A Blog Named Sue

Misc. Adventures

2007-04-04T23:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been too lazy to finish writing about my trip to France last November, but you can see my Paris photos on my PhotoSite page. Here are some of my favorites, which prove that Paris really is The City of Lights.

St-Chapelle - Upper Chapel

Eiffel Tower

Notre-Dame

I also posted some great winter photos of a trip with friends to Stefan's cabin on Namekagon Lake in northwestern Wisconsin on my PhotoSite.

Lastly, coming soon on my PhotoSite will be some photos of my March weekend trip down to Florida to visit my Brother Ben. We stayed in Tampa Bay and saw the beach, Busch Gardens, and a Twins/Phillies game.

Voyage to France, Part 2 - Annecy

2006-12-11T20:08:00.000-06:00

We got off the train just after sundown on Saturday in the city of Annecy in the Savoie region of the Alps. Our hotel was on the edge of the "old town", which is a pedestrian-only area with old pastel-walled and red-shingled (and sometimes arcaded) buildings, narrow stone-paved streets, and Kodak-moment canals. At night the streets were lit up and decorated for Christmas. Le Château d'Annecy, a medieval castle, loomed over the old town. Maybe the best feature of the town, though, is that is sits beside Lake Annecy - a large, swan-filled lake under majestic mountains with some of the clearest water I've ever seen (even compared to Minnesota and Colorado!). I really loved this town.

On Sunday morning we walked to the old town where a market was taking place. This market was much larger than the one we saw in Grenoble, but it was way more touristy and flea-market-like. We walked through town along the still and reflective canals down to a big park beside Lake Annecy. This park was about as serene as possible: swans swimming near the shore, children playing, couples strolling, and Alpine mountains appearing in the distance out of the morning haze. The water was clear enough to see the bottom of the lake and the paddling feet of the swans. I could have sit [Mason - grammar?] and watched the lake and mountains for hours...even though I squandered half the time taking pictures.

In the afternoon we walked up to le Château d'Annecy [go to Annecy Castle under "castles". It isn’t quite as grand as a fairytale castle, but was still the first European castle I’d seen – so I enjoyed it. There were good views of the city and the lake. Inside the castle were an art museum and a science museum of the Alpine lakes.

We spent some more time at the lake before taking an evening train back to Paris. That was the end of our weekend French Alps adventure. We spent the rest of the week in and around The City of Lights.

See more of my Annecy photos on my PhotoSite page.

Voyage to France, Part 1 - Grenoble

2006-12-08T15:54:00.000-06:00

I just got back last weekend from a Fall trip to France with my parents to visit my sister in Paris. Brittany has been in Paris since Labor Day studying abroad (and taking several trips to other parts of Europe). We left on Thanksgiving evening and after a long flight and a quick layover in Iceland, we were in Paris by noon Friday.

After hanging out at and around Brittany's dorm for a while, we took a Friday evening three-hour tour via high speed train to the French Alps. Our first stop was in the city of Grenoble, which sits along the River Isère in a valley surrounded by mountains. We got there around midnight and went right to bed in a crazy space-themed hotel room. I hardly slept due to a blossoming crappy cold, but that's the last I'll write on the negative - anticipation and adrenaline kept me going strong the whole trip nonetheless.

We found breakfast pastries in a little boulangerie (bakery), and a great pain au chocolat (basically a croissant filled with chocolate) gave me some good energy. There was a strong breeze that was strangely warm. We walked down the old streets of the city towards the River Isère. We noticed right away that there were snow-capped mountains at the end of the streets to the east. The views from the river were great, with hills to the west, mountains to the east, a rocky cliff across the river overlooking picturesque quaint old buildings on the riverbanks.

