where does the time go???

It's been almost a month since I shared here.  Sheesh!  Where DOES the time go? Well, I was on  vacation for a couple weeks, so that might be part of it. And, I took my sketchbooks and pens. I did post a few things here and there on  FB while on the trip, but I'll share a bit more here for those of you interested to follow along.

Week 1 was spent in Myrtle Beach, SC. Our timeshare was on the beach which was good - just a trip down the elevator and walk on the short boardwalk to the beautiful white sand beach. Dan and I walked 3 miles every morning up and down that beach - alternating north one morning, south the next.

All of these sketches are from around our resort area - the beach umbrellas and chairs were set up every morning by the lifeguards about 8-8:30a. You could rent 2 chairs and an umbrella for $35/day. We went and bought 2 low folding chairs for a total of $25 and just left them at the end of the week - a much better use of $$$.

sitting on the beach, looking back to the row of hotels/resorts and umbrellas. Those stupid recliner chairs became the bane of my sketching efforts! Never did really get the figured out.

those stripey shapes going through the bottom right are supposed to be tire tracks from the early morning police check.

dan prefers no color, so I tried one with less color.

there are those stupid recliners again! Obviously need more practice.

Don't laugh.Okay, go ahead and chuckle. We had an hour or so wait between dinner and an  outdoor concert - so I sketched several pages of what I could see, which was mostly people. People are HARD! I kinda get the bodies, kinda sorta, but heads.....not so much. Do people really need to have heads?

We thoroughly enjoyed our relaxing week of sitting on the beach, drinking on the beach, sunning on the beach, talking and walking and relaxing on the beach.

We did take a day trip to the Georgetown area (about 1 hour away) where we visited historic homes and a historical rice plantation house (Hopsewee Plantation) and another half day trip to Brookgreen Gardens & Pawley's Island. The garden is the largest sculpture garden in the US with over 500 sculptures placed throughout a huge garden. Gorgeous!

Kaminski house in Georgetown.

Don't we look relaxed?  Vacation is great!

beach walk

Dan and I went for a fall beach walk last weekend and I wanted to share a few photos....

Some clever person created this fish 'sculpture' from found driftwood bits and branches.  It's so artistic!

A little further down the beach we came across this carving in a driftwood log. Someone put a lot of effort into this art that will be transient. It was such a joy to stumble across these two examples of artistic effort - at the beach, just because, no expectation of longevity, just joy in creating.

I noticed this empty bench in a little clearing at the park (we were at Lincoln Park in W. Seattle) and asked Dan to go be my lonely person......

The path up to the park from the beach - this is where I started gathering those giant maple leaves that became my sewn garland.  I love that in Seattle we enjoy the colorful leaves of deciduous trees but also have the contrast of deep greens of the evergreens like in the park photo above.

Our Seattle beaches are pretty rocky and I miss the white sandy beaches of the Caribbean or Tahiti or Hawaii.  BUT, I've become quite addicted to rock gathering at our wonderful beaches - I have piles of rocks showing up on my window sills, table tops, in vases and wrapped in yarn... There's a lot of beauty in a rocky beach! :) (just hard to walk barefoot across the beach!)

As we here in the west are enjoying our fairly mild fall/early winter weather, my mind is continually wandering to those of you on the east coast and the mess of weather and nastiness that you're dealing with.  I can only hope that you all get through the mess without undue hardship.  

sunset

This challenge is just begging to show off some of my photographs - Jenn, hosting APR #34, wants to see a sunset.  Have I got a sunset (or two) for you! I've never painted a sunset, but I've taken many photos of sunsets so here are just a few of my faves (actually the only ones that are tagged so I can find them! :))

Chelan, WA

Alki Beach, Seattle, WA

Hawaii

The Big Island, HI

Tahiti

Puerta Vallarta, Mexico

Orlando, FL

Isn't Mother Nature just amazing? All that rich color and beautiful texture in the sky.....I enjoyed my brief sojourn through my old photos - hope you found something in here inspiring (or at least pretty)!

Wait just a minute!  I wandered back through my artwork and did find a couple that are in sunset colors - so I'm calling them Setting Sun (collage) and Beach at Sunset (watercolor) (hey, look at that shadow!:) ).

Thanks Jenn - can't wait to check out everyone else's sunsets.

virtual vacation

Carolyn over at A Colorful Journey is taking an early virtual vacation through June 15.  She's asked us to link up with our own vacation and as I look out my window at another totally wet and rainy day, I'm inclined to leave town! ......Hubby and I usually like to vacation in tropical, hot places since Seattle is so ..... well, not hot!  We need our week or two of sunshine.  This year tropical isn't in the cards so I'm getting my fix by joining in virtually......

AND, Inspiration Ave's theme this week is Wishes.  I wish I was on vacation!

Fiji beach - we found a black sand one but it was TOO hot!  What I remember most about Fiji is that it felt like we were under a broiler.  Though the temperature was only in the low 90s, it felt like 130 and I swear I could see my skin bubbling.  It wasn't the heat so much as the intensity of the sun - it was staggering.  But if you stayed in the water or shade, it was a beautiful tropical place to visit.

Same trip, but this is a Tahitian beach.  This is some different from a Washington rocky beach!

My virtual tropical vacation might include a trip back to St. Maarten in the Caribbean..... (I cropped out the naked people)

You might find me building sand castles on the beach at Surfer's Paradise, Australia (the softest sand in the world!) (this was D's fave beach)

Or you might find me relaxing on Waikiki ......

We enjoyed the sunshine and beaches in Acapulco but I don't know that it was my favorite tropical vacation...

My virtual tropical vacation might take me back to this quiet strip of beach just outside Cabo or watching the boys have more active fun wave-chasing.....

But if I had to choose the ultimate tropical destination, I'd choose Tenerife, Canary Islands - we'd go back there in a heartbeat. Though there's not a lot to do on the island, the food was terrific, the beaches gorgeous and the pace very slow and relaxing.  Again with the topless ladies and I never saw so many piercings!

Sigh - such great memories of hot, lazy days, sand and fruity drinks, sunscreen, wave runners, snorkeling (which I hate!) and dozing in the sun.  Close your eyes, imagine it......