Massey Monday: On the Lookout

There must have been something interesting out there on this rainy day that required the attention of both of them.

Two Word Tuesday: Mountain Virga

Thirsty Thursday: Rainy Days in Iceland

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ancient Peaks Winery Oyster Ridge

Thirsty Thursday here again! Yep, we've missed a few Thirsty Thursday posts, but I finally found some time to do one tonight. I've been playing with Iceland photos and figured it was time to share a few.

The weather on our first full day in Iceland was pretty miserable. The rain. The wind. I was pretty bummed to be looking at a lot of this as we set out to explore the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

But, we're not ones to hide out in the car, so out into the blustery day we went. Terry wasn't sure about taking the big DSLR out, but I still caught him 'grammin'.

But we kept hiking along the coast and settled in to the grays and blues and yellows of the landscape.

Soon the landscape started showing itself, with nice lines and interesting shapes playing in the gloomy shadows of the rainy day.

Stay tuned for more images when the weather got marginally better.

Thirsty Thursday: Rain Day!

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Irony 2011 Small Lot Reserve Merlot

Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Exciting times around here, as it might actually rain this weekend! The rain dancing has paid off! After suffering through the driest January ever in the Monterey and SF Bay areas, and that after posting driest year ever for most of California in 2014, we are definitely excited to have an entire weekend washed out by a big ol' Pineapple Express.

We actually had an atmospheric river set up nicely in December to provide us with some much needed rain. The rain felt like such a novelty that I captured these photos from the back step during the first few hours of the event. A little sun and some raindrops make for some fun play time with the camera.

I look forward to enjoying more raindrops this weekend!

Thirsty Thursday: Exploring Forest Park

Rambler: Beth

Drink at Hand: Anchor Distilling Co. Junipero Gin & Tonic (I'm so hooked on this gin)

Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Regular WP Thirsty Thursday readers may remember my Portland urban wandering a few weeks ago. That was fun, but I'm more in my element when I'm out in the woods.

Fortunately, Portland has this amazing forested oasis right in the city. At the time, I was training for a crazy epic mountain bike / ultramarathon event (which I am no longer training for, but that's a whole other story), and I needed a nice easy 10-mile trail run while in Portland. Some friends gave me directions from the streetcar to a trailhead and off I went.

I have to caveat these photos. First, I was in a weird mental state when I went there, given that I'd spent the last day and a half in class and I'd just received a funky work email before I headed out to the trails. Distracted and in need of deep thinking for sure! Second, a light, PacNW rain was falling...my favorite conditions for running long and slow. And third, all I had with me was my iPhone, so all these photos are from my phone's camera. So while I should have been more focused on quality training time, I so needed this romp through a new-to-me trail through Forest Park in the drizzle and with a camera in hand. It was like all my favorite things all at once. If only I'd had Terry and the dog with me...that would have been the perfect afternoon.

It was a great, albeit very unproductive run from a fitness perspective, but I enjoyed the trail and playing around making photos with the iPhone. Forest Park is a must every time I go to Portland from now on.

Get out there and explore your own new trails this weekend! We will be!

Thirsty Thursday: It Rains in Portland

Rambler: BethDrink at Hand: Ventana Pinot Noir

Thirsty Thursday is here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. Tonight I'll share some photos from a recent trip to Portland.

This fall I decided to be ambitious and get myself one of those MBA thingies. I signed up for the Portland State online MBA program. This program requires the online MBA'ers to participate in an on-campus residency weekend each quarter, so once a quarter I have to go to Portland. When we were here in August for orientation I fell in love with Portland...it was warm and sunny and green and just plain beautiful.

Then I came back at the end of October. It rained. A lot. The whole time. I finally squeezed a little bit of free time out of the busy weekend on the final day of the residency weekend and wanted to go wander with camera...but it was pouring down rain. I went anyway. I got soaked. Luckily my camera has a rain cover.

Here's what I came away with. I can tell I've been busy with school. My skills are rusty. But its always nice to have the opportunity to go wander around without any distractions, just me and my camera.