At the top of that hill with the rocky cliff is an old fort called La Bastille. We took a bubble-shaped cable car from the riverbanks up to the fort. It was insanely windy at La Bastille (yet fairly warm) and the views were amazing. We could see the whole metro area in the valley and all the surrounding ranges. We sort of saw the highest mountain in Europe, Mont Blanc, rising up into the misty clouds far in the distance. Also, the fort itself was really cool. It was more of a fortified series of walls than a castle-type fort. Stone arches and arrow slits were everywhere. We walked down to these caves with a creepy hidden stair cut into the rock that ended at a semi-secret back door entrance. La Bastille was one of my highlights of the trip.

After returning to town down the cable car, we found Place Sainte André, a modest little town square enclosed by old buildings, including the Sainte André church from the 13th century. My parents liked the small local market going on in the square. We ate lunch here at one of the oldest restaurants in France, Café de la Table Ronde, which has served some famous French folks since 1739 (or since well before the USA was born!). I ate a delicious meal of Alps-style sausages and scalloped potatoes.

We walked around town some more before hopping on an afternoon 2-hour train ride north to the town of Annecy.

See more of my Grenoble photos on my PhotoSite page.

Still gonna blog, but photos going elsewhere

2006-09-07T00:11:00.000-05:00

I found a new website that will let me save lots of photos online and organize them into galleries and whatnot. So from now on, most of my photos will be posted here on PhotoSite. Please check it out. But I'll still explain anything relevant (in my opinion) on this blog and link the galleries.

New stuff already includes photos of camping with the family near Taylor's Falls in July and various summer shots.

Future France Trip Info

2006-08-26T01:28:00.000-05:00

I'm going to France on Thanksgiving with my parents to visit my sister, Brittany. She will be in Paris all semester for school. This post is just intended for them. I don't expect that anyone else (except Ben) would be interested in the planning. Family - I will be updating this post as I neurotically find more and more infomation.

(Chateau de Chenonceau, photo by Brit)

GENERAL INFO
Maps: France (big) / France (small) /France (topo) / Google Maps (put in address)
Airline: Iceland Air (11/23 - 12/2)
Trains: RailEurope
Hotels: Grenoble - Splendid / Annecy - Nord / Paris - Luxembourg
Brit's school: CEA
Brit's dorm: Cité Universitaire: Fondation des États-Unis
Guides: VirtualTourist (V.T.)-France
France photos: France-all

PARIS INFO
Maps: Paris Metro (blue"B" RER line to Cite Univ. stop)
Guides: V.T.-Ile-de-France / V.T.-Paris
Photos: Ile-de-France (region) / Paris [1] [2]

FRENCH ALPS INFO
Maps: Grenoble /Annecy /
Guides: V.T.-French Alps / V.T.-Grenoble / V.T.-Annecy
Info: Annecy article / Annecy description / Grenoble description / Grenoble cable car webcam (in French) /
Photos: French Alps (region) / Grenoble [1] [2] [3] / Annecy [1] [2]

PARIS DAY TRIPS INFO
Maps:
Guides: V.T.-Amiens / V.T.-Chenonceau / V.T.-Chartres / V.T.-Fontainebleau / V.T.-Reims / V.T.-Versailles
Info: Chenonceau article / Chenonceau Palace description /Fontainebleau official site / Fontainebleau Palace description / Versailles Palace description /
Photos: Amiens / Chenonceau [1] [2] / Chartres / Fontainebleau [1] [2] / Reims [1] [2] / Versailles

ALSACE INFO (eliminated)
Maps:
Guides: V.T.-Alsace / V.T.-Strasbourg
Info: Strasbourg article / Strasbourg description / Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle description /Castle reviews /
Photos: Alsace (region) / Strasbourg [1] [2] [3] [4] [5 - note the pics of g-ma in red hat club] / Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle [1] [2]

RV Mountain Adventure, Part 5 - Rocky Mountain National Park: Trail Ridge Road

2006-08-25T21:02:00.000-05:00

Each day of this trip was a new highlight, but this final adventure was my ultimate highlight. Trail Ridge Road winds its way across RMNP, from Estes Park to Grand Lake. The road climbs up through pine forests, along cliffs, and eventually above the tree line for a stretch. Grant captained the RV on the beautiful yet stressful drive to the Continental Divide.

