my travels

Havasu Falls

2009-06-26T19:25:00.011-06:00

The week of June 7 Richard, Derrick and I went to Havasu Falls in the Havasupai reservation. The canyon was newly opened after the great flood of August 2008. We were excited to see the changes the flood had made.

This fall is a new one right above the old Navajo Falls. Navajo is gone which is sad...

Below is a view of the pool at the base of Havasu Falls...I was standing on the top of Havasu Falls.

Below is a the pool at the base of Mooney Falls...the tribe is having to rebuild the pool...this day they were creating a sandbag wall to hold the new pool and afterward they were going to redirect the stream at the side back into the pool.

Voss to Gudvangen on the Buss

2009-02-19T01:53:00.003-07:00

On Saturday we took the train from Bergen to Voss. Voss is a ski town and the train was packed with skiers...At Voss we got on the Norway in a Nutshell buss to Gudvangen for the fjord boat to Flam. The other two trips this was the last of the trip and we road the buss in the dark. It was a spectacular view as we passed waterfall after waterfall frozen as they cascaded down the steep cliffs. When we boarded the boat in Gudvangen we had to sail through the ice to get out into the fjord. What looks like water between the chunks is really frozen and we could watch the bits of ice and waves made by the boat slide across the top like ice-skaters.

More about Norway

2009-02-18T22:24:00.005-07:00

I've been in Norway since Feb 7, 2009. Since my last blog I have been very busy. The Newspaper I'm working at has gone live with my company's software which is why I'm in Norway in the first place. My coworkers Lee, Lisa and Jeff have all gone home leaving Dorsey and I to provide post go-live support. Last weekend I took the Norway in a Nutshell train trip around a small part of Norway for the third time. This time I went with Dorsey and we were able to take the trip in the opposite direction. It was cool to go the opposite direction. Going up the mountain from Flam to Myrdal enabled us to see some things you don't see going down the mountain.
It was a cloudy day this time as well so not as spectacular of views and a wee bit warmer.
We still haven't see all that much wildlife for being in the mountains. We did see starfish in the bay in Flam while we were waiting for the train back to Myrdal.
Dorsey made friends with a Norwegian Cat. He was trying to figure out how to call a cat in Norwegian and discovered the 'Here Kitty Kitty' is universal. Either that or the cat was bilingual from all the tourists.
While we were waiting for the train in Flam we happened to go down to the dock at the water level. The water was so clear we could see the bottom. There were starfish everywhere!
Dorsey and I have tried a few more restaurants. One that stands out was Aroma on the street leading up to the Floeien Mt. tram. (the funicular)We rode the funicular because Dorsey hadn't tried it out. On the way to the top the tram stopped just short of the terminal. We were informed there was a problem and the driver had to get out and go to the power room to see what the problem was. We were stuck in the tram for about 10 minutes before the tram crept it's way to the top.
We only have two days left in Norway then we're off toward home. Dorsey to Amarillo, TX and me back to Utah.
I've enjoyed my time in Norway even still I'm looking forward to getting back home.

Dinner at Egon

2009-02-11T13:08:00.004-07:00

Last night a group of coworkers and myself went to dinner at a restaurant called Egon. It's an interesting pub in a building that looks like it was once an old church. As we came out of the restaurant I was thinking how interesting the courtyard looked with all the snow piles on the sidewalk tables. Lee said something about that being a picture waiting to be taken so I took a picture.

Ride the train with me

2009-02-10T13:49:00.005-07:00

Another weekend in Bergen

2009-02-10T12:58:00.009-07:00

I'm back in Norway. I've been here for a couple of days now. I arrived on Saturday midday. When I arrived I met up with Lee and Lisa. We went off for a day out. We took the funicular up to the top of the mountain. It has snowed here since the last time I was here so everything is covered in a blanket of white. The cafe at the top was open so we had a bit of lunch while we were enjoying the view.
On Sunday we all took the Norway in a Nutshell. This was the second go for Lee and I. It was Lisa's first. The days are longer now so we were able to see the fjord...The fjord was very scenic. It was a beautiful sunny day (very cold but beautiful none the less). We had a really nice time.

On The Road Again....

2009-02-01T19:37:00.003-07:00

In 5 more days I'll be heading back to Bergen Norway. I've been off the road for just over a month. It's been nice to be home. I've managed to get the roof fixed and my car registered. I no longer have a stack of mail and I've gotten rid of a lot of paper. The laundry is caught up. It will be fun to go back to Norway and see how things are progressing at the Newspaper there. This will be my last couple of weeks on the road for a while.

