TravelswithCharie

Pick your flowers for 25 cents per stem except for sunflowers which are a dollar each at Topaz Farms. Oversized zucchini. Great for stir fry. How many different types of butter have you tried?  Halloween so soon? Pick your own pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch Farm which will  open its patch in October. A few handpicked veggies, lots of nuts and chocolates, a blueberry preserve and bacon ketchup. Winner! How to get there:   From Portland, Take Highway 30 to Sauvie Island. About 30 minutes from Portland city center. There are many farms in the area with a variety of offerings. Pick your own berries or veggies. Check to see what each season is offering. ***** Images by TravelswithCharie 

Jessica Veronique Ortiz Yu Jessica Veronique Ortiz Yu graduated from the College of the Holy Spirit with a dual degree in Psychology and Marketing. She is the Gawad Kalinga Head for the Province of Capiz, Managing Director of ABOCGO Land, Inc., Board Member of AnCor Corporation and Member of the Board of Trustees of the College of St. John in Roxas City. Mrs. Yu and her husband, Anthony Dexter, are National Chair Couple for Family and Life Apostolate of the Christian Family Movement (CFM). What led you to work for Gawad Kalinga (GK) I started volunteering for Gawad Kalinga after a Bayani Challenge in Marinduque in 2007. That experience opened my eyes to the realities our poor experience every day - they are the most deprived of even the basic necessities and they don’t have access to livable land. With any calamity or typhoon, they are the first victims and the last to be served.  After I shared my volunteer experience with my husband and children, we all started to volunteer for GK. I

Christian George Francisco Acevedo Christian George Francisco Acevedo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education from Capiz State University. He holds a master’s degree in Library Science from Central Philippine University and a second master's degree in Teaching from Filamer University. He is a librarian at Capiz State University where he also teaches professional education courses at the College of Education. He was president of the Philippine Library Association Inc. (PLAI) Western Visayas Region from 2017-2018. He has most recently coauthored the book, Panaysayon: Tales from Panay Island.  A cultural and literacy advocate, Mr. Acevedo is a volunteer at Ang Panublion Museum and at the soon-to-open Capiz Provincial Library, both in Roxas City. He founded Project Learn, an outreach program that helps schools in far flung communities build their reading resources.  As an educator, you not only teach your students in the classroom, you also like teaching others throug

Sundial Bridge The bridges of Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, evoke musicality and flight. He likens the Sundial Bridge he designed in Redding, California to a goose in flight. Concrete, pylon, steel and glass panels span the Sacramento River. This is a working sundial. Sacramento River Sundial Bridge is 720 feet long and 23 feet wide pedestrian bridge. The deck is laid with 2,245 glass panels which are lit with 219 lights. It took eleven years to complete and cost $24 million.  Across the Sacramento River into the trees, the Sacramento River Rail Trail is a scenic 17.4 mile trail from Sundial Bridge to Shasta Dam. How to get there: Turtle Bay Exploration Park 844 Sundial Drive Redding, California Take Interstate 5 from California or Oregon, exit Highway 44 to Sundial Drive. Parking available. No entrance fee.  ***** Images by TravelswithCharie

Lino F. Villarruz Lino F. Villarruz graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of Santo Tomas. He is a founding member of the Arts Association of Capiz (formerly Capiz Arts Council) which he served as its Visual Arts Director in 1995. Mr. Villarruz  has received numerous art awards throughout his career including the Capiznon Artist Award. He comes from a musical family and was a guitarist for the band he formed with his brothers when he was in his teens. He lives in Roxas City with his wife and children. How did you come to realize you wanted to be a painter? Lino: I liked drawing and found I was good at it during high school so it was easy for me to decide to study Fine Arts in college. Who were the artists who influenced you the most? Lino: The artists I admired most and who influenced my work were Vicente Manansala, Carlos "Botong" Francisco, Mauro "Malang" Santos and Pablo Picasso. How would you describe your artistic style? Lino: My style of pain

Ah Sunflower! weary of time, Who contests the steps of the Sun: Seeking after that sweet golden clime Where the travelers journey is done. Where the Youth pined away with desire, And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow: Arise from their graves and aspire Where my sunflower wishes to go. William Blake Notice the sky in the background, heavy with smoke from the California wildfires. Over 12,000 lightning strikes caused hundreds of fires, scorching millions of acres in the last week. As dry and hot conditions continue, thousands of firefighters are struggling to contain the fires that are threatening to raze more homes. We need blessed rain. And more people who care about our planet to stem the tide of climate change. Have you heard the story of Apollo and Clytie? According to Greek mythology, Clytie, a nymph, adored Apollo but he fell out of love with her when he met Leucothoe. Overwhelmed by jealousy, Clytie told Leucothoe’s father about her relationship with Apollo and he punished his dau

Raymund (Munich) Augustus Ortiz Conlu, M.D. is the Medical Director of PET-CT Center at Centuria Medical Center in Makati, Chairman of Nuclear Medicine at both The Health Centrum in Roxas City and St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo. He is also a Nuclear Medicine Consultant at Lung Center of the Philippines, Chairman of Radiology at Clinica Caritas in Makati and Consultant of Nuclear Medicine and Radiology at Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City. Dr. Conlu continues to be affiliated with St. Luke’s Medical Center at both the Global City and Quezon City locations as Consultant for the Nuclear Medicine and PET Department and PET-CT Center, respectively. He was Chairman of the Board of Examiners for the Philippine Specialty Board of Nuclear Medicine in 2016. Dr. Conlu is widely respected in his profession and is considered one of the top nuclear medicine specialists in the country. Why did you choose to become a doctor? Munich: I was inspired by my lolo (Jesus Ortiz) and uncle (Rustic o B.