Home for the Holidays 2011

On the way to my home in Hayward is an interpretive trail and on Christmas day it seemed like a good day to pay a visit. It's great spot for bird watching and right next to a bike trail that I used to ride with my friends. Early morning or late afternoon are great times for stopover.

Clark County

The family decided to get together in Vegas this year for Thanksgiving. With a bit of extra time, my brother and I decided to take a side trip to Clark county. This old Model T was an interesting subject. You wonder about all the history....all the places it's been and the people it carried.

Jock Sturges

Jock Sturges' portfolio of Misty Dawn is one of my personal favorites. When I heard he was paying PCNW a visit I signed up right away. The small group was designed to allow all of us to show our images and get feedback. It was valuable to hear what he had to say. "Where is the blood?" is one of the things I remember him saying, challenging us to go further with the subjects we had been pursuing.

Annie Clark in Texas

Watching Annie Clark live makes that trip to Texas worth it. I loved Strange Mercy and was very much looking forward to hearing it live. With three albums under her belt, it was going to be a mixtape selection, but I got what I was wishing for,...a live performance of Neutered Fruit :).

The day before I visited Forth Worth and it does still feel like cowboy country.

Champions tennis and Smith Tower

This exhibition tennis match was great entertainment. We got to see Johnny Mac live (and do his rant-act...an act of course :) ). Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Michael Chang.

Earlier, my brother and I paid a visit to Smith Tower. Below is a nice view of the pier.

Pearl Jam in Vancouver

You never know when a band might call it quits. Celebrating their 20th anniversary.....that's a tempting situation. I just had to see them live if this happened to be the last chance.

As you might expect, loyal fans from both sides of the border filled the place. I have to say the wow part of the evening for me was when they performed "Alive"....everyone sang with Eddie and that was loud and clear, a very powerful moment.

San Juan island kayaking

Kayaking the San Juans is one of the great benefits of living in the northwest. We didn't spot any whales but did run into some seals and eagles.

Labor day weekend paddle

HW520 Bridge

It's been an odd summer season but this labor day weekend was true summer, indeed. I launched from the marina at Lake Union and made my way to the arboretum. The Montlake cut (bridge), with all the boat traffic, was as choppy as ever. Things calm down once you get to the arboretum and it becomes just a leisurely paddle through the park. As I got out and turned towards Lake Washington I stopped and watched the HW520 floating bridge for a little bit...many times I had either been passing through or stuck in traffic...always wishing I'd be on the water instead...well now I was...so I savored the moment. Heading back to the marina, I always pass by shipyards and that has always been a welcome treat for me, personally. No Deadliest Catch ships this time, though...used to always spot the Wizard...but not this day.

Ballard Bridge

Tugs, Lake Union

Arboretum

Storm vs Tulsa

The NBA doesn't like Key Arena and moved the Sonics when replacement efforts didn't work out. I'm glad a local group saved the Seattle Storm from the move and, having watched a number of games this year, will say that I really like the place. Anyway...the Storm is still fun to watch. Sue Bird is a great point guard and Katie Smith shows flashes from time to time (that's when she drives to the basket). When Lauren Jackson went down, the rest of the players picked up and that actually made for more intersting games, honestly. I do wish the Sonics return. I didn't get a chance to see them since I moved here and would definitely watch if they come back.

The Teaser Flight

It's one of those things you just have to try at least once. I had a cool discount for a "discovery" flight...why not? There is that initial fear when you get on the runway (and wonder if this little thing will really get off the ground)....but the flight instructor was pretty much helping me with everything to get the plane off the ground so there was not much to worry about....as soon as we were up he gave me more control of the plane. It felt rather easy maneuvering the plane....until a bit of turbulence kicked in...and I felt fear creeping behind me again. While there's a lot of freedom in roaming the skies, I have to say right now I'm not inclined to pursue flight training. Other than the cost, it really is a lot of work...monitoring instruments, watching out for other planes, navigation, radio traffic-chatter,.....and I think that's it: it sounds more like work than a great time for me. But hell I still got a kick out of the experience and glad I did it.

Spring Training 2011

This year my brother and I came at the tail end of spring training and the plus of that is the player list had already been trimmed a couple of times (so the rosters are pretty good out of the gate). The minus is the team store...coming off of a championship year...was low on everything...most importantly spring training pins, which I had been collecting ever since we started coming to Arizona (I later got one from Ebay). Definitely more people this year...even on the road...we'd be in a Royals stadium and the Giants cheers was as loud as ever. The excitement around Brandon Belt was undeniable. He just might force his way into the team this year (or at least have a short stint in Triple-A first). We were also able to do a side trip this year...to the Goldfield Ghost Town just outside of Phoenix.

Portland

The last time Thess and I had seen Doug Beasley was in 2007 for the South Dakota workshop. It was great to meet up with him again in this year's Portland workshop. Doug's approach has always been about finding meaning in the images one creates...or moments captured. It's very easy to lose that focus and course correction really helps.

Home for the Holidays 2010

This holiday trip felt really short even though I had as much as time as last. With a lot if work down to the wire I guess it overflowed a bit into my holidays. Sometimes you just feel off or tired. Oh well, it happens. The holiday was still a great one. My nieces and nephews are getting bigger and I'm beginning to feel older than ever. I wonder how the next decade will turn out?