Washington – Dust Bunnies and Dog Toys

Antiquing in Camas

Published on September 7, 2017September 8, 2017 by JennaLeave a comment

During my last visit to Portland I made a point to stop in and see an antique mall I’ve been following on Facebook for a while now. Camas Antiques is located in the heart of the historic downtown Camas, WA and is just as charming in person as it is online. Just look at this sweet storefront! It just begs you to come in – although I certainly didn’t need any convincing! Inside there were numerous vendor booths, each with a unique style. Since it was early summer during my visit many of the booths featured garden themes.

I spotted this simple window upcycle in one of the booths and showed it to the Hubs so he’d know what the heck I was talking about when I create something similar with the ones I still have stashed away in the shed. I’m thinking they would be great done up for hanging stockings at for my holiday show in November.

This chalkboard message made both myself and my mother-in-law, who is also a novice gardener giggle. At least we know we’re stretching our gardening muscles! LOL

The European vibe in this booth near the back of the store drew me right in and I lingered for quite a while, although I didn’t find anything that came home with me this trip.

I was amazed to realize there was a basement full of even more vendors! It was like getting a second scoop on your ice cream cone.

I loved the lace tied to the light strands above this booth and might appropriate the idea for my booth at the bazaar if I have room.

I also pointed out this display to the Hubs since he always teases me for collecting driftwood! I loved the wreath made out of the larger pieces. I have a whole bucket full of pieces similar to this that I could use to make something similar.

This farmstyle area had me at first glance and I spent a good amount of time checking out all of the items. That goat pillow gave me an instant smile and almost came home with me. Those little faces were just so adorable. I just couldn’t bear to think of putting them away after the summer season so I left them for someone else to find.

I finished touring the rest of the upstairs, ending at this fun booth in the front of the store, just behind the checkout counter. It was full of great inspirations for little touches. I may have to recreate those hanging lights somewhere in our home.

After I’d seen all of the booths, I paid for my rather large pile of finds that had been collecting at the front counter as I shopped and we headed out to find some food since we’d been there a few hours.

We ended up at a delicious Mexican restaurant, Nuestra Mesa, just a block away where I enjoyed a sangria with very yummy tacos. It was the perfect way to wrap up a sunny vacation day in the Portland area! If you’re ever in the area I definitely recommend planning a stop at both of these great spots.

From Sea to Shining Sea

Published on September 27, 2013September 27, 2013 by JennaLeave a comment

As promised, here’s the photos from our trip across country. As a photographer at heart, I naturally started snapping while in the air. The first sights were Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood as my connecting flight took off from Portland, OR.

While in Virginia we were waylaid with the tunnel closures due to terrorist threats and decided to check out the historic St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in downtown Norfolk. There were several revolutionary war tombstones, some that time has since almost over grown and a cannon ball in the side of the church from a British ship! Although the church caretaker informed us that the cannon ball actually bounced off the wall when fired and was later inserted into the wall for historical reenactments. He also said that every so often it falls back out of the wall and they have to plaster it back in! I love getting the inside scoop on cool stories like that!

We were also able to tour the inside of the church where we found impressive stained glass windows, and this amazing hand-carved wood organ!

After leaving VA we drove through West Virginia, where we spotted this rig on the turnpike. I’m fairly certain they were repos, but the fact that they left the car trunk and truck windows open for the haul was astonishing!

We also spotted this cool double bridge amidst the construction (hence the orange in the margin) during one heck of a rain storm in Charleston.

And somewhere in western West Virginia this rig snuck up on us and flew by. I barely had time to collect my senses and grab my camera to get a shot. That eagle statue is actually on a towed trailer which was also decorated. I’ve searched the internet for info on what spurred this strange creation, but wasn’t able to find anything in particular.

While in Kentucky we spotted this 9/11 tribute ‘window art’ on a car at the gas station we happened to stop at. I thought it was pretty darn cool.

I snapped this photo somewhere in Kansas after a guy at a rest stop offered $10,000 for the truck. He claimed he’d been following us for about a half hour scoping the truck out and trying to keep up with us! Obviously we declined the offer. There’s much more sentimental value in that hunk of metal than almost any offer could cover.

After that, Kansas was long and flat. Fields, sky and windmills for HUNDREDS of miles!

Along with the occasional batch of sunflowers of course!

I didn’t get any shots of Colorado as we entered, since it was already dark by then, but I did get several shots of the region as we made our way from Denver to Durango. This is the Colorado I remember.

We stopped for gas in one of many small towns we passed through and I spotted these flags on the hillside. It screamed small-town America to me, and I loved it!

While at that stop I saw a pretty Australian Shepard sitting on a truck bed, patiently waiting for her owner to return from inside. I went over to take her picture as she sat, but once she saw me come close she immediately wanted attention and a few pats on the head. I was hooked. Who wouldn’t be with that face? I finally got her to back up enough to get this shot just before her owner returned.

In Durango, we stayed with my husband’s aunt on her ranch, which held a wealth of wonderful photo ops around the rustic barn, nearby river and house which dates back to the 1800s!

Inside, the house was a treasure trove of antiques and historical finds, like this 1950’s stove and fiesta ware!

And I nearly swooned at all this green glass!

We spotted this cool old church in the historic section of Durango, but didn’t have time to explore.

We also saw this cool rig, which I’m sure see’s lots of action come winter!

Back on the road, we headed out of Colorado and into Utah. More fields, sky and miles of very little.

I did enjoy these two Indian statues at a gas station we stopped at. I’m not sure why they were there, but they were pretty large!

Quickly the fields gave way to sagebrush.

Which then led to very colorful mountains in unique formations as we approached Moab.

