TRAVEL SKETCHES

I didn't recall this trip being so close to the holidays. What I do remember is having the car break down and needing to rent a vehicle to get to Portland and then being too sick to get off the ship. As we were being towed over the Siskiyou Mountains at night in the rain, we learned from the driver of the  truck how to successfully reheat prime rib. Odd, that. Ask, if interested, and I'll tell.

This was in Monterey and I remember that Mr. Bob said he would never stay in that hotel again. It was a renovated Victorian inn and the elevator wasn't working. These sketches were drawn in a nearby pub.

This was before I'd learned to date every entry. We were on our way to San Diego where we took a 2 night cruise to Baja, California (Mexico) with friends.

How I miss our own stand of sweet peas. Rather than the blooms behind, I gathered a bunch to take with us on a trip to Oakland to see Chris and Frances.

This was the result of "fooling around" on slick paper when I first started dabbling with watercolor. I love the hills of central California, green in the spring and dotted with the dark green of oak trees and I was unusually pleased with the clouds.

We always enjoyed this restaurant when we went north. Their garlicky chicken wings were the best! Another nearby restaurant had unbelievably good waffles. 

I think this was the last time I sketched, but I'm going to make a concentrated effort to start again. 

The same trip as the first sketch above. One should note location, for I'd have sworn this was done on the banks of the Mississippi, but I guess it was the Columbia River. Maybe if you've seen one river you've seen 'em all.......a little like bays and golf courses. Mr. Bob would argue that, but he's asleep.


"I travel a lot; I hate having my life disrupted by routine."
                                ~Caskie Stinnett

DOODLES

PER SOME of your requests, here are some more sketches from my travel journals.

Hard to believe I was messing about with pen and watercolor nearly ten years ago and now the inclination is gone.

We were on a jazz cruise on the Columbia River and were too ill to get off the ship. I made a very funny movie of the week, inserting Mr. Bob's cough throughout the film to signify how sick we were. The cough even fades away through the closing credits.

When on the Monterey Peninsula we like to stay at Asilomar Conference Grounds, a good base from which to explore.

We headed for Sequoia National Park and were caught in a surprise snowstorm with no warm clothes. 

Details in the lounge at Waksachi Lodge where we were snowbound.

A sketch of our house, drawn from a photo which I didn't usually do.

One of our Sunday visits to the jazz club. The stage held a whole band, but I chose just the banjo player ("What's the difference between a chain saw and a banjo?" " The chainsaw can be tuned")


"I became interested in photography when I found my own sketching was inadequate."                                                              Ben Shahn