tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88589508271869546392024-03-13T18:06:54.572-04:00Adventures in NewlywedlandiaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-46706037214742622122015-09-26T01:03:00.000-04:002015-09-28T15:29:15.487-04:00Berea Hot Air Balloon Glow<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV9E_Ai6IK0/VgYfJW8HE1I/AAAAAAACEGQ/NAydJ8-Vjq8/s1600/5D3_7459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vV9E_Ai6IK0/VgYfJW8HE1I/AAAAAAACEGQ/NAydJ8-Vjq8/s400/5D3_7459.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting Up (both them and me)</td></tr>
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Last weekend Erin and I went to Berea for their Spoonbread Festival. Well, actually, we really went for the hot air balloon glow. We didn't end up eating any spoonbread since Erin wasn't that interested in getting any, and I would have had to interrogate anyone selling it because of my wheat allergy. This was my first time going to a balloon glow, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect going in. I took my tripod, a remote trigger and my 17-40 lens. The 17-40 was definitely the right lens.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDWXx4VSb3o/VgYfLwqRD4I/AAAAAAACEGc/Kq9v-Y7iLfU/s1600/5D3_7480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jDWXx4VSb3o/VgYfLwqRD4I/AAAAAAACEGc/Kq9v-Y7iLfU/s640/5D3_7480.jpg" width="640"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset</td></tr>
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I really wish they had done more glowing when the sun was setting. There's a nice window where the sky has lots of color in it and the balloons would have been a decent match, exposure-wise. Unfortunately, the above picture during the first glow was a little too late for that time.<br>
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After spending a while watching and hanging out, we ventured closer to the balloons. The area all around them was open, which was pretty cool.<br>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Favorite Balloon</td></tr>
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It was quite warm this close to the balloon and it actually felt pretty good since it had started cooling off by this time. I think it would have been pretty cool if I had a fisheye lens to have taken a picture from the ground in the middle of all the balloons. Of course, I don't have a fisheye lens, and probably wouldn't have the guts to lay down in the middle of all those people to try to get a shot like that.<br>
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We definitely enjoyed the hot air balloon glow. I'd like to go to another one, particularly if the balloons were floating.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-47444841672380758972015-08-10T22:00:00.000-04:002015-08-10T22:00:00.586-04:00Buffalo Trace Distillery Barrel Room<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Erin and I went to <a href="http://www.buffalotracedistillery.com/" target="_blank">Buffalo Trace Distillery</a> last weekend, and it reminded me of this picture. It's been on my <a href="http://jnimmo.zenfolio.com/" target="_blank">Zenfolio</a> for a while, but I've been meaning to post it on the blog. This is probably my favorite picture that I've ever taken.<br />
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I decided to convert it to black and white because of the mixed lighting. It was taken in July 2013 when I went on a distillery tour with a large group of friends (college friends were in town for our wedding celebration party).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0Buffalo Trace Distillery, 113 Great Buffalo Trace, Frankfort, KY 40601, USA38.216688 -84.870682812.694653499999998 -126.1792768 63.738722499999994 -43.5620888tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-17347923715634722842014-11-22T13:30:00.000-05:002014-11-22T13:30:01.228-05:00The Amazing Flying Abigail<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4C1kNvQKA5g/VGQ-vgYYj-I/AAAAAAAAUbk/Z-1s58v2bK8/s1600/5D3_4678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4C1kNvQKA5g/VGQ-vgYYj-I/AAAAAAAAUbk/Z-1s58v2bK8/s640/5D3_4678.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks</td></tr>
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It's been too long since I've really written a post on here. (even longer for some people... :cough:Erin:cough:) The Abbyversary post doesn't really count, since it didn't really involve any writing. I have lots of ambition and ideas for posts, even some that I've started but I'm a busy/easily distracted person and completing things that don't really matter isn't exactly my strong suit.<br />
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Back to the topic: Erin has been teaching Abby to jump through an exercise hoop that we got a while back. (Side note: 2.5 lbs is not easy on your midsection when hula hooping. or your legs when you fail at hula hooping) The hardest part was convincing Abby that it was safe to go through the hoop at all. After that, she was happy to jump through it for a treat.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8kUkCZReEM/VGQ2TEyY3yI/AAAAAAAAUbU/2uvojQR9IMc/s1600/5D3_4487.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L8kUkCZReEM/VGQ2TEyY3yI/AAAAAAAAUbU/2uvojQR9IMc/s1600/5D3_4487.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Keeping her eye on the prize</td></tr>
