Why I Am So Great, or, My Travels Up the Pacific Coast

If I haven't talked to some of you in a while, it's because I've suddenly become very important and much cooler than I was before. And I've had to make hard decisions about relationships that are life-giving for me, and, sadly, some of you didn't make the cut. Also, I've been very busy wearing these cool new sunglasses (which the girl in the sunglass shop said "definitely take eighteen years off," effectively returning me to the mentality of a nineteen-year-old).

Okay, okay. None of that's really true (except those sunglasses do make me look much younger and cooler). I flew out to Laguna Beach, where my friend Loren lives, for the 4th of July, and then I spent the past week driving up the West Coast to Seattle. He needed his car in Seattle, and I was looking for an opportunity to get out of Minneapolis for a little while. Fortunately those two things coincided nicely.

I decided to take my time and drive the slow route up Hwys 1 and 101, which are old two-lane highways that hug much of the coast. I camped along the way, ate lots of good food, listened to a couple books on tape, and took way more photos than I should have. In a perfect world I'd gather us all together, pop some popcorn, and then slowly narrate through my 609 photos from the last couple days. Sadly (for you), you'll have to settle for a handful of representative photographs. Please provide your own popcorn.

 The view from Loren's window, overlooking Laguna Beach (and the lesser people who live below him).

My automobile companion for the drive, an Audi Q5.

A beach outside of Malibu

Pismo Beach, near Big Sur.

A rocky stretch of coast near Carmel.

The Mission at Carmel-by-the-Sea. It was founded in 1770, though this chapel was built in the 1920s.

There's a lot of farming country north of San Francisco, which surprised me. Lots of fields and grazing pastures that run right up to the edge of the ocean. This scenic farm sits outside Pt. Reyes Station.

Some scenic highway north of San Francisco.

A dilapidated dockhouse in Bodega Bay, where Hitchcock filmed The Birds.

A nice beach in Trinidad.

The fog rolling through the redwood forests of Northern California.

This, finally, is in Oregon, near Gold City.

Also Oregon, near Coos Bay.

The beautiful sand beaches of Newport. It was amazingly windy out here, and reminded me a lot of Lake Michigan.

The fishing fleet in Newport. Behind me is the seafood restaurant where I ate dinner (presumably fresh off one of these boats) that night.

I found this sign in Forks, Washington, which is where they filmed the Twilight series. They weren't fooling me with their "Puget Sound Blood Center" name. I know they're really vampires.

This little weather-beaten tree is at the tip of Cape Flattery, the most northwest point in the contiguous US.

 

The sea caves along Cape Flattery.

And photographic proof that I was there (or am very good at Photoshopping myself into landscape shots).

Along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Those mountains on the other side are in Canada.

The snow-capped peaks of the Olympic Mountains. This photo is taken from Hurricane Ridge, which is a really pretty highway that overlooks the mountains.

And Seattle! After five days on the road, I boarded the ferry from Bainbridge Island for a quick trip across Puget Sound to my destination.

King of the school returns to rule!

Let it be known that on this day, July 1st 2014, Reeths-Puffer High School gained a new chemistry teacher. Karl has officially been offered the position to teach honors chemistry and AP chemistry, and we couldn't be more excited! I've been grinning from ear to ear since I heard the news. We'll probably start to transition back to Muskegon in August. I'm hoping to keep working at my various jobs through the end of August, but then we'll be living the easy life with Dad (Dad, you still cook breakfast every morning, right?) We're hoping that by living at home for a few months, we'll be able to save money quickly for a house.

When I thought about creating this post, I envisioned posting a picture of Karl with the high school in the background. In lieu of an actual photograph, the very talented Catherine Wilkinson has rendered a comic depicting the interview. Karl can vouch for the accuracy.

This.

Niagara Falls (or, our journey into the great unknown of Canada)

Karl and I went to Niagara Falls this past weekend. I had never been there and it had been years since Karl had seen them, so we decided it was worth a weekend trip.

