"This is me!"

Little balls of doughnut goodness!

2012-01-16T11:53:00.001-06:00

I made these doughnut holes this morning from a recipe I got at King Arthur Flour. They are called Vermont Doughnut Holes. I know I'm becoming a tool for this company but I've yet to make a recipe of theirs that didn't turn out great. Here is the recipe link!

Sourdough English Muffins

2012-01-16T11:35:00.000-06:00

These are the English muffins I made last week. They were great and they really freeze well. To find the recipe click here!

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-12-31T13:45:00.000-06:00

This year a resolve to take more pictures and post them...but it may be on Google+!

I made these today because I've been telling Diane for weeks that I was going to. I finally got up and just started cooking. They were/are yummy!

Crystal

2011-07-15T08:27:00.002-05:00

Crystal was the youngest of the group. She had a cute demeanor and is very photogenic.

Zsophia

2011-07-15T08:25:00.002-05:00

Zsophia was very gregarious, patient and helpful. She also seemed the best at adjusting her poses and facial expressions.

Larissa

2011-07-15T08:23:00.000-05:00

Larissa had a gorgeous and natural smile.

Karen

2011-07-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

This could have been the most photogenic of the models last Sunday. I ended up with tons of shots of her and many of them were pretty good!

Svetlana

2011-07-13T08:14:00.002-05:00

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to photograph 5 models around a pool. All were wonderful and I learned a lot about taking portraits. This is Svetlana.

Flower

2011-05-01T20:11:00.000-05:00

I wish I knew what kind of flower this is. In any case, I like the shot. Again, this was taken at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio.

Hostas

2011-05-01T20:06:00.000-05:00

One of my favorites from the Japanese Tea Garden.

Fern

2011-05-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

This last Saturday I went to the Japanese Tea Garden in San Antonio with several photo friends. I didn't get many pictures but the few I got were definitely keepers.

Sunset at Inks Lake

2011-05-01T19:53:00.001-05:00

I had a great time at Inks Lake with the Squires and Dads. It was a bit breezy the first afternoon but once that died down the weather was wonderful. Saturday I caught some wonderful photographs of which this is one. Texas Parks and Wildlike has a wonderful park there and I suggest anyone go who wants a nice drive and beautiful location.

Relaxing

2011-04-30T14:37:00.000-05:00

I went camping at Inks Lake with Squires from our church. The TPWD campground there was wonderful and only takes 1.5 hours to get to from my house. We had a great time. I'm not sure what the boys did. I just relaxed.

Plant

2011-04-23T21:52:00.000-05:00

This was taken at the Japanese Tea Garden a.k.a. Sunken Garden last summer. Many pictures weren't all that great but this one seemed nice.

Cave without a Name

2011-04-23T10:44:00.000-05:00

More from the cave series. I really enjoyed this outing.

Stalactite

2011-04-23T08:54:00.000-05:00

Last spring several photographers got the opportunity to explore "Cave without a Name" in central Texas. While it is publicly owned and tours go through every day, we were allowed access for two hours before the tourists. It was very fun and is a beautiful cave. If you get a chance I suggest you go out there.

Gerbera Daisy - red, reflected

2011-04-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how much more I like my pictures when looking at them one year later! :)

Bluebonnets and farm house

2011-04-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

From 2010. This year I went by this place and there wasn't a flower to be seen. Pity.

Playing Alone

2011-04-22T21:13:00.001-05:00

Yes, it's been forever since I last posted. Life has been keeping me away from my picture computer. But never fear. I have lots of shots to post dating back to Easter of last year. I hope to get several of them up this weekend!

Kerbey Lane Pancakes

2011-01-16T13:32:00.000-06:00

Ryan turned us on to Kerbey Lane in Austin back when he was at school there. Recently Diane and I found this mix at the store and picked it up. This morning I decided it was time to fix it. NOM, NOM, NOM!

River and flour mill

2011-01-09T16:57:00.000-06:00

Yes I DID get a new camera for Christmas and YES I do love it. Spending a little time with it right now getting to know all it's little differences so I've not got much to post from it. However, I'm also spending some time going through all my pictures from 2010. As I find good ones I'm posting them to my flickr account. Since these are "older" pictures I may not post many here but if I run across particularly good ones I'll send them up. The picture above was taken in January of 2010 at the lower section of the San Antonio River. They are really making it pretty down there and I liked looking back upstream and seeing the Pioneer Flour mill tower.

