Koi Mug Shot
Snapped on 07.17.08 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Koi
Snapped at the Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR, this is one of my favorite photos of mine. Something about the light and texture appeals to me.
Snapped on 07.17.08 || More Flora and Fauna Photos || Comments
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Not a Rose
Snapped on 07.17.08 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Japanese Gardens in Portland, OR
Serenity now.
Snapped on 07.17.08 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Ready for Trouble on the Celebrity Millenium
Snapped on 02.03.08 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Maid of the Mist
While visiting Western New York for my 25th Law School Reunion at UB, we stopped at the Maid of the Mist ride in Niagara Falls. We had an absolutely fabulous time!
Snapped on 05.05.06 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Return to The Driskill
Julie and Christie shoot the bull at The Driskill Hotel in Austin.
Snapped on 07.22.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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London Eye
For our last tourist stop on our last day in London, we queued up at the London Eye and about 35 minutes later began the 30 minute cycle up and around the wheel. At the top, I snapped this photo of the next pod to us.
Snapped on 07.19.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Big Ben and Westminster Abbey from the London Eye
Just past the midway point, the London Eye provides spectacular views of Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey.
Overall, we enjoyed the London Eye but both of us were slightly disappointed. It's one of the rules we talk about all the time - trying to have low expectations so that they are exceeded, rather than being disappointed by the opposite approach.
Snapped on 07.18.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Buckingham Palace From the London Eye
Another view of Buckingham Palace and the surrounding parkland, this time from the top of the London Eye.
Snapped on 07.18.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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James J. Fox & Co., - London Cigars
James J. Fox & Co. has been selling cigars for almost as long as the US has been in existence. Its customers include Sir Winston Churchill and Oscar Wilde among others. They have a cigar museum in the back, which mostly chronicles the history of this cigar merchant. Included are the book, orders, and correspondence they maintained with their most famous customers. They maintain the chair that Sir Winston used when he frequented the store to pick up his Romeo & Juliettas. Jacqui beams as she learns this!
Snapped on 07.18.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Sir Winston's Cigar Store
A little internet research prior to our trip instructed that this was London's oldest and finest cigar merchant. After lunch at Covent Gardens, we hopped a taxi to St. James Street, stopped at No. 19, and were greeted with this view.
Upon entering, the staff -- and in particular Billy Kutcher -- greeted us and could not have been more welcoming. I took a first view at the Havanas, noted other customers smoking in their living room setup -- and walked around. They have a museum in the back which was spectacular.
I then purchased six fine Cubans and lit up a Hoyo Epicures No. 2 and spent an hour talking with Billy and the other customers of this fine shop. Probably the best hour of the trip to London.
Down St. James are several other historic merchants. Berry Brothers and Rudd is a wine merchant from the 18th century. The other 18th century shop that survives is Lock's the hatters, who have occupied No.6 since 1765, and invented the 'Bowler' (named after John Bowler but originally called a 'Coke' after the man who commissioned it, Sir William Coke. Later, the hard hat became better known in America as the 'Derby'), have been measuring famous heads at No.6 since 25 June 1765. John Lobb, the shoe and boot manufacturer whose museum contains the prototype of the Wellington boot, is at No.9 and was founded by the grandfather of the present owner in 1849. Further along, D R Harris, the chemist and perfumers who have long specialised in a morning-after Pick-Me-Up known as the 'Original', have been at No.29 since 1790. This whole street was a lot of fun.
From here, we walked past St. James palace, through the park and over to Buckingham Palace. Alas, it was closed to the public that day.
Snapped on 07.18.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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An Important Message
While walking through London's East End following the London Walk's "Jack the Ripper" tour, we spotted this billboard thanking the London police for their efforts in connection with the 7/7 London Blasts.
Snapped on 07.17.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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7/7 Memorial at St. Botolos Church
While walking through several of the sites of the murders by Jack the Ripper, we passed this spontaneous (and temporary) memorial to the victims of the 7/7 blasts.
Snapped on 07.17.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Ivy - London
Having failed to secure a reservation for the prior night, we had Sunday brunch at The Ivy. We were the only famous people there although the restaurant was much nicer than I expected and the food was delicious. When I asked the waiter to point out the dishes fow which the restaurant was most known, he asked me if I wanted to discuss the most popular dishes or the best food. I did not order the most popular dishes.
Snapped on 07.17.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Harrod's
Our hotel was a block from Harrod's. This is an impressive building, day or night. We went shopping for an hour or so one day but the store was more crowded than any other department store I've been in. The Food Halls are worth a visit under any circumstances.
