On the freeway on the way to the University District I noticed that Mt. Rainier was out. I thought I'd go to the place on the campus where there is a good view of the mountain. I hope the reader doesn't get tired of pictures of Mt. Rainier. The mountain has been part of my life since I was four years old. When you stepped out of our house on Alton onto the front porch on a clear day. If you looked over to the south you would see Mt. Rainier. It was magical growing up with a view like that. That is why I like to photograph it. It is overcast alot and the mountain can't be seen, but when a clear day comes, and you can look over at it again in all it's brilliance. I think those who live here can appreciate that statement.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

On my way out of the campus I took this picture of the statue of George Washington that faces west over toward the Olympic Mountain Range. This school was named after him, as well as the state.

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I was about ready to go, but I realized I was near the barber shop that I have been getting my hair cut for the last 15 years. I needed a haircut very bad. Infact I had planned to get my hair cut the next day at a place in Burien. But this place was close, and I had the time. Just my luck The guy cutting my hair is the guy who doesn't know how to taper hair. He asked me how I wanted it, and I told him how I wanted a regular haircut with it tapered along the sides. He said ok and went to work. In the end he did exactly the opposite of what I had asked for. I pretended that I liked it and paid him and left the store.

2ND TIME AROUND

Down the street about 2 doors is 2nd Time Around. It is a famous record store. It seems like they've been around since the end of the hippie era. They started out selling vinyl. I bought a lot of vinyl from that place over the years. Much of it I got rid of when I moved out of the University District.

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PAY STATIONS

The City Of Seattle has a new way of collecting revenue. It's with pay stations rather then meters. I swore I wouldn't like them when they first came out, but after I used them once or twice and got used to it. Before you know it, you don't mind them at all. They take credit cards, or you can use coins. You park your car, then go over to the pay station and start putting coins in. It will take everything except pennies. Then you push the green button and your sticker comes out. On it it has the time you can park there. You separate the ticket part from the sticky part and put it on your window from the inside. If you don't use up all your time, you can drive somewhere else and use up your time without buying another ticket.

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THE PLACE WHERE I WAS BORN

I had to come here one more time and photograph it. It never occurs to me to go to the place where I was born although I live here in the city. I barely ever get out to the northend these days, except when I'm out taking pictures for this blog. But I had this idea of going there and immortalize the place in my blog. The building on the left is where the event took place. Now it's abuzz with all kinds of other activities. This was the place where my father worked as an airplane mechanic. We must have drove from our house on Alton Avenue to this location and back thousands of times in the many years we lived there, and passed this building. It was about a seven mile drive.

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Then I fought my way over to Fremont to photograph the Gnome under the Aurora Bridge. It was after three, and soon it would be rush hour. I got on the street where the gnome is. By God's grace there was a parking place a half a block up. I made my way into the space and then walked over to the gnome, and stood on the roundabout in the middle of the street in front of the gnome and started taking pictures. I took pictures from all sides. Some close up shots. Then I took off toward home, going the backroads to avoid any possible traffic.

I went to the store before reaching home and got all the necessary ingredients, and went home and made that yogart dish again. I thought it was great I'll have that again for sure.

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This is the teapot and cup I use for drinking tea. The teapot is the Vietnamese farm house kind. This kind of teapot can be found in the farm houses of the Vietnamese people who lived in the country side. I bought this cup at a Japanese store. I like the ancient Chinese writing on it. When ever I drink tea from this teapot and cup, it reminds me of the time I spent in Vietnam fighting in a war.

Copyright C 2006 Mike Bailey ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

THE WORSE DAY OF MY LIFE AND THE REDEMPTION: This took place sometime in the summer of 1969. We were at a place called Hill 10. It was somewhere east of Danang near the mountains. It was a lonely outpost, and was home to the 3rd Battalion 7th Marines. When we got to Hill 10 we unloaded our stuff off the trucks and were directed over to some delapidaded tents near the front gate. Our mission would be to run patrols and small operations with the hill being our homebase for while. Hill 10 was out in the middle of no where. There were no villages around, only mountains in the distance where the North Vietnamese Army was said to be amassing troops.

