Thursday, April 19, 2018

A Return to a Tragic Day

So I usually visit my hometown of Oklahoma City, where I grew up, at least once a year since I moved out here to California.  And every few years, I find myself drawn to visit the OKC National Memorial in downtown, which honors the victims, survivors & rescuers of a tragic day for all of Oklahoma.  I will never forget the exact minute when a bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995, twenty-three years ago, at this very moment.  I was 12, and home sick (alone), suffering from a blister on my eardrum, and I can still feel that slight shake of my house, and hear the frantic barking of my pup outside, immediately afterwards.

Anyway, the day before Christmas in 2016, we visited the memorial again, and the experience was just as poignant and brutally heartbreaking as it always is.  Here are my photos from that day.

Supplemental information, via Wikipedia, on the specific features of the Memorial: found here.  This will help to enlighten you on the symbolism of some of the pictures I took.

The "entrance" to the memorial, as well as the museum, housed in the former Journal Record Building.

A collage of hand-painted tiles from kids that sent them in from all over the United States & Canada, showing their support, shortly after the bombing.  These kids are all grown up nowadays.

More of the tiled collage, on the other side.

View of the former Journal Record building, looking back from the Reflecting Pool.
This is known as one of the "Gates of Time" along with its twin on the other side of the memorial, representing the first moments of recovery, while the other says "9:01," representing the last moment of peace before the bomb hit at 9:02am.  The Gates frame the moment of destruction.

Since it was Christmastime when we visited, family members had come to decorate the empty chairs of their loved ones who had perished on that day.

Overlooking the "Survivor Tree" from the field of empty chairs.

Macro view of the small wall that surrounds the Survivor Tree.  The full inscriptions says: "The spirit of this city and this nation will not be defeated; our deeply rooted faith sustains us."

Overlooking the field of empty chairs, from the original plaza area, which is part of the only remaining remnants from the building.

Found among the Plaza, the motto for the United States, Latin for "Out of many, one."

There wasn't anything specifically important about this, other than I liked how they implemented the Survivor Tree into the design of the bench.  (This is actually a bus stop.) 

Part of the Memorial Fence, originally used to protect the site from damage, before the memorial was built.  I liked this view of someone's Run to Remember medal left on the fence.

Apparently people from all over the world still leave small items on the Fence, as seen by this keychain of Australia!

"And Jesus Wept" memorial sculpture, erected by St. Joseph's Catholic Church, located across from the OKC Memorial.  Jesus faces away from the devastation, and the wall in front of him has 168 gaps in it, representing the voids left by each life lost.

There is always an incredibly somber and quiet atmosphere to the Memorial, every time that I've visited.  It reminds me that life is short and nobody is promised tomorrow, so you have to make sure to make today count.

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Visions from the Highway

Moving on to the beginning of 2017, to when we drove halfway across the country to Oklahoma City to be with my family for Christmas, which was the first time I'd actually been with them on Christmas Day in several years.  Previously, I had flown out there sometime in January or February to have a late Christmas.  But  for 2016's Christmas, my dad stated that it was mandatory for me to actually be there on the day.

So anyway... these are actually from the drive back home after our visit in OKC, but I'm sharing them first, because I can. 😊  It's a very long and tiresome drive, but the views are spectacular!  Here are a few of the best that I captured:

[ Keep in mind that these are not in the correct order from when I took the photos, on purpose. ]

A train moving alongside the highway, I believe this was near Bakersfield, California.

The same train, closer and more head-on view.

This was taken in Groom, Texas; I liked the way the tower was leaning.
Apparently, this was built like this intentionally, after some quick research into what has come to be called "The Leaning Tower of Texas."  I had no idea!

A pretty sunset in Barstow, California!

Our view after just leaving Flagstaff, Arizona; around the Coconino National Forest.

This beautiful view (and the rest following it), from a scenic vista point somewhere in Arizona, I believe just after coming out of Sedona. 

Thursday, January 04, 2018

Scoping Out Napa

Starting in September of 2016, we began making regular trips up to Napa, California.  The reason for this was because we had decided to have our wedding at a beautiful bed & breakfast there, planning on taking everyone out for a late lunch/early dinner afterwards.  Well, we didn't know the area well enough to choose a restaurant without having already eaten there.  Hence, the trips to Napa to scope out what they had to offer.  Of course, we also walked around the area and got a feel for what it's like up there, so here are the photos that I took on our various visits!

Cute little pathway hidden in the outskirts of the downtown area.

Love the adorable bulldog I caught in this shot, looking up intently at its owner! 😝

Of course, I could not ignore the flora...

Back view of the Napa River Inn, an elegant hotel within the 19th-century Historic Napa Mill. 

The view from the other side, clear shot of the fish sculpture.

This piece of artwork was absolutely STUNNING!  I wanted to just sit & stare at it all day.

Closeup of that beauty!  Did you know it was made from tons of tiny tiles?!  Be sure to look at the full-view photo on this one.

Another closeup because I couldn't resist!

View from walking along the Napa River.

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