Still here!

2009-01-18T08:33:00.003-07:00

It's been nearly a month since I came home from my long trip to Norway and Wales. It's been nice to be home. I would have found myself in Norway this morning. This weeks trip was canceled which I was quite grateful for. I've been able to get the leaky roof repaired and get through a few more of my stacks of papers and mail. Now the clean up from the leaky roof begins in the bedroom and laundry room. I don't have much time because I will probably be back in Norway for a couple of weeks in February.

HOME SWEET HOME!!!

2008-12-29T08:13:00.005-07:00

This past week was a very busy one. I spent a few days with my cousin Barry in Wales after 3 weeks in Europe for business. Then on Dec 23rd I was scheduled to head home. The weather reports for the US were not very encouraging with airport closures and flight delays. I left Barry's home early on Tues morning. I drove to Manchester Airport where I discovered my flight was delayed by 2 hours due to a medical emergency that had diverted the flight coming from the US to Boston to off load the ill person. We were scheduled to leave Manchester at 1035 am with a connection in New York for home at 4 pm. The delay to my flight would surely cause me to miss the 4 pm connection due to having to go through immigration, baggage claim then customs before rechecking bags and passing through security. The only upside to the morning was that I was upgraded to Business elite class which virtually never happens on overseas flights.
Needless to say I missed the connecting flight and was rescheduled on the 730 pm flight to Salt Lake. I wasn't able to board the plane until every passenger with a confirmed seat had boarded...it was nerve-racking to wait to see if I was going home or spending the night in New York.
Finally I asked the gate agent if I was going to get a seat...I mentioned to him I was the first name on the standby list....he said well I guess you can get on then...the only seat I have is an exit row and aisle seat....I was ecstatic....I didn't want to get stuck in an center seat for 5 hrs.
Anyway, I was able to get home before Christmas which was a blessing.
Rich and Cadee picked me up at the airport and we arrived back at home just after 12AM which put me home on Christmas eve!
It was very snowy and cold when we arrived home....
Christmas Eve morning after a good lay in I headed to visit my parents since I hadn't seen them for nearly a month. Dad greeted me at the door!

A visit with my cousin in Rhyl Wales

2008-12-20T11:37:00.007-07:00

Yesterday I was finished with work and I headed to Rhyl, Wales to visit my cousin Barry. It was a very nice and very long drive from Aberystwyth to Rhyl.

I arrived just after 4pm...the sun was nearly set. Barry walked down the lane to help me find the cottage on the sea front. I can look out his window and watch the tide come in. It's literally across the street from his cottage.

Today Barry, Maggie and I went to Llandudno across the way from Rhyl. We drove up to the top of a mountain where there was a lovely view of the sea and the towns around.

Aberystwyth Wales

2008-12-14T09:35:00.008-07:00

Yesterday I left Bergen Norway and flew to Manchester, England. When I arrived in England 5 hrs later than expected I still had to drive to Aberystwyth which is on the coast of Wales and more south. It's about 3 hrs drive. I left the airport in my hire car about 11 pm, it was pouring rain. I don't know why but I seem to get to do a lot of driving in the pouring rain late at night.
As I was driving I was trying to follow the directions I had acquired on Google maps. The first part of the trip was uneventful as it was on the dual carriageway (freeway to you Americans). I soon found myself on winding country roads and very little signage. I got lost a time or two and then I'd stop and regroup. As I was driving through one of the many small villages along the route I saw a drunken Santa in a black plastic suit walking down the street...a very interesting site at 1 in the morning. I finally arrived in Aberystwyth around 3 am.
My room wasn't much bigger than the 'cell' in Norway!
This morning I had a lay in(slept in) as you can imagine. This picture was the view from my bedroom window.

When I was finally ready to get out of bed I headed downstairs for a proper English breakfast....I ended up having fried eggs, toast and yogurt.
After breakfast I ventured out to find a shop to get laundry detergent and change so I could have clean clothes for the week. I didn't have my laundry done in Norway because it would have cost me close to $200. Down the street at the Laundrette (Laundromat) I did my laundry for about $10. This is a view from the laundry window.

