Great Aunt Barbara’s Funeral

Back in April I went to California with my parents to attend my Great Aunt Barbara’s funeral in Monterey.  The whole extended family came to attend.

Near the cemetery there was some sort of a Tea Party protest going on.  It was tax day so I suppose that’s why a few hundred people were out.  Interestingly enough, out of several hundred people, I saw no one that was any other color than white.  Certainly in the greater Monterey area, this group of people was not anywhere close to representative of the population at large.

At the San Carlos Cemetery.

The green thing and brick are covering the hole that my great aunt ended up interned within.  Just behind it is where my great grandmother is buried.

More tea party people causing a minor traffic jam.  I wonder if they realize that the road they were protesting next to and the sidewalk they were standing on was paid for with tax dollars.

Driving along the coastal road between Pacific Grove and Caramel.

The mini van we rented for the trip.

At the memorial service.  Great aunt Barbara is in the little package next to the flowers on the table.  The paintings on either side of the table are hers.  She was an artist her entire life.

Cousin Hamilton getting ready to preside over the burial.

The cemetery guy was very nice and quite helpful.

Some of the crowd in attendance.  Lots of family, some of Barbara’s friends, etc.

Getting ready to roll in the mini van.

At a late lunch after the funeral.

Hamilton, my grandfather, and my grandmother.

Not snowboarding with Kaycie

Snowboarding was a bust today due to bad weather on Hood. Instead Kaycie and I decided to go to Astoria, Seaside, and Cannon Beach. At Astoria we climbed the Astoria Column where we ran into a very funny bunch of Kiwis who thought the fog and mist was “mystical” and some other funny words. Evidently they don’t have fog in New Zealand.

The mystical view from the top of the column.  That is looking southwest toward the Highway 101 bridge over the bay behind Astoria.

I was SOOOO excited to be on the top of Astoria!

The bridge to Washington over the Columbia.

Looking inland.  The fog was starting to clear.

Astoria.

Looking northeast toward the Columbia and Washington.

Kaycie in Seaside.  There wasn’t a single thing worthwhile open today in Seaside.  We ended up going to Cannon Beach for a late lunch at a pretty decent brewpub.  I highly recommend their Ruby Red.

An awesome railway sandwiched into an abandoned lot in Seaside.  It was sad that it was closed.  I think Rick S. needs one of these in his back yard!