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When we got Abby a little over a year ago, she had some arthritis issues with one of her knees in her hind legs. The vet recommended that we put her on Cosequin, and the relief it's given her is really quite amazing. She used to limp on it all the time, especially badly after laying down for a while. Now we rarely see her limp, usually just after longer walks. And she just generally seems much more comfortable with that leg.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-54t9MkLVwGE/VGQ2Re22dLI/AAAAAAAAUbM/V0j6NB6DC8g/s1600/5D3_4480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-54t9MkLVwGE/VGQ2Re22dLI/AAAAAAAAUbM/V0j6NB6DC8g/s1600/5D3_4480.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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The whole slideshow is below.<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F112670640203057255027%2Falbumid%2F6081044876471009073%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCL2w3KqY27b8oQE%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://photos.gstatic.com/media/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed><br />
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And now to geek out a little:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHBW5ud7y-s/VGQ-0xfBRdI/AAAAAAAAUb0/LASnRgWkjEY/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QHBW5ud7y-s/VGQ-0xfBRdI/AAAAAAAAUb0/LASnRgWkjEY/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This one's really noisy because it was over 5 stops under-exposed (flash didn't get enough time to recycle)<br />
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The picture above is really quite impressive. Not because it has any real merit, other than the rather hilarious expression on Abby's face (click to enlarge), but really just because of the detail that was able to be recovered from a picture that was pretty much black, all thanks to RAW. I think it could even be cleaned up more if I was a little better at post-processing. Here's the original with the levels untouched:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H4z70lLKwCk/VHAWEH0K1_I/AAAAAAAAUgk/4QX_7bONmUA/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H4z70lLKwCk/VHAWEH0K1_I/AAAAAAAAUgk/4QX_7bONmUA/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you look at the zoomed in view you can just barely make out Abby's shape</td></tr>
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And just for the sake of comparison, I exported a 100% quality JPEG from the unadjusted exposure and brought its levels up in Lightroom.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v63HOZ1ysoQ/VHAXpBtdy1I/AAAAAAAAUgs/8yg2nRZm7vQ/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v63HOZ1ysoQ/VHAXpBtdy1I/AAAAAAAAUgs/8yg2nRZm7vQ/s1600/5D3_4683.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still a little detail there, but nowhere near what the RAW file could recover and most of the color is lost</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-75073913683755820652014-11-21T07:30:00.000-05:002014-11-21T07:30:00.185-05:00Happy Abbyversary!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today, it's been one year since we got this sweet dog. Happy Abbyversary!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-69823972500171114972014-08-12T01:56:00.002-04:002014-08-12T01:56:30.575-04:00Well Crafted Music Fest<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lineup</td></tr>
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First post in a while, and now I've stayed up way too late working on it. My backlog of posts I want to make is huge, with some things over a year old I'd like to get out there. I keep thinking I'll post more frequently but then I get busy and it doesn't happen. Of course, before I know it winter will be here and I'll have too much time on my hands.</div>
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Erin and I recently attended the first night of the Well Crafted Music Festival at <a href="http://www.shakervillageky.org/" target="_blank">Shaker Village</a>, thanks to our friends Jamil and Suzanne, who had won tickets for Friday night. This was the first show I've been to in some time, and it was a great reminder that I should get out and enjoy a show every once in a while.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Benefactors</td></tr>
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Erin and I hadn't heard any of the bands before so weren't really sure what to expect. We came away very pleased to have attended, having enjoyed all the bands.</div>
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Of course I took a camera (my new EOS-M that I got in an eBay bargain), though I'm always a bit wary of taking pictures of people. I warmed up to it after a while though, and got to see what the M is capable of. I'm quite pleased with the results that the M and the 22mm f2 produce.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamil showing off his picture of Erin taking a picture of me taking a picture of Erin taking a picture of me</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Suzanne, being a great subject giving me a nice smile (hmmm, she could teach Erin something about being a cooperative subject)</td></tr>