We had a conversation before we left about how much easier it is to travel now with GPS systems and smart phones.  It was at this point in the trip that we realized neither of us had loaded the Canadian map onto the GPS and it would cost an astronomical price to continue using data on our phones. Conditions deteriorated rapidly and we were forced to stop at a travel center and *GASP* look at a map.

On the Hornblower boat, heading toward the Horseshoe Falls.

We were surrounded by the Horseshoe Falls in this video. This is the most expensive shower I've ever taken. 

The day we spent doing most of our sightseeing was nice and sunny, so we were constantly seeing rainbows in the mist. 

This is an outlook from the tunnels that are underneath the falls. 

Bad to the bone.

The American Falls are on the left side and the Horseshoe Falls are on the right. 

We had dinner in the rotating dining room located at the top of the Skylon Tower.  If you look closely, you can see us waving at the top of the shadow.

All in all, it was a great trip! 

Happy 21st Birthday, Cupid!

Diapered Man Risks All for Birthday Felicitations

 

On my birthday post I stand,

And aim this arrow with my hand.

If it should strike some lucky soul,

He'll owe me Happy Birthday, O!

With festive arrows buried deep,

They'll wish me Happy Birthday's keep,

And beg me with their pleading tones,

To go and, please, put on some clothes!

Happy birthday, Daniel! Looks like the Arrow of Poetry struck another victim!

Happy birthday, David!

David: "A hearty congratulations, Sir Farts-a-Lot, on reaching this auspicious day. Now, shake my hand."

Daniel: "Is that a joy-buzzer? Ahhhh-hah-haha-hahha-hahaa!!!!"

Happy birthday, David. Here's hoping you get a lot of gifts (including a few practical jokes) today.

Ben's gift wish-list

Dear Family,

Over the years I've struggled with gift ideas. As I get older, it seems harder to think of things that I want (that are also in the gift-giving price range, aka, under $1,000).

This afternoon, though, I've stumbled upon a wonderful website that is a veritable wish-list for me. So, in the future, if you're looking for a gift for good ol' Ben, might I recommend anything on this webpage.

Sincerely,
Ben

Gotta Call Cupid: Wheaton College 2014 Class Films

Some of you may recall some time back that I played a minor role as a policeman in the Sophomore Class film at Wheaton last year. Well this year, they liked my acting so much that they wanted me to star in their next film. So here it is: the Junior Class Film, called "Gotta Call Cupid". The films from each class premiered last night, and ours won sweeping the categories for best Screenplay, Music, Editing, Actress, and Actor (yours truly won that!) Enjoy!

Gotta Call Cupid

Took three of these loads out today

They hauled three of these loads out today and it looks like there is enough for another load stacked out back yet.  Getting kind of thin out back.  Oh well, lots of sun!  I just keep telling myself that.

The trees are coming down

As you can see, the trees are coming down.  Looking at the woods I feel like a small child who thought it would be a great idea to cut my own hair, only to be shocked to reality by a parent screaming "what have you done?" as I try to hide the scissors behind my back.

So to thwart that thought I have posed proudly with my tree trunks and axe.  A modern age Paul Bunyan.

What's in a name?

Time for some inward reflection, Barnhart Central readers and contributors -

When you think of the name 'Barnhart', what comes to mind?

Do you see a picture of yourself, or one of your fine relatives?  Or do you think of a barn with a heart on it, imagining that the 'e' was somehow lost in translation?  Maybe the photo below suggested the idea before you knew what to think...

Thoughts of the Barnhart name get you thinking about your heritage and your ancestry, and you wonder how they spelled it back then.  Is Barnhardt the real spelling, while its slightly diminished variant is walking around without a 'd' like it lost a strand of DNA?  Or is Barnhart the pure and undefiled truth?  And what did the name mean back then?

I hope anyone that actually knows an answer to these questions will chime in, for what follows is purely speculation and a few internet searches (which necessarily lead to true knowledge, of course).  I used no actual genealogical records in my research.