I'm also joining a couple of "photo projects" for this year. One is a shot a day (I don't plan on getting one every day but the ideas are perfect). The second one is a concept a week. I think I'll do much better with keeping up with this group because I have an entire week to plan and shoot. We'll see how it works out.

Hydrangea and Pears

2010-12-26T12:07:00.001-06:00

I was especially pleased with how this came out. I might print it and put it on my wall.

Bee and Rosemary

2010-12-26T11:24:00.000-06:00

Best shot I got of this. I'm going to have to start working on the stop-action stuff. Maybe with my new camera...

Love my macro lens!

2010-12-26T10:46:00.001-06:00

A bug I found while on the camping trip in October. I just love my macro lens! Isn't this cool?

Cut Roses

2010-12-26T10:22:00.000-06:00

Can you tell that my cats nibbled on these? Grrrrr

Still Life with Pears, Grapes and Flowers

2010-12-25T09:34:00.000-06:00

I've got several more I'd like to post this week. Maybe I'll get to them! Christmas was good and I'm well on the way to getting a new camera. Hopefully the spring will be quiet enough to do a bit more picture taking/posting than I have in the past several months.

Nosey

2010-12-24T12:19:00.002-06:00

Colin's cat just had to find out what I was doing!

Cribbage Game

2010-12-24T12:12:00.000-06:00

A still life I toyed with recently. I love this beautiful, hand-made cribbage board I bought in Seattle. Too bad not many people play any more. Been way too busy at work to even mess with pictures. Hopefully things will change with the new year.

Desmond

2010-12-24T12:04:00.000-06:00

Desmond's Christmas portrait

Ornament

2010-12-24T11:46:00.000-06:00

from The Daily Shoot: "Today's color is red. Make a photograph dominated by the color and post it today."

Holiday Break - Day 1

2010-12-20T09:54:00.003-06:00

Our day started of by getting blood tests (worry not, annual physical) and then stopping by Diane's favorite breakfast place (well, one of several) - Panera Bread. Now, we're off for more shopping.

Location : Access Route 1604, San Antonio, TX 78258,
Posted via Blogaway

Flowers

2010-11-24T20:21:00.000-06:00

I never did finish posting the pictures from our last day in Seattle. I found these at a flower booth in Pike Place Market.

After a few more of these I'll show you a few I took through the fall.

Still Life with Stuff I

2010-11-24T16:48:00.000-06:00

Got inspired to do some picture taking this week. Probably has something to do with being off.

Fuji Apple

2010-09-12T09:17:00.000-05:00

Stolen Moment

2010-09-12T09:15:00.000-05:00

So I'm waiting around while Diane is doing a bit of shopping and I look over past the stairwell I'm in and see this. There is actually a whole series of shots where they are talking, hugging and kissing. Made me feel kinda voyeuristic but it was also exciting to see people being real. Also, I really liked all the lines in this shot.

Diane on vacation (in front of Starbucks)

2010-09-12T09:01:00.000-05:00

She always smiles after having coffee!

Sunflowers in the Morning

2010-09-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

These were just huge and gorgeous.

Pears on Parade

2010-09-12T08:55:00.001-05:00

Bosc Pears at Pike Place Market.

Asparagus

2010-09-12T08:48:00.001-05:00

More from the Pike Place Market. I found all sorts of inspiration while we were there for four hours!

Dinner Tonight

2010-09-06T20:46:00.000-05:00

I still have over 500 pictures that I have taken since our cruise but I really wanted to share tonights dinner with you (well just a picture, really). The shot above is my homemade pizza. I mixed and rolled out the dough, prepared the sauce and decided on the mozzarella, basil and prosciutto. It was yummy and actually pretty quick (if you mix the dough early). We finished off with poached pears with Saunders chocolate.

If you'd like to see a couple more shots of this pizza click over to my flickr account.

Fruit & Vegies

2010-09-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

While we waited to go to the airport in Seattle we had no choice but to retirn to Pike Place Market. There are so many photographic possibilities there that I could spend several days ambling around. And the food and flowers just look yummy. The next few posts will be from there.

And as I've said before, it is a crime that we don't have a farmers market that even comes close to something like this. I mean really, Pearl Market is nice but when you can breeze through in 25 minutes (I've done it a couple of times) then it just doesn't compare.