Snapped on 07.16.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Billy Elliott - The Musical
Following a very busy day touring Notting Hill and Portobello Market, we went to the Victoria Palace Theatre and saw Billy Elliott - The Musical. Both of us had loved the movie and were excited - back in January -- to learn that it was morphing into a play. We bought our tickets and when we arrived in London learned it was the clear hit of the season. Shows are sold out for months.
The play was spectacular. They rotate three leads as Billy Elliott since the boys are 12 or 15. We saw James Lomas and he was excellent. There were several highlights, including one scene when the miners, police, Billy and the ballet girls all share the stage with some dramatic choreography; another where Billy and his friend Michael try on dresses; and the opener of the 2nd Act ("Merry Christmas Maggie Thatcher").
The show lasts 3 hours but it seems like only an hour has gone by when it's over. Billy's father (Gary Lewis) and his dance teacher (Julie Walters) were standouts.
Brilliant!
Snapped on 07.16.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Notting Hill
On Saturday morning, we took a taxi to Holland Park and joined the Notting Hill tour by London Walks. The ares, of course, was mostly known by Americans as the site of the movie of the same name. We walked through the neighborhood and spotted this beautiful row of pastel-coloured homes. Afterwards, we walking past Robbie Williams home, the house where Jimi Hendrix died, the Travel Book Store, and ended the morning at the Portobello Road Market, which was absolutely jamming.
Snapped on 07.16.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Evening Standard
One of the sites we enjoyed keeping up with was the "Whiteboards" for the Evening Standard newspaper. Updated frequently throughout the day, they provided glimpses into the progress of the investigation into the 7/7 blasts. Here is one that caught my attention as we waited outside the tube stop for Holburn for the guide to London Walk's "Legal and Illegal London" walking tour. (We thought this was the best tour of the six London Walks we took).
Snapped on 07.15.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Barrister Wigs
Most judges and barristers wear wigs in court and while walking through London, we spotted this store specializing in these outfits.
Snapped on 07.15.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Jacqui
Jacqui looks fabulous in front of these flowers.
Snapped on 07.15.05 || More Celebrity Mugshots Photos || Comments
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Tower Bridge
The last portion of the London Explorer day was a boat trip from Westminster Bridge to the Tower of London. As we sailed down the Thames, the tour boat operator provided some details about the sites along the way. I enjoyed the Tower Bridge (and the Tower of London itself).
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Which Way to?
While walking down the streets of London, you occassionally arrive at one of these sign posts, which reminded me of TV show MASH. This one had a particularly good group of landmarks displayed.
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Horse Guards
Passing through Trafalgar Square on the way down Whitehall to No. 10 Downing Street (blocked by iron gates installed by Maggie Thatcher), we passed the Horse Guards. Jacqui admired their Charge-of-the-Kight-Brigade cavalry uniforms and swords and posed for a quick picture among the tourist chaos. Just where are the guard's eyes pointed, anyway?
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Changing of the Guard
Our London Walks tour guide, ever mindful of the time, walked us from Westminster Abbey through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace and just as we got close to the Mall, positioned us so that the Queen's Guard walked right past us with no other tourists around on their way to Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guard. (Of course, at the Palace, every tourist in London appeared out of nowhere to catch a glimpse of the Change which takes place behind a gate).
Our position enabled me to snap several photos and this is one of my favorites. It turns out that the fanfare surround the band and troops is much more interesting than the actual changing of the guard - Helena told us as much and we can confirm it.
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Guards at St. James Palace
While it seemed that every tourist in London was at Buckingham Palace for the Changing of the Guards, the guards at St. James Palace are much more accessible. St. James Palace is the London home of Prince Charles and his boys.
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Buckingham Palace
We walked from Westminster Abbey through St. James Park on our way to the Palace to see the fanfare surrounding the Changing of the Guards. On the way, this beautiful view offered itself.
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Big Ben
During our first day, we checked into our hotel and then hustled down to the Westminster Tube stop to do the London Explorer Day with London Walks. We arrived just on time, met our guide Helena (who closes her eyes, turns on her "guide voice", and takes control of about 45 tourists), and set out to walk around Westminster and see all of London's famous sites in about 5 hours. We met under Big Ben and I snapped this first picture of London. The closer you look at this photo, the more you can see the intricacy and beauty of the landmark.
The clock tower is about 315 feet high and is actually named for the 13 ton bell inside - Ben. The light above is lit when Parliament is in session. We did not see it lit while we were there but that could have been our mistake.
