Happy Halloween!

Claremont Scarecrow Party

In lieu of other fun fall activities that had to be cancelled because of Covid-19, the Claremont Chamber of Commerce sponsored a scarecrow party/contest. Homes and businesses put up a variety of very creative scarecrows throughout the city. You can not only see an interactive map here of the scarecrow locations, but also a video showing all of the entries. Here are a few photos of the approximately 75 contestants.

Jacob Hashimoto at PDX

In September when I flew home from Portland, I posted about this art in Terminal E at PDX. Coming home this time I had more time before my flight, and I noticed a companion piece suspended from the ceiling a little further down the corridor.

Because I had the time, I then noticed this display case with information about these pieces. The artist is Jacob Hashimoto, and this second piece is called The Sky. The work in my first blog post is called The City.

This display case is reflective, so my photos have a glare, but I got a close up of part of the piece seen at the right edge of the above photo.

Pumpkin Patch

It’s finally cooling down in Claremont, but it’s really fall in Oregon, and we took a morning trip to a local pumpkin patch, which is really a farm with all kinds of things to see.

Al.terity Yard Creations

Our retirement community, Pilgrim Place, is closed to visitors during the pandemic, but these yard creations by Al Streyfeller are easily seen from Berkeley Ave. From what I have heard, he recycles all kinds of things to create his yard art. So, if you are missing going to art museums, here is a mini-treat.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Also, there will be no Pilgrim Festival this year, but if you are missing the arts and crafts of the residents, you can always shop their Etsy store.

Claremont Heritage Virtual Home Tour: Architectural Details

The small homes and ADUs on the tour are an eclectic mix of Victorian, Mid-Century Modern, Spanish Colonial, Craftsman, and others. Here are some exterior architectural details (and some mailboxes) of some of the homes on this year’s tour.

Claremont Heritage Virtual Home Tour: Harvard Steps

Because of the pandemic, many organizations have put events online, including the annual Home Tour in Claremont. We enjoyed last year’s tour and were looking forward to this year’s. This past weekend viewers had the chance to watch a video tour of Small Homes and Accessory Dwelling Units. You can look at the brochure online here.

The most photogenic home on the tour (from the outside) is the apartment building called Harvard Steps, just south of Wolfe’s on Harvard. The history and description start on page 24 of the brochure.

Old San Juan Historic District

According to nps.gov, “San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the oldest continuously inhabited post-European contact city in United States territory and the second oldest in the entire Western Hemisphere.” The Historic District is colorful with lots of interesting architecture.

Our trip to San Juan was very short, and it would be great to go back sometime.

San Juan: National Historic Site

The National Historic Site in San Juan includes Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristobal, old city walls and gates. These forts and structures provide great photographic opportunities.

Puerto Rico: El Yunque National Forest

Who’s ready to get off this crazy merry-go-round of a world and think about the time when we can travel again and about the times we traveled in the past? Today I bring you some remembrances of a long weekend we spent in Puerto Rico in February 2007.

My husband had a business trip, and I was fortunate enough to accompany him to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The group he was with scheduled a tour of El Yunque National Forest, not far from the capital city.

It was mostly a bus tour, so we didn’t get a chance to hike, but we did get out of the bus at various places for photos and to enjoy the lush green scenery up close.

We also stopped at the Yokahu Tower where we could get a bird’s-eye view of the jungle.

After this tour, we went out to Laguna Grande in Farjado to the Bioluminescent Bay where we kayaked in the light of the full moon. For that reason, we didn’t get to experience the full effect of the glowing plankton, and I didn’t get any photos, but it was rather fun to paddle along with few lights to guide us.