Family Surfing Night, #4

I'm thinking our selections for Family Surfing Night must be a very strange glimpse 

into our family psychology.

But, you know ... 

there's just SO MUCH good stuff out there :o)

I missed posting about our last Family Surfing Night ... no one sent me their links ... so I shall mention that Nathan won, but post my own entry because it was awesome ...

Family Surfing Night is really an opportunity for me to inflict videos from my childhood upon my own children.  I've told my kids about this Sesame Street video for years ... apparently it had a big impact on me as a five year old.  I'm not sure which was more fun ... seeing it again, or watching the confused why-is-this-funny faces of my family as they  watched it.

However ... we have this video to thank for a wonderful new tradition in our family:

the hand hug

WIN.

Again, I must say that Family Surfing Night is fun for the whole family.  

I have teenagers.

 THEY ask ME when are we going to do surfing night.

WIN.

Our rules:

we gather in the family room with our laptops.  

we surf the web for 15 minutes.

at the end of 15 minutes, everyone shows the best/funniest/favorite thing they found while surfing the webbernets and we vote for the best one.

Videos are limited to (approximately) 3 minutes in length.

The WINNER shall be the proud and much envied recipient of the Family Surfing Night Traveling Trophy, to be affixed to the refrigerator with their name for all to see:

We must revisit these rules, as some videos are longer than the suggested 3 minutes ... and usually everyone comes to the family room having already  trolled the internet for a winning entry.  But anyway ... 

From Melissa ... another Sesame Street Classic ... my first favorite song! 

 

(and again, my family looks confused ... which i find hilarious ... i can't stop laughing)

From Aaron - one word ... BANANA!!!!

From Dan - super cool animation ...

From Ben - strange teenager internet humor ...

From Nathan - even stranger teenager internet humor ...

From Abbie - a laughter chain that will make you ... laugh!

And the winner is ...

Aaron!

give that boy a   hand hug !!

One for the Bucket List, Part 3: Outside Hearst's Castle

I think every Bucket List needs a castle.

(image source)

This is the legendary Hearst Castle, in the San Simeon hills of California.  It's about half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  My sister and I visited there in December on our Bucket List worthy trip down Highway 1 (see part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 4 here).

Have you heard of Hearst Castle?  It is the dream of William Randolph Hearst.  He spent time camping and picnicking in the San Simeon hills as a child, and between 1919 and 1947 built what he called "La Cuesta Encantada" with architect Julia Morgan.  The site alone is stunningly beautiful.

Combined with Mr. Hearst's castle ... the place is genuinely magical.

 As a child, Mr. Hearst traveled in Europe with his mother, and that trip significantly influenced his passion for architecture and art.  The castle is full of ancient artwork, sculpture, and furniture.  Everything has historical value.

Hearst Castle is now a California State Park and National Monument.  Three tours are available, each highlighting a different part of the castle, and the tour guides are deeply knowledgeable.  In fact, I had the distinct impression we could have asked, "could you please tell me something about the fourth tile from the right in the top northwest corner?" and they would happily have waxed eloquent on it with an interesting story.

There is unique detailing everywhere ... 

The exterior of the castle is bordered with intricate teakwood carving ...

And then there are the babies holding up the walls ...

In addition to the main house, there are guest houses... 

Mr. Hearst enjoyed entertaining and it was common for movie stars to spend weekends at the castle ... the likes of Clark Gable, Greta Garbo, Harpo Marx, Joan Crawford, and Charlie Chaplin to name just a few.  Other notable guests were Howard Hughes, Winston Churchill, Calvin Coolidge and Charles Lindbergh.  

There are two beautiful swimming pools at the castle.  The outdoor pool is fashioned after a Greek temple.  And those pillars are authentic, in case you were wondering ... 

There's also an indoor pool, if you'd rather ...

This pool has real gold  in the detailing.  On a strictly personal note, although it's so very beautiful, this pool gives me the willys and makes me breathless.  It's too quiet ... and deep ... and dark.  No where else on earth does this to me.  I think I had bad dreams about it as a child.  So I had to get out of there and I only took one picture :o)

The indoor pool is built under the tennis courts ...

because what castle is complete without tennis courts?

Let's just make ourselves at home ...  

and take in the view before we go inside, shall we? 

This One for the Bucket List California Road Trip is a Six Part Series.  

Click below for:

Part 1

Part 2

( You just read Part 3 )

Part 4

Part 5

Part Last

I'm linking this post to Amanda's Weekend Bloggy Reading Party at Serenity Now!

Good Lord willing ...

I really want to post about the last two days of my glorious trip to California back in December (see part 1 and 2 here and here).  But I took so many pictures because it was SO PRETTY I can't work up to sorting through them.  So, today, I'll post things of here at home, at the JustB :o)

It doesn't rain a whole lot in our part of Texas.  Last summer brought us brutal drought conditions. It was so hard to see the JustB shrinking in the heat.  There were cracks all over the ground that went clear to China.

But spring always brings the hope of rain, and rain we've gotten!  Our property is bordered on three sides by creeks that are sometimes wet, sometimes dry.  They run south to a lake that is sometimes wet, sometimes (nearly) dry.   I grew up in the Texas Panhandle, and I was convinced that wind is the most powerful force of nature.  But I've changed my mind ... I think it's water.  The drastic effect (affect?) of lots of rain on the creek fascinates me.

Here's what the creek looked like before the rain ...

and here's the same spot after ...

Part of the creek bank crumbled into the water right while I was standing there. 

The banks of this creek are about 20 feet at their highest.  

Another spot before ...

and now after ...

A spot with lots of debris and trees falling into the creekbed before ...

and after ...

the water clears all the stuff right out.  

Here's a video ... remember, the creek was a shallow, slow-flowing stream the DAY BEFORE ...

Amazing power.

I could hear a waterfall and braved the weeds and vines to see what was making the water rush ...

 LtDan calls these spiky things "Wait A Minute" vines, and for good reason ...

Here's what was making all the noise:  a downed tree, with green leaves sprouting.  The roots just weren't strong enough to withstand the waterflow.  Goodbye, tree :o(

The treeline is normally dry ... but with heavy rain, a small river runs through it and you can see the water flowing from the back porch, 50 yards away ...

My sister asked my 93 yearold Dad if he wanted to go out and see all the flooding.  

His response?  "Oh, I've seen water."

Perhaps that's how you feel?  Okay.  Next I'll post pics of California.  

Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise.  

You know it was a good weekend when ...

  boots and jeans were involved...

your favorite wild flowers were blooming ...

LtDan was on the tractor ...

you began to come to terms with yes, 

your first born is about to graduate from high school ...

 there was a HeyRube ...

the cousins played cards in a barn ...

and rode in the back of a pickup truck ...

the star gazing chairs are still on the driveway ...

and there are new paths to walk ... 

Hope you had a great weekend too ... Happy Monday!