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The 22mm + M combo produces very nice pictures. Definitely usable at ISO 6400 for 1080p sized wallpapers, and I think it'd produce very good 300dpi prints at ISO 1600. Not bad for a crop sensor. At f2 there's nice subject isolation, and the vignetting helps focus attention toward the center of the frame. Other big pluses are that Erin will carry the M (she doesn't seem to care much for carrying a DSLR), it's light and small and inconspicuous, and with the EF-M 22mm, it's pocketable in a pair of baggy pants. On the downside, it's battery life is only ok and it's no comparison to a 35mm sensor for low light.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coralee-and-The-Townies/96391985438" target="_blank">Coralee and the Townies</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jamil and Suzanne showing off their mad dancing skills</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obligatory selfie with my lovely wife</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dawnlandes.com/" target="_blank">Dawn Landes</a> + Coralee</td></tr>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-77193208305928391842014-05-30T20:30:00.000-04:002014-05-30T20:30:00.218-04:00European Starling Battles<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaos! (I count 9, maybe 10 in this frame)</td></tr>
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One day back in January I found the motivation to fill our suet feeder. This attracted the attention of a bunch of <a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/european_starling/id" target="_blank">European starlings</a>, and Erin and I got to see (and hear) a lot of crazy antics by our visitors. Of course, every time I stepped out the door to take some pictures they would scatter and it was really cold so I gave up. About a week later, the starlings "rediscovered" the suet and a ton converged on the feeder. This time around, I set the camera up on a tripod and used a remote trigger to take pictures. Below are a few of my favorites.</div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-51293321161686499592014-05-26T23:06:00.000-04:002014-06-02T19:00:10.508-04:00Camelopardalid Meteor Shower<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nyDrlk0_aI8/U4ElavBIPxI/AAAAAAAAMlg/dEjAEORx3zY/s1600/IMG_6706.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nyDrlk0_aI8/U4ElavBIPxI/AAAAAAAAMlg/dEjAEORx3zY/s1600/IMG_6706.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just an airplane, unfortuately</td></tr>
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Friday night/Saturday morning was the Camelopardalid meter shower. Predictions said that it could potentially be spectacular, and the weather was cooperative so Erin and I headed out on our back patio a little after 2am to watch. Well, it wasn't as awesome as hoped, but still not bad. Erin spotted 3 meteors, while I didn't spot any. That's what I get for fiddling with my camera.<br />
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Of course, the best ones happened before the projected peak according to <a href="http://astrobob.areavoices.com/2014/05/24/camelopardalid-meteor-show-more-a-trickle-than-a-storm/" target="_blank">Astro Bob</a>, which is a shame. I suppose the lesson is to just get out early and enjoy the clear skies (and set my camera up early too...). The good news is that I did capture some pictures of them since I left the camera out capturing continuous frames. None of the meteor pictures are really any good though, and the volume of meteors was disappointing. Making lemons out of lemonade, I did make a startrail so at least there's that. I think this is my best startrail yet. There's even a meteor pretty clearly visible in the lower right.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ONBUz21NHzo/U4K4gKydaCI/AAAAAAAAMm0/H44CrbLCucU/s1600/camelopardalid_startrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ONBUz21NHzo/U4K4gKydaCI/AAAAAAAAMm0/H44CrbLCucU/s1600/camelopardalid_startrail.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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There was also a peculiar picture where a star appeared for one frame. I don't think it's a hot pixel, so it's a bit of a mystery to me. Here is a gif of the weirdness. It is in the middle about 1/3 of the way from the left. Ignore the blinky ones in the tree on the right, those are just being obscured by branches. If anyone has any ideas or knows what it is, please comment below!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yW0l7t5bKbw/U4P4pBb9aZI/AAAAAAAAMr0/Sjvr90nfQFo/s1600/star_appearing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yW0l7t5bKbw/U4P4pBb9aZI/AAAAAAAAMr0/Sjvr90nfQFo/s1600/star_appearing.gif" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random Appearing Star?</td></tr>