Snapped on 07.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Santa Monica Pier
While walking around the Pier in Santa Monica, I spotted these colors which were captured perfectly in the mid-day sun.
Snapped on 05.23.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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SF Chinatown Apothecary
I had the opportunity to go to SF for work this week. After my business meeting, I met friends Pat and Lisa and we went on a walking tour of the city. While in Chinatown, we walked into a local store and observed this fascinating scene. Each draw behind the shopkeeper is filled with a range of Chinese herbs, some popular and others obscure.
Snapped on 03.05.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Clevelander in South Beach
While Ivan and I attended a trade show for work in South Beach, we wandered past The Clevelander on Ocean Avenue. Famous for being the site of many bachelor parties and Girls Gone Wild scenes, we looked in as we were walking and noticed that they were holding a fashion show, complete with runway models in bathing suits.
Snapped on 02.27.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Barging in Burgundy
From time to time, as I find myself in lulls snapping new photos, I plan to post pictures taken at different points in my life.
Here is one from a barge trip Jacqui and I took through Burgundy a few summers back. We shared this boat with 4 other couples, a captain, chef, and a few mates for six nights. Yes, it was as spectacular as it looks.
Snapped on 02.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Beach at the El San Juan
The beach was beautiful and we took a long walk together.
Snapped on 01.15.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The El San Juan Hotel Lobby
Jacqui decided that she wanted to stay in San Juan during this trip to Puerto Rico and we booked into the El San Juan hotel. My parents had been regulars at the El San Juan in the 70s, going there each year. Growing up, my Dad used to show off the picture he took of my parents with The Supremes (Diana, Flo, and Mary) who apparently were the house band at the El San Juan during one of their stays.
The common areas of the El San Juan are lovely. The pools, beach, and lobby have been maintained beautifully. (One cannot say that about the rooms which have not been renovated in years and are disgusting). On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, the hotel has different latin bands playing (for free) in the lobby from 7PM to 10PM. They have a moderate dress code after 7PM: no shorts, beach wear, etc. And the scene is spectacular! Each night, literally hundreds of people hang in the lobby. Salsa dancing, drinking, and smoking cigars. Many are dressed to the nines and the people watching is better than the Vegas strip. We had a blast every night!
Snapped on 01.13.05 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Times Square
Fresh Air! Times Square!
Snapped on 12.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Mounted Police
Snapped on 12.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Rockefeller Center
After a huge dinner at Ruby Foos, several of us walked over to see the tree and skating rink at Rockefeller Center. It was cold and the wind was blowing but the rink was jamming, even at 11PM. I snapped this shot at an odd angle but is somehow captures the energy.
Snapped on 12.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Portage Glacier
The beautiful Portage Glacier in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. At one point, the glacier was located directly in front of the lake. While beautiful in the summer, it can be quite dangerous in the winter. This was the site of the last communication from Congressman Boggs' plane, which crashed and was never found.
Snapped on 08.16.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Portage Glacier
As part of Jacqui's efforts to demonstrate that knitting can be done anywhere, here she is knitting at the foot of Portage Glacier. The day featured a spectacular blue sky, although you could never tell from this picture, which was shot directly into the sun
Snapped on 08.16.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Double Musky Inn - Girdwood, Alaska
After our Kenai Fjords National Park Tour, we drove up to Girdwood, Alaska to stay at the Carriage House Bed and Breakfast for the night. Across the street, the Double Musky Inn provides a very lively setting and outstanding food. After a week of eating fish every night, Jacqui and I both ordered filets of beef and split a nice bottle of wine to celebrate our last night in the Kenai Peninsula.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Wade's Orca
On the return trip to Seward from Northwestern Glacier, the captain spotted a group of killer orcas. I tried to snap some pictures but was not successful until one of the other passengers, Wade King, spotted this one underwater about to surface only yards from the boat. Spectacular! Thank you Wade.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Cabbing
Cabbing action at the Northwest Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park outside of Seweard, Alaska. Simply breathtaking.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Northwest Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park
The highlight of our 10 day trip to Alaska was drifting at the foot of Northwest Glacier in Kenai Fjords National Park. The glacier moves between two and five feet per day. As it moves, ice slides off avalanching into the sea with thunderous sounds. We drifted for about an hour watching the "cabbing" in awe. (It is hard to get a true sense of scale from this picture).
