Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Atlanta and Suzanne and Andrew's Wedding
The weekend after Paducah we headed to Atlanta for yet another wedding. We stayed in Decatur and finally got to see this Brick Store pub that they have been raving about since we met them. Definitely worth it! Looked like it was straight out of Europe, awesome beer selection and great food.
The wedding itself was outdoors in an old trolley barn in Atlanta. It was a great location!
The wedding was lots of fun, with good food and good dancing. Here are some shots we took that day.
Suzanne and Andrew recently moved to Washington, DC from Birmingham, so this was a good chance to catch up with them again.
The wedding itself was outdoors in an old trolley barn in Atlanta. It was a great location!
The wedding was lots of fun, with good food and good dancing. Here are some shots we took that day.
Suzanne and Andrew recently moved to Washington, DC from Birmingham, so this was a good chance to catch up with them again.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Paducah, KY for Kevin's Wedding
Our friend Kevin recently got married in Paducah, KY. We drove up for the event and arrived early on the day of the wedding, so we explored downtown Paducah. Paducah had its heyday 100 years and more ago as the place where the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers meet. It was a big port for barges and for steamboats. The city is pretty sleepy today, but the downtown looks like it is attempting to make a comeback as an arts and crafts destination.
They had painted murals all along the city floodwall depicting historical events in the city.
Here we are with the two rivers coming together in the background.
In the afternoon we attended the wedding. It was a mixed Christian-Jewish wedding, so there was a priest, a rabbi and a chuppah.
This was the first time I was seeing a lot of my fraternity brothers for a long time, in some cases many years. Here's Dan, Mark, myself, Kevin, Larry and Rich.
On the way up and back we stopped in Nashville, where we discovered great neighborhoods and happened upon a music and crafts festival which was excellent for people-watching, and a good way to relax before finishing the drive back to Birmingham.
They had painted murals all along the city floodwall depicting historical events in the city.
Here we are with the two rivers coming together in the background.
In the afternoon we attended the wedding. It was a mixed Christian-Jewish wedding, so there was a priest, a rabbi and a chuppah.
This was the first time I was seeing a lot of my fraternity brothers for a long time, in some cases many years. Here's Dan, Mark, myself, Kevin, Larry and Rich.
On the way up and back we stopped in Nashville, where we discovered great neighborhoods and happened upon a music and crafts festival which was excellent for people-watching, and a good way to relax before finishing the drive back to Birmingham.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Chattanooga
Katie and I spent the weekend in Chattanooga recently. The main purpose of the trip was to go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee river with a bunch of our friends, but we also decided to stay over in town for the night and explore Chattanooga the next day. We started with a walk along the riverfront and through the art district.
This horse is actually made of metal. It really looked like wood, even up close.
In the afternoon we explored Rock City, which is on top of Lookout Mountain which overlooks the city. It's a theme park of sorts. They are famous for their bird houses that say "See Rock City" on them (though we have no idea why. There's a lot about Rock City that's pretty kitschy
The first part is a walk through a wooded area which has lots of cool rock formations.
Lots of tight spaces! Not good if you are claustrophobic. I think this one was called "Fat Man's Squeeze", for obvious reasons.
This rope bridge across a canyon was not my idea of fun. I waited for the bridge to clear out of the annoying kids who were jumping up and down, and then made my way across quickly!
At the end of the rock walk you get rewarded with a fantastic view from Lover's Leap! The legend goes that a young native american from one tribe was thrown to his death from here, and the Cherokee princess that was in love with him leapt after him in defiance of her own tribe, which was feuding with the young man's tribe. It seems everywhere has it's own Lover's Leap with a similar legend (we have one right down the road from us here in Bluff Park).
Rock City claims you can see seven states from this point (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia). As that would mean you would be seeing things 150 miles away, it's not clear whether that's true or not, but it's fun to think about.
This is where Rock City takes a serious turn towards the bizarre. On the way back to the park entrance, you go underground into Fairytale Caverns, where various glow-in-the-dark scenes of popular fairy tales have been reconstructed. Only, they are very kitschy, very 60's, and very scary! To wit....
And don't we all put our children in jail cells to sleep at night?