Seldom Used Deck Chairs

2010-09-06T09:21:00.000-05:00

So we ended the cruise back at pier 90 in Seattle. This was taken on Friday morning just before we left the ship. The one cool thing that Holland America does is pre-check your luggage on your flight so all we walked off with was our carry on bags. This allowed us a few hours to tour Pike Place some more before we came home.

Several members of Diane's family have done these cruises and all raved about them. I was equally impressed. I'm sure it's nice to go to the Caribbean, sit in deck chairs in your bathing suit and drink all day. That's just not necessarily my idea of the great vacation. We are already discussing what we plan to do the next time we take this cruise. And, we're also talking about other cruises. I think either New York city to Quebec City or the Baltic states will be next!

Really?

2010-09-05T20:06:00.004-05:00

From Drop Box

We ate dinner at the new Goomba's on Brook Hollow. Ordered a meat pizza and paid good money for it. We weren't impressed. The food was edible but completely lacking in real taste. I mean cardboardish. I've heard incredibly good things about this place. So, if you are a Goomba's fan please leave me a comment below and tell me what I should be ordering.

Thanks. We now return you to your regular show of nice pictures.

Posted via Blogaway

Victoria Harbor at Sunset

2010-09-05T19:01:00.000-05:00

And we close the Victoria portion of our trip with this shot of the harbor at sunset. With the kayak in the middle ground and a beautiful sunset, I just couldn't resist this picture. After we left here we drove over by Diana and Patrick's apartment and then went to a "Tim Horton's" coffee shop (they swear it's better than Starbucks - what do I know?). I went to pay for our coffee with a $20 bill and the counter girl looked at it like it was some piece of trash. About then Diana grabed my arm and said, "You don't want to pay with that! Your change will be Canadian money you can't spend!" Ooops, forgot I was in another country.

At about 11pm we headed back to the Zaandam for our last night on the ship. When I woke up early on Friday morning we were already docked and the HAL workers were unloading suitcases.

BC Parliament Building

2010-09-05T18:50:00.001-05:00

As it gets dark in downtown Victoria you start to notice the parliament building starting to sparkle. Seems they have outlined the building in lights and the darker it gets the more impressive it gets (and it gets more difficult to take a good picture).

Diana C.

2010-09-05T16:38:00.001-05:00

And this is Diana. Talk about a trooper. When I emailed her in May saying, "Hey, we haven't seen each other in 20 years but I'll be in Victoria next month!" She was like, "Tell me when and where!" I was so excited I took her several cans of Ro-Tel because it's nearly impossible to find in Canada. We had a great evening even if it was too short.

Patrick

2010-09-05T16:28:00.001-05:00

This is Diana's husband, Patrick. He was a great sport driving us around town and visiting.

Victoria, British Columbia

2010-09-04T20:36:00.001-05:00

We got in to Victoria on our last night of the cruise. Unfortunately we arrived at 7pm and had to be back on the ship before midnight. Not near enough time to do some real sightseeing. But, since I have a life-long friend who lives in Victoria, she and her husband met us and took us around town for a few hours. We had a great time. This was the view from the first place we stopped. Diana told me she loves coming to the park just to sit quietly and enjoy the scenery. I can see why.

More from Victoria and Seattle tomorrow!

Lamb Chops on the Zaamdam

2010-09-04T10:06:00.000-05:00

Diane is not a big lamb fan so I make sure and order it whenever I can. The only better meal I had was the next night when it was "surf and turf" night and I got lots of lobster! Our table mates were a little weirded out by my taking a picture of dinner - silly foreigners. Don't they know that's all the rage right now?

Bug on Flower

2010-09-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

I was trying to get a good shot of the "fly" but I think the flower turned out pretty good too. This is one of the reasons I have and love my "macro" lens.

Fushia

2010-09-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

This is one of Diane's favorite plants but every time we buy one the summer heat just kills it. We found these all around in Alaska and the plants were huge!

Lupine

2010-09-04T08:43:00.001-05:00

Surprise! I'm back! Between summer lethargy, getting a new "smart" phone and celebrating Diane's birthday I just got out of the habit of posting pictures. I've been TAKING pictures just not cleaning and posting them. So, here I am on Labor day weekend trying to catch up. I've formally given up on the 365 project. I knew from the outset that it would be difficult for me to complete. I've gone from "taking and posting a picture every day" to "posting at least 7 pictures every week" to "at least posting 365 pictures this year" to (now) "I'm gonna post as much as possible." This doesn't really mean you are going to get fewer pictures. It's just that I'm going to quit numbering and categorizing my shots as if I'm going to finish this project.

