weekly photo challenge #13: water

I have so many memories of summer vacations while growing up in Northern California. Whether they were at Santa Cruz, Lake Tahoe, or Guerneville – they were all spent outdoors along the “water”. When I saw this photo opportunity on Sunday while lounging around at the concert in the park along Portland’s Willamette River, it immediately hit me that this would be the perfect photo for “water”. And, I was overwhelmed with memories of summer vacations along the waterfronts as a kid. I remember all the days we’d spend basking in the sun at the beach in frotn of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Of course, after laying out on my beach towel for hours at a time I’d feel the sun penetrating my back (The thought of this now – YIKES!) and quickly jump up to run into the pacific ocean to cool off. Ahhhhhhhh… Or, I remember the summer days of staying in South Lake Tahoe. The best part was lounging along the shore or going to for boat ride on the lake. Oh how I can feel the mist and wind in my face right now. Ahhhhhhhh…. And, how could I ever forget the summer days of vacationing in Guerneville along the Russian River. We’d either sit out by the hotel pool all day or down at the river. one of my favorite memories on the Russian River is renting canoes and paddling up the river. Ahhhhhhhh….

So, my friends… I’m happy to share with you my pick for this week’s photo challenge – water as well as the flood of memories from my childhood summer vacations.What vacations did you take when you were a child?