It was fun and bizarre and confusing all the same. Definitely worth the visit though!
This horse is actually made of metal. It really looked like wood, even up close.
In the afternoon we explored Rock City, which is on top of Lookout Mountain which overlooks the city. It's a theme park of sorts. They are famous for their bird houses that say "See Rock City" on them (though we have no idea why. There's a lot about Rock City that's pretty kitschy
The first part is a walk through a wooded area which has lots of cool rock formations.
Lots of tight spaces! Not good if you are claustrophobic. I think this one was called "Fat Man's Squeeze", for obvious reasons.
This rope bridge across a canyon was not my idea of fun. I waited for the bridge to clear out of the annoying kids who were jumping up and down, and then made my way across quickly!
At the end of the rock walk you get rewarded with a fantastic view from Lover's Leap! The legend goes that a young native american from one tribe was thrown to his death from here, and the Cherokee princess that was in love with him leapt after him in defiance of her own tribe, which was feuding with the young man's tribe. It seems everywhere has it's own Lover's Leap with a similar legend (we have one right down the road from us here in Bluff Park).
Rock City claims you can see seven states from this point (Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia). As that would mean you would be seeing things 150 miles away, it's not clear whether that's true or not, but it's fun to think about.
This is where Rock City takes a serious turn towards the bizarre. On the way back to the park entrance, you go underground into Fairytale Caverns, where various glow-in-the-dark scenes of popular fairy tales have been reconstructed. Only, they are very kitschy, very 60's, and very scary! To wit....
And don't we all put our children in jail cells to sleep at night?
It was fun and bizarre and confusing all the same. Definitely worth the visit though!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
San Francisco Trip for VMWorld 2007
This week I was in San Francisco attending VMWorld 2007. Though most of my time was spent at the conference itself, I did find time to explore the city a bit while I was there.
The first bit of good luck happened when I arrived. I got to the Westin St. Francis almost at midnight, and they upgraded me to a "preferred floor" room, which translated into a 30th floor room with a killer view. Here are some shots from the room.
Sunrise over the financial district...
Union Square at mid-day...
San Francisco at night...
One morning I walked from the hotel to North Beach for a latte and exercise. I walked approximately from the hotel (where I took this shot) almost to Coit Tower, in the distance).
Along the way I walked up a steep hill on Powell St. My knee and calves weren't too happy with me, but we were rewarded with a great view down the hill.
On the Chinatown portion of the walk I happened across this quintessential San Francisco scene.
On Wednesday night my boss and I headed to the Giants game. I was mainly interested in seeing their new stadium, as the Giants themselves are not playing well (and I hate Barry Bonds). Everything worked out perfectly - we got fantastic seats that showed off the park, and Barry Bonds wasn't even in the lineup.
At AT&T Park you get to sit very close to the field and to the visiting team's warm up mounds. Here's one of the Arizona Diamondback relief pitchers warming up.
The final bit of good fortune came on the flight home. On the SF - Memphis leg I was in the middle seat in the exit row. I wasn't looking forward to that for four hours. Just before pushing back from the gate, a man came back from first class and asked if I would mind moving up to first class so he could sit next to the woman in the seat next to me! Are you kidding? Trade a middle seat for first class? Uh, yeah, I'm game for that. So I flew home in first class for free!
The first bit of good luck happened when I arrived. I got to the Westin St. Francis almost at midnight, and they upgraded me to a "preferred floor" room, which translated into a 30th floor room with a killer view. Here are some shots from the room.
Sunrise over the financial district...
Union Square at mid-day...
San Francisco at night...
One morning I walked from the hotel to North Beach for a latte and exercise. I walked approximately from the hotel (where I took this shot) almost to Coit Tower, in the distance).
Along the way I walked up a steep hill on Powell St. My knee and calves weren't too happy with me, but we were rewarded with a great view down the hill.
On the Chinatown portion of the walk I happened across this quintessential San Francisco scene.
On Wednesday night my boss and I headed to the Giants game. I was mainly interested in seeing their new stadium, as the Giants themselves are not playing well (and I hate Barry Bonds). Everything worked out perfectly - we got fantastic seats that showed off the park, and Barry Bonds wasn't even in the lineup.