After I got my laundry done I was finally able to get a shower and a change of clothes. Then I went out for Fish & Chips. Finally normal food! Back to the hotel for a rest~

Another interesting travel day

2008-12-13T06:04:00.002-07:00

Today I am scheduled to fly to Manchester the drive to Aberystwyth, Wales. I arrived at the airport in plenty of time this morning to take care of my VAT refund then check in and find my gate. I couldn't find the VAT refund counter so I went to the Visitor Informasion in the airport. They told me I needed to wait til I got through security so I went to check in for my flight. That was pretty uneventful. I went through security which also went unusually smoothly. I found the VAT refund counter and got my VAT refund in US Dollars. Then I went to the gate to wait...We boarded on time which was also very good. We sat on the plane for a few minutes and I dozed off...when I awakened we were still sitting on the tarmack. I didn't think anything of it until I realized we had been sitting on the tarmack for nearly an hour....we were supposed to depart at 12:10 and it was now 12:55. A few minutes later the captain came on the PA system to announce that one of the engines was having sand in it and the engineers were going to have to take the plane back to the hangar and have it repaired before we could depart. This wouldn't be a big deal I guess except for the fact that our 12:10 departure now became a 4:00 pm departure. I am going through Amersterdam to Manchester and my flight is scheduled to depart Amsterdam at 4pm. We were told we would need to deplane then they would announce to the whole flight what the procedure would be. We were given vouchers for our troubles and told we would not be booked on other flights but would wait for the plane to be repaired and once we were in the air our connecting flights would then be rebooked. Those having connections that would be missed would be put in hotels in Amsterdam for the night. When I finally got to the counter (it was a very long line) The agent informed me there was a connecting flight to Manchester at 9 pm so I would be fine....I seriously doubt I will be fine. I've only traveled KLM a few times but I can tell you that nothing has gone right on this airline yet~!!

I get it now....I'm on a cruise ship!

2008-12-12T14:53:00.005-07:00

When I got back to my hotel tonight I realized why my room was so small....I'm on a cruise ship! I figured it out when I found the towel dog on my bed....

After I got back to the hotel I decided to take a walk up toward the mall near the big pond with the Christmas tree. As I passed the tree I noticed that the pond was now ice and the lights of the tree were reflecting off the ice very nicely.
I just had to take a picture...As I was walking back toward the hotel I passed a shop that had a very interesting suit in the window. I just had to take a picture of it as well. I had passed it before but hadn't really paid attention until tonight.....
I couldn't imagine any man I know wearing the thing!!
Tonight is my last night in Bergen Norway...tomorrow I head to Aberystwyth Wales for a week. I'll spend a few days with my cousin Barry before heading home on December 23rd, just in times for Christmas!

There really is daylight in Norway

2008-12-10T13:47:00.009-07:00

For the entire 2 weeks I've been in Norway we've been going to and coming back from the newspaper in the dark. The sun comes up at about 930 or 10 am then it's dark by 4 at the latest.

Every now and again we have been able to see the sun at lunch time as we sit in the cafeteria. The last two days we have had pouring rain to walk in to and from the paper. Then snow and sleet....Well this morning the sky was clear of rain or snow and it was still dark but when we headed back to the hotel from the paper it was still daylight of a sort! We couldn't believe it....330 and dusk was started but we could still see daylight...we had to have a picture!
Notice how high the moon had gotten from the first picture to the last....these pictures were taken within a few seconds of each other.

Norway in a Nutshell

2008-12-07T12:43:00.014-07:00

Today Lee and I took the Norway in a Nutshell train tour around part of Norway.

This was my first train ride...at least that I can remember. (I went on a train across the US when I was 3 but don't really remember it).

The tour takes you by train from Bergen to a town call Myrdal where you pick up a very famous train called the Flåm Railway. The interior of the train is like an old pullman car...It was all decorated for Christmas. It takes you through the mountain and does a 180 degree turn inside the mountain as it takes you from Myrdal down to the coast at Flåm to one of the tributaries of the longest fjord in Norway.

The Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana) train stops at a mid point where you can get off at the base of a very beautiful waterfall.
All along the way there are spectacular views of mountain and canyon scenery.