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Islands in Resurection Bay, Alaska
More stunning in person, but this captures the mood.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Puffins
These hard-working birds are taking it easy now but earlier they were working hard to herd bait fish into a circular ball. The puffins would dive deep into the sea to catch some fish. This activity did not go unnoticed, however, and a humpback whale soon arrived and swallowed the entire bait ball in a single, powerful gulp.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Sea Lions
As we were about to head into Kenai Fjords National Park, our boat captain spotted this family of sea lions soaking up some sun in the mid-day heat.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Sea Otter
Continuing down Resurrection Bay, we spotted this little fellow taking a nap.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Fishing Boats in Resurrection Bay
We spent Sunday on a boat touring the Kenia Fjords National Park. On our way through Resurrection Bay, we passed lots of boats participating in the annual Silver Salmon Derby. It's hard to imagine a more beautiful spot to fish in the entire world.
Snapped on 08.15.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Nature's Bounty
Once the tide rises, seals, sea lions, otters, crabs and other hungry critters feast.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Seward Marina
A beautiful fishing town nestled at the end of the Kenai Peninsula.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Seward Fishing
At the end of the day, the fishing boats return to Seward with the day's catch. They've set up two fish cleaning stations, which attract a lot of attention. I've never seen anything quite like it. The fish heads, guts, tails, and bones are tossed into the middle.....(see next photo).
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Exit Glacier - Seward, Alaska
After checking into Windsong Lodge, we drover over to Exit Glacier. The national park service has built a path that is about 0.75 miles each way to the glacier. As you can see, two visitors walked off the path up to the edge of the glacier. They provide some idea of the scale of the ice.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Kenai Peninsula
Just before we turned south towards Seward, we stopped at a rest area manned by a park ranger. She had some binoculars set up on a tripod focussing on a family of mountain goats but I was more interested in this stunning view.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Wade's Orca
On the return trip to Seward from Northwestern Glacier, the captain spotted a group of killer orcas. I tried to snap some pictures but was not successful until one of the other passengers, Wade King, spotted this one underwater about to surface only yards from the boat. Spectacular! Thank you Wade.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Russian and Kenai Rivers
While driving from Homer to Seward, we stopped at many scenic overlooks. At one stop near the intersection of the Russian River and Kenai River (one of the best spots to fish for salmon in the world), I walked down a short path and happened upon this beautiful scene. The camera lens falls short of the human eye as schools of red sockeye salmon were bunched up in shallow waters and easy to spot.
Snapped on 08.14.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Salty Dog in Homer, Alaska
Perhaps the most famous - and certainly the most interesting - bar in Homer is the Salty Dog. Visitors tack dollar bills with their names on them, business cards, bras, and other items to the wall; names are carved into the tables; and the floor is wood chip. Besides the tourists, most of the patrons are old salts who work the charter boats in the day and drink away the afternoon and evening.
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Homer Marina
While much of the Homer spit is taken up by RVs and tents, parts are quite breathtaking.
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Homer, Alaska
We love to pose!
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Halibut Capital of the World
Since I was a young boy, I've always liked to visit the fishing docks when the charter boats return from sea. After checking into our hotel, we walked around the spit in Homer and took in the scene. Here was one person's impressive catch of halibut.
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Land's End: Homer, Alaska
After being dropped off by the SeaBird in Homer, I went to rent a car while Jacqui dropped off our salmon to be fileted, vacuum-packed, flash frozen and shipped home. We met back at the Land's End hotel at the end of the spit in Homer. You don't see too many Hotel signs like this one in your travels.
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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View of China Poot Bay Mountains from the SeaBird
Before we knew it, four nights had passed and it was time to leave Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, head back to Homer, and continue on to Seward....
Snapped on 08.13.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Tidepooling
The tides and moon were not optimal for tidepooling during our stay at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge as they were only moving about 6 feet per day. Nonetheless, we spent a few hours before breakfast one day with Deb pointing out the marine life living in China Poot Bay.
Snapped on 08.12.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Eagle
After our salmon catch was cleaned, a family of eagles circled to snatch a salmon head for their young. I was able to snap this picture in mid-flight. If the wings were up, the salmon head would be visilbe in the eagle's talons.
Snapped on 08.11.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Silver Salmon Run in China Poot Bay
During our first day at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, I told Josiah - the lodge's fishing guide and an all around terrific guy - that one of my life goals was to catch salmon fishing in Alaska. He said that the timing was terrific since the annual Silver Salmon run started about 10 days earlier. We went out and caught our limit, fishing on spinning gear with orange on orange lures. I had a particularly good day, managing to land 5 by myself (plus reeling in two more that Josiah said were too much for him ). The fish were running from 11 to 15 pounds. This one was a beauty. A truly memorable day.
Snapped on 08.11.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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China Poot Bay
The beautiful view from our "cliff house" cabin at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge.