At AT&T Park you get to sit very close to the field and to the visiting team's warm up mounds. Here's one of the Arizona Diamondback relief pitchers warming up.
The final bit of good fortune came on the flight home. On the SF - Memphis leg I was in the middle seat in the exit row. I wasn't looking forward to that for four hours. Just before pushing back from the gate, a man came back from first class and asked if I would mind moving up to first class so he could sit next to the woman in the seat next to me! Are you kidding? Trade a middle seat for first class? Uh, yeah, I'm game for that. So I flew home in first class for free!
Part II: You Know You're in Alabama When...
...the blare of a fog horn pierces the peaceful fall morning on the back deck where you are enjoying the newspaper, and the first and most natural thought that comes to mind is, "Auburn just scored."
Sunday, September 02, 2007
You Know You're in Alabama When....
....you are sitting in church last night at a wedding ceremony in Wetumpka, AL and the old man in the row in front of you has a headphone plugged into one ear listening to the Auburn game.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Dog Days of August
All has been quiet on the blog front this month. Mainly, we've just been trying to keep cool. Birmingham had 15 days of 100+ heat in August, far above the normal high of low to mid 90's. Combine that with a 100-year drought, which we're also having, and mother nature has not been kind to us. Finally, this week the weather has "cooled off" back down into the 90's with a few thunderstorms. Yesterday I watched the creek flow for the first time in many months.
There is some good bird news, though! The hummingbirds have been loving the heat, and they come by our feeder from morning till night in bunches. Totally unafraid of us, they hover within a couple feet when we're out on the deck, checking us out. August is also the month of baby birds venturing further out from their nests, visiting our feeders with their scruffy feathers and mottled coloring. We've seen Cardinal and Titmouse babies for sure, and also a leucistic Chickadee, which means that they are partially lacking pigment (similar, but not the same as, albino) so this guy is bright white over most of his body instead of the usual dull gray. Just last week we put out birdbaths, and have been awaiting our first sighting of a bird using one. We have promising preliminary evidence in the form of a Cardinal feather floating in one of the baths yesterday.
We also stopped in on the 2007 Stokin' the Fire, the Birmingham stop of the pro BBQ cooking tour. We ate some good South Carolina style 'cue, and checked out the ridiculous RV/BBQ kitchen on wheels that all of the professional competitors brought to the event.
Katie took a work trip to Chicago while I held down the fort here and survived the IT onslaught that is the start of the fall semester. We did some projects around the house and now the workshop is ready for Katie to get into all of her woodcraft projects she's been wanting to do. Hope everyone out there is doing well and looking forward to autumn!
There is some good bird news, though! The hummingbirds have been loving the heat, and they come by our feeder from morning till night in bunches. Totally unafraid of us, they hover within a couple feet when we're out on the deck, checking us out. August is also the month of baby birds venturing further out from their nests, visiting our feeders with their scruffy feathers and mottled coloring. We've seen Cardinal and Titmouse babies for sure, and also a leucistic Chickadee, which means that they are partially lacking pigment (similar, but not the same as, albino) so this guy is bright white over most of his body instead of the usual dull gray. Just last week we put out birdbaths, and have been awaiting our first sighting of a bird using one. We have promising preliminary evidence in the form of a Cardinal feather floating in one of the baths yesterday.
We also stopped in on the 2007 Stokin' the Fire, the Birmingham stop of the pro BBQ cooking tour. We ate some good South Carolina style 'cue, and checked out the ridiculous RV/BBQ kitchen on wheels that all of the professional competitors brought to the event.
Katie took a work trip to Chicago while I held down the fort here and survived the IT onslaught that is the start of the fall semester. We did some projects around the house and now the workshop is ready for Katie to get into all of her woodcraft projects she's been wanting to do. Hope everyone out there is doing well and looking forward to autumn!
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Fran's 32nd Birthday
Last Tuesday was my 32nd birthday, and we celebrated with dinner at Brio with friends (thanks Laura, Tom and Megan for the dinner!) and a gift opening. Before...
... and after. (Partial view - we forgot to take the one with -all- of the presents!) What a great set of gifts. Can't go wrong with the last Harry Potter book, a coffee press, and the newest addition to what is our favorite series of cookbooks (The Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated).
