Not only are Brent and Amy kiteboarders, but Brent is also one of the owners of Elliot Bay Brewing, which is one of Becky and my favorite spots in West Seattle. They also have taken their kids out of school in order to home school them while traveling and experiencing the world. How awesome and inspiring! What an experience for the kids!!!
To know couples like this really makes Becky and I think that we can make our dreams come true if we believe and work hard towards our goals.
When we arrived at Casa Verde, they were in the room next door to ours. Out in front of our place on the deck was this shell collection that the kids had been gathering on the beach.
This really reminded me of the things I did as a child.
A few days later during the sunset, Kynan, Becky and I are sitting on the yoga deck chatting. I was taking video of Casa Verde and its surroundings.
Gus, Olivia, and another boy staying at Casa Verde from Hood River named Cole, called to us from the roof top of our building..."Come up here guys!" they yelled while waiving at us to climb up.
We try to ignore them and holler a few things back trying to humor them...all to no avail, they are persistant and really really want us to come up to the deck. We eventually give in and decide to make the climb up the ladder to the roof top.
The children meet and greet us at the top of the ladder, letting us know we are about to enter the "shell museum". "That will be 50 pesos per person for the tour" they let us know once our feet have touched the roof... "WHAT? That is highway robbery kids." I exclaim. "Okay, how about 5 pesos" they reply quickly, dropping their extortion plan to a reasonable amount. We give in. Kids now days really know how to work us adults. I think they planned to start high, drop low quickly, and play us all like a fiddle. It worked.
Olivia and Gus and the shell museum
Cole and Olivia explain the different varieties of shells
Don't get me wrong though, the kids had quite a collection and I actually learned some things. But the best thing was the view of the sunset! Seeing this sunset was well worth the 5 pesos per person!!!
The next few days Gus and I really hit it off. He is an exceptionally smart and creative kid. I saw him plucking away at a guitar that was missing a few strings, as well as heard him singing (quietly and to himself) a few rock songs, word for word, while cruising around the resort.
One day I gave him my TnM albums and my business card. He was excited to have them and especially interested in the cover art and business card design. When he found out that I had done much of the art with a program called Adobe Photoshop
he then asked many questions about it and about all the graphic design effects it is capable of. He wants it.... (there is a less expensive verion of Adope Photoshop that would be good for a child or someone interested in getting into graphic design called Adobe Photoshop Elements
).
he then asked many questions about it and about all the graphic design effects it is capable of. He wants it.... (there is a less expensive verion of Adope Photoshop that would be good for a child or someone interested in getting into graphic design called Adobe Photoshop Elements). He then asks me all about it and then starts asking me, "Ryan, is there a Photoshop for video?" "In fact there is", I tell him, "it's called Adobe Premiere
and Final Cut Pro
. (There is a less expensive verion for children, students, and for those interested in both graphic design
and video editing
with special fx called Adobe Photoshop & Premiere Elements 8
).
and Final Cut Pro. (There is a less expensive verion for children, students, and for those interested in both graphic design and video editing with special fx called Adobe Photoshop & Premiere Elements 8).We even talk about how similar those programs are to musical programs called DAWs or Digital Audio Work Stations. I told him that I use a progam called Steinberg Cubase 5 DAW Software
but the best thing for him to use and learn on, just like I did, would be Propellerhead Reason 4.0 Recording Software
.
but the best thing for him to use and learn on, just like I did, would be Propellerhead Reason 4.0 Recording Software.I also told him that I could give him both graphic design and audio production lessons when he got back from traveling in the spring. He thought that sounded cool and so did Amy, his mom.
Later Amy apologizes to me because Gus kept coming up to me and asking me more and more questions. "You created a monster by telling him about all those things." she said. Of course I don't mind. I find his excitement to learn new things cool, as well as getting the chance to encourage a child's creative side.
Anyways, longer story short...I promise him a Photoshop lesson (since I have it on my PC) before they leave. Finally on the morning before they leave, Gus and I get a few moments to sit down and create a picture together.
click for a larger view
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