SHERWOOD FOREST

Reconnaissance planes reported enemy movement in the moutains, and late one afternoon we saddled up and moving in a column out the south gate on a path headed westward toward the ominous mountains. Up until this day we only dealt with the Vietcong. Now were going to face the North Vietnamese Army. Earlier in the day we heard a fire fight between the North Vietnamese and an American unit so we knew we were going to engage in some kind of a battle. As we walked along toward the mountains an occasional cloud would drift infront of the sun offering a temporary relief from its penetrating rays. The mountains before us loomed larger and larger as we marched closer and closer toward them until it seemed like they consumed the sky in front of us. The terrain was grassy for the most part. Once in awhile we had to climb an old dyke and walk through a dried out rice paddie. The general attitude of the troops was good that day. There was some complaining about the heat. Fast forward a couple days...

...We reached the jungle and turned right instead of left like we had the previous day. We kept as quiet as possible as we entered the treeline of bamboo and banana trees and slowly moved forward watching everything around us. Fast forward 1 day

After about fifteen minutes of shelling, the lieutenant thought the area was hit well enough, he stopped the shelling and ordered us back into the jungle. We all charged forward. Adrenolin flowing through our veins, giving us almost superhuman strength. There was great exitement, and our feet moved with a lightness that we had not experienced in a long time. We crept back into the jungle going very slowly and stopping often. When we stopped it was our custom to crouch down so we weren't a standing target to some NVA who might be in the area. All noise ceased as we went deeper into the jungle. We advance little by little. Then the column stopped. Smitty was about ten feet to my right and a little behind me. Etscorn entered a little clump of bushes. I knelt down infront of a little clearing. I had no more then set my gun down and look up when I saw about ten feet to my left, walking very slowly, careful and determined; a NorthVietnamese soldier carrying a Chinese made rocket propelled grenade launcer at port arms. He did not see me even though I was in his field of sight. I was trying to get Etscorn's attention when I looked over to my right and saw eight more North Vietnamese soldiers coming out of a treeline about 20 meters away from me. They all had green uniforms on. They were all looking staight at me. This went on for a split second then I heard shots from an M16 coming from behind me.

This experience has been with me for about forty years now. I am completely over it. The interesting thing about this little incident was that nobody got hurt. Nobody died. I can't say that about incidents that took place before and after this little run in.

In the year 2000 when I was in Mongolia, I was standing outside the stadium in UlaanBataar, the capital of Mongolia. I was waiting to get in with hundreds of other people. It was the great Naadaam Festival. Suddenly all was quiet except for the sound of bird's wings flapping just like in the Bonnie & Clyde movie of the sixties. I heard a "thump, thump, thump" like a bunch of boots hitting the pavement in a cadence. I looked up and saw a whole line of Oriental faces coming toward me. I had my camera handy so I snapped this picture. It was the same feeling I had in Sherwood Forest so many years before. I looked up and was surprised to see a column of Mongolian soldiers coming toward me, but I at least was able to get this one on film. That experience helped me to get over the worst day of my life.

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I had to get my mail today so I thought I'd go over to Uwajamia's and have breakfast. I've had this many times before. General Tsai's Chicken and Noodles. The chicken seems complicated, but it's just deep fried chicken and sweet & sour sauce

Uwajimia is a large Japanese Grocery Store in the Japanese section of Chinatown. Seattle, Washington. In the picture below; That is not a flying saucer trying to land on Queen Anne Hill, it's the top of the Space Needle!