We attempted to embark on an epic hike from Milner Pass up the ridge and on to the peak of Mount Ida. We were bummed out when the slopes were covered in deep snow and ice (in June!) and too steep to get very far.

We had some fun, but soon aborted mission and headed back to the Alpine Visitor Center. It ended up being a blessing about the snow because the dreary skies quickly transformed into a violent thunderstorm. We waited out the storm in the visitor center, but before it completely cleared we chanced death (from lightening, like I needed that again - heart was thumping) by scrambling up to the peak of the highest hill around.

With some great luck the clouds dissipated in front of our eyes, so we took off from the visitor center on a hike. This views here were simply jaw-dropping - panoramic views of snow-capped mountains around us and a pine-covered valley below us. We could see the origins of the Cache la Poudre River, which is the river where we previously had a tremendously memorable time whitewater rafting. This epic view is exactly what I was hoping to see by coming to the Rockies. No matter how nerdy it is; I couldn’t help but wish we were in The Lord of the Rings on a quest through Middle-Earth. I want to see mountains, Gandalf. Mountains! I took tons 'o pics up there and this is the best I could do to cut down to my favorites. I eventually want to group some of these into panoramas.

To cap the whole trip off, see the mighty, squarish Long's Peak (the highest peak in RMNP) in the background of the final photo taken during the drive back to the campground.

RV Mountain Adventure, Part 4 - Rocky Mountain National Park: Glacier Gorge

2006-08-03T23:42:00.000-05:00

By the fourth night we finally reached the Rockies. Wow. Just a few yards from our campsite was an open field with an amazing view.

From our campsite at Glacier Basin Campground (in RMNP)

Sprague Lake

Glacier Gorge hiking trail - Alberta Falls to The Locke

RV Mountain Adventure, Part 3 - Wyoming, Seminoe, Horsetooth

2006-06-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

After the Black Hills we drove through Wyoming towards the Seminoe Reservoir in the south-central part of the state. Along the way we saw a sign for Hell's Gate, so we had to stop. The gate was a gap in the hills where the oregon trail passed. We parked in a seemingly abandoned Mormon mission ranch or something, but then a dude in a white shirt and tie rolled up to us in a golf cart. We were bracing for the conversion speech or the "get the hell out of here", but instead he asked us if we had seen Napoleon Dynamite. It turns out he is the grandfather of the writer/director of the movie and even appeared in the movie as a FAA milk-tasting judge. He must not get groups of young men out there very often. He was more than happy to pose with Grant for a photo (by Shaun). He shared some good stories and then we hit the road again.

Seminoe Reservoir

Horsetooth / Fort Collins

RV Mountain Adventure, Part 2 - Black Hills

2006-06-17T00:31:00.000-05:00

After the Badlands, we made our way west a couple hours to the Black Hills. We camped at Sylvan Lake Campground in Custer State Park, South Dakota. We had a great site right and the edge of a hill and an endless forest. The canopy of pines led to a rocky overlook where we could see for miles. Buffalo walked along the road as we drove to pick up the bikers at Legion Lake around dusk. The town of Custer was disappointing with so much cowboy potential, but at least we found one place open to display our hats and staches.

The next morning we went back up to the overlook and then for a walk around Sylvan Lake where we saw a cave and a snake. The huge rounded granite rocks don’t even look real in person, but look like Styrofoam or from Mario Bros. or something. We wished we could have stayed in Paha Sapa (the Black Hills) longer, and I'd love to in the future, but we set off for Wyoming.

RV Mountain Adventure, Part 1 - Badlands

2006-06-12T19:50:00.000-05:00

I just got back last week from a week-long RV camping road trip. We drove through Minnesota and South Dakota to the Badlands, the Black Hills, down through Wyoming, and to Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Since we were heading to the Old West, most of us decided to sport a mustache for the trip. It was me and these six r00bs on the trip:
This trip will be best described by photos and the writings of Mason, but I'll write something anyway.