The only disappointment of the trip was by the time we got to Flåm to get on the fjord ferry boat it was nearly dusk....3pm. I did get one or two pictures before dark and then my camera decided to die on me on top of it.
When the boat docked at the town of Gundangen where we were to pick up the buss we were late causing us to be late getting back to the town of Voss. This meant that we would probably miss the train from Voss back to Bergen.....fortunately the bus driver was a very fast driver and got us there 1 min before the train was to depart. We had to run from the bus stop to the train and we barely made it.
The train was filled with teenagers returning from a day of skiing. They were very noisy so the trip back to Bergen was a lively one...all in all we have a VERY nice day!
One small detail I forgot...when we got of the train it was raining and we had to walk back to the hotel in the rain....which is not a short distance at all!

A night of site-seeing

2008-12-04T13:12:00.016-07:00

Last night Laura and I went site-seeing. Laura is one of the students over from London.
We decided to take the tram that runs up the side of the mountain. It was still light outside even though it was getting near dusk...it was only 4 pm. The side of the mountain is a very steep grade and it was cool to look out because the tram was all glass...(more of a train that a tram). We could see the whole city from the top. In the city center there's a pond with a huge Christmas tree sitting on a cement pad in the middle.The view was very pretty with all the city lights and the sunset glowing on the clouds and the water.

My Cell and my first day

2008-12-01T11:33:00.013-07:00

I spent my first night in Bergen last night. I'm in a hotel called Thon Bergen Brygge. My room is about 6' x 10'. I have a twin bed, a small table and a closet sized bathroom. The picture with the bed was taken with my back to the door into my room...

This morning when we walked to the newspaper office it was still dark at half past 8.
When we left the paper around 4 it was already dusk.
Ken and I walked around the city for a bit of site-seeing before it got too dark. In the town center there is a very tall Christmas tree.
After we walked around we found a Chinese restaurant closer to the hotel that was pretty good.

On my way to Norway....again

2008-11-30T03:38:00.005-07:00

Yesterday I set out on another trip to Norway...this time to Bergen. I'm currently sitting here in the Amsterdam Airport waiting for my flight from Amsterdam to Bergen. It's about half past 11 in the morning and my flight is not until 315 pm. I have a long wait ahead of me.
As Deana was driving me to the airport Derrick was asking me all about the type of plane I would be flying in...well I've been on two so far...first I was on an A319 from SLC to MSP...from MSP to Amsterdam I was on an A330. Who knows what the plane from Amsterdam to Bergen will be....Since DJ is interested I have taken a picture of interesting planes in the Amsterdam airport. You can't see them very well so I'll tell you behind the KLM plane there are several with different designs painted on their tails....One thing is for sure I'll be on a KLM plane for the flight to Bergen.
As I walked through the Amsterdam airport I also snapped a couple of pics of the Christmas decorations.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T11:05:00.004-07:00

Today is Thanksgiving! I got up early so I could take the turkey to my daughter Deana's house. In past years I've gone with my parents to one sibling or anothers home. Last year and this year I've spent with Deana and her family. It's nice to be with them.
Deana and I shared the responsibility of preparing the dinner. It was nice to work side by side with her preparing the meal. It's exciting to see how the meal will turn out.

We had a great dinner...Deana is a great cook and we had a lot of fun.

Where am I now?

2008-11-23T09:11:00.003-07:00

Last week was an interesting week. Tuesday I was in the office for a second week home from travel. I needed to take a couple of hours to get a task or two done at home in the yard. While I was raking leaves and picking up a few necessary things from the store I got a call from work that I was needed in Colorado Springs....TODAY!!! WOW! This was about 1 in the afternoon....by 4 I was in the Salt Lake airport waiting for a 440PM flight to Colorado. I was in Colorado Springs an hour and a half later. I spent the rest of the week at The Gazette helping to solve some software problems that were causing the newspaper some major frustration.
I'm home now....for one last week and Thanksgiving before setting off again, this time to Norway for a couple of weeks then from there to Wales for a week.

My last day in Norway

2008-11-07T11:02:00.015-07:00

Today I was able to go site-seeing again. I met up with Paul's wife Joanne and we headed out on foot to visit the National Gallery of Oslo. As we walked up Karl Johans Gate (the main street/shopping district) we passed the National Theatre which is a very cool old building. Joanne took my picture in front of it. There is a plaza around the Theatre and a park. It's very nice. There is also a Hard Rock Cafe and a TGIFriday across the street.

From the National Theatre we headed to the National Gallery....on our way we pasted the Historical Museum..on the side of the building was this big banner and a collage.