Not pictured are Katie's gifts which at first might appear random but are evidence that she knows me very well, because I thought they were awesome and very thoughtful. They included a digital scale which I have been wanting for years to track workout progress, and the piece de resistance, a set of old school Tupperware hamburger patty shapers and freezer containers! Seriously, I have wanted these since like, college. My mom had them, and I used to come home from school and pop one of those bad boys open on the grill out on the deck at least once a week. I love those Tupperware things! They're already loaded and ready to go in the freezer.
Another guarantee, my sister is always good for a funny birthday card...
... but mom surprised me with the musical card this year. Get down!
I also got some great gifts at the surprise BBQ in Minnesota - a computer game, a really cool golf shirt, a tree identification book (don't laugh - you'll understand when you're a homeowner with a wooded lot :-) and some tasty local Minnesota foods. My friend Laura got me some great gifts too, some coffee for the press (way to coordinate with Katie on the inside info on my other gifts!) and the Family Feud DVD game. I also got lots of cards and some money from my aunt and uncle, woohoo! Another excellent birthday.
... and after. (Partial view - we forgot to take the one with -all- of the presents!) What a great set of gifts. Can't go wrong with the last Harry Potter book, a coffee press, and the newest addition to what is our favorite series of cookbooks (The Best Recipe from Cook's Illustrated).
Not pictured are Katie's gifts which at first might appear random but are evidence that she knows me very well, because I thought they were awesome and very thoughtful. They included a digital scale which I have been wanting for years to track workout progress, and the piece de resistance, a set of old school Tupperware hamburger patty shapers and freezer containers! Seriously, I have wanted these since like, college. My mom had them, and I used to come home from school and pop one of those bad boys open on the grill out on the deck at least once a week. I love those Tupperware things! They're already loaded and ready to go in the freezer.Another guarantee, my sister is always good for a funny birthday card...
... but mom surprised me with the musical card this year. Get down!
I also got some great gifts at the surprise BBQ in Minnesota - a computer game, a really cool golf shirt, a tree identification book (don't laugh - you'll understand when you're a homeowner with a wooded lot :-) and some tasty local Minnesota foods. My friend Laura got me some great gifts too, some coffee for the press (way to coordinate with Katie on the inside info on my other gifts!) and the Family Feud DVD game. I also got lots of cards and some money from my aunt and uncle, woohoo! Another excellent birthday.
Tree Tragedy
I got an unwanted birthday present when we got home from Minnesota.
One of our Bradford Pear trees on our front lawn more or less split in half while we were gone. Unfortunately, this is a major drawback of what is an otherwise lovely tree. The angle at which the branches tend to grow combined with their lack of strength makes them susceptible to dramatic splitting events such as this after about 25 years. These trees are fully grown so we figure this one was due. I spent the next morning with a chain saw cleaning up, but the whole tree will need to come down, the rest of it is not stable (nor does it look good, what with half of the tree missing!) so we'll need to plant something new there.
We're being rather zen about the whole thing, looking at it as an opportunity to kick start that front yard landscaping project we've been talking about. I will miss that tree though; it had such a nice symmetric shape and was really pretty in the spring when it flowered.
Luckily, it missed the power lines, the magnolia tree, and the house! Pretty lucky, all things considered.
One of our Bradford Pear trees on our front lawn more or less split in half while we were gone. Unfortunately, this is a major drawback of what is an otherwise lovely tree. The angle at which the branches tend to grow combined with their lack of strength makes them susceptible to dramatic splitting events such as this after about 25 years. These trees are fully grown so we figure this one was due. I spent the next morning with a chain saw cleaning up, but the whole tree will need to come down, the rest of it is not stable (nor does it look good, what with half of the tree missing!) so we'll need to plant something new there.We're being rather zen about the whole thing, looking at it as an opportunity to kick start that front yard landscaping project we've been talking about. I will miss that tree though; it had such a nice symmetric shape and was really pretty in the spring when it flowered.
Luckily, it missed the power lines, the magnolia tree, and the house! Pretty lucky, all things considered.