This is a picture of my Great Great Grandfather William Bailey and his familey. From left to right there is Great Great Great Grandmother Mila Staats, Great Great Uncle Earl Bailey, Great Great Uncle Charley Bailey, Great Great Grandmother Carrie Bailey and Great Great Grandfather William Bailey. He fought in the Civil War with the 89th Regiment and marched with General Sherman around Atlanta Georgia. He entered the Army from Cook County, Illinois, but after the war he lived in Iowa, then later moved to Minnesota where he and his wife raised 8 children. He owned and ran a hotel for a while and also built houses and was a farmer. He died in 1908, and is buried in Park Rapids, Minnesota.

THE HOUSES I'VE LIVED IN, IN SEATTLE

Recently I thought I'd take a trip down memory lane to Lake City to the houses I lived in. I was born in Seattle and lived here until the age of 11. At that time we moved to the state of New Jersey and lived there for 5 years. The above picture is the house where I lived for 7 years. This is what it looks like today. I go by it once in awhile just to see what it looks like and to remenisce about old times. I see that there are lots of bushes and trees there now. You can hardly see the front of the house. My bedroom was just to the right of that little window by the front door. I shared it with my brother. There used to be a big maple tree in the front yard. My dad cut it down because they were afraid that branches from it might fall on our house during a storm. He left a little stump. Now I see that the stump is gone.

I lived in this house from the time I was born until I was 4 years old. I can hardly believe this is the same house. It is so over grown I can hardly recognize it. I can remember many things while living here. My older sister and I helped a mother snake deliver her babies. We cut her open with a stick. We put the baby snakes in a tin can and went to show our mother who was conducting a tupperware party at the time. I think we got in trouble after that.

There was an old lady, Mrs. Shelton that lived behind us who used to yell at us for climbing on our own fense. Everytime we would go out there and make noise she would come out and yell at us. In those days you were allowed to burn your trash in the back yard, so we regularly had a fire going. Of course my parents would be supervising. I remember one time my mother taught me how to put puzzles together. It was such an amazing mystery to me at the time. The puzzle was of an old time pirate or a three musketeer type character. It took me days to put it together. I was so mesmerized trying to find out what the picture was. Finally the picture was put together. I loved it, but I was never really interested in putting puzzles together ever since. This is what the house looked like when we lived in it so many years ago.

In the last couple of days I have recieved a lot of nice words about this site. I want to take this time to acknowledge those who took the time to write a comment. Thanks! It is greatly appreciated!HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK! This is you when you were about 10 or 11, and Brad was 8 or 9.

Usually on my days off I don't feel like cooking breakfast because the weather is so nice. I want to get out and start taking pictures to put in this blog. I've started a routine. During the week I start making plans of where I would like to go on my days off. Sometimes I will write it down on a piece of paper so I don't forget. If I get more ideas I'll include them to the list. Then when I'm out I may change my plans. I'll just go with the flow of what I feel like doing at the time. I usually get up. I'm hungry, so I'll think about going out and getting some breakfast. I have heard about the Chelan Cafe for many years, but I have only recently gone there. It's a nice place a stones throw from the West Seattle Bridge, near Harbor Island. The address is 3527 SW Chelan St, West Seattle. It has been a mainstay in this town for many, many years. It's known for it's good food, friendly waitresses, good service and nice atmosphere.

I walked in and ordered one of my favorite breakfasts of 2 eggs over medium, hashbrowns, bacon, white toast, and steaming black coffee. Sometimes I like link sausage, but lately I've been on a bacon roll. As the waitrees set the plate down on the counter in front of me I pulled out my camera and told her that I was going to take a picture of it. I told her I would be putting it

on my blog. I felt I had to tell her since it's not everyday that someone comes in and takes pictures of the food they are being served, althought I'm sure it has happened before. Anyway, after an enjoyable breakfast I was all set to go to the next place I had on my agenda. I walked out in the brilliant sunshine and was on my way to Jimi Hendrix's grave site.