So, these lupines...or Bluebonnets as we know them in Texas. We saw them everywhere we went in Alaska. At first we were surprised but then it became pretty common place. I later found out that this plant is grown all over the northern hemisphere and some are FAR larger and bluer than the ones we see here at home.

I especially liked this shot. Trying to get a "macro" (really, REALLY up close for you non-photo people) shot while hand-holding your camera is darned near impossible. Especially when you are as old as me!

More pictures to come. Today! I promise!

Acorns

2010-09-03T06:21:00.003-05:00

I found these on a tree outside my building. Last year I noticed them and kept thinking I should take some pictures but never got around to it. I think this might become a series this year.

156/376 - Me on the Aleutian Ballad

2010-07-13T18:34:00.000-05:00

“Joy is the feeling of grinning inside.” ~Melba Colgrove
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Some people were wondering if I really went on this trip. Here is proof positive. Can you tell I was having fun?

155/376 - Goin' Fishin'

2010-07-13T18:29:00.000-05:00

“Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.” ~Herbert Hoover
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Lucky guy.

154/376 - More Rope

2010-07-13T17:49:00.000-05:00

“A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free” ~Nikos Kazantzakis
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See what I mean about rope and knots?

153/376 - Rope and Knots

2010-07-13T17:42:00.000-05:00

“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.” ~Seneca
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On board a boat there are ropes and knots everywhere. They tend to be incredibly photogenic objects.

152/376 - Winner!

2010-07-13T17:30:00.000-05:00

“The determination to win is the better part of winning.” ~Daisaku Ikeda
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He caught the Octopus! And I think this is his "circle of life" pose.

151/376 - Kid with a Shrimp

2010-07-13T16:13:00.000-05:00

“There can never be any excuse for sacrificing our children’s futures to keep corporate tax loopholes and tax giveaways to millionaires. If we can’t put our children first, who can we put first? If we can’t put our kids first, what does it say about our nation?” ~Senator John Kerry
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They also brought up some shrimp and let people touch and watch them. This kid was very excited. I just wish I had a model release because I bet this picture could be sold! I've seen lots of shrimp in my time (I grew up close to Galveston) but never one so red.

150/376 - Wrestling an Octopus

2010-07-13T16:05:00.000-05:00

“It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired-you quit when the gorilla is tired.” ~Robert Strauss
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When they pulled up a crab pot shaped like a flying saucer this octopus fell out and into the pot throwing mechanism. One of the hosts (Kiwi?) decided to get it out and ended up wrestling with the darned thing. Apparently they don't give up easily.

149/376 - Anchor Chain

2010-07-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

“The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” ~Robert M. Hutchins
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I couldn't pass up some "artistic" shots while on my trip. This is the chain that holds the anchor for the Aleutian Ballad.

148/376 - Crab

2010-07-13T15:54:00.000-05:00

“If we are going to teach creation science as an alternative to evolution, then we should also teach the stork theory as an alternative to biological reproduction.” ~Judith Hayes
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Way too cool crab caught on the Aleutian Ballad during my "Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour".

147/376 - More Eagles

2010-07-12T21:18:00.001-05:00

“I've come to the frightening conclusioin that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”~Dr. Haim Ginott
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As the fishermen on the Aleutian Ballad were talking with the audience the captain (Derrick) was maneuvering the boat. As he got relatively close to an island the fishermen started throwing bait off the side of the boat and as they did this a flock of 30 to 40 bald eagles started circling around the side of the boat.

Everyone on the boat rushed over to the railing and started taking pictures. At one point I heard one guy cry in anguish, "I've exhausted my 2 gig card on my camera!"

At some point (we were there close to 15 or 20 minutes) I forced myself to stop taking pictures and look around with my eyes. I was nearly in tears. It was THAT cool! Throughout the week long trip we saw lots of flora but didn't end up seeing much in the way of fauna. This was one of those rare times and it was well worth the money.