For the first leg of the trip we explored the Badlands. We stayed at a campground out in the middle of nowhere in a Napoleon Dynamite-like setting. The owner dude could have played Uncle Rico, and he owned a pet buffalo. All seven of us slept in the 30-foot RV the first night, and that was the last night. The smell, my God, the smell. We made our way through Badlands National Park and stopped at the ultimate tourist trap, Wall Drug, to buy cowboy hats and see trophy jackalopes.

Sweet Carolina

2006-05-04T21:47:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to go to Charleston, South Carolina last week. I was sent by a volunteer association to attend a seminar and meetings for leadership training and ideas for running a committee. Since I was going down there, I decided to pay to stay the weekend. I had never been to The South before, unless you count Orlando, which I don’t. I had never seen the Atlantic Ocean before either. The work-related part of the trip was very helpful and worthwhile. I got to meet young professionals with similar jobs from all over the country and Canada and brought back a lot of good ideas from other sections to use in our Minnesota Section.

It was pouring rain the night I arrived Wednesday night, but then the weather was great through Sunday. Highs were in the mid 70s and it was unusually low humidity for the time of year. I stayed at the Holiday Inn just across the river from the main downtown peninsula. I had a rental car, so I put it to use. I drove the 10 miles out to Folly Beach each of the first two evenings. The beach was full of shells and I saw a cool historic lighthouse out in the water.

On Saturday morning I drove 10 miles up the Ashley River to an area where a few historic rice plantations on the river can be visited. I chose to see Magnolia Plantation and Its Gardens. There is an old plantation mansion that was burned down during wars and rebuilt a couple times, but I didn't even want to pay to tour it. I did take my time in the gardens, and they are incredible. Garden doesn't seem to be the best term for it. I would call it a large landscaped park with gigantic moss-draped oaks, cypress, and other trees, rows and hidden trails of shrubs, ponds, fountains, and swamps, hidden Classical-style statues, and flower gardens that were first planted in the 1600s. Because everything is so old and overgrown, the gardens have a very natural feel. Also adding to the nature is all kinds of reptiles and birds. I saw big turtles, alligators, egrets/herons, and all kinds of small birds. The sweet aroma in the gardens was unbelievably potent from all of the flowers. The whole place is simply magical and beautiful. The word that fits best is heavenly. Guys, keep your women out unless you want to endlessly hear about wanting to get married there. On the down side, it is sad to know that the gardens were paid for and built by slave labor and that the original family still owns the plantation. At least they do acknowledge it to some extent and present the history of the slaves.

Also on the Magnolia Plantation grounds is the Audubon Swamp. It is a cool nature trail through a thick southern swamp. I also saw gators, turtles, and big birds here.

On Saturday afternoon I explored the historic downtown district. Many of the building were pre-Civil War and a lot of them were even pre-Revolutionary War. Lots of old, yet fancy and well-kept old mansions and churches on narrow stone and brick streets and surrounded by palm trees. Downtown was also filled with the scent of flowers, although not as strong as the plantation gardens. One of the best seafood meals I ever had was the Salmon Florentine on pasta at A.W. Shucks.

On Sunday morning I headed over to the beach at Isle of Palms. This was a great beach that was clean and full of fine white sand. I got some great Beach Boys vibrations, but unfortunately also got some good beach radiation and burns.

On Sunday afternoon I drove back down the river to another plantation, this time to Middleton Place. The gardens here were equally beautiful and inspiring to the Magnolia gardens. The differences are that Middleton was more geometrically landscaped arrangement like a European palace garden and there was an old farm village. I saw a heron and swans up pretty close. It was quite serene and tranquil just walking around here.

I went back to Folly Beach one last time in the evening to say goodbye to the Atlantic. I walked around to the back side of the island to see the sun setting over the backwaters and swamps.

