Trip Pix! (Warning, some large photos!)

[Mae13]

*Just a disclaimer here*
If you're just interested in revealing pictures, go ahead and skip to the very last one, it's the only one in here. Half of them aren't even of me! The first part of this is a presentation dedicated to a place I love, and some of the places in it that will always own my heart...she is the only place I have ever felt homesick for, the City of Roses, she captured me the moment I delved into her beauty. Shall my wanderlust ever abate to the point where I feel the urge to settle in one place for long, I cannot imagine it would be anywhere else, unless some other place dethrones her in the future...

Hope you enjoy the insight to this bit more than just my body!

MK

 

[Mae13]

Washington Park...

Hard to believe this area is right on the outskirts of the west side of the city...can't even tell when you're in it, except the faint, muted whisper of the Sunset Highway traffic...

*Edit note:It said it was too big! Lol...so had to scale it down a tad, see below*

 

[aaron697]

where are the pictures?

I am baffled, perplexed and confused....*searching wildly*

The pictures of your trip, where are they?

 

[Mae13]

Washington Park...

Hard to believe this area is right on the outskirts of the west side of the city...can't even tell when you're in it, except the faint, muted whisper of the Sunset Highway traffic...

 

[Mae13]

Salted scent...

There she is, the coastline, a beautiful sneaking glimpse of Grandmother Ocean in all her glory...there is no hurt in my soul she cannot help heal!

 

[aaron697]

Humboldt Aura

Peaceful, relaxing and mysterious. Reminds me of my origional home in Humboldt. Damp forests, lush vegitation, fog and cool nights. Can't get any better then that......

A (??)

 

[aaron697]

~~That coast~~

Those are the views I grew up on.......

*drifting to dreams of home*

 

[Mae13]

The Queen...

She rules over downtown Portland, seeming to offer a harsh glare to anyone who would dare offend the city! She is beautiful, so strong and vibrant and Amazon-like...if I ever met a real woman like that I think I would be a hopeless case for the rest of my life, lol! If I remember correctly, she is actually the largest free-standing bronze in the US...dunno, I'm sure there's stats online about her, if you wish to look. Her name is Portlandia, shown in B&W here...

 

[beauchampd]

Beautifull pics, would have loved to see these areas in person but this is as good. Thankyou for sharing..

 

[Mae13]

The serious one of the bunch...

While I was up in W. Park, I visited the Vietnam Memorial up there for the first time. How to explain this part...

I, of course, was not around to experience the turmoil of that era (being only a wee lassie of 25 years!). However, it's always fascinated me. Years ago, I adopted a POW from Oregon when I was first learning to code HTML. Soon after, I requested a bracelet with his name on it (don't see too many POW/MIA bracelets around anymore ). You can see it here in the picture, resting scratched on my wrist where it has been for years now. I have worn it almost daily ever since. Yes, I wear it with formal attire, I wear it to parties, I wear it to weddings... No, I have no clue who he is. I do not have a missing family member. The issue as a whole just touches a deeply resonant chord within me, although I do not know why. I don't mean to go into some lengthy political diatribe here...I just know that there are still people out there, MY countrymen, who are still wondering if their countrymen will ever come for them, or if they truly are forgotten souls...

This is his name in the granite, Robert Wayne Altus, Capt, USAF. He was lost 23 Sept 73, in Laos (where we were never fighting, of course!). He has never come home, his remains have never been identified. I don't know if he has any living kin. All I know is even if his mortal body is now gone, until the day I pass on, he lives in my mind. This seemed fitting to mention, especially considering this Sunday is Veteran's Day here in America. Please, honor them, they deserve so much more than they have gotten...


Mae

Sorry if I depressed anyone with this one...it's just one of "those things" for me...

 

[Mae13]

Well now...

On to a little happier things

 

[aaron697]

Speechless

 

[Mae13]

Although it does kind of look like I've lost my left arm in this pic, I liked it anyway Just call me Captain Hook, arrrr!

 

[aaron697]

Speechless

I can't convey the depth of your last post. To give credit to anyone who has served with honor in the military is so important. My father was served in Vietnam while in the Marines, and my grandfather was a corpman in WWII, helping out the Marines in the South Pacific. Both have told me stories that I know cannot convey the horror they experienced.

My time spent in the Marines pales in significance, although I know that I would have gone the distance for my friends and brothers with whom I served.

It is tragic that so many have given so much to only be forgotten. Thanks for reminding us, I for one am guilty of this act.....

A

 

[Mae13]

Nudity, get yer nudity here!!

Ok, for those of you who were just interested in the "flesh pics"....

LOOK HERE NOW!

Since it was the first clear day in weeks at the coast, there was not ONE stretch of beach that wasn't polluted with people this day! I managed to sneak this one in when there was a break and noone was around, but a truck turned down the beach just as I was slipping my shirt back up, and those boys drove by *awfully* slowly, peering out their window at me, hehehe...too bad it was so crowded, I could've nabbed some poor stranger to be my photographer....ah well

Good night for now Lit *kisses*

Mae

 

[Mae13]

Aaron...

Never woulda tagged you for a Jarhead You continue to amaze me, hehe

There is honor in every part. Pride should be taken in all aspects of service, whether it be military or otherwise, peace or wartime...it is all important, and it all matters in it's own way. To everything there is a season... *hugs*

Thanks for understanding

MK

 

[aaron697]

True, I was a jarhead

But, I never got a tattoo of a bulldog or wore a red satin jacket.....

 

[~heyjoe~]

Great pics Mae. If you ever get a chance, check out the Shawnee Forrest. The Garden of the Gods Is hard to beat! But hey, you would make anyplace look good!!

 

[weathered2]

Mae...

Great photos...of course. Your soul is peeking out in the one-armed pic, (I didn't see it that way, by the way, until I read your text...yes, I admit it, I look at your photos first). I've gotten close, but never quite to, that part of the world. Thanks for taking me all the way....

 

[mkreshon]

Such a beautiful lady on such a beautiful beach. If I woulda known that you were coming to my part of the US, I would have been your photographer.

 

[SmokeTheFunk]

holiday pics

thanks for sharing your trip, its nice to read a little about you and she where you went. the coast looks very beutiful. it makes me want a break somewhere.
also they are lovely pics of you too :0)

thanks :0)

 

[Aphrodisiac]

Amazing pictures !!!

Mae

Such beautiful pictures.... all of them... not just the " flesh" pics as you said ....


I wonder ... what sort of digital camera do you have ?
I just love the quality of your pictures.

 

[Ulyssa]

I'm afraid I too am old enough to remember.

Thank you for sharing your shots of the Vietnam memorial names. You're telling the rest of us what so many of the surfers on this thread often forget--we all have the heart, brains, and soul to extend to one another as well as our sensual flesh. You have displayed monumental endowments of all four, sweetheart.

Thank you for ALL the pictures.

My utmost respect to you, Lyssa

 

[Celtlan]

very nice pictures!

just thought id share one back. Not as good as your first two but it is England after all

 

[Chef Jeff]

Nice stuff all thru

Mae, very cool pics from your trip...good to see a mix of scenery from nature...both the earth and you!