And then on the side of the road was THIS!

We’d discussed going to see the famous arch in Moab, but I knew it would be a several hour detour to do so and not an entirely fun one with our large rig. So when we spotted this arch literally on the side of the highway I was delighted. Luckily the hubby let me spend 10-15 minutes snapping a few different angles.

And just to give you a little perspective on size, here’s some hikers that were climbing while we were there.

Just down the road from the arch we spotted this little “Hole in the Rock”. It looked like an interesting tourist stop, but we were on a mission to cover miles so I just snapped a quick shot as we went by.

Just past Moab we stopped again for gas at a station right next to THIS! I was literally giddy!

I can’t say what I wouldn’t have given to have a model to use this background!

Just think of the possibilities for themed sessions here!

As I made my way back to the truck I spotted these wig wams. I’m sure they’re not traditional or authentic, but they were still pretty cool.

And as I shot the sights the mob apparently pulled in…We never did figure out who this group really was, but they sure did look suspicious driving all black Lexus and Audi’s individually. Only two cars had a passenger, and everyone in the group was a young male – although they did have different state tags and the drivers were different ethnicities. Whoever they were, they sure got a LOT of attention!

From there it was more desert landscapes. While they hold a beauty all their own they still aren’t my favorite. It just can’t compete with the splendor of the changing seasons.

This rock formation and upside down flag were high above what I think was a coal plant in nowhere Utah. I wondered who had climbed up there to install the flag pole and what their significance was for hanging the flag incorrectly. Perhaps in protest of the coal? Maybe on accident? I’ll never know.

We spotted this train heading into a tunnel below us as we rounded a curve, so the hubby made a pit stop when a large shoulder was available soon after so I could get a better shot.

And I decided to do a close-up of these rail road irons that were sitting where we pulled off.

Several hundred miles later we entered the Columbia Gorge, where we paused along the river briefly.

I ventured down the little trail there to get this final shot of the dam and locks just up river.

We pulled into Portland a little while later and were then busy with unloading the truck and several appointments for things we can’t get up here in Alaska. Apparently we were so busy that I didn’t take any more pictures! So that’s our trip across the country in a nut-shell. Watch my photography website, Jenna D’ Photography for the portraits I created during sessions for several family members and friends! There’s going to be some great ones! 🙂

I’mmm Baaccckkk!

Published on September 22, 2013 by JennaLeave a comment

Sorry I’ve been MIA recently. The hubs and I were on a cross-country road trip to pick up my my 1955 F-100 from Virginia! It’s now in my mother-in-law’s garage in Washington until the spring when we’ll head back down south to pick it up and put it on the ferry to Alaska. We had originally planned to complete the whole transport in one trip, but the ferry schedule was not feasible, so we had to come up with a plan B.

We definitely got a lot of attention hauling my ’55. It was pretty common for people to tailgate us, then pass slowly as they checked out the truck and throw us a thumbs up before speeding on down the road. And just about every time we stopped someone asked what year the truck was or what we were doing with it. We even had an offer for $10,000 in a mid-west rest stop! Of course I didn’t accept, since the truck holds more sentimental value of time spent with my dad restoring it from the junk yard mess it was when we first bought it. My husband really enjoyed throwing people for a loop by pointing out that the truck was mine and not his!

Beyond moving the truck closer to Alaska the trip was a means to visit family and friends across the country. We spent a few days with my family in Virginia where we watched my nephew play in a few baseball games before heading to Denver to visit our good friends. We got to town just as the biblical rains paused for a day, before resuming the following day increasing the already swollen rivers. Luckily, our friends live in Morrison, in the mountains south of Denver so they didn’t have any major damage like Boulder did.

Our last night in Denver we had dinner with my husband’s cousin and her family – who I did a quick portrait session for (watch for a post about that on my Jenna D’ Photography site!)

After Denver, we headed to Durango, CO where we visited my husband’s aunt’s ranch. I was supposed to do a family session for her daughter’s family but we were unable to coordinate all six kids schedules to allow everyone to participate. So instead, I did a few pictures of the younger kids as they introduced me to the horses and of the two kitties who call the ranch home.

I also took photos of the needlepoint projects his aunt has done to create a portfolio of her work. We were only there for about 18 hours, but it was good to visit and meet more of my hubby’s extended family. From there, we headed to Portland. We learned that the storms had hit Durango just after we left, washing out the road to the ranch we had been at and causing boulders to crash down the mountainside, knocking my husband’s cousin’s truck off the road! Everyone was alright, but it sure was a scary few hours! We spent the last two days of our trip with my mother-in-law just across the river from Portland. Once the truck was settled in her garage, I got in a little antiquing and shopping before meeting up with an old high school friend I hadn’t seen in over a decade for dinner. It was fun to catch up and chat about how we had both changed.

Of course I took LOTS of pictures along the way, which I’ll be editing to share in a post later this week. There’s just too many to sort through tonight. Now that we’re home and unpacked it’s back to work and a normal routine. We checked in on the house right after picking up our fur babies from doggie day camp. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been as much progress as hoped. The exterior was being painted when we arrived, including the front door – only in the wrong color! The foreman arrived while we were there so I pointed that out and reminded him that I’d tried to give him the color I wanted before leaving, but he’d said to hold off. Now that he has the right paint number & name it should be repainted tomorrow. The roofing material is on-site, but has not been installed yet. The electrical has been done, although we’re going to need a diagram to figure out what switch goes to what light before moving in! The local power company still has to run the line to the house to finish the electrical inspection, but the crew should begin insulation on Monday, followed by drywall. They can’t mud and tape until the electrical inspection is complete, so we’ll see if there is a delay there. Here’s the latest picture of the progress.