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Now the meteor pics. I had planned on making a composite of each meteor, but I failed with my camera remote setup and there is a 2-3 second delay between exposures so there are gaps. I would try to fix them in Photoshop, but I suck at Photoshop and that would delay this post even more. Maybe someday I'll try to learn how to do it. The 3:41am one is by far the best one, both in brightness and duration. (Times are EDT)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wutPMBOra0c/U4PuDvRN-oI/AAAAAAAAMpQ/gaXi4lPIWSk/s1600/IMG_6322.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wutPMBOra0c/U4PuDvRN-oI/AAAAAAAAMpQ/gaXi4lPIWSk/s1600/IMG_6322.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty much dead center, 3:00a</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UBAtSg7Xr1E/U4PuFvPTLMI/AAAAAAAAMpY/TW8IEHSHa70/s1600/IMG_6347.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UBAtSg7Xr1E/U4PuFvPTLMI/AAAAAAAAMpY/TW8IEHSHa70/s1600/IMG_6347.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right side edge of the tree, 3:07a</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YSC8QdBB1uc/U4PuHysZGAI/AAAAAAAAMpg/S5cbw407-5k/s1600/IMG_6465.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YSC8QdBB1uc/U4PuHysZGAI/AAAAAAAAMpg/S5cbw407-5k/s1600/IMG_6465.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left edge of middle tree, 3:41a (1/5)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iaF9XUiHTnU/U4PuKZp3_WI/AAAAAAAAMpo/DpEO3yLwm-Q/s1600/IMG_6469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iaF9XUiHTnU/U4PuKZp3_WI/AAAAAAAAMpo/DpEO3yLwm-Q/s1600/IMG_6469.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right edge of middle tree (2/5)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L3F9Qj7GeKg/U4PuM8zYosI/AAAAAAAAMpw/X0vp7BcYfhw/s1600/IMG_6470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-L3F9Qj7GeKg/U4PuM8zYosI/AAAAAAAAMpw/X0vp7BcYfhw/s1600/IMG_6470.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3/5</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GzsAbtoJvYg/U4PuPRata7I/AAAAAAAAMp4/Rhr5r2P8iTc/s1600/IMG_6471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GzsAbtoJvYg/U4PuPRata7I/AAAAAAAAMp4/Rhr5r2P8iTc/s1600/IMG_6471.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4/5</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xFgvDVYz-ik/U4PuRfL_lqI/AAAAAAAAMqA/bm9wSrOoXY8/s1600/IMG_6472.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xFgvDVYz-ik/U4PuRfL_lqI/AAAAAAAAMqA/bm9wSrOoXY8/s1600/IMG_6472.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">5/5</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vp4NHuL0d0/U4PuVeMktuI/AAAAAAAAMqI/Tx6kuzzpOuE/s1600/IMG_6480.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1vp4NHuL0d0/U4PuVeMktuI/AAAAAAAAMqI/Tx6kuzzpOuE/s1600/IMG_6480.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right side of left tree, 3:45a (1/4)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg9aRCE1gjo/U4PuXSlUBmI/AAAAAAAAMqQ/oHoIIrW01nA/s1600/IMG_6481.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yg9aRCE1gjo/U4PuXSlUBmI/AAAAAAAAMqQ/oHoIIrW01nA/s1600/IMG_6481.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2/4</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rN72hpsoIaY/U4PuZjd3cWI/AAAAAAAAMqY/9ytHdYXAfMg/s1600/IMG_6484.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rN72hpsoIaY/U4PuZjd3cWI/AAAAAAAAMqY/9ytHdYXAfMg/s1600/IMG_6484.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3/4</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9dHoyqHmmt4/U4Pueo8zhJI/AAAAAAAAMqg/3TT8nuLMtBI/s1600/IMG_6485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9dHoyqHmmt4/U4Pueo8zhJI/AAAAAAAAMqg/3TT8nuLMtBI/s1600/IMG_6485.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4/4</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXMrvfLT7HM/U4Pugi_f54I/AAAAAAAAMqo/93wTcE4MQRI/s1600/IMG_6503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CXMrvfLT7HM/U4Pugi_f54I/AAAAAAAAMqo/93wTcE4MQRI/s1600/IMG_6503.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left side upper third, 3:53a (1/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M3LjhfAKigA/U4Pujjv8H1I/AAAAAAAAMqw/CY0PXgf7Uug/s1600/IMG_6504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M3LjhfAKigA/U4Pujjv8H1I/AAAAAAAAMqw/CY0PXgf7Uug/s1600/IMG_6504.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(2/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8OQ69lguZE/U4PumZ1EA0I/AAAAAAAAMq4/VEYDzD3RnXM/s1600/IMG_6505.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_8OQ69lguZE/U4PumZ1EA0I/AAAAAAAAMq4/VEYDzD3RnXM/s1600/IMG_6505.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(3/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PdDGbQjZtb0/U4PurI9gr1I/AAAAAAAAMrA/dqzVltL6FbI/s1600/IMG_6506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PdDGbQjZtb0/U4PurI9gr1I/AAAAAAAAMrA/dqzVltL6FbI/s1600/IMG_6506.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(4/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uZqN38Fr68s/U4Put98N_AI/AAAAAAAAMrI/i04ENzCeoqI/s1600/IMG_6507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uZqN38Fr68s/U4Put98N_AI/AAAAAAAAMrI/i04ENzCeoqI/s1600/IMG_6507.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(5/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArsEg3xGCdU/U4Pu1Gl1UlI/AAAAAAAAMrQ/DAdZYb4oTnI/s1600/IMG_6508.