I had a great trip and highly recommend the Charleston area – especially to couples due to the romantic atmosphere from the old mansions and flowers. The whole region seemed very classic Deep Antebellum South - full of Southern belles, mansions, and great southern mossy trees. My highlights of the trip were the plantation gardens because they were so enchanting and unlike anything I had seen before. By the way, I actually did condense the number of photos quite a bit since I took over 450 of them.

Orange, White, and Black

2006-04-12T22:52:00.000-05:00

Hey, the Strib had a story on 4/12/06 (but I can't easily link that crappy site) on the Parkettes of our glorious St. Louis Park Senior High School. Check out some historical photos on the Parkettes' site. Where were these girls when I was going there?

Spring 2005 Photos

2006-04-06T22:12:00.000-05:00

Here are my favorite photos from the second quarter of 2005:

St. Louis Park, MN, May 6, 2005
(Westwood Hills Nature Center)

This was the day that I saw a bunch of animals as shown in this previous post. Spring was doing its job by filling the park with sun and green.

Plymouth, MN, May 15, 2005
(Medicine Lake)

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, May 29-30, 2005

Vallarta is located here on the Pacific Ocean. I was there over Memorial Day Weekend and it was already quite hot and humid. The photos are mainly of beaches and buildings in the old downtown area. What a great city to visit because it has a truly Mexican flavor, both literally and figuratively, and such nice people. I knew almost no Spanish and managed fine. I’d love to go back someday.

Winter/Spring 2005 Photos

2006-03-05T18:49:00.000-06:00

Here are my favorite photos from the first quarter of 2005:

Grand Marais, MN, Feb 5, 2005
(road to the cabin; Pincushion Mountain)

Clearwater, FL, Mar 7, 2005
(Clearwater Beach)

Orlando, FL, Mar 8, 2005
(Disney World area - pic of me by my bro)

Plymouth, MN, Apr 17, 2005
(Medicine Lake)

I wish I thought of this stuff

2006-03-03T13:13:00.000-06:00

Here are some of my favorite pics that I had on my computer at work. Most of them are borrowed from Fark.

Superior Winter Wonderland

2006-02-21T21:32:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was the final Grand Marais cabin trip. It sure was a way to go with all the below zero North Shore ice, snow, pines, and waves. We hiked, snowshoed, saunaed, threw rocks, and ate an all-you-can-eat fish fry. Here it is in photos:

Setting / Rising

2006-02-14T21:04:00.000-06:00

Last weekend I decided to get outside for a while, so I went to French Park in Plymouth, MN for a walk. I brought my camera along, so I found a good spot and stayed for the sunset. The sky was too cloudless to get the usual amazing Midwest winter sunset colors, but when I turned around after the sunset I got a great surprise. The full moon had just begun to rise as the sun sat.

Fantastic Journalism

2006-02-07T13:31:00.000-06:00

Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race of Skeleton People
I want to believe.

Area Man's Pop-Culture References Stop at 1988
Hmmm, this doesn't sound like ANYONE I know.

Twin Cities Wildlife

2006-02-05T21:54:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos I took of animals around town over the last couple years:

Woodchuck, Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park, MN, Apr 9, 2005 (cropped)

Red-winged Blackbird, Westwood, St. Louis Park, MN, May 6, 2005

White-tailed Doe, Westwood, St. Louis Park, MN, May 6, 2005

Snapping Turtle with Painted Turtles, Westwood, St. Louis Park, MN, May 6, 2005

Red Fox Cub, Westwood, St. Louis Park, MN, May 6, 2005

This is one of two fox cubs playing around the interpretive center. They didn’t stay still long enough to get a good shot of them together. This capped off a crazily lucky hour-long hike through the nature center. Besides those pictured, I also saw geese with goslings in the grass, trumpeter swans on the lake, mallards on the shore, and a wild turkey in the woods. I’ve never seen so many types of animals in one place before - outside the zoo anyway. I’m glad I brought my camera.

