• 2008 – 2010 Photo’s

    Me, Laveta, Sharon, Rus at The Harmon Pub, Tacoma- Feb 2008
    RV’ing in Port Townsend WA- March 2008

    Roaming American Roads (by RV) 2008

    Laveta at the Tacoma Art Museum Cafe
    Laveta at Cheney Stadium- Tacoma
    Dory
    Above Tacoma- Roger’s retirement.
    Washington State Fair Sep-2008

    PDF, 6pp
    Exploring Egypt & the Nile- Civilization’s Long Oasis:
    From Alexandria on the Mediterranean to Abu Simbel
    near the Sudanese border… and a lot of in between.
    From 27 October to 7 November 2008

    Laveta on the Nile. Egypt. Nov 2008
    Sharon and Laveta at the Tacoma Art Museum– Nov 2008
    Chihuly on display at Tacoma’s Seymour Conservatory, December 2008
    Roger, Me, Floyd – Christmas brunch (old coworkers) December 2008
    At Jason and Jennifer’s wedding (Jason, Jennifer, Mike, Sharon, Russ, Carol, Laveta)
    Tacoma. December 2008
    We went to Seattle to see Lucy (the first Australopithecus Afarensis discovered)
    which was on exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. Photo’s inside the exhibit were not allowed
    but it was a great exhibit… with dinner afterward! Sharon, Russ, Laveta and Me. December 30th

    2009 ====================================================================== 2009

    Grave Creek covered bridge, Oregon. Late March 2009
    Laveta’s dad in Merced California March 2009
    Our room at the Caymus Inn in Rutherford California (Napa valley wine country)
    Walking along Rutherford Cross Road. Note mustard field and grape vine early growth.
    Rutherford CA. Mar-2009
    Carol and Laveta, March snow in University Place
    Chickadee- nesting near our guest bedroom window. Great fun to watch!

    Cruising Southeast Alaska. From Seattle to:
    Juneau, Skagway, Tracy Arm Fjord, Ketchikan
    (Including Russ & Sharon’s wedding!)
    23 May – 30 May 2009

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    A few photo’s from our annual family get-together on Useless Bay, Whidbey Island, WA, July 2009

     
     
     
     
     
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    Decal on an antique car at the University Place Festival
    Laveta and Carol, Mt. Rainer National Park August 2009
    Pike Place Market, Seattle, September 27th 2009
    Spider in our front yard, October 2009 ———————————————————————————————————————————-
    A week in eastern Washington State with Jim and Carol
    Leavenworth, a Bavarian town in central Washington State. Jim drinking a beer in Gustav’s
    At the Enzian Inn (a great place to stay)- At night there’s live music and a fire in the Great Room
    Steve and Sally’s beautiful home and barn overlooking China Bend on Lake Roosevelt,
    NE Washington State near Kettle Falls
    Off-road travel high above the lake. Awesome country! (Jim’s photo)

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    Wright Park in Tacoma, 1 November, 2009

    2010 ====================================================================== 2010

    Clam digging at brother John’s. March 2010
    Aircraft Carrier in Admiralty Inlet with Olympic mountains in background
    "T’s" Restaurant, Port Townsend- Great food!
     
    My birthday lunch at Woody’s By The Water Tacoma, March 2010 ————————————————————————————————————————————–
    With Jim and Carol at the Yakama Nation RV Park, Toppenish WA, June 2010
    View of Mt. Adams from the RV Park
    The town of Toppenish just a few of it’s many panted murals
     
    Los Hernandez Tamales, in Union Gap WA. The Asparagus Tamales are just outstanding!
    (We bought six dozen.)
    Grilled steaks on the last day and Mt. Stewart as viewed from I-5, on the way home.

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    June 2010: These are pict’s of the Boistfort Valley Farm near Curtis WA. Its a family run farm for fresh
    organic veggies They truck their produce to drop-off locations for their subscribers. Our subscription gets
    us a "box" each week from June to October. Sharon, Laveta and I attended their annual Strawberry festival
    which included some great food and local musicians.

     
     
     
     

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    Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland Oregon, July 2010 (3 nights) with Sharon and Russ
    We Saw four plays: Henry the First (Part-1), Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.
    As usual- the plays were outstanding.

     
    The Black Swan Inn B&B was built by Union Army Lt. Col Silsby.
    A framed letter in the sitting room of the Black Swan, from Colonel Silsby to his wife
    is dated 4 July 1865 and begins "Dear Helen- Vicksburg is ours"
    A tour of the Elizabethan theater in Ashland. Note Sharon and Russ (with tour guide).
    Dinner at a the Black Sheep Pub
    \
    Rogue Creamery in Central Point OR on the way home.

    ————————————————————————————————————————————– Our annual, extended family gathering at Useless Bay on Whidbey Island. July 2010. Always a fun time.