146/376 - Fish on board the Aleutian Ballad

2010-07-12T20:36:00.000-05:00

“I'm so ugly - I worked in a pet shop, and people kept asking how big I'd get” ~Rodney Dangerfield
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This is a classic example of why you should take notes when put face to face with something you don't know anything about. In this case I have no clue what type of fish this is. I do know, however, it is ugly. The fishermen on the Aleutian Ballad caught this and several other fish while giving their demonstrations during my "Deadliest Catch" tour.

145/376 - Derrick

2010-07-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

“Most of us can read the writing on the wall; we just assume it's addressed to someone else.” ~Ivern Ball
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Ok, so when we decided to take our cruise we were given a list of possible excursions to take at each stop. Diane and I have watched "Deadliest Catch" for years and I found in Ketchikan the opportunity get on one of the boats used in years two and three of that show. Diane, of course, said she would happily wave at me from the dock and then go shopping. The picture above is of Derrick, the captain of the Aleutian Ballad.

I knew going in that we weren't going to see anything remotely resembling the weather and seas that the fishing vessels on Deadliest Catch encounter but the write up for the excursion made it intriguing. They said that over the course of 3 hours the audience would get an opportunity to hear about various fishing methods (crab and otherwise), observe caught critters put into an aquarium, visit with experienced crab fishers and all the while have the opportunity to observe marine wildlife off the side of the boat. I was "all in!"

I have to say that this was #2 on the list of coolest things I did on this cruise. Meeting the fishermen and learning of their lives, watching them actually work a couple of crab pots and taking some of the best pictures of the trip made this memorable. The next several pictures will give you an idea of how much fun I had.

144/376 - Leaving Sitka

2010-07-12T10:29:00.002-05:00

“I shut my eyes in order to see.” ~Paul Gauguin
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The entrance/exit to Sitka is lined with these islands and passageways. Watching the small boats and fishing vessels made it very picturesque. It was a shame that there was so much cloud cover that day. I've seen pictures of this area when the weather is clear and the mountains are stunning. Try clicking this link for an example. Or this one.

143/376 - Sophia

2010-07-12T09:50:00.000-05:00

“If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.” ~John Maxwell
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A nice little fishing boat I saw on our way out of Sitka Harbor.

142/376 - Bald Eagle

2010-07-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

“Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.” ~Dwight David Eisenhower
__________
Here is another of the Bald Eagles we saw at the Alaska Raptor Center.

141/376 - Hawk

2010-07-05T21:11:00.000-05:00

"That's a dog boy! That's a dog!" ~Foghorn Leghorn
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One of my favorite comics is/was Foghorn Leghorn. This picture from the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka reminded me of that line.

140/376 - Peregrine Falcon

2010-07-05T21:06:00.001-05:00

“A wise falcon hides his talons” ~Proverb
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This is a peregrine falcon being kept at the Alaska Raptor Center. As I mentioned in the last post, this organization would put your money to good use. We were very impressed with their program. More is coming.

139/376 - Bald Eagles

2010-07-05T18:10:00.001-05:00

“Never forget me, because if I thought you would, I'd never leave.” ~A. A. Milne
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Here are some pictures of Bald Eagles at the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka. This appears to be one of the best raptor centers in the nation. Where possible they help birds recover and reintegrate into the wild. They have a flight training center, an education theater plus space to keep those birds who can not be let loose due to injury.

We specifically wanted to go to this center when we heard about it and it was the highlight of our day. Seeing the eagles and other raptors was awe inspiring. If you have a few bucks burning a hole in your pocket and you'd like to support this type of organization please click on the link above and make a contribution. We're considering getting our classes to support them.

138/376 - Sitka Totem

2010-07-05T16:54:00.000-05:00

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Christopher Robin to Pooh” ~A. A. Milne
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Apparently Sitka and Ketchikan vie to be the totem capitol of Alaska. This is one I saw at the entrance to the National Park in Sitka. This kind of thing is one of the few down sides to cruises. We had a grand total of 8 hours in Sitka and even though it is small (population 9,000) there was nowhere near enough time to truly explore this town. They have a national cemetery that looked gorgeous. We barely walked through the park on our way to the Raptor center and could have spent hours there. I saw many "excursions" to see whales and other animals but didn't have time to enjoy them. And the list goes on. I guess this means we really do have to return so we can see more!

137/376 - Flowers in Sitka

2010-07-05T12:03:00.000-05:00

“Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them down.”
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Amusingly the colors in these flowers really attracted me.