We continued around the corner to the National Gallery to find that the Museum didn't open until 11am so we decided to walk up the hill to the Royal Palace. It is a very nice building with a large courtyard sporting a statue of a man on a horse and an excellent view of the city straight down Karl Johans Gate.

While we were walking around the courtyard taking photos the changing of the guard occurred. We were able to get a couple of pictures of the guarding switching out the last guard station and then marching back into the grounds.

By this time it was after 11 so we were able to head back to the National Gallery.
We weren't allowed to take photos in the Museum so we took pictures of the sculptures outside and when we were done viewing the paintings I bought a t-shirt with a print of the Scream by Edvard Munch. It is a very famous painting and was stolen a few years ago and later recovered. It is now back on display.

When were done at the museum we went out to find it was raining...we decided to get some lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe as it was one of the few places that you didn't have to sit outside then we headed back down Karl Johans Gate toward the newspaper and the end of the day.

Site-seeing in Oslo

2008-11-06T13:56:00.009-07:00

So I went to work today and as usual there really wasn't anything for me to do. After a short while Paul asked Brigitta if I could be released to go site-seeing since there wasn't anything to keep me busy...She said I should go have a nice day....so I did.
First off I went to the city and caught the #30 Bus toward Bygdoy (the west part of the city) to visit the Viking ship museum.

It was very interesting. I couldn't believe how ornately carved the ships were. The ships in the museum were burial ships from sites that had been discovered and excavated. This ship is from

There were also artifacts from the ships such as carts, sledges, burial chambers, cooking implements, furniture and the like

I also went to the Frogner Park. This park is a huge park with nude sculptures throughout. The center point of the park is a huge monument called the Monolith.

A couple of the statues I found interesting were first, a statue of a baby throwing a temper tantrum that the locals call the Angry Baby and another with a man and several small children the locals call Daddy had too much to drink again.

Food in Norway

2008-11-05T10:10:00.003-07:00

I haven't been having very good luck with food this week. First off it's very expensive....Sunday night I mentioned I had chicken curry at the local Irish Pub...that has been the best meal I've had this week so far!!!
Monday night I went out too late for dinner so I ended up at the local McDonalds...it was not good....Tuesday I decided to walk up the street to a deli in the 7-11 that someone suggested.....It was ok...so tonight I decided to walk across the street to the little market....I got a deli sandwich, a bag of Lays potato chips and a coke...the sandwich was supposed to be a chicken sandwich...I took a bite and got a taste I wasn't quite sure of....must be chicken salad rather than just chicken but I couldn't really see any mayo or salad dressing on the chicken...I looked under the chicken to see if there was mayo or some other form of salad dressing....I saw what looked like potato salad...surely not...I stuck my finger in the stuff and low and behold there was a lump....I put it in my mouth hesitantly....It was a potato...VERY ODD!! Still it does taste pretty good so I guess I'll finish it.

View of the street... Tollbugata

2008-11-03T12:42:00.004-07:00

This is a picture of the street facing south from my hotel window.

The building on the right has a mini market at the ground level. The rest of the building is some sort of office building. If you walk down the street between the two buildings the Dubliner Pub is on the next block.
Here are some pictures of the room I'm staying in....this room is advertised as a spacious room.The first 2 are my huge bathroom!