Last week I went over to Jimi Hendrix's grave. It is located in a graveyard in Renton, Washington called Greenwood Memorial Park. The address is, 350 Monroe Ave NE. I had gone there about five years before with a couple friends of mine. At that time there was a steady trickle of people coming to the grave. Since then this memorial was built in honor of the great guitar player. There were a couple people there as you can see. It is one of the attraction of this area. When people come to the Northwest from all parts of the world, some make it a point to go to Jimi Hendrix's grave. I think it is worth the offort, especially if you enjoy his music. I was never a huge fan of his, but I do have a VHS tape of one of his concerts which I watch once in a blue moon. I am a big fan of left handed guitar players since I play the guitar left handed. I like Paul McCartney and Kurt Cobain, who also play the guitar left handed. Kurt Cobain's ashes are supposidly in some vault of a bank here in Seattle somewhere. I haven't heard that they have been moved to anyother place. They would also be some kind of a draw if they would bury them in some public place in the city. If you're ever out in this area, and are a fan of Jimi's, come by and see his final resting place.

This statue of Jimi Hendrix is located at the corner of Broadway and Pine in Seattle. It is right

across the street from Seattle Central Community College which was one of my alma moter's. I spent four years going there.

This picture's for you Mom. It's the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum in Seattle. Click to make larger.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM! Hope your'e having a great day. Love ya!

This is a picture of me and my mom in Lake City where we all started out. This was at my parents first house on Bartlett.

I was out driving around today, I was going down East Madison Street and turned on 19th and saw Mt Rainier sitting there in the distance in all it's majestic glory. I was on my where somewhere and didn't have time to stop so I kept on going. I thought to myself that if I saw another view of it, I would stop my car and take a quick picture. The further I went into the jungle of houses the less my chances seemed to get another glimpse of Rainier.

A few hours later it was still light out, I decided to go back to that spot where I saw the mountain. I got back and there she was still sitting in her southern position. I got out of my car and walked to the highest point on the sidewalk on Madison as I could and looked through the viewfinder. I could not see the mountain, but I snapped a picture anyway. I reviewed the picture. I still couldn't see the mountain. I decided to take another picture. This time I zoomed way in. I could faintly see the mountain in the viewfinder, so I knew I had captured the mountain. Satisfied I walked back to my car and drove home. Later when I was editing all the pictures I had taken I saw that the first picture turned out. It was much better in my opinion then the second picture I took, so here it is. I hope you like it too.

Yesterday it was a half an hour before I had to go to work and I realized that I hadn't eaten any dinner. I knew if I didn't get anything to eat I would get starved at work, and the only thing they have there is a candy and chip machine. So I went to the refrigerator and found some rice from a few nights ago. I pulled out a part of a cabbage and other things and started to make...

FRIED RICE

2 T vegatable oil

2 cups of leftover rice

2 cups cabbage chopped

1/4 cup onion chopped

1/4 jalepeno jeullianed

a couple shakes of powdered garlic, fresh is better

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

1 egg

Method: I started frying the chopped cabbage & added the oinions. Let them cook down a bit & then added the rice. Always use leftover rice that has been in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. Freshly cook rice turns to mush when you try to make fried rice with it. Next I added the garlic powder and jalepeno. Then the soy sauce. Sometimes when I've made fried rice I accidentally put in too much soy sauce and the fried rice is a little strong and not too savory. I have learned to add a little brown sugar after the soy sauce, & this makes it just right. When everthing is just about heated through push everything to one side of the frying pan and crack an egg in the pan and scramble it. When it is scrambled combine it with the other ingredients and you have fried rice.

I was able to have a little before going to work, and even had some left over so I put it in a little bowl that had a lit, and put a couple rubber bands around it and took it to work and had it for dinner instead of my usual TV dinner. It was very good microwaved.

THOUGHTS ON TAKING PICTURES, PHOTOGRAPHY, DIGITAL CAMERAS ETC;

I find as I go around taking pictures of things that catch my eye here and there, I've learned to take a note pad with me to jot down information about some of the pictures I take. 99% of the pictures don't need notes, but I may need to get the name of the resturant that I go to if I don't already know it. Also I might want to correctly write down the name of the dish that I'm having and taking a picture of, or some information that I may need later about the place.