Minnesota Fun
I headed to Minnesota straight from Portland to meet up with Katie for our friends' wedding and a visit with our family. We hit the playground straight away!
In the evening we went to our friends' Michelle and Jason's wedding. (Free PR for the asian cameraman and spouse!) Impressive trivia: Michelle made her own dress from scratch!
Here we are all decked out for the party - had a little issue with the camera tripod, hence the crookedness...
The next morning, Katie snapped this shot at the St. Paul Farmer's Market. I, on the other hand, was still at home fast asleep. Normally, I can't pass up a farmer's market, but as usual, Minnesota sucked all of the energy out of me and I found myself sleeping and napping constantly. Not that I'm complaining.
The big surprise of the weekend came when Loren and Sally arrived for my surprise BBQ Birthday Party. I knew they were coming in for the day (they were driving through on the way back to Arizona from Wisconsin), but the family had cleverly planned a surprise BBQ for me along with their visit! After the party, we posed for a family photo on the front porch.
Later in the evening, Katie and Sally discovered the endless fun that is my Mac laptop's Photo Booth program.
In the morning we went to the wedding brunch to see our friends one last time for the weekend. It's crazy to think that I have known most of these folks for 14 years now!
Not this one though. We were just meeting Lily for the first time this weekend. Lily is Dan and Michelle's daughter, just 5 months old. Looks like she enjoyed meeting us!
Not sure what was happening here.... maybe this is what Lily was smiling about.
Our last stop of the weekend was for breakfast at an old friend of ours whom we had lost contact with until recently. That would be Danielle, second from left, and her daughter (along with Sheri, yet another Wash U. friend). We got all caught up with Danielle, whom we hadn't seen in years. She just recently moved to MN from Boston.
After that we hung out with Eleanor and Ada some more and then headed to the airport for a long day of traveling home. MN is always fun, especially in the summer with the great weather. We had a great time! Looking forward to our next visit already!
(PS - If you are wondering, all of our friends and family are accounted for and safe after the bridge tragedy. We have some friends who traveled that bridge daily, so we were worried until we heard from them.)
In the evening we went to our friends' Michelle and Jason's wedding. (Free PR for the asian cameraman and spouse!) Impressive trivia: Michelle made her own dress from scratch!
Here we are all decked out for the party - had a little issue with the camera tripod, hence the crookedness...
The next morning, Katie snapped this shot at the St. Paul Farmer's Market. I, on the other hand, was still at home fast asleep. Normally, I can't pass up a farmer's market, but as usual, Minnesota sucked all of the energy out of me and I found myself sleeping and napping constantly. Not that I'm complaining.
The big surprise of the weekend came when Loren and Sally arrived for my surprise BBQ Birthday Party. I knew they were coming in for the day (they were driving through on the way back to Arizona from Wisconsin), but the family had cleverly planned a surprise BBQ for me along with their visit! After the party, we posed for a family photo on the front porch.
Later in the evening, Katie and Sally discovered the endless fun that is my Mac laptop's Photo Booth program.
In the morning we went to the wedding brunch to see our friends one last time for the weekend. It's crazy to think that I have known most of these folks for 14 years now!
Not this one though. We were just meeting Lily for the first time this weekend. Lily is Dan and Michelle's daughter, just 5 months old. Looks like she enjoyed meeting us!
Not sure what was happening here.... maybe this is what Lily was smiling about.
Our last stop of the weekend was for breakfast at an old friend of ours whom we had lost contact with until recently. That would be Danielle, second from left, and her daughter (along with Sheri, yet another Wash U. friend). We got all caught up with Danielle, whom we hadn't seen in years. She just recently moved to MN from Boston.
After that we hung out with Eleanor and Ada some more and then headed to the airport for a long day of traveling home. MN is always fun, especially in the summer with the great weather. We had a great time! Looking forward to our next visit already!
(PS - If you are wondering, all of our friends and family are accounted for and safe after the bridge tragedy. We have some friends who traveled that bridge daily, so we were worried until we heard from them.)
Portland, Oregon for OSCON 2007 (and Post #100)
From Pleasanton I went to Portland, OR for my annual visit to the Open Source Convention. This was my 8th trip to the conference, and fourth in Portland. I generally don't take many pictures at the conference (who wants to see pictures of techie geeks??) but the city itself is always awesome this time of year, so here are a few shots I took while out walking.