Oslo, Norway adventure

2008-11-02T16:30:00.010-07:00

Saturday afternoon I departed for a week in Norway. My trip took me from Salt Lake to Minneapolis to Amsterdam to Olso. As I flew over Amsterdam I looked down expecting to see old windmills and quaint villages and to my surprise I saw a very modern and industrial city. We did fly over a beautiful landscape of farmlands and I did get to see 1 old windmill mostly I saw modern wind turbines and of course a very FLAT terrain!
I arrived in Amsterdam and headed out to find my flight in a very confusing airport. I had to go through customs to get to my next gate. When I found the correct gate it was a cramped little room with the passengers packed in like sardines and it was very hot! My flight from Amsterdam to Oslo was short and I attempted to sleep. The snack on the flight was a packet of little sandwiches. One set was on white bread that had a really weird taste and had a fig sauce and a slice of goat cheese. The other was some sort of wheat bread with big bits of some sort of nut and lamb meat with some other sort of sauce that I couldn't put a flavor to. Needless to say it was a test of the taste buds.
As I flew over Oslo all I saw was snow covered fields and hills. When we landed I had to proceed to baggage claim where I waited for about 15 min for our bags to come. Once I had gathered my bag I headed through customs yet again...As I exited the terminal the Customs police (an unassuming young woman in jeans and a sweatshirt) flashed her badge and me and escorted me into the search area...she proceeded to ask me why I was in Oslo, did I have anything in my bags that she should know about such as alcohol, food, or cocaine! When I told her I was there on business she asked me what my business was, what company I worked for and what company I was here to do business with...I couldn't remember any of it I was so tired! She finally let me pass without searching my bags.
My next task was to find the train to Oslo...the Express Train or flytoget. I found the train and purchased a ticket. The 20 min ride cost me 130 NOK which is about $19.40.
When I arrived in Oslo and stepped off the train, I had to haul my bag up an escalator that was shut down. It was very dirty(covered in cigarette butts and trash).
I walked about 8 blocks to the FirstHotel Millenium where I am staying for the week.
Fortunately I had purchased a guide book to help me get around! I still walked one too many streets West so I had to turn around and go back.
After I checked in, Paul Fulop my coworker, dropped round to take me on a walking tour of this part of the city.
We walked west toward the port. The first thing we saw was the first Market Square in Oslo. There is a statue in the middle that memorializes Christian IV saying that was the spot where the center of Christiania would be. Christian IV moved the city because the original city kept burning down.

We walked to the Fortress that sits on the edge of the port to view the sunset.

There is also a statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt....wasn't sure what that was all about...Paul says he had something to do with helping Oslo during the war.

We finished the afternoon by walking back toward the hotel to a little Irish Pub called The Dubliner....we had chicken curry and a beverage....the cost....210 NOR.

National Arboretum

2008-10-26T21:16:00.003-06:00

The week before last was my last week in Washington D.C. During the week the guys I was working with at the Washington Times invited me to go for a walk with them in the National Arboretum. In the weeks I had been in D.C. previously they kept telling me I should go out to the National Arboretum since there is an entrance to the park from the parking lot at the Times. The guys walked in the Arboretum nearly every day. I was finally able to go with them that last week.
On the first walk they took me up a hill to a meadow and there we came upon the columns. The Capitol Columns were original part of the East Portico of the Capitol building in 1828. It was very cool to see them there.
We also walked down a paved path that took us out of the Arboretum to the shore of the Anacostia River. It was very cool. There was a picnic area and a small dock for boats to land.
One day Bill and I walked around to see the columns (Bill didn't walk with us the first day) we ended up at the Bonsai Gardens. The Bonsai were very cool and we enjoyed wandering through the garden.
The last day Lambert and I walked up a different trail to view the children's garden. It was very sweet and quite fun. The flowers were still in bloom and very colorful.

Maryland Blue Crab

2008-10-13T18:46:00.000-06:00

Tonight Bill and I actually got away from the paper at our normal hour so we decided to drive to Annapolis for Maryland Blue Crab. We went to a little restaurant called Jimmy Cantler's Riverside Inn. It was a very fun little crab shack. The food was fabulous! and MESSY!!
We had 6 Large crabs between us, a cup of clam chowder each and a cob of corn.

Another weekend in D.C.

2008-10-11T20:58:00.000-06:00

This past week I have been in Washington DC on business. I stayed the weekend because I will be working here again next week. I decided to go into the District to take in some more sites and get a copy of the Declaration of Independence for my grandson. On the metro I saw a whole troop of Boy Scouts in full uniform...it was very refreshing to see.

I headed to the Capitol via Bartholdi Park to aquire a tour ticket. The park was very pretty. The line was about 300 yards long and it was 1030 in the morning. The tickets are usually gone before everyone in the line has been given a ticket. I decided I didn't need to stand in line half the day for tickets that I probably wouldn't get anyway so I headed toward the National Archives to get the DOI for DJ. The line wasn't too long so I decided to go for it.
After the National Archive I decided to go see the Jefferson Memorial. I walked across the National Mall and down to 15th street. I followed 15th to the Tidal Basin then followed the path around and across the bridge to the Memorial.
It was quite awe inspiring! As I was walking along the path I saw a squirrel sitting on a stump. When I took his picture he came right up to me and pranced back and forth in front of me. It was quite funny.
There were a lot of teeanagers at the Memorial all dressed in suits and dresses. I found out they were part of the National Young Leaders Conference.

