Wow !
We started this morning off with a visual feast of some of the most breathtaking beauty I've ever seen.
As we journeyed toward Walhalla at about 6:30 this morning, the sight of an enlarged, glowing harvest moon softly setting in the west captured our attention. After turning and heading west, this spectacular sight of the 'moonset' was playing out right before our eyes...right over the center of the road.
As I took this fantastic photograph of one of nature's beautiful, but rare, displays...I turned to the east and clicked the shutter again to show the stunning contrast, and beauty, of the morning sky.
Linda and I agreed that we were truly fortunate to have witnessed such a 'magnificent morning'.
My emotions have already been running rampant this month, as September has been very busy, exciting, and yet, difficult.
Two of our three children left for far off lands earlier this month and I'm still trying to adjust to them being so far away. Rob, who has been working with us at our photography studio, decided it was time to 'see the world' and departed for Bali, Indonesia with just a backpack, a computer and a camera. He plans to write and share photographs of all the wonderful places he will see. So far we've followed his progress on www.roamingrob.com and his adventures have been fascinating....like reading a good novel, where you just can't wait for the next chapter to begin. Only words so far, as pictures have been difficult to upload with the limited Internet capabilities in the region he is in.
Meanwhile, Abby, our youngest, accepted an offer to move to Logrono, Spain for a year and teach English to the Spanish students. She and her boyfriend, Ben, who is in the same program, left from the Minneapolis airport 10 days ago and I must admit, I had a pretty big 'lump' in my throat. I think the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture and, not only teach, but learn, will be wonderful for both of them.
Rob's cat, Otis (who, by the way, did not go with in the backpack) seems confused. We keep leaving the house with a family member and coming home without them. I think he understands that they will eventually return but I know he misses them.
Thank goodness our oldest, Tony, and his wife April are still in the area (if you can call Minneapolis the 'area'). If fact they will be joining us in Duluth this weekend for our first travel-ography.com adventure. Tony was the first to leave the 'nest' a few years back when he accepted a position in St. Louis. At the time, that seemed like such a far away place.
Actually, as we watched our three children grow, we always hoped they would turn out confident and independent young adults. I guess they all three did. Quite ironic coming from a dad whose favorite moments found the five of us packed in our minivan traveling the country. In fact, we encouraged them to travel and see the world.
Please feel free to follow both Rob and Abby's exploits in the coming months. The websites are abbyinspain.com and roamingrob.com .
A couple words about the Duluth and North Shore Drive trip this weekend....I can't wait !!!
I think we'll have a great time, get some fantastic photographs, and make some new friends.
And, besides colorful trees, big ships, waterfalls and lighthouses, if my memory serves me correctly, we'll see hundreds of sea gulls.
There are sea gulls everywhere, even immortalized in artistic statues.
It should be a 'cool' trip.
Steve
Next weekend...the 28th, 29th and 30th of September...our very first travel-ography.com expedition will find us in Duluth and along the North Shore of Lake Superior enjoying the magnificent fall colors.
At least that's what we hope ! I know we can't do anything about 'Mother Nature' and her 'fickle' ways, but we sure are praying for nice weather....even though the long range forecast predicts cloudy, cool and rainy weather for our visit.
We'll have a great time either way !
A week ago, I was concerned that the autumn colors weren't going to cooperate. Then, a few days ago, the colors magically appeared here in Grafton. I took this shot as I was driving through our beautiful park.
Fall really is my favorite season.
Steve
I promised on my last post, 13 days ago, that I would mention the changes that were taking place in our lives. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to find the right words to explain our situation.
My emotions have run the full spectrum these past two weeks.....and here's why.
Our son, Rob, who after finishing college and pursuing brief careers in several of this countries larger cities, including Minneapolis, St. Louis, Nashville and New York City, decided to return to Grafton and help us bring our photography studio into the 'digital era'.
Not trained in either cameras or computers, Rob immersed himself into available information on both fields, attending seminars, reading books and manuals and spending countless hours on the Internet, digesting a virtual wealth of shared knowledge on both topics.
He helped transform Steve Larson Studio from the limitations of a film based business to the exciting, unconfined world of digital technology. Our clients have been the biggest benefactors of Rob's new found knowledge and creative talents. However, good things don't always last forever.
About a year ago, Rob let us know that he was planning on pursuing a dream of extensive travel to various parts of the world to 'see what's out there'.
After months of intense mental, physical and organizational preparation, Rob was ready to embark on his journey and we dropped him off at the Minneapolis airport on Tuesday, September 4th. His destination was Bali, Indonesia.
It was difficult to say goodbye, but our sadness was tempered with our happiness for Rob and for what he would be seeing and experiencing in his travels. His plans are to record his journey through photographs and writing on his blog site www.roamingrob.com .
He will also serve as a valuable resource, as we expand our travel-ography.com trips to destinations other than the US and Canada. Rob's first two weeks have already been filled with unexpected adventure, as he has encountered difficulty posting to his blog and even emailing in an area of Indonesia that is somewhat 'information challenged'.
In fact, after three days of deep concern for him, as we followed news reports of several serious earthquakes in Indonesia this week, we finally heard from him yesterday and were relieved to learn that, not only was he OK, but he wasn't even aware of the earthquakes that had taken place.
As if Rob's adventure isn't enough to occupy our minds and prayers, we now prepare to drive our daughter, Abby, to Minneapolis this weekend, as she leaves for Spain on Monday. After spending the past year working in Maple Grove, near Minneapolis, she applied for and was offered a position teaching English to Spanish speaking students in Logrono, Spain.
I'll have more on Abby's journey in a later post.
After all this, Duluth seems like a relaxing destination. We're looking forward to our first travel-ography.com adventure on the 28th, 29th and 30th of this month.
Steve
PS...We'll be able to keep up with both Rob and Abby's adventures by following their blogs. www.abbyinspain.com and www.roamingrob.com
Life moves on....seasons change.
Labor Day weekend has always sent a strong signal to me that things are about to change. Summer is ending as autumn moves in. Crisper air...cool evenings...schools in session...footballs fill the air...and gardens are on their last hurrah.
Oh, and Linda, just today, has taken my 'raspberry picture' off display in our home for another year. I would object, but it wouldn't do any good...and I do like the photograph of beautiful autumn leaves that she put up in its place.
I'll post the raspberry photograph here....so I can go back and look at it on my computer any time, any season, and dream of those beautiful summer evenings and my prolific berry patch.
Change is inevitable...and, mostly, change is good for all of us.
We're facing some big changes in our lives in the next few days. I'll share more on my next post on this blog. Until then, think travel-ography.com and enjoy all that life has to offer!
Have a wonderful and safe Labor Day weekend.
Steve