Young White-tailed Buck, Bryant Lake Park, Eden Prairie, Jul 1, 2005 (cropped)

I saw this while playing on the great Frisbee gold course at Bryant.

White-tailed Buck, Westwood Hills Nature Center, St. Louis Park, MN, Nov 6, 2005 (cropped)

Squirrel diversity:

Black Squirrel, Loring Park, Minneapolis, MN, Sep 6, 2004

Albino Squirrel, Hidden Falls Park, St. Paul, MN, Oct 29, 2005

Westwood

2006-02-01T19:24:00.000-06:00

I went for a walk at Westwood the other day with my friend and roommate, Andrew. The memories were flowing. Man, I bet I’ve been to that place every year of my life for such diverse reasons. We had field trips there several times a year in elementary school, getting interpretative guided hikes, looking for bugs in the pond water, examining deer droppings, huddling into a quinzhee, watching puppet shows, and petting the stuffed animals with two fingers. In recent years I have done things like snowshoeing, night hikes, and photographing the wildlife. I was hoping to see some animals on this walk, but no luck. However, we did see what the unusually warm January had done to the quinzhee.

The lake was a mirror with puddles of free water on top of the ice.

Dozens of disappearing footsteps leading from the dock onto the lake prove that the next generation of kids still come here to make their own memories. That is a good sign.

The Perry Bible Fellowship

2006-01-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know where my coworker Eric found the site, but this comic strip is hilarious. I guess I can't legally post the actual strips on here. If you don't have time to look at them all, here are 15 of my favorite (I know, but I couldn't break it down any further):

Lumberjack / The Golden Ticket / Scorpy the Forest Friend / A Hit for Bobby / Nunez / Doll Change / Book World / God Tree / Billy the Bunny / Nice T-shirt / Angry Hammer / Not Today Little One / Disgusting Ted / Falling Dream / Bear Boy

Which one(s) is your favorite?

Simply Brilliant

2006-01-29T22:15:00.000-06:00

Mason, you beat me to it. I got the link to top Check Norris facts in an email last week, but you got it up on your blog first. Congratulations. Man, those are great. I think Stefan said there is a movie where Bruce Lee kicks Chuck Norris' ass... but I don't believe it.

Restaurant News:

About a year ago, I had begun to burn out on Chipotle. Although it is perhaps the greatest fast-food restaurant of all time, the excitement of trying all of the burrito/fajita options had worn off. I had gotten in a rut of the steak fajita. But then one magical evening a few weeks ago, the three wise men (Mason, Grant, and Stefan) ordered a burrito bowl and added a side of chips. I was apprehensive at first (I know, be a man!), but I finally gave in. Wow! These are hands down the greatest nachos ever: marinated steak, black beans, rice, cheese, lettuce, tomato, corn, and hot chili salsa. I feel stupid for never having thought of such a glorious fix to my fast food Mexican blues. This had rekindled my love of that fine establishment. Unfortunately, this is unhealthy. Oh well.

To continue that down note, I noticed last week that our old friend Embers on I-394 has closed. Poor thing. Rest in peace. I’ll always remember how you were with that free coffee cake if I ordered an entree. I wonder if the day they closed, a bunch of old folks banged on the door until they passed out like in that South Park episode where they locked the Country Kitchen.

Embers, I apologize that I will not avenge your death, for mighty Perkins has something you never had - the chicken tender melt.

Counting Crows

2006-01-29T01:41:00.000-06:00

I am no music expert. I am not a musician. I have no knowledge in even basic music theory. However, I think all I need to be an expert in listening to music are ears and a heart. One rock band that affects my ears and heart greatly is Counting Crows. Yes, it is true that they were last cool when Kirby Puckett was still in the league. But all four of their studio album masterpieces are among my most cherished musical works.