136/376 - St. Michael's

2010-07-05T11:52:00.001-05:00

“Architecture is the work of nations” ~John Ruskin
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St. Micheal's Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox Church built between 1844 and 1848. It 1966 it caught fire but before the building could be destroyed the locals saved nearly all of the art work and artifacts. Bishop Innocent of the Diocese of Alaska resided in Sitka and was also a woodworker, linguist and historian.

The church building is still in use and is listed as a National Historic Landmark. It also is the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church in the U.S.

135/376 - Sitka Harbor

2010-07-05T11:30:00.000-05:00

“A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.” ~William Shedd
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On the day after Glacier Bay we arrived in Sitka, Alaska. This little town of about 9,000 (fourth largest in Alaska) is very quaint and holds a lot of historical significance. At one time it was the capitol of Alaska and before that it was settled by the Russians after running the Tlingit natives off.

We did a lot of walking that day and really enjoyed the Raptor Center.

134/376 - More of Glacier Bay II

2010-06-30T18:54:00.001-05:00

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So... get on your way.”~Dr. Seuss
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Another post with glaciers and mountains. This really was the highlight of our trip. It was more gorgeous than I ever expected. Moreover, I found out that there are an average of 50 sunny days per year in this area and we happened to hit upon one of them! How cool is that?

The picture above is of the Johns Hopkins glacier. After we had been there for a little while the park ranger pointed out that our view was deceptive. Once we understood that we were 5 miles away from the glacier it made it all the more impressive.

This was the view just to the left of Johns Hopkins. I'm pretty sure it's Mt. Cooper.

Finally, this is one of the sights as were were heading out of the bay. Again, it was absolutely awe inspiring. I will return at some point in my future.

I am only including a couple of pictures here on the blog. If you want to see a few more check out my flickr stream. Flickr has changed things a bit so supposedly if you click on an individual picture you will get a larger view of it. Then if you click it again you can see it "on black" which is my favorite way of seeing pictures. Give it a try! My next post will be a few shots I got in Sitka, Alaska.

133/376 - Margerie Glacier

2010-06-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

“Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit.” ~Frank Borman
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Our ship sat in front of this glacier for close to two hours. We got to drink coffee/hot chocolate and take pictures to our hearts content. We watched the glacier calve (shed chunks of ice) several times with the grandest one as we were about to leave. This was one of the two highlights of this trip. As we went through Europe in 2008 I was regularly in awe of the things that man can build. On this trip, however, I was in constant awe of God and the great beauty he has bestowed upon us.

132/376 - More of Glacier Bay

2010-06-26T21:28:00.001-05:00

“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to the body and soul.” ~John Muir
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Here are more of the slow ride to the Margerie Glacier. I've chosen to not bore you with lots more so if you are still interested, check out my flickr account.

By the way the John Muir quotes are because in 1879 he explored the area, helped found the Sierra Club and was a naturalist extraordinaire. He was quoted extensively during our trek through Glacier Bay.

131/376 - Glacier Bay (first set)

2010-06-26T16:52:00.001-05:00

“The mountains are calling and I must go.” ~John Muir
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On Monday morning, about 7am, we entered Glacier Bay National Park. We picked up a couple of Park Rangers who acted as guides for the day and then slowly made our way into the bay. These 3 pictures are some of the sights we saw as we moved northward towards the Margerie Glacier.

130/376 - Gastineau Channel from Mt. Roberts

2010-06-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

“We're so busy watching out for what's just ahead of us that we don't take time to enjoy where we are.” ~Calvin & Hobbes
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After we saw the Mendenhall glacier we went back to Juneau and took the Mt. Roberts tram up 1800 feet to the visitor center there (the mountain itself is 3819 ft.). We had a nice dinner walked around a bit and then went back into town and headed back to the ship. On the way back down, as Diane tried desperately not to look out, I snapped this shot. If you follow this link you will see a view down into Juneau. My picture is looking way over towards the left of the one at the Mt. Roberts website.

129/376 - Mendenhall Glacier

2010-06-25T14:56:00.000-05:00

“If death meant just leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new character...Would you slow down? Or speed up?” ~Chuck Palahniuk
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The Mendenhall glacier in Juneau was my first glacier. It is part of the Tongass National Forest (the largest National Forest in the US). Being able to just stand there and watch it was amazing. This picture makes it look much farther away that it was. We were RIGHT THERE. To our far right was a trail that led over to where the waterfall is on my picture. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to amble over there. This picture was taken from the visitor center. We eventually walked down to the area in the foreground and got an even closer view. Down there we could watch the glacier in relative quiet and listen to the birds as they flew around looking for food to give their babies. One hour on location just wasn't enough. If you want a more current view of this glacier try clicking on this link that takes you to a webcam view.