Also if you are trying to tell a story, the note pad would come in handy for jotting down thoughts and notes on the subject at the time they come to mind. That way when you sit down to write your little piece you can draw from your notes as well as expand on it with ideas that come to you while you write. Also I've learned to keep an extra pair of batteries in my pocket or in my car because as much as I am turning my camera on and off, and zooming in and out the batteries get used up fast, so if I have some new batteries handy, I'll just pop them in and I'm on my way without the hassel of having to stop what you are doing to go to the nearest store to get more.

I also wear a shirt that has two pockets in front on the days that I am out taking pictures, so I can keep my cell phone, pen and note book in one pocket, and my camera in the other. It's small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. I keep it in there while I'm not taking pictures. And it is very convienant when I see something that I would like to take a picture of. I can whip it out real quick and shoot my picture.

The view finder on the camera is the canvas where the artist creates his art. In the olden days there were no cameras, so artists had to paint or draw what they saw. This took hours and hours, and days and months to do. Today in the digital age, we just go out and find something interesting to take a picture of and then we aim in with the camera and shoot. Maybe in one or two takes or more you will get the picture you desire. Then you take it home and download it on your computer and transfer it to your blog or web site if you have one, and then present it to the world. All this is done in a very short time. Meanwhile you go about your business, and live your life. It's a very small part of your life, but very important. You can either compose your picture out in the field using the zoom feature, or you can wait til you get home and download it and crop it. In other words, find the picture within the picture. I find both ways are benefitual.

I find when I'm out taking pictures on a sunny day. Sometimes I can't see through the view finder too well. The sun is so bright you can't see your subject, so you aim the camera, click, and hope for the best. Many times the pictures come out ok. You just have to make sure you are holding the camera straight. A few times I stepped into the shade of a tree. There I was able to see the image I was shooting. This may not be done with a regular camera, but with a digital camera what you see through the lens is what is going to show up as your picture whether you are standing in the shade or in the sunlight.

Another thing that I like about digital cameras is, you can be driving down the freeway at 60 miles per hour and click a picture, and it will come out good. Whatever image is in the viewfinder will be what your picture will be of. The action will be stopped. I don't recommend that you drive 60 miles down the freeway and snap pictures. You could get into an accident. Maybe it would be better if someone else is driving while you sit on the passenger side and snap pictures.

I went to Wal Mart this morning to pick up my glasses. They turned out fine. I have no complaints about them except that it took three weeks before I got them. Next time I'll go to one of those 'same day service' places.

I was thinking about the other day when I wento to eat at Chinoise on Madison. I think I was potentially scammed there. The place was just about empty when I went there. When I got my check, I looked at it. It said $25. I looked up at the order and it was something I didn't order. I brought this to the attention of the waitress. She giggled and said she pushed the wrong button. Well this leads me to believe she pushed the wrong button on purpose hoping to make a couple more bucks. If it was busy I might believe that she made a mistake, but since it was very slow in there it's hard for me to believe she didn't do that on purpose. I know how things are. Everyone is trying to make as much money at they can. Sometimes if they can't make it honestly they will cheat alittle. I guess I have to keep on my toes and keep watching for things like that. Alot of tourist come through this town, and some with a lot of money, so these people are prime targets to getting scammed or ripped off.

Today is Cinco Di Mayo so I thought I would make some burritos because I respect the Mexican people and their culture. I think they are great people. I hope many of them can become legal citizens here and start paying taxes like the rest of the Americans do here. That means; money coming out of their pay check. God knows we need the tax payers now that the baby boomers are going to start retiring soon. If they don't want to pay taxes they should go back to Mexico.

Well any way. Here are the ingredients for...

