Labor Day Reflections

What is Labor Day really about?  Good sales at the mall and a day off from work, right?  When you think about it, there are quite a few holidays that are observed in the United States every year that many people don't know the real purpose of or history behind.  For example, Memorial Day or St. Patrick's Day.  Even Christmas is just presents and food to some people.

So what is Labor Day really?  Labor Day was established in the late 1800s to celebrate the achievements of the American people, particularly the American labor force.  According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country."  I am proud to say that my home state of Oregon was the very first state to pass legislation to officially recognize Labor Day as a holiday.

Today I am celebrating by not going to work, and instead spending time with friends and sharing some more pictures from last week's trip to Seattle!

Gas Works Park features the remnants of the last remaining coal gasification plant in the United States.  *Don't ask me what a coal gasification plant does...I could only guess*  The structures that I shared pictures of last week stand in the open, while the ones above have been restored and turned into a covered play area.

Yes...I am a child sometimes.

 

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Probably the highlight of our trip was getting to visit friends!  Saturday night we got to meet up with one of my dearest friends, Miss Elana Mae.  Elana and I spent 3 months together in China during our study abroad trip (along with Miss Natalie who we were missing last weekend!)

These are our "sad 'cause we miss Natalie" faces

I wish we lived closer so that we could get together more often.  But once a year is about as often as that happens, so we have to make up for it in a short period of time.

That meant happy hour at my favorite sushi bar in Seattle (Umi Sushi on 1st Ave. in Belltown - if you are ever in Seattle and like sushi you should try it.  They have a great atmosphere and some different types of sushi that I LOVE - including the Crunchy Seattle Roll), photo shoot at Kerry Park, and dinner at Jai Thai in Fremont.  Actually, I didn't even end up eating at Jai Thai because I was still full from sushi...but that's okay, it was still fun.

We aren't very good at being serious for too long.....

Actually, before going to Jai Thai we headed over to another little park just down the road to watch the sunset over the Sound.

To see more pictures of this sunset, as well as some tips for shooting the
sunsets/sunrises, head over to A Beautiful Day, where I guest posted last week and shared some of these.

I think I will be able to wrap up my Seattle trip with one more post later this week.....We shall see.

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The last thing for today, a follow up on last week's 5 for Five {this might get ugly...}

1. Get caught up *and keep up* on the laundry.  Actually, I did manage to do this, which is a major feat for me!  I even did the same with the dishes - double wow!

2. Plan out next week's blog posts.  Fail - I only got through Tuesday :(

3. Work out at least 4 times. Yes!  I made it to the gym three days this week, plus spent an entire day cleaning my house {which in my book, as long as you're sweating, it counts}

4. Drink 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY.  I made it a couple of days, but there were also days that I barely drank any.  Looks like I will have to try this one again next week.

5. Write down daily tasks, and stick to them.  Eh...better add this to next week.

SO . . . Goals for this week:

1. Plan out next week's blog posts.>
2. Drink 8 glasses of water EVERY DAY.
3. Write down daily tasks, and stick to them.
4. Get caught up on editing photos and get them in the mail.
5.  Keep track of all food and activity points.

What are some of your goals for the week?  Link up with Jenn & Jessica and share!

 

If I Had a Million Dollars.....

.....I would still be doing this!!

How great would it be to be able to spend all of your time, doing the things that you love, and only because you love it....to not have to worry about money?!  If I had that ability, I would be one happy woman!



Kristie @ PG Sisters and Holly @ Where We Can Live Like Jack & Sally are hosting the Lotto Winning Daydreaming blog hop this week.  What would you do if you won the lottery?  This is the theme and it is a subject that my husband and I have discussed more than once.

So, besides continuing to take pictures *like, all the time!*, what would I do??

*Pay off all of our debt.
School, cars, credit cards. How does it all add up so quickly? I would love to get rid of all of those loans and start over debt-free.
*Buy a decent-sized piece of property and design/build our own home on that property.
I have always thought it would be so much fun to design my own house. People search for weeks, months even years for the perfect home. I would LOVE to be able to create my own, so that everything is just where I want it and all of the finishings fit our style.
*Upgrade my camera.
I love my camera - it works great and takes some pretty good images. It is still a lower-end camera when it comes to DSLRs, though. I have my eye on an upgrade, but I'm not quite there, yet. I could definitely go for some more lenses and other accessories, too. Such as: my Safari camera bag from SHUTTERBag!
*Go on vacation {or a few}!
Italy, Greece, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Australia, Chile, Brazil....these are just a few of the places on my wishlist!
*Buy my husband a car or two.
Don't get me wrong, I love cars too. But he is the real car enthusiast. I will be happy just to get my Honda Pilot some day. He, however, has a little bit more of an expensive taste :)

If you wish you had a million dollars {who doesn't?!} write about it and go link up!

I have a little bit more to share from my walk around Astoria last weekend. This time - down by the bay river. {No watermelons here...}

The Barbey Maritime Center is housed in the old Astoria Railroad Depot.  The building, which is now part of the Astoria Maritime Museum, has been restored and is now used for building wooden boats, as well as classes dedicated to preserving the maritime culture of the Astoria area.

The Astoria Riverfront Trolley is a fun little tourist attraction.  It's only $1 per person and a round-trip tour of the waterfront lasts about an hour.  I haven't ridden it in several years but I remember enjoying it.  Built back in 1913, this particular trolley was originally used as a streetcar in San Antonio, Texas.  In years past, it has been used as part of the public transportation system, housed in a museum and undergone numerous restoration efforts.

There was a paddle boat in town last weekend, as well.  I have always wanted to take a ride on one of these.  This particular boat hosts 1-2 week cruises up and down the Columbia and Snake Rivers.

 

The boat directly above is only about a year old.  The Columbia River Bar is one of the most treacherous in the world.  These boats transport highly experienced bar pilots out to incoming ships to help guide them over the bar and into the Columbia River.

A Special Request

Is everyone else as glad as I am that it is Friday night and officially the weekend??  For a short work-week, it sure was a long one!!  My celebration?  A little quality time with my Nikon!

At the beginning of the month, I was surprised when I had someone make a special request.  I received an email from someone asking whether I had any pictures of a specific local bridge for sale.  Well, unfortunately I didn't . . . but I was able to tell them that I had plans to photograph this bridge in the near future, AND ... today was the day!

The St. John's Bridge mimics the style of the Golden Gate Bridge that I recently posted about.  With two 408 feet tall Gothic-styled towers, it is the only suspension bridge in the Willamette Valley.  It is also one of 14 major bridges in the general Portland vicinity - it isn't known as the Bridge City for nothing!  In the downtown area alone, a five mile stretch of the Willamette River is spanned by SEVEN bridges.

These were taken from Cathedral Park, which sits directly under the east side of the bridge.  Lately, there have been ads on one of the local television stations about a late-night special that's scheduled about how the park is haunted by a girl that was murdered there.  Luckily, I didn't hear any voices or get any sudden chills while I was there!

This particular bridge is quickly approaching it's centennial celebration.  It took 21 months from 1929 - 1931 to be built, and was inaugurated during the 1931 Rose Festival.

I bet I know what you are thinking about now . . . how can she take that many pictures just of a bridge?!?  Don't worry, I took one of a lamp too!

For real, though, I did take 101 pictures in about 30 minutes.  After loading them on my computer, I narrowed it down to 54.

Okay - I think that's it.  I promise I am working on my "picking" skills when it comes to what to share.

I lied: but I LOVE this building and had to share these too...