/soapbox
Whatever you may think is the cause, we saw many places on this trip where global warming is plainly evident. We received maps of northern waterways that were completely and solidly frozen over approximately 250 years ago and we were told that most glaciers are currently retreating. I'll be glad to show you what was given to me. I can understand (not support, but understand) that some people believe that global warming happens to be a climate trend and not caused by emissions and bad behavior on the part of mankind. But I firmly believe you are deluding yourself (and dangerously obstructionist) if you believe that global warming isn't happening.
/soapbox off

128/376 - Huge Begonia

2010-06-25T14:02:00.000-05:00

“We shouldn't teach great books; we should teach a love of reading.” ~B. F. Skinner
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Seriously, this begonia was as wide as Diane's out stretched hand. The entire plant was full of blooms.

The quote is for my ELA and ESL friends.

127/376 - Flower at Glacier Gardens 2

2010-06-24T22:16:00.000-05:00

“Beauty is simply reality seen with the eyes of love”
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Seriously the flowers here were amazingly beautiful.

126/376 - Another View from Glacier Gardens

2010-06-24T17:53:00.001-05:00

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ~Howard Thurman
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This picture is looking out the other direction.

125/376 - View from Glacier Gardens

2010-06-23T20:50:00.001-05:00

"Buy land, they're not making it anymore." ~Mark Twain
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This picture doesn't do the view justice.

124/376 - Diane at Glacier Gardens

2010-06-23T20:44:00.000-05:00

"Love is always bestowed as a gift - freely, willingly and without expectation. We don't love to be loved; we love to love." ~Leo Buscaglia
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/corny
A flower among flowers!
/corny off

123/376 - Flowers at Glacier Gardens

2010-06-23T20:35:00.001-05:00

“Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.” ~Malcolm S. Forbes
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Did I mention we had a fire alarm go off during our first night on the ship? Somewhere around 2am I awoke to a loud clanging bell. I mumbled something to Diane about "I think that's the drill alarm thing!" And she asked what I was talking about (she was just waking up). About that time the captain came on over the loud speaker and announced that they had found a small amount of smoke in the engine room but that it probably wasn't anything and for everyone to stay in their room rather than donning life jackets and standing next to our lifeboats. A few minutes after that he confirmed the situation was ok and for everyone to go back to sleep. Diane reminded me that when we took the "barf-a-rama" cruise(gambling boat off Port Isabel where she puked all night) many years ago and came back to the condo the fire alarm there rang for 20+ minutes until we woke up. As we exited the building all the other residents were looking at us like we were out of our minds. Anyhow, on Saturday morning at breakfast one of the waiters asked how we slept and I said, "You mean besides the fire alarm?" and the waiter was surprised to hear about it! He told us (in a strong Indonesian accent), "Well I guess I slept well!"

The flower above was shot at Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. A rather cool place in Juneau where a guy has taken tree stumps out of the ground, turned them upside down and used the root system as a canopy for putting plantings of annual flowers. In addition to that there is a cart ride up the rainforest mountain. The whole thing was gorgeous as you'll see in the next couple of pictures. The flowers grown here are OUTSTANDING and lush - I'm sure it probably has something to do with being in a rainforest and all.

122/376 - Seattle Skyline

2010-06-23T15:38:00.003-05:00

And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation. ~Kahlil Gibran
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This is the view we had as we left Seattle. I was really impressed with their skyline. San Antonio is nothing compared to this.

For the next 36 hours we headed north towards Juneau. Late that night (Friday) we ran into some rough seas. I mean really rough. By Saturday afternoon a large percentage of the passengers were in their rooms, sick. I never did get sick and Diane didn't get queasy until quite late in the afternoon. At 7pm I called room service to get her a bowl of soup and crackers and to get me a club sandwich. At 9pm I called and they were like, "We're sorry. We'll get it out to you right away." At 10pm I called and got the same response so I went up to the Front Office. They too were apologetic but unhelpful. At 11pm we went up to the buffet and got a dinner. My room service order never came. We meet a couple later in the cruise that said they came down to the dining room that night and it was nearly empty.