Snapped on 08.10.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Relaxing at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge Cliff House
After kayaking, Jacqui and I spent some time relaxing in our "Cliff House." Jacqui had broken her foot the week before we left so we had ready excuses for lounging.
Snapped on 08.10.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Kayaking at China Poot Bay
During our second day at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge, Jacqui and I went kayaking for the first time. With Katie as our guide, we ended up making a full day out of it. It turned out to be more fun that we could ever have anticipated. We paddled withn a few feet of an otter happily eating claims on his back as he floated with the tide; to a couple that created bowls out of birch burls further down the bay; down an isolated stream full of silver salmon jumping out of the water about 10 yards before us; and over to view a mountain goat nestling in the cliffs.
Snapped on 08.10.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Cliff House at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge
We felt lucky to be assigned to the Cliff House, recommended by Andrew Harper's Hideaways as the most most secluded cabin at Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge. Note the series of bridges one has to navigate to arrive.
Snapped on 08.09.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge
After a day of travel, we arrived in beautiful China Poot Bay, Alaska at the Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge. We joined three other families, six outstanding staffers, our our hosts for four days of fishing, kayaking, eating, drinking and lounging in the middle of blue skies; a bay full of salmon, otters, and marine inverterbrates; eagles, and Murray the Mountain Goat.
Snapped on 08.09.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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El Conquistador - Puerto Rico (Day Five)
Tuesday was our last day in Puerto Rico. We woke up and went to the pool for a few hours. The sun was blazing hot and clear and after two hours we had enough. Back to the room to shower, change and pack and then around noon to Las Brisas, an informal restaurant overlooking the ocean.
After lunch, we had about an hour before the shuttle to the airport so, of course, I went over to the casino. I sat down and won about 14 of 16 hands and was quickly up $500. At one point, I hit four blackjacks in a row. After losting four hands, I found Jacqui who was knitting and told her that I won $400 in 15 minutes. For the trip, we lost a collective $800 over 4 nights, which was below our "entertainment" budget.
At 2PM, our shuttle left for the airport. The ride took about an hour. Security at the San Juan airport was tight but it was not busy. Our flight left on time and at about 9:30 PM, we were back in our house. Sparky and Scooter were happy to see us and we were happy to be home.
Snapped on 01.20.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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El Conquistador - Puerto Rico (Day Three)
We woke up on Sunday to another stunningly beautiful sunny day. The agenda was agreed: a lazy day at the pool drinking pina coladas and swiimming for as long as we could stand the sun. We quickly found lounge chairs, although by 10 am all were completely occupied. At 11 am, the waitress made her first pass through the crowd and we ordered our first round. The sun was hot. Even though the temperature was only around 80 degrees, it was hard to stay in the sun for more than 30 minutes before going into the pool. The couple next to us had the Sunday New York Times and we read much of it. We had lunch by the pool but by 2:30PM, we were done. Put a fork in us. Cooked.
We went back to our room and took a quick nap. But a few hours later, we were back at the casino. I was playing $10 blackjack with progressive bets. I played for about three hours before dinner, winning around $150. Jacqui was up and down at the slot machines.
We ate dinner at Blossoms; an Asian restaurant with both Behnihana-like tables and regular tables. We ordered sushi for appetizers and two Chinese dishes. The food was average.
After dinner, it was back to the casino. I shot dice for several hours and won a bit. Then I sat down at a $25 blackjack table and gave it and some more back to the casino. Jacqui disappeared back to the hotel room pretty early without checking in with me. At 2 am, I called it a night, down about $300 for the first three days.
I was, however, completely relaxed. And had a great tan.
Snapped on 01.18.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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El Conquistador - Puerto Rico (Day Two)
The second morning Jacqui had a massage at The Golden Door and I walked over the golf course to get a tee time. When I arrived, they were very nice and sent me right over to Benny, the starter. He told me to hit a few balls to warm up and that he would add me to a twosome in a few minutes. Soon, I was on the first tee with a nice young couple. Our fourth was a guy playing by himself but with his wife riding the cart with them.
The first hole looked to be pretty intimidating, sloping greatly from left to right with a narrow landing area for the drive. I managed to land my drive in the fairway and my approach shot over a hill to the green was just to the left. A chip put my on the green but I needed three putts and took a 6.
The second hole did not seem as intimidating:
but I still scored a 6. During the second hole, the couple asked if we would play ahead of them as the wife was a new player and we were adding to her anxiety.
After the 536 yard Par 5 on three, I was shooting 19 and it looked like a pretty typical round for me. But then, my drives started working for me in a way that I had not experienced ever before.