I headed back around the Tidal Basin to find the World War I memorial and the Korean War Memorial. I was surprised at how small the WWI memorial was.
I was equally surprised by the Korean War Memorial. It was interesting to say the least. There are statues of soldiers walking through the trees and a reflecting pool.
Along the side is a Marble wall similar to the Viet Nam memorial except instead of names etched in the wall there are images. It was very cool how it reflected the visitors amongst the etchings....it was like reflecting the past and the present....I found it very moving.
After I was done with the memorials I decided to take the Metro over to the Pentagon to see the new Pentagon Memorial in daylight. I really enjoyed it. There is a wall around the edge of the area with years in brass embedded in it. The years correspond to the birth years of the victims.
The benches are laid out in order of their age.
I was tired by the time I had finished visiting all the Memorials so I headed back to the hotel. It was a very enjoyable day.

Last week in Colorado Springs!

2008-10-07T18:03:00.000-06:00

Last week I was in Colorado Springs. My hotel was right outside the airport. It seems all the hotels are clustered near the airport. The airplane in this picture is a restaurant attached to the Radisson Hotel next door to the hotel I stayed at.
It was quite a tourist attraction.
The airplane was an old Air Guard Cargo plane.
I really enjoyed Colorado Springs. The city has the feel of a small town and in reality is about 300,000 in population.
At the paper I was working at I ran into a person I had originally met in Lexington KY.
We got together and went to a mexican restaurant in Manitou called The Loop. It was just around the bend from the Garden of the Gods. I didn't get a chance to visit the Garden of the Gods which I was disappointed about so I have something to look forward to if I get the chance to get back there.

There was a storm brewing mid week. I went outside the Gazette to take a picture of the mountain. The storm was masking the mountain from view.

Erie, PA

2008-10-01T20:46:00.000-06:00

Last week I was in Erie, PA. I was working nights the whole week so I didn't get a chance to do much in the way of site-seeing.
I had been in Erie a few weeks previously and found it to be a very nice place.
I was able to visit Presque Isle State Park which is a penninsula in Lake Erie and we ate a a local Restaurant called Joe Roots. Joe Root was some historical figure from the area.
Gina and I also went to a restaurant called Zebros right on the beach of Lake Erie.
When we went to Presque Isle it was just at Sunset. The sun settting on Lake Erie was very beautiful.

We drove around the penninsula after dusk. As we drove around the lake we notice the city across the bay. It was very cool all lit up.
We also went down to the wharf where there's a paddle boat that they have dinner tours on and there's a lighthouse.
I didn't get to take many pictures but Lake Erie is very beautiful and I really enjoyed my stays in Erie.
This week in Erie I did get one picture...the view from my hotel room.

Pentagon Memorial

2008-09-14T17:13:00.000-06:00

I was in D.C. again this past week. I didn't get to do much site-seeing. All week long there were news reports about the dedication of a new memorial at the Pentagon on Thursday, the 7th Anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack. A couple of co-workers and I decided to take the Metro into the city for dinner and then the Pentagon to see the Memorial.
First we went to the Capitol City Brewery in the Postal Museum across the street from Union Station which was fun. I had Crab cakes that were excellent and well worth the wait.

It was after dusk by the time we finished dinner and we thought we might have time to wander down the National Mall to see the Lincoln Memorial. It was getting late so we opted to hop back on the Metro and head over to the Pentagon to see the Memorial.

It was very moving seeing the memorial.It's built on the side of the building where the plane hit the building. There are 184 benches with small reflecting pools underneath them. Some face away from the Pentagon and some face toward the Pentagon. The victims names are etched on the end of each of the benches. If you can see the name and the Pentagon the victim was in the Pentagon at the time of the attack. If the victim's name is viewed facing away from the Pentagon the victim was on flight 77. It was beautiful and moving but very sad at the same time.

Washington D.C. in a weekend!