That was the only negative of the entire cruise. We later heard from cruise staffers that this boat had never seen waves like that before. Needless to say I didn't take many pictures during this time. If I had they would have all been blurry from the rocking!

6/26 Update: Following suggestions from people on flickr.com I have adjusted this picture. I hope you like this version as much as I do.

121/376 - Pine and 5th

2010-06-23T15:19:00.000-05:00

The definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular. ~Adlai E. Stevenson
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I tend to take pictures of whatever catches my eye. This could have been better if I had been closer to the center. Oh well.

120/376 - Corn

2010-06-23T15:10:00.000-05:00

Hope is the pillar that holds up the world. Hope is the dream of a waking man. ~Pliny the Elder
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More from the farmers market.

119/376 - Taylor Gold Pears (none finer)

2010-06-22T11:50:00.001-05:00

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.” ~Mark Twain
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I had a bite of one of these and there really is none finer! It melted in my mouth and tasted like heaven.

118/376 - Why Not Take Some Home!

2010-06-21T17:20:00.000-05:00

“It's a matter of balancing convenience with taking the time to sit down and eat something healthy. We have to start taking some accountability for the foods we choose.” ~Dr. Christopher Taylor
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I have never been a healthy eater. But when I see stuff like this I just want to dig in. We bought some raspberries from this vendor and they were wonderful.

117/376 - Fish Monger 1

2010-06-21T13:32:00.001-05:00

“I tell people to think of fish as a healthy fast food. You can come home from work and get dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes. Just be careful if your neighbors smell what you are cooking. They will want to join you for dinner.” ~Kevin Steele
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This is the display from another fish seller at Pike Place Market. Get ready for a run of fruits and vegetables 'cause they were all over the place and I couldn't resist.

116/376 - Scarves

2010-06-21T07:24:00.000-05:00

"Every scarf has a theme to it. The inspiration for the scarves are based on everything from the very frivolous to the serious." ~Kim Hewitt
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Again, this was just too pretty and enticing. Taken at Pike Place Market.

115/376 - Leaves

2010-06-21T07:06:00.000-05:00

“It is humankind's duty to respect all life, not only animals have feelings but even also trees and plants” ~Michel de Montaigne
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I just couldn't pass this up.

114/376 - Pike Place Market Sign

2010-06-21T06:46:00.000-05:00

“Farmers markets are green shoots coming out of the gun. They represent hope and they need to be cultivated.” ~Jerry Brown
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After I took this picture (several actually) I went into a drug store and saw a postcard with nearly the exact same shot. So what if it's a cliche, I like it! Pike Place Market started in 1907 and is one of the oldest continually run markets in the US. If you've seen videos, books and jokes about fish throwing, it started here at the Pike Place Fish Market (another photo coming soon!). Also, Starbuck's started here (or very close by) so this really was a mecca for Diane!

There is something about farmer's markets that I just love. The photography just comes natural and the sights and smells are wonderful. I especially liked that you could get meat and seafood at this market.

113/376 - Seattle Newsstand

2010-06-20T21:51:00.001-05:00

“The good news out of it is that the price for our products is going up.” ~Ross Siragusa
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In downtown Seattle there are little news and snack stands all over the place. I know I don't get out much but I'd swear we don't have that much coverage here in San Antonio.

112/376 - Pidgeons

2010-06-20T18:33:00.000-05:00

“Sometimes I lie awake at night, and ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says to me, 'This is going to take more than one night.'” ~Charles M. Schulz
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One of my first pictures in Seattle. We were there in advance of taking a cruise to Alaska. Seattle is really nice and a lot bigger then I expected. San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the US and doesn't have near as many large buildings. But I'm ahead of myself. In fact I'll show you a skyline shot later in the set. These pidgeons on the man hole cover just amused me.

111/376 - Morning Glory

2010-06-20T18:03:00.001-05:00

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~Buddha
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This is a shot of a morning glory growing between the slats of our fence. Diane just hates these flowers (weeds) because they tend to take over everything. But for me, I enjoy them. They remind me of my grandparents house and the trellis just out the back door. Every summer it was full of these flowers and I always enjoyed looking at them.

More to Come!

2010-06-16T19:13:00.001-05:00

I haven't died. I've been taking pictures. Lots of pictures! Look back this weekend for more.