BURITTOS

1 can of your favorite refried beans. Or make them your self if you are so inclined

1 small handful of chopped onions

1 1/2 cup of shredded cheese of your choice

1/2 jalapeno pepper chopped, more if desired

some tortillas, or make your own. Knock yourself out.

1-2 T bacon grease

Here is how you do it.


First put the refried beans in the hot bacon grease.

Add the cheese and jalapeno pepper. Stir in.
Add onions and stir in while heating up a tortilla
Place some of the refried beans on a torilla and fold the top side down
Fold up the other side
This is what it will look like when it is all folded.
Put your favorite vegetable oil in a frying pan and place a burrito in seam side down and fry til golden brown then flip over.
Fry on the other side til golden brown
There you have it. Burritos for Cinco Di Maya. I'll wait for them to cool before I dig into them.

These ships look pretty good with the Olympic Mountains as a back drop.
Later in the afternoon I went out near Pier 91 and marveled at how everything has changed over the years. Mt Rainier was out in full glory. This camera that I have is not the top of the line, but I am glad to see that it was able to pick up Mt Rainier. That is one of beautiful aspects of this town on a clear, sunny day.
One of my fellow employees told me about a park on 24th & East Howell Street that just came into being. It has various statues of these heads. It looks like a kind of South American theme. There are heads like this and some monkey-like heads. I went out on the grass and knelt down on one knee before I realized the whole lawn was covered with geese droppings. I wiped my hand off on some clean grass nearby and I used sawdust that filled one area of the park to wipe off my pants.

At the Japanese Garden I got a years pass for $15. It usually costs $5 to get in, and $3 for seniors. I figure I'm going to go there more then three times this year so I got the yearly pass. I hadn't been in the garden in awhile and I was looking at it with different eyes. It's easy to slip into taking the same old pictures everytime you go in there. One of the first things I nocticed was that the colors are a little different then a few years ago. I like those bright reds and purples. Youv'e got to click this picture to make it larger to fully appreciate this scene.

I ended up at Chinoise on Madison. It's a Japanese Resturant. It has a sushi bar and a grill for teriyaki. I went in and immediately saw the sign that said, "wait to be seated" One of the men behind the sushi counter said Hi. Then a young American girl appeared. She asked me if I'd like to sit inside, or out. I said outside, so we walked to the back of the building into a small terrace. I sat at a small table in the shade. I ordered this beef, vegatable, noodle dish. It was quite good. I finished this off and then proceeded to the Japanese Garden.
This is the view of the mountains from the side door of where I live. The alarm went off just after nine this morning so I got up and started watching my usual morning shows. I watched a little TV, and then I got my camera and took off down the street. I took a few pictures and came back. I watched some more TV, but then I said forget about it. I'd rather be outside taking pictures, so I went out and checked the oil in my car. It was a little low so I put about a half a pint in it and took off in the direction of town. I took the freeway to Capitol Hill then went down Cherry to about 25th. The first place I wanted to eat at was closed. An Ethiopian place was across the street. I wasn't in the mood for Ethiopian food althought I do like it. I've had it before.

Here is Samantha, and my older son Mark. I think they make a good couple. I wish them well.

I used to live in Everett many years ago. It's a provincial type little town. It's very conservative, and there are many republicans who live there. Everyone thought when the Navy came to Everett that it would grow a little. To me it's just the same as it was when I lived there. It's very peaceful there compared to Seattle & I don't mind going up there once in a while for a little tranquility. I joined the Marine Corps in this town. I see now the old Federal Building where I joined is now some kind of a college. How things change.

This is my city. Seattle. I was born and raised here. I feel comfortable here. I love it here, but it is a rat race. Click the picture to make it larger. Today I went up to Everett to visit my son Mark and his girl friend Samantha. Samantha was so nice to invite me for dinner. She is a good cook. She made BBQ chicken on the grill out on the deck, and potatoes with horseradish which was very good, I'll have to remember that. Then there was corn and she made spiral pasta with Italian dressing. It was very nice.