Large Family Travelling

Hubby and I grew up with families who took yearly family vacations as well as other trips throughout the year. My family always took a trip with our four, plus Mom's two sisters & their families, their parents and Grandma's sister and brother~in~law. I was raised to love all generations, so it was nothing for me to include others in our vacations or day trips.

Our first granddaughter was born last year and we couldn't imagine leaving her behind. It started with local carnivals when she was one month old when we drove three hours each way to pick up her uncle Trevor and Aunt Ana from the airport when they flew in from California to be her godparents, then at two months, Randy and I took her to the local carnivals because her mother had to work.

Randy went all out for her first birthday and booked a week in Ontario, Canada. We had a hotel facing Niagara Falls, so she got to wake up seeing the Falls and go to sleep seeing the lights on the Falls. Incredible! She shopped til she dropped more than once. Her best stuffed friend was included in all the photos. For Mothers' Day, we drove up to Bloor Street in Toronto and I got my first Louis Vuitton purse. It was a trip to remember.

We headed to the West Coast later that summer and spent a week with our son. Universal Studios was nice, but I wouldn't do it again. There wasn't enough for a one-year old kid and I was in a wheelchair at the time. We loved our day trip to Tijuana and visiting friends there. Truly the kindest people around.

Our little one gave us no trouble on the planes, even when we were in our seats for hour at a time. We brought along her carseat and she mainly slept on the many flights and layovers. Once we hit San Diego, she headed straight for the ocean. Children are pretty flexible and I can't understand why people think international travel with babies or kids is a nightmare. How will your child ever learn if they don't travel?

Anyway, just random thoughts. Hope everyone has great trips planned!

Big Apple Dreaming

I just booked a quick day trip to NYC for hubby and myself as a Valentine's present. We'll hop on a bus early this Saturday for way too many hours, have 6 hours in Times Square, then back on a bus and get home early Sunday.

Here's my question: What is the top can't miss things to do and the top don't even think about it list?

We've talked about going on a trip there for years and have our camera equipment, but have no idea where to start. We want to make the most of the time we have. I'm open to suggestions. Please help!

The biggest problem is I'm disabled and walking fast isn't possible. I'm not spending our first trip there in a wheelchair, so that's out, too.

Thanks all!

Visiting Pittsburgh, PA for a doctor's appointment

We have been going down to Pittsburgh for surgery and doctor's appointments for several months now. I had my neck fused on April 7, 2014, and go every 6 weeks to make sure the donor bone and titanium disc is staying in place and hopefully will start to graft onto my own. So far, so good, but the 6 month visit will tell it all. Now my husband has been going down to get injections in his knees. They are in very bad shape, causing horrible pain and he needs knee replacements. The injections are a chance to keep the surgery from happening for several more years.

Of course, since we were there, I had to take photos. The City is gorgeous. That is probably one of the reasons so many block buster Hollywood movies are being filmed there now. My brother has been an extra in many of the recent movies and TV shows.

Ridgway Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous

The annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous has started and will be in full swing as the week goes on. Since I can't walk yet, I sent my hubby and daughter to get a cheesesteaks from one of the food booths and take a few photos, so I can see the incredible work. My surgeon doesn't want me putting any weight on the left leg until tomorrow and even then it will be baby steps only.

I do hope to at least get down there one day. Probably Friday because everyone will be working, but the massive crowds that will attend the annual carving auction won't be here until Saturday. There are literally thousands of people who attend, hoping to pick up a piece of original extreme art. Chainsaw carving has increased in popularity since the Boni brothers started this event over a decade ago. The first year it was open to the public, less than a handful of carvers attended. Now there are hundreds that attend and create such beauty out of a log. If you have never seen this unique artistry, you are truly missing out on a treat of a lifetime. It kills me not to be there every day. I've asked hundreds of the carvers how they create the image out of a log. They explain that they look at the log and see the finished piece just waiting to come out. We have several small pieces. My daughter bought the cutest mouse a few years ago and I bought an incredible walking stick that was hand carved by a master artist from down near Gettysburg. I take it on all our walking trips. I tend to stumble when walking, so the staff works wonders.

I've met and interviewed carvers from around the USA and the world. My favorite are the Germans because I speak broken German, so interviews with them are half German and half English. It somehow works! They are always surprised to be greeted in their own language in this tiny town. They should have learned by now, if you want to learn from the masters in painting, go to Paris, if you want to learn from the masters in the extreme art of chainsaw carving, you go to Ridgway. A champion carver from England told me that several years ago and I can never forget it. Everyone in that world has heard of our town thanks to the Boni family. With less than 5,000 people living here in the middle of the Allegheny Forest, that is staying something. We've had international journalists cover the event. It was one of my favorite events to cover every year.

The carvers are all friendly. Even if they can't speak more than a few words of broken English, a smile is universal and there isn't a carver out there that doesn't smile while working for when they catch the eye of a visitor watching them. Their time has come. They finally have respect and their art is finally commanding the respect (and price tag) they so richly deserve.



The art and chance to talk to people from so many States and countries isn't the only draw. There are food booths! My family's personal favorite is the cheesesteak/hot sausage stand. I think I need to stop there tomorrow after my doctor's appointment. There are also the most sinfully delicious dessert ever created ~~ deep fried Oreo cookies! I just give up on my diet this week. It's impossible to go there, smell that delicious food cooking and not stop and buy it.