The fourth hole was a short 157 yard par 3:
and I put my drive pin high on the green. Two putts later, I had my first par.
While we were waiting for the fifth tee box to clear, a new couple appeared behind us and joined us to make a foursome. Bob and Judy, it turned out, live about a mile from our house in the Fallsgrove community and are members of the Lakewood Golf Club in our area. They had been coming to El Conquistador for 8 consecutive winters and were avid golfers. I really enjoyed playing with them.
For the remaining five holes on the front nine, I scored one more par, two bogies and two doubles for a 48. I hit a drive 270 yards in the center of the fairway of the eighth hole, setting up a par on that 485 yard par 5.
On the 10th hole, I drove the ball 300 yards (downhill, yes) for the longest drive of my life. Right in the middle of the fairway. And on the 11th hole, I drove the ball 340 yards down broadway. I made Bob go back and check the yardage too. All told, I had two pars on the back nine to go with five bogies and a double for a 43. 91 Total. My best golf round ever. And on a pretty tough course too.
Resort golf being what it is, it was now around 3PM and I was a few hours late meeting Jacqui at the pool for lunch. She was a bit miffed but happy when I showed as since I am generally very prompt, if I am late she fears that I have died. I had lunch and took a few dips in the pool. It was sunny and in the mid-80s.
We then showered and changed and went to the casino for a few hours. Jacqui lost at the slots and I lost about $100 playing blackjack. We had 8:30 dinner reservations at Othello's, the resort's Italian restaurant, which was just jamming. They had a very good wine list and I selected a nice bottle of Amarone. The wine was outstanding and we had a terrific time at dinner together. I ordered pasta with seafood and we split a piece of cheesecake for desert.
After dinner, it was back to the casino. Jacqui did not stay long but I shot dice for several hourse winning about $85. I then went over to the blackjack table, playing $10 hands with progressive bets of $20, $25, $35, and $50 if I won five hands in a row. I walked out of the casino around 2 am dead even for the first two days and feeling pretty proud. And tired.
Snapped on 01.17.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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El Conquistador - Puerto Rico
Last night, after stopping by WoolWinders: A Knitting Salon to do the week's accounting, I went home and packed for our four night "vacationette" to Puerto Rico. It was cold outside about 14 degrees. I was feeling pretty smug.
At 7 a.m today, when I was walking to the terminal at Dulles Airport, Jacqui and I were both feeling smug and cold to our bones. It was a miserable 7 degrees, even colder with wind chill and our hands were freezing as we dragged two suitcases and a set of golf clubs to United. Check in was a breeze and we were soon rid of the baggage. While going through security, we spotted my partner Bill MacLeod and his wife Karen. They were also feeling pretty proud of themselves as they were on their way to Hawaii for a week to attend an ABA meeting.
The flight departed on time and about 3 1/2 hours later landed in sunny San Juan. We retrieved our luggage and checked in that the El Conquistador desk at the airport for our transfer to the hotel. There was a 30 minute wait for the bus to leave, which was made easier by the free rum and mixers supplied by the hotel. The transfer to the resort was longer than we expected, running about 90 minutes due to bumper to bumper traffic.
Upon check-in, we learned that the ocean view room that was waiting for us only had two double beds. Unacceptable. The clerk tried to upgrade us but her manager would have nothing to do with it. So we accepted a "sunset view" room with a king size bed. The view turned out to be of the 1st and 18th holes of the golf course, which were outside of our window.
We unpacked and walked around the entire resort to get acclimated. Oh, and we changed into clothes more appropriate for the stunningly beautiful 80 degree, bright, blue sky, no humidity weather.
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The resort is huge and laid out over three levels on the side of a cliff that drops hundreds of feet to the ocean. There are three pools on the upper level, one for lounging, one for laps and one for water sports and one more pool on the "marina" level.
Of course, after our stroll, we had to walk into the casino. It is in need of a face lift. The slot machines are mostly a decade old. There was some action on the one blackjack table that was open. The craps table was still closed. I sat down and played blackjack for about an hour, never up or down more than $100. Jacqui won a bit on the slot machines.
Around 7PM, we returned to our rooms and changed for dinner. We had made reservations at Isabella's, which is the resort's steakhouse. I wore the new Nat Nast shirt that Jacqui had bought for me. Jacqui wore a really nice new silk top she bought for the occasion. We were a bit overdressed, which was a surprise since Isabella's is the nicest restaurant on the property.