2008-08-19T20:43:00.001-06:00

OK...so it's been a while since I posted so here it is...I'm currently in D.C. on business and have been for the past week or so. Over the weekend I was able to go site seeing in the Nation's Capitol.
It was very cool to see the monuments and the Capitol building. I didn't make it inside the Capitol but just being on Capitol Hill was very cool. On Saturday I started out riding the Metro into the city. While I was waiting for the train I was intrigued by a young kid about 10 or 12 wearing a t-shirt with a logo that was upside down but said "Roe vs Wade." I wasn't sure what to make of it so I took a picture. When I was getting off the Metro at the L'Enfant Plaza station I noticed a lot of people with different Pro-Life type signs and clothing. It turns out there was a rally in the Mall called TheCall 2008....don't know what it was exactly about other than Pro-Life but it seemed to be a religious/political rally.
I went straight away to the National Air and Space Museum. It was very cool! After an hour or so in there I wandered next door to the National Museum of American Indians. There were some really interesting exhibits of arrowheads, bead work and so forth. It was also cool because there was an exhibit with some craftsman carving a canoe in the main area as you entered the museum.
After the American Indian museum I wandered across the National Mall to see the National Gallery of Art. I didn't get very far before my camera battery died so I stopped in the Gallery Cafe and had lunch. After lunch I set out to find a place to purchase batteries. There was virtually no place to buy batteries in the tourist area of the city! In my pursuit of batteries I walked from the Gallery of Art back to the Air and Space Museum up the hill past the Capitol into the Library of Congress back outside around the Capitol and down the hill on Constitution Ave. I found a Kinkos shop so I stopped in to ask directions to the nearest place to get those little suckers that were eluding me. At last I found a CVS pharmacy on 8th and E. Armed with my batteries and now a working camera I headed to the National Archives to have a look at the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. As I approached the National Archive I passed through the Naval Memorial which was a nice plaza with a cool fountain.
At the National Archives I had to stand in a queue for close to an hour just to get inside. I wandered though the Public Archives and checked out the exhibit there then I stood in another queue to view the documents. I didn't get good pictures of them because I really haven't figured out how to take good pictures in the dark!
By now I was getting quite hot and tired but I still had so much to see! Once I'd completed the goal of viewing the Nation's Documents I headed off to the Washington monument via the Gallery of Art Sculpture Gardens. The gardens were awesome and some of the art was mind boggling... as in I wasn't sure what to make of it.
I continued on down the Mall toward the Washington Monument...(I had already seen the monument a couple of nights before but in the dark! It was glowing and spectacular!)
As I strolled past the Washington Monument toward the Lincoln Memorial I glanced to my right and noticed the White House through the trees...It was really cool to see but I didn't have time to take a detour!
I continued on toward the Lincoln Memorial passing through the World War II Memorial and past the Reflecting Pool. As I approached the Lincoln Memorial I was astounded at the number of people on the steps....It was like a swarm of insects....I was quite in awe as I stood at the feet of Pres. Lincoln. Next stop was the Viet Nam Memorial which was quite moving and brought tears to my eyes several times.

One thing that caused me to get teary-eyed was a pair of army pants with a note paper clipped to them that read something like "Evans, my dad got these pants from you the day you died so was never able to return them to you, I'm doing my part to help him out, Dennis." At this point I had spent all my energy and my emotions so I headed to the Smithsonian Metro station to head back to my home away from home.
The next morning I headed out again with a plan....First I'd stop at the Gallery of Art and see what I missed the day before, I'd stop at the Museum of Natural History to at least see the Hope Diamond at the recommendation of a close friend, then I'd head over to Arlington Cemetery to see the two Pres. Kennedy's graves and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. I exited the train at the Smithsonian station and headed for the museums. I was able to see several Monet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt and other famous artists' paintings. It was very enjoyable.
After the Art Museum I headed to the Natural History Museum. I found the Hope Diamond and also viewed a bunch more fabulous gems and jewelry then I wandered through the Gems and Mineral exhibit. I also saw the Bone exhibit, Mammals, Dirt and Butterfly and Insect exhibits.
Once I had seen all I wanted to of these museums I headed to the metro station to make my way to Arlington Cemetery. I can honestly say I can't think of many more serene and solemn places. I was moved by the reverence and respect that so many visitors in once place can show. The Kennedy graves were interesting and moving. I then wandered up the hill to the Arlington House (Robert E Lee's residence) It is an interesting museum now. The gardens are very simple but very sweet. I then followed the path back where I had come from and headed down the steps and across the cemetery to the Tomb of the Unknowns where I was lucky enough to witness the changing of the guard of the Tomb. It was quite the ceremony.
After 5 hrs of museums and the Cemetery it was time to head back home and rest up for the next week of work.....What a trip!

Olympic National Park

2008-06-08T21:14:00.000-06:00

We saw this bear and her cub as we were driving up the canyon to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. They were only about 100 yards from us.
Olympic National Park is just outside Port Angeles Washington. I took a better clip however it seems to be too big of a file to upload to this blog.