     
     
     
     
     
     

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    Seattle from the Rainier Tower (where Russ works). Sharon’s birthday lunch at the Capitol Grille 9/7/10
    At the Puyallup (Washington State) fair including Willie Nelson concert September 17, 2010

    China… Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, The Great wall, The Sacred Way, Lingdang Hutong, Peking Duck & Opera, Xian: Terra Cotta Army, Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show, Chongqing,: Yangtze River Cruise, Shibaozhai Pagoda & Temple, Three Gorges & Dam, Jingzhou School, Wuhan, Hubei Museum: Shanghai, Old Shanghai, Yuyuan Gardens.
    1- 14 October 2010

    The Proof… Laveta’s full of it!
    Three Generations (Carol, Samantha, Shannon)
    Annual GP dinner (at the Museum of Glass)

  • CIVILIZATION’S LONG OASIS

    EXPLORING EGYPT & THE NILE
    Our group:
    Chuck, Laveta, Sharon, Russ, Karl, "Z" & Henry
    27 October – 7 November 2008

    PDF, trip journal, 7pp

    At Seattle Tacoma International (Seatac), Heathrow (London) and Cairo International.
    At the Cairo Fairmont Heliopolis hotel We ate in the hotel. The Obelisk wine was good.
    At Cairo International again- Sharon, Karl, Zelda, Laveta and Russ waiting for our flight to Luxor.
     
     
     

    Karnak temple. The first and largest of the temples we visited. (We returned later that night)

     
    The Temple of Luxor.
     

    In the Valley of the Kings. We visited the tombs of Ramses VII, IV and I but couldn’t take photo’s

    Hatshepsut’s Temple at Deir al-Bahri.
    Local (thin walled) alabaster pottery.
     
    Temple of Medinet Habu
    The Colossi of Memnon
    The M/S Norma passing through the Locks at Esna
    On the M/S Norma: Cruising riverboats on the Nile & Russ and Sharon’s stateroom
    "Towel Crocodile", Feluccas… and a very overloaded rowboat!
    Life along the Nile
    Life aboard the Norma
    Zelda, Sharon, Laveta
     

    The Temple of Horus at Edfu

     
     

    Kom Umbo Temple on a beautiful night.

     
     
     

    Egyptian night (including fun & games) aboard the M/S Norma

    Aswan High Dam
    Propane delivery in Aswan
    The Unfinished Obelisk in the Aswan pink granite quarry. It cracked and was abandoned over 3000
    years ago. Laveta is holding a Diorite ball like those used for cutting out (pounding out) the granite!
     
    Our journey by motorboat boat to Philae and the Temple of Isis
    Abu Simbel (including Nefertari’s monument) from the air on our flight from Aswan
    Abu Simbel
    Nefertari’s monument
    Group photo. Trafalgar Bus-A (the Pharaohs)
    Our Hotel, the Ramses Hilton
    Downtown Cairo (al-Qāhirah). View from our deck

    Some Mosques and a Christian (Coptic) Church in Cairo

     
    The Mosque of Mohammad Ali
    The Mosque Madrasa of Sultan Hassan
    Saint Mary’s Coptic Church "The Hanging Church" (Hanging refers to its structural support)
    Street scenes in downtown Cairo- taken through the coach window.
    Unusual transportation!
    Russ ordering at McDonalds
    Cairo Museum. Sadly- no photography was allowed inside.
    Lightshow at the Sphinx – including an ancient Egyptian bagpipe band!
    At the Pyramid of Khufu. Sharon, Russ, Carl and Zelda went inside but photography was not allowed.
    At the Pyramid of Khafre. Laveta and I went inside. No photography was allowed inside.
    At Khafre, the "Second Pyramid"
    Group photo. Trafalgar Bus-A

    Camel riding on the Giza Plateau. One of those things to do before you die. Great fun!

    At the "Camel parking lot" on the Giza Plateau
    Laveta "boarding" her camel.
    Laveta and me.
    Sharon and Russ
    Karl, Zelda and Henry
    Caravan
    Camel rider wanabe.

    Extra: Erin Burnett, a CNBC anchor, with a water bottle drinking camel!

    At the entrance to the Sphinx
    The Sphinx with Sharon, Russ, Laveta and I
    Lunch break in Memphis
    Heather & Andrew (from Toronto)
    Laveta and Zoser’s Step Pyramid at Saqqara, circa 3000 BC
    Goat traffic
    Ramses II at the Mit. Rahina Museum

    Dinner Cruse on the Nile in downtown Cairo

     
    Nighttime Cairo from the Nile
    Entertainment: Laveta and belly dancer, Whirling Dervish
    More Cairo street scenes from my coach window.
    Breakfast in the Ramses Hilton
    Toll booth on the motorway to Alexandria
    Alexandra Street scenes
    Laveta and Henry at Pompey’s Pillar
    At Qaitbay Citadel– where the famous ancient lighthouse stood.
    Students
    At the Roman Theater
    The (modern) Library of Alexandria
    The Alexandria Museum
     
    Highway scenes on the return to Cairo
    Nighttime Cairo traffic. Note: running lights only – no headlights!
    Homeward bound.

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Questions or comments?   email me –> chuck@clwilliamson.net