I ordered a great bottle of Italian Red Wine. Jacqui had the surf and turf combo; I ordered the New York Strip. We split a dessert. The food was very very good; the service excellent and we were relaxed and having lots of fun.
After dinner, about 9:30, we returned to the casino, which was now hopping. The craps table was open as were 6 or so blackjack tables. I shot dice for several hours and met some nice folks at the table. I was up about $85. After an hour, Jacqui returned to the room to sleep. The casino was open until 3 am but about 2am or so, I was losing my concentration at the blackjack table. I was still up about $40, playing at a $10 table and thought that was a good way to end the first night.
All in all, a great first day and with lots to look forward to do.
Snapped on 01.16.04 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Xmas at the Borgata
Today, we woke up and thought about driving to Atlantic City to do a few hours of gambling. I was not feeling too well last night though and was not sure. We decided not to go and bought tickets to the 1:40 show for the new Nicholson movie. I had left my knitting at WoolWinders so I drove over about 8:30 to get it. I had some live Springsteen in my CD player and started re-thinking the plans for the day. When I returned home, I said to Jacqui that we should flip a coin to decide if we went gambling. Heads we go to AC, tails we stay home. I flipped it and it came out tails. Home. Jacqui said we should do two out of three but I declined, saying it was an omen. Fifteen minutes later, Jacqui said she really wanted to go to AC. So we showered, dressed and got in the car about 10 in the morning.
I had been listening to The Company by Robert Littell on my Ipod which I downloaded using Audible. Using ITunes, I broadcast the reading of the book to an unused radio station. The book was about 42 hours in length. I had about 8.5 hours left and thought I would listen to it on the ride to AC. Jacqui started knitting and I turned on the IPod. Within a few minutes, Jacqui was sucked into the book and 3 hours and 15 minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot of Borgata Casino.
We walked into the casino, took about a half lap around, and soon Jacqui planted a kiss on me and said she would find me later. She was off to the slots. I walked through the gaming tables for about 15 minutes, looking for a spot at the blackjack tables. They were quite crowded. Apparently, lots of Asians and Jews had the same idea we did. I passed tables with minimums of $25, $50, and $100, looking for a $10 table to warm up on. I did not find one. So I sat down at a $25 table. After about 20 minutes, Jacqui was behind me, beaming brightly. She had hit a 1600 coin payout on a 50 cent Wheel of Fortune slot machine. All of a sudden, she was up $800. I asked her if she wanted to go home but she said no. I asked her if she wanted to go shopping at one of the hotel stores, telling her that way she would not put her purchase back into the slots while we stayed. She decided to put $500 away and keep playing. I hit a few hands and was up about $200. Then lost several hands in a row. Two hours passed and Jacqui found me saying she was hungry. I walked away about $62.50 in the black. Jacqui still her $500 plus another $165.
We had our Christmas dinner *burgers and fries) t the coffee shop since the nicer restaurants were closed until 5PM. The pit boss gave me a comp for lunch for two, or so she said. It really was a comp for $15. Still, it was a nice gesture after only two hours of play.
After lunch, I sat down at the Three Card Poker table. Jacqui went back to the slots. While playing at this table, I got cold and was down to my last $25 chip of my first $400 bankroll. I managed to get a straight with that hand, which paid about $175. A few more winning hands and I was up a bit over $200. Jacqui appeared at the table saying she had lost the $165 and was done for the day. She went to the bar, ordered a drink and started knitting. They probably don't see that too often there.
After a few hours of Three Card Poker, I was getting bored and when Jacqui swung by, we walked over to the craps table. Fifteen minutes later, I had dropped about $200. I still had half my original bankroll but was losing interest in gambling so I suggested we leave.
We drove home in about 3 and one half hours, listening to The Company. Slightly over twelve hours after we left home, we pulled into our driveway. Jacqui was ecstatic with her win of $500; I thought that only losing $200 while playing for about six hours was pretty damn good.
Overall, the Borgata was better than any other AC hotel we had been to and closest in feel to Las Vegas. We plan to drive up again next Christmas.
Snapped on 12.25.03 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Xmas in NY
Each year for the past several years, I have had the opportunity to spend a few days in NYC chairing a seminar on advertising law. The December conference is always well attended as lots of lawyers enjoy the opportunity to go to NYC for a few days during the holiday season.
