Finally Pictures

So finally we were able to get to somewhere that allowed us to upload some pictures. We saw all the big five and many more. Take a look at the pictures below. Will post more later, but the process is VERY slow, these two took 20 minutes. And we have better things to do.

Lens upgrade

So the reservation for the lens got screwed up and they did not have another 70-200 mm image stabilized lens. Instead we got this upgrade (120-300 mm) for the same price.

Sign at the gas sation

So this is a sign at the gas station, and while I may be a bit of an aggressive driver, I believe that this program places the blame on the wrong group of drivers. Instead it should be the ''I'm a crappy slow driver, and I'm going to speed up!" Just my thoughts for improvement for this public service campaign.

Although the video on the website is pretty good.

New Camera

So I did end up buying a Canon Digital Rebel XTi for the trip to Africa, but for good zoom I am renting a 200mm 2.3 image stabilized lens. But to practice I rented it this weekend and Saturday morning, which was very foggy here, I went down to the river a took some shots of singles and the dragon boats. See below. I can not wait until I am snapping pictures of lions in less than a week.

BW3 - Best Wings Ever

So to counter Amy's book club which meets on a nearly monthly basis I have created a wing club that is open to all male significant others - or really anyone that wants to attend. And for the last two months we have made a pilgrimage to Delaware for the best wings on the planet BW3. If you live in the mid-west and have one of these fine establishments down the street from you - shame on you for taking it for granted. We drove over 2 hours to partake of the many delicious sauces, boneless and bone-in wings, cheese fries and hamburger dippers (a truly great invention).

Car Trouble

So Saturday evening plans were a little side tracked when we encountered a little car trouble right after our friends Seth and Sheri picked us up. After a slight encounter with a curb the rear passenger tire went flat - sidewall busted right open. So being men we did not want to wait for AAA, so out came the jack and spare tire. All was well until there developed a leak in the gas line.

AUTHORS NOTE: always listen to that little voice in your head that tells you to pull out the owners manual and verify the jack points for your car. -otherwise you might puncture a gas line.

So after the tire was changed, the smell of gas became over-whelming. Not equipped to handle this we did have to call AAA, but they would not come until the fire department determined that the car was not going to blow up. The firemen did come and besides making fun of us, they determined all was safe. See below.
Seth and I are working to try and resolve the issue at hand and and meanwhile Amy and Sheri and enjoying the cool fall evening.

And finally AAA did arrive to tow the car to safety and repairs at Center City Toyota. And in the end the evening was not lost we still made it out to dinner.

Flight delay

So this is a new one. On the way to Seattle our flight was delayed from taking off in Philly by about 2 hours, pretty normal. The kicker came 3 hours in we had to land in Minneapolis because both toliets broke. Turns out no one in Philly unloaded the tanks. Once they got them unloaded we were on our way. This is a picture of the guy that came onboard to figure it out.

Monkey Video

Check out this video on YouTube, it is work appropriate. Best video from a zoo ever.

Michigan Who?

So all I have to say is Go Mountaineers!













Any team that can put Michigan 0-1 out of the gate this season deserves a post from me. And Casey I hope you leave a comment here, because I am curious as to what you have to say for your little Wolverines....Bring it on Michigan!

Whitewater Kayaking

So we were in Western PA whitewater rafting, kayaking, and camping this last weekend. And I had the good fortune of having my first run of Cucumber Falls, a class III-IV rapid on the lower Yough in a kayak captured on film by a professional photographer. So I wanted to narrate the pictures below.

This is me looking very hardcore entering the rapid.

Here I blast through the first hole of the rapid.

Here I am coming out of the waves at the bottom of the rapid, looking slightly off balance.

Guess I was a little more off balance than I thought, no worries my roll is pretty good.

Maybe a little too good, I rolled myself right back over.

That's alright I rolled right back up.

And finally here I am having a little fun in the waves attempting to surf.

Overall, the trip was fantastic. I was pretty happy that my 2nd ever whitewater kayak run was on a river like the lower Yough, which is a class III-IV river.

Movie From Kruger Park , South africa

So not sure if anyone else caught the show i-caught on ABC tonight. The premise is essentially a rehash of popular video clips from youtube. But instead of just replaying them, they interview the people that shot them and tell the stories behind the video, if you will. Anyway the first one on the show was this movie from Kruger National Park where Amy and I are going in October.

So that along with Lew's insight to Air Jaws, it seems that the wildlife on on this trip could really kick ass, or at least bite it off!

South African Trip

So in case anyone is wondering why Amy and I are not traveling too much this summer it is b/c we are saving up time and money for our big South African trip in October. For two weeks we will be out on safari's, tasting wines and hanging out on the Cape Town beaches. The one piece of equipment we do need to get before going is an excellent camera with good zoom. I have visions on putting together slide shows for the plasma at home that will look like planet earth images, I am talking HD quality. Does anyone know if that is possible for a camera that is less than $500-1,000?

I want a picture like the one below while sitting safely in a truck 100' away.

Windy ride to work

I took this on the way to work the other day and while I am sitting on the runway here in Tampa waiting for the 2 hour ground stop to be lifted in Philadelphia I thought I would take the time to post it. It probably was not the smoothest ride to work for these guys but I am guessing they did not have many other options.

Boxing in old city

Not something you see every night, but there was a truck with live boxers and even a ring girl driving in old city (Lew you missed out man). I can not remember what the fight was that they were promoting b/c I was to busy trying to get a picture standing in the middle of 4th street.

Fireworks & the 4th

So the rain yesterday in Philly deyaled the fireworks. They had announced they were cancelled, but amazingly as soon as I was in bed they decided to shoot them off anyway. And being d blocks away I could hear them, but not see them. I hope the weather and fireworks were better where you were. The best part about this holiday is the day off in the middle of the week. You have to love that it is already Thursday.

Great Day for Baseball

Looks like the Phillies are going to pull out one game in the series with the Mets. And at sunny and 78 degrees it was a great day at the park. The chickie and pete's fries were good as always.

Snow in may!

Getting ready to hike the east wall at a-basin. Pretty amazing skiing for this late in the spring. I will save the snowboard for tomorrow.

LA bumper sticker

I knew that California had some odd polictical views but the best bummper sticker ever was spotted outside an In-&-Out near LAX, Chuck Norris in 2008. Now that would result in a serious change in Iraq policy...

Travel Week home strech

So the crazy wee of travel is winding down. I am currently in a cab on the way to my second NYC airport in as many days, LaGuardia. Also knock on wood there is no snow here yet so I may even get out ontime. Looking forward to a serious nap in the next 2 days. One more sales call to go tomorrow.

Worst cabbie ever

So this guy took 45 mins to get me to the airport. His only redeming quality was the music choices, including Kelly Clarkson since you've been gone, that was for you Andy.