The major reason that I like them so much is the vocalist - Adam Duritz. Despite his chubby and scruffy appearance, an anonymous female friend of mine has occasional sexual fantasies of him. Sad. Adam does not have a traditionally good singing voice at all – he whines; he sounds shaky and unsure. But like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, that is part of his charm. Adam is the most expressive rock singer I have heard. Counting Crows' forte is songs of love, loss, regret, and pain. Adam has a way of touching all of my emotional soft spots in a way that makes me feel the exact way that he is feeling while he is singing. I know he touches a couple of my friends in the same way.

Counting Crows’ lyrics are not Shakespeare, but they are quite poetic and effective. Symbolic words reappear on several albums and songs – angel, devil, rain, clowns, etc. People may say that means he isn’t growing as a lyricist, and they may be right, but I still love how the common imagery gives a theme to their collection. Another great technique is that he always mentions women and locations by name. This gives each passage a personal connection. Even though I don’t necessarily know those people and places in the song, similar experiences of mine replace the names in my mind and give me strong personal associations. Sad, but true, is that most of the associations are with an ex-girlfriend or girls I don’t know how to ask out. Strange that it still always makes me happy to hear the Crows. Perhaps it is affirming to hear someone singing so passionately about some frustrations similar to mine. Well, enough of this b.s., I’ll get to the music.

You can see their discography here. Here are some of my favorite passages:

Step out the front door like a ghost
into the fog where no one notices
the contrast of white on white.
And in between the moon and you
the angels get a better view
of the crumbling difference between wrong and right.
-Round Here, August and Everything After

we couldn't all be cowboys
so some of us are clowns
and some of us are dancers on the midway
we roam from town to town
I hope that everybody
can find a little flame
me, I say my prayers,
then I just light myself on fire
and I walk out on the wire once again
and I say
goodnight elisabeth
-Goodnight Elisabeth, Recovering the Satellites

We'll I'm all messed up
That's nothing new
Hey monkey, when you open up your blue eyes,
I don't know if I'm wide awake or dreaming
But all I ever need is everything
-Monkey, Recovering the Satellites

A long December
and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year
will be better than the last
I can't remember
the last thing that you said
as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast
...
The smell of hospitals in winter
And the feeling that it's all a lot of oysters,
but no pearls
All at once you look across a crowded room
To see the way that light attaches to a girl
-A Long December, Recovering the Satellites

All my friends got flowers in their eyes
But I got none this season
All of the last ten years blooms have gone and died
Time doesn't give a reason
-High Life, This Desert Life

On certain Sundays in November
When the weather bothers me
I empty drawers of other summers
Where my shadows used to be
And she is standing by the water
As her smile begins to curl
In this or any other summer
She is something all together different
Never just an ordinary girl
...
I put my summers back in a letter
And I hide it from the world
All the regrets you can't forget
Are somehow pressed upon a picture
In the face of such an ordinary girl
-Hard Candy, Hard Candy

I been thinking I'd like to see
Your eyes open up real wide
The minute that you see me
But if you don't come through
I wouldn't wait for you
I understand that everyone goes disappearing
Into the greater grey that covers over everyday
And hovers in the distance...
I've been up all night
I might sleep all day
Get your dreams just right
Then let 'em slip away
-Up All Night, Hard Candy

Genesis

2006-01-23T20:32:00.000-06:00

One of the reasons that I started this blog is to share some of the nature photos I have taken. It seems like a less invasive way to show them then continuously bugging my friends and family. A big inspiration was this site. I am no photography expert my any means. I just got a digital camera in 2004, which is a modest $150 Fuji FinePix A330. I probably will never go hardcore with a $500+, n-MB camera with tripod and stuff, but I think digital nature photography is a great hobby. It allows me to feel creative without actually creating anything (or doing much work). Natural scenery is already there, you just have to try to capture it. Digital cameras allow you to take duplicate shots, choose the betters ones, and delete the bad ones without wasting memory card space or film. Using the LCD makes it much easier to get better shots (especially with gridlines on), plus lets you see them immediately. Looking at the photos with a large, brightly backlit monitor with the ability to zoom, run a slideshow, or edit/crop (which I really am against in principle and rarely do) is no contest versus tiny 4x6 prints. I love taking pictures and hope to continually improve at it over time.