It was cold this year. But the cold temperature did not stop me from visiting Rockefeller Center to see the tree
Snapped on 12.16.03 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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The Champ
Immediately upon my return from Stratton Golf School (see three previous entries), Jacqui and I left for a four day jaunt to Chicago. I chair two seminars each year on Advertising Law and we went to Chicago early to take advantage of cheap air fares, see some friends, and enjoy the city. A couple of weeks ago, I called Allen Greenberg, a very close friend of mine from college who now lives in Omaha, to see if he and his wife, Mary Kay, could meet us in Chicago. They did and it was just terrific to see them both. We ate our way through Chicago, and Allen and I picked up our friendship just where we left it when we last saw each other, well over a year ago. I also arranged for my former coleague, Margo, to speak at the conference as a scam so we could see each other (and Andrew!) and so she could see another mutual friend, Samantha and her husband, Greg. In short, we had lined up the perfect mix of pleasure and business for the four days and Jacqui and I were really excited about the trip, even though we had been in Vermont for the prior five days.
After a quick lunch, Allen, Mary Kay, Jacqui and I walked down Michigan Avenue, using shopping as an excuse to get some exercise and talk. Along the way we stopped at many commercial establishments, looking more than buying. We had been invited to Samantha and Greg's house for cocktails at 6:30 PM or so and when we arrived, Sam and Greg had a fabulous spread to go with some very nice wine. Margo and Andrew were there, with Margo sporting a new hairdo -- trendy yet sophisticated! Sam and Greg have a terrific apartment, with a beautiful rooftop view of the Chicago skyline. The eight of us drank 4 quick bottles of wine before Allen, Mary Kay, Jacqui and I needed to leave for dinner at Trattoria No. 10. Dinner was very good, although I was not particularly hungry. Allen and Mary Kay are both a lot of fun. I did not reallze how much I missed Allen's friendship until then....
The next morning we had brunch at Ada's Deli, down the block from the hotel we were staying at. We took a cab over to Oak Street to look at a vintage poster art shop and in the same building was a knitting store and Mr. Barber on Oak Street. I was in desperate need of a haircut. Enticed by the salon's slogan: "We Make You Beautiful," I walked in and inquired about getting a cut without an appointment. As luck would have it, they had an opening and I got a great haircut from Mr. Barber, who turns out to be a Latvian Jew who used to work at the Drake barbershop down the block until he opened his own place. He showed me pictures of his family, gave me a massage, and a hot shave on my neck. We walked downstairs to the poster shop, where the posters sell for $6,000 and up. Very nice but we did not have enough wall space.
We walked back to the hotel down Michigan Avenue. The Chicago animal society was holding its annual adopt a dog event and there were dogs available for adoption everywhere. I bought a couple of books at Borders, some CDs at Williams Sonoma of all places, and then Allen and Mary Kay had to catch their plane back to Omaha.
Jacqui and I said goodbye and went to the hotel's cigar bar to wait for John and Katie to arrive from DC for the seminar. John is a partner of mine and Katie works for AOL. We were speaking on a panel the next day at the seminar with Margo (Nike) and Andy (Dell). I smoked a cigar, Jacqui and I drank a few margaritas, and John and Katie showed up on time and had a couple of quick Coronas. We cabbed over to Catch 35 for a spectacular seafood dinner and some good wine. The waitress was quite good and we all left feeling like we ordered perfectly.
Monday morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to prepare for my presentation. I ventured down to the breakfast area to meet John, Margo, Katie and John and then went up to the conference room a bit early to check that the technology was working fine. We put on a good 2 1/2 hour presentation although we did not finish all the topics as five lawyers can really speak forever -- me in particular.
On Monday night, Jacqui and I took Margo and Andrew and Sam and Greg out to dinner at NoMi. Very hip. I thought to myself it was a good think we took Margo, Sam and Jacqui with us as my cool quotient may not have been high enough without them to get a table. Of course, Andrew and Greg are each about 6 feet 5 inches tall and I am 6 feet 3 inches tall so we were pretty imposing, even if not as hip as some of the patrons hanging out at the bar. I wish I had my camera with me...
After the seminar on Tuesday, Jacqui and I flew home. At O'Hare, I met Mohammed Ali who was sitting at a gate all by himself. I walked up to him, shook his hand, and asked him to sign an autograph for my kids, which he did.
Snapped on 05.26.02 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Blue and Lew
Ben and I went to see Blue Man Group. We sat in the second row, wearing plastic ponchos and laughed more and harder than we thought possible.
Snapped on 08.30.01 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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World Trade Center
While on the the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, Ben snapped this picture of the twin towers.
Snapped on 08.30.01 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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Statue of Liberty
During our trip to NYC, Ben and I took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. The line for the ferry was not too long and we stopped to have this picture taken. I recall that David Letterman has done the same thing.
Snapped on 08.29.01 || More Travel Photos || Comments
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