

Happy Birthday Carol!

Tonight, while browsing the bookshelves at Borders, the notes of an Eastern European melody exploded in the air and filled the aisles with an irresistable sound. The rich music drew everyone in it's path to the cafe where the band, Dor L' Dor was playing.

Many a foot tapped and hands clapped as the nine member band played traditional Jewish music (think Fiddler on the Roof). Dor L'Dor (Generation to Generation), a band of nine musicans, delighted their audience with wedding songs, prayer songs, Greek tunes and other traditions melodies. What a delight to spend part of my evening listening!

Had dinner with some old friends tonight, Richard and Angela Vaughn. Angela and I briefly worked together at Proffitts Department Store in 1995. I had just moved back to Knoxville and really didn't know anyone. We hit it off immediately and Angela, Richard and their lovely daughter Julianna opened their home and their hearts to me. I am ever so grateful.

In late fall,1995, I went to work at my present job and Angela reminded at Proffitts. We didn't see each other as much and eventually drifted in different directions. Thankfully we never totally lost contact!

Fast forward ten years, Proffitts has been sold to Belks and the Proffitts corporate offices are closing. Angela will likely relocate so we decided there is no time better than the present to get together and catch up. Time melted away as the three of us sat in a booth at Calhouns and talked for hours. We talked about people we mutally know, our families, our life paths and our favorite daughter, Julianna, who is now a senior at William and Henry, majoring in physical therapy (deans list of course). What a wonderful evening and what a wonderful pleasure to have Angela and Richard as friends.

Surprise Leslie! I found this photo in your camera and hijacked it :-) Not sure whether the photo was taken in Copenhagen or East Berlin, but I am thinking Copenhagen.

Welcome home to my "slightly" younger sister Leslie, who just returned from a two week trip to Copenhagen and East Berlin. Leslie was visiting her friend, Marianne (pronounced Myanna). She and Marianne became friends through school and social activities during the year dad taught at the technical university in Copenhagen...1973 to be exact. Marianne and Leslie have an agreement that every 5 years, they will visit. This was Leslie's year to travel.

Incredible how special friendships transcend time and miles and last forever!