Here are some of my favorite shots from around Minnesota in 2004 (click on a photo to enlarge it):

Lone Lake. Minnetonka, MN, Aug 28, 2004

Downtown. Minneapolis, MN, Sep 6, 2004

Plymouth Creek Park. Plymouth, MN, Oct 11, 2004

Lake Okabena. Worthington, MN, Dec 17, 2004

Sunny California

2006-01-21T01:13:00.000-06:00

For my first real entry I will review my recent trip to SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

My brother BEN earned a free airline ticket to any of 30+

U.S.

destinations that he had to use before March or so. He convinced me to join him for a three-night vacation since I cannot see him very often now and we both really like to travel. Oh, where to fly in January? Since I live in MINNESOTA, I wanted to visit and photograph those foreign things called oceans or mountains, as well as those foreign winter things called warmth and greenery. Neither of us skis, so Colorado was out. Ben lives in Florida, so all of the warm beaches there were out too. California seemed like the next best option. We had both been to NORTHERN CALIFORNIA before on a family road trip (highly recommended by the way), plus it is cool there in the winter, so southern California won. The only California airport the free ticket would allow was LAX. We decided to get a rental car, drive down the coast, and stay in the little beach town of SAN CLEMENTE.

Once we both arrived at the airport in the morning of Saturday, January 14, we decided against taking the quick interstate route to San Clemente. Instead we took the scenic Pacific Coast Highway the entire way. The road was an adventure throughout the 60-mile stretch, from the infamous LOS ANGELES GHETTOS to sooty INDUSTRIAL WASTELANDS to storied ORANGE COUNTY BEACH COMMUNITIES, while closely following the ocean for most of the journey. The couple of beaches we stopped at along the way could not remind me any more of THE BEACH BOYS. And thanks to the magic of iPOD, I could hear them too.

We stayed at the COMFORT SUITES in San Clemente. I thought it was a good place to stay, but then again hotels easily satisfy me. It was right next to the Interstate, but on the other hand only about a mile from the beach. My brother and I are both hotel pool junkies, and this place had a nice little outdoor pool and hot tub. My only real complaint was the nighttime temperatures made it too cool to use the pool alone and they could not get the heat in the hot tub to work until the last night we were there.

On Sunday morning we explored the beach in San Clemente. For lunch we ate fresh fish outside at a restaurant on the pier as the waves crashed under our feet.

In the afternoon we drove up into the mountains to PALOMAR MOUNTAIN STATE PARK. I wanted to take pictures from a great observation point in the park, but when got up that high (over 5000 feet) I was disappointed that we were standing in creepy dark cold foggy clouds from the end of a storm. We could not see more than a couple hundred feet when we got to the point, and in a couple spots could not see more than about ten feet. I was surprised to see my breath in southern California, and we even saw remnants of snow on the ground. However, we also saw giant pines and cedars and two mule deer on the ridge, so it was still great to have gone up there.

We were heading down the mountain around sunset when we found a turnoff and clearing for me to take pictures. I got some good shots of the sun setting on the ocean past the hills and the mountains, but the photos do the breathtakingly majestic experience no justice. We warmed up and unwound on the way back by taking in a steak and shrimp buffet at an INDIAN CASINO.

On Monday we spent most of the day at SAN CLEMENTE STATE BEACH. It was a perfect sunny day in the 60s. The picturesque beach has a commuter rail line between the contrasting glistening ocean and desert bluffs. We found a nice overlook on the bluffs to watch the sunset and of course take photos.

When it was all over, we put 400 miles on the rental car and I got the relaxation and scenic photo ops that I desired. I was very pleased with the trip and I now definitely understand the drawing power of Southern California.

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