To satisfy my curiosity, I performed a quick search on the etymology of the name Barnhart.  I was quickly directed to the Oxford Dictionary of American Family Names, where we find this entry for Barnhart:

Barnhart⁽⁷⁴³²⁾

Dutch: from the personal name Barnhart, Dutch form of Bernhard.

So - interesting.  Maybe it wasn't Barnhart, or Barnhardt, but Bernhard.  Dutch, huh?  Now looking up Bernhard produces:

Bernhard⁽¹⁶⁷⁵⁾

Dutch, German, and Scandinavian: from the Germanic personal name Bernhard, composed of the elements ber(n) ‘bear’ + hard ‘brave’, ...

Now we're getting to some meaning.  And we've added German and Scandinavian.  Bear from ber(n) and brave from hard is certainly a different picture than a barn and heart.


Pretty much every Google image search result for "bear brave" brings up the Disney/Pixar movie "Brave" which has a bear in it, so I'll just put a picture of a bear here and give you a few suggestions for your own search:

• You could try searching for the phrase "bear brave"
• Another (possibly fitting) option would be "barely brave"
• Do not attempt to search for "bare brave" or "bare braves fans" (I shudder to think) 

Of course, this raises some questions.  What does brave describe - the bear, or someone who's brave like a bear?  Maybe our ancestors were bear hunters.  They were more likely brown and furry like a bear.  What do you think?

I doubt whether this is relevant, but to round out this post I'll give you a link to the Barnhart Surname History.  And a family crest:

Pictures that time forgot, but luckily I didn't

All these pictures were originally part of the "Super-Secret-Super-Fast-Get-It-Done-Blog", and I decided that although none of them were used, they were simply too good to pass up. So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and enjoy these timeless photos of the people that allowed us to be here today. 

I promise, it's only sparkling juice. This is how I spent Christmas, however. 

This is from that one time a bird landed in Mom's hair. Not much more to it than that, actually. 

For all the photos that follow, nobody really knows what was going on here. Not even Dad himself. 

Fletcher! How'd you get in here??!

Who is this man?!

For at least a day, Mom was thinking about auditioning for the next Star Wars movie. 

Goodbye Christmas tree and living room table

Who knows what the fire will want next?  Do not allow young children to view this post.

Birthday Surprise!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

"Hey guys, look what was in this funny shaped present!"

Thanks to Mom for passing along these great photos of Ben and his innocent brother.

Big Bro'

Game Time (Maybe a fit of FTS)

Ben and Steve with Grandpa LeRoy Barnhart.  I guess Ben's always liked books.

Merry Christmas

Hoping you all have a merry Christmas, from the Hancock Barnharts!

The kids would like to share a krumkake with you.  And here are some winter photos for those who find themselves snow-challenged today.

I knew this instinctively!!

Warning: the universe could be about ready to collapse on us

At some point, a radical shift in the forces of the universe will cause every tiny particle in it to become very heavy.

The above headline just confirmed my suspicions that I had earlier this week.  I was contemplating weight gain in mature adults and mine in particular.  I came to me like a page out of a science text book.  I have not really gained weight, but my cells are becoming denser with age due to gravity.  I was theorizing that when a person is new and still in young adulthood, their bodies cells are new and less dense causing them to weigh less.  But as gravity works it's pull on cells they compress over time and become denser causing older people to be heavier.  The denser cells are slightly smaller and so a person's body grows more cells to fill up the extra space caused by the compressed cells.  So denser cells and more cells equals more weight.

The take away from this new information is that weighing more is not my fault.  I am just a product of my environment and cookies and cheeseburgers are irrelevant when it comes to my weight.

It is somewhat disheartening to resign myself to this condition, but who can fight science?

-by the way, I didn't read the article that followed the above copied headline, but I am sure it supports my findings.

Ode to Dogs

Nikki and Twilah's Relatives

Pumpkin contest

I was going to enter my pumpkin but then he got sick and had to stay in the house.