Finding Bigfoot in PA the Premiere Party

Animal Planet has a TV show called Finding Bigfoot. A group travels around the country looking for Bigfoot. Last night, the show was set in Pennsylvania. My newspaper sent me to the party to check it out and write about what I saw and heard. There were special Bigfoot drinks and burgers and other food. The drink was blue and tasted like candy. Very good! It even had a little gummy bear at the bottom as a treat to find. I tried the mini Bigfoot burger, but there was also a large Bigfoot burger. The mini was more than I could eat and had it for lunch today. So good! The Barrell is located in Lantz Corners and has very friendly waitresses. The people there were also very nice. Only one person refused to talk to me and wasn't very nice about it, but he was easy to ignore when so many others were nice. The article and photos will appear in tomorrow morning's newspaper. I would highly recommend any event held there and will have no problem going to any Bigfoot gathering. The people weren't scary freaks, but just normal folks. I would say the room was about evenly split between believers and skeptics, but even the skeptics were willing to listen and not one person laughed at others beliefs. Do I believe in Bigfoot? I'm open minded. I'm not arrogant enough to say I know everything. Just remember, it wasn't that long ago when everybody KNEW that the earth was flat, that giant squid didn't exist and there were no silver back gorillas.

Congratulations, Kaitlyn and Tony

My cousin Kaitlyn and the love of her life, Tony were married over the weekend. They are young, but when you looked at the, you could see the love. Their daughter is gorgeous and Kaityln has a daughter from a previous relationship, but to Tony, they are both his girls. He is what I wish for all the women I love - a man who will step up and do what's right, even if he might not be biologically related.





I did their photography, of course, and really enjoyed the day. I'm slowly going through the photos and hope to get everything done within the next two weeks.

Again, Congratulations, Kaitlyn and Tony! May your life be nothing but smiles, love and laughter!

Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous Day Four

Today is the fourth day of the 14th annual Ridgway Chainsaw Carving Rendezvous. The morning started out horrible with sleet and snow turning the town into a cold, slippery, miserable mess. Of course, the extreme artists couldn't be out working in those conditions. Schools in town were operating on a two-hour delay, hoping the roads would be clear and it would be safe to bring the students in. I had a County government meeting to cover at 10 a.m., so Arielle dropped me off there while she ran around town taking care of a few errands.

Following the meeting, we stopped at home to grab a backpack to carry my gear in and keep it out of the rain and dry as well as an umbrella to keep my camera safe, then walked down to the closest area set aside for the carvers. It's only about a two-minute walk from our front door. Sadly, only one artist was working, but there were plenty examples of the stunning creations at each tent.



After we photographed our favorite pieces, we came home to have lunch and catch up on one of the TV shows we enjoy watching on SyFy called Face Off. It's a contest for make-up artists that allows you to see behind the curtain and learn how the make-up and other special effects are created. There is a new episode on tonight, so we want to watch last week's show to see who was eliminated. We'll go uptown later this afternoon (hopefully, it will stop raining by then) and check out all the work there. We hope to find a little piece to bring home to help remind us of the incredible amount of talent in this world. We pick something up each year. My absolute favorite piece is a stunning walking stick created by a carver from Gettysburg. It goes with every year we visit.



The Rendezvous continues through Saturday, so I'll be posting many more photos by then. That day, I also have to photograph a business expo in a near-by town as well as my cousin's daughter's wedding. That will be a very busy day.

Trip to Phoenix

Hi All,
 

My son is a high school senior this year. He's working on the college search and our local school gives each senior 3 days to visit college. Son has decided he wants to go to a college in AZ (All across the country), so we're flying out there in early Nov. to check it out.

 

We're also thinking about hitting Mexico for the day.

My question is: What are some things out there that can't be missed? I know we're eating at Hardrock Cafe one of the nights. It's my favorite resteraunt and I'm addicted to their pins!
 

Anyone else go out there in the fall? I'd really appreciate some
suggestions on places to see and what kind of clothes we should need.
 

Also need advice on photographing in the desert. My son wants his senior photos taken out there and since that's my job, I'll be lugging 50 pounds of camera equipment onto the airplane.
 

Thanks!

A Day at the Hazen Flea Market

We love heading off to the Hazen Flea Market. They're open the first weekend of each month during the summer months. This weekend was the final of the season. You can find anything there! I do mean anything. I get my favorite jerkey and meat sticks there. I love turkey jerkey! My favorite retailer has the best turkey jerky around. We have a fridge filled with it from yesterday's excursion, but I know it won't last too long. It never does.

I didn't photograph the colorful bongs (the sellers didn't look amused when I lined up the shot), but have some of the many knock off purses. I LOVE designer purses, I have a serious addiction to Coach bags and I will never admit exactly what I paid for the last one I bought, so I find it very offensive to see such obvious fakes for sale. They can't touch the lines and gorgeous materials of the real ones.

There was an awesome guitar that I would truly have loved to bring home.

The flea market attracts hundreds of Amish families. To keep from offending them, I only take shots from the side or behind and never photograph their faces.

Already looking forward to May, 2013!

G