This one was from right behind the convention center. I like all of the curves in this picture, and sort of the confluence of lots of different forms of transportation.
Here's a shot from the pedestrian path on the Steel Bridge, halfway across the Willamette River.
And another from the bridge, this time capturing more of downtown.
Besides the conference, I got to meet up with friends Jay and Atma (and I always forget to take pictures when I'm out with them), and I discovered several more cool Portland neighborhoods, breweries and coffee shops. Unfortunately, I was only there for four weekdays this time, so no weekend free time to go exploring. I won't make that mistake next year!
As a side note, this is our 100th post on the blog. Thanks to everyone who has read it all along, or joined somewhere along the way. It's amazing to look back at all of the adventures wrapped up in the first 100 posts... hopefully the next 100 will be just as fun!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Pleasant Visit to Pleasanton
I just spent two days in Pleasanton, CA visiting our friends Matt and Caroline and the newest member of their family, Thomas Francois Emilien Bono. Yep, he's the cute one:
As usual on my visits to Pleasanton, we end up spending a lot of time in Berkeley, that wonderful mecca of all things liberal and organic. We took a nice 4-mile hike through the Berkeley hills - here's a nice shot looking east out over the valley.
We posed for a photo at the halfway point:
On every visit to Berkeley I try to get to the Cheese Board for pizza and cheese - jackpot, I got both this time! I left with three new cheeses to try, as well. Each time back I also discover new places in Berkeley to go nuts about. This year Matt and Caroline took me to a Thai temple for lunch.
From the modest exterior you'd never know about the bustling courtyard full of food vending stalls and seemingly every hungry soul in Berkeley. The line was 80 people strong, but well worth the wait for the tasty dishes such as the Pad Thai and the Chicken Green Curry.
Another first-time Berkeley discovery was the Berkeley Bowl, the granddaddy of "Whole Foods"/organic type grocery stores. The plan was to just walk around and take it all in, but Caroline could not escape without a bag full of produce.
Back in Pleasanton I was introduced to the French game of petanque, which is roughly the equivalent of the Italian bocce. As it turns out, the genetic wiring for one must translate to the other, as I was a natural and won both the grass and the sand court matches! Here I am admiring one of my shots.
It's a really fun game; I only wish Alabama had more (any?) bocce courts on which to play!
This was my first time meeting Tommy. He was lots of fun and allowed me to help him out a bit as he learns to stand and balance in preparation for his toddling days that are quickly approaching!
Thanks for the hospitality, another fun visit with the Bonos!
As usual on my visits to Pleasanton, we end up spending a lot of time in Berkeley, that wonderful mecca of all things liberal and organic. We took a nice 4-mile hike through the Berkeley hills - here's a nice shot looking east out over the valley.
We posed for a photo at the halfway point:
On every visit to Berkeley I try to get to the Cheese Board for pizza and cheese - jackpot, I got both this time! I left with three new cheeses to try, as well. Each time back I also discover new places in Berkeley to go nuts about. This year Matt and Caroline took me to a Thai temple for lunch.
From the modest exterior you'd never know about the bustling courtyard full of food vending stalls and seemingly every hungry soul in Berkeley. The line was 80 people strong, but well worth the wait for the tasty dishes such as the Pad Thai and the Chicken Green Curry.
Another first-time Berkeley discovery was the Berkeley Bowl, the granddaddy of "Whole Foods"/organic type grocery stores. The plan was to just walk around and take it all in, but Caroline could not escape without a bag full of produce.
Back in Pleasanton I was introduced to the French game of petanque, which is roughly the equivalent of the Italian bocce. As it turns out, the genetic wiring for one must translate to the other, as I was a natural and won both the grass and the sand court matches! Here I am admiring one of my shots.
It's a really fun game; I only wish Alabama had more (any?) bocce courts on which to play!
This was my first time meeting Tommy. He was lots of fun and allowed me to help him out a bit as he learns to stand and balance in preparation for his toddling days that are quickly approaching!
Thanks for the hospitality, another fun visit with the Bonos!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)