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ArsEg3xGCdU/U4Pu1Gl1UlI/AAAAAAAAMrQ/DAdZYb4oTnI/s1600/IMG_6508.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(6/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-43yvZXSl3Yk/U4Pu5o2sLRI/AAAAAAAAMrY/IWJBnkTDRb0/s1600/IMG_6509.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-43yvZXSl3Yk/U4Pu5o2sLRI/AAAAAAAAMrY/IWJBnkTDRb0/s1600/IMG_6509.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(7/8)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FF097okjC_I/U4PvAe-3H8I/AAAAAAAAMrg/yr2QhTOeZ3o/s1600/IMG_6510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FF097okjC_I/U4PvAe-3H8I/AAAAAAAAMrg/yr2QhTOeZ3o/s1600/IMG_6510.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(8/8)</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-3783318124881868542014-04-25T23:08:00.000-04:002014-04-25T23:08:40.298-04:00Easter Trip to Yuko-En<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm0Wq0LNBdM/U1iDAWCZgeI/AAAAAAAAL3g/Uyhw5z8GXNI/s1600/IMG_4964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Qm0Wq0LNBdM/U1iDAWCZgeI/AAAAAAAAL3g/Uyhw5z8GXNI/s1600/IMG_4964.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Over Easter Erin, her parents, Abby and I went to <a href="http://www.yuko-en.com/" target="_blank">Yuko-En on the Elkhorn</a>, a local Japanese style walking garden. We were hopeful the cherry blossoms would be in full bloom, but came away mildly disappointed. Some of the cherry blossoms had started to pop, but for the most part it wasn't quite time. The Judas trees were in full bloom though.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>While inside the garden, I only had my 50 f1.8 on the camera. I had forgotten what a great little lens this is, particularly considering its very low cost. The shallow depth of field it can produce makes for some eye popping captures, despite the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh" target="_blank">bokeh</a> being a bit harsh at times. Of course, reviewing these pictures incites a bit of gear lust... an 85 1.8 would be great, faster focus, sharper, even shallower depth of field. Maybe someday.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RCJe_w4b_38/U1iDCw0oWGI/AAAAAAAAL3o/_1_ZAQ8Px_I/s1600/IMG_4971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RCJe_w4b_38/U1iDCw0oWGI/AAAAAAAAL3o/_1_ZAQ8Px_I/s1600/IMG_4971.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing to see here</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wdgu00yb_tQ/U1iDFD-pgdI/AAAAAAAAL3w/WvqztgUrBBU/s1600/IMG_4972.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Wdgu00yb_tQ/U1iDFD-pgdI/AAAAAAAAL3w/WvqztgUrBBU/s1600/IMG_4972.jpg" height="640" width="425" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This door just pops in red</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oP9FE-ffAD8/U1iDGO3M4FI/AAAAAAAAL34/fGoWYQbgStU/s1600/IMG_4977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oP9FE-ffAD8/U1iDGO3M4FI/AAAAAAAAL34/fGoWYQbgStU/s1600/IMG_4977.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even a faucet looks great with a shallow depth of field</td></tr>
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Note the oval highlights in the background of the faucet picture. Not the most visually appealing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LlVY9mqbV4Y/U1iDI4hi5rI/AAAAAAAAL4A/C0_Qwku8rKs/s1600/IMG_4978.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LlVY9mqbV4Y/U1iDI4hi5rI/AAAAAAAAL4A/C0_Qwku8rKs/s1600/IMG_4978.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Erin and her mom (look closely, and Abby is there too)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nPyVb6UPyD4/U1iDJ209BjI/AAAAAAAAL4I/ssDPP0-iqv4/s1600/IMG_4984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nPyVb6UPyD4/U1iDJ209BjI/AAAAAAAAL4I/ssDPP0-iqv4/s1600/IMG_4984.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blooms from the Judas tree</td></tr>
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<br />
So maybe I didn't just have the 50 f1.8. I had an <a href="http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/macro-extension-tubes-closeup.htm" target="_blank">extension tube</a> too, which attached between the camera body and lens enabled this super close up of the Judas tree blooms.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaVDYdkqDp0/U1iDLNtpvXI/AAAAAAAAL4Q/op0MWMHZXGQ/s1600/IMG_4991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaVDYdkqDp0/U1iDLNtpvXI/AAAAAAAAL4Q/op0MWMHZXGQ/s1600/IMG_4991.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the few cherry blossoms</td></tr>
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Some more of the weirdness is shown in the cherry blossom picture. The background just looks so... busy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WOGw7039yRA/U1iDPli7QiI/AAAAAAAAL2o/TOjA5APNAzE/s1600/IMG_4998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WOGw7039yRA/U1iDPli7QiI/AAAAAAAAL2o/TOjA5APNAzE/s1600/IMG_4998.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judas tree in the parking lot</td></tr>
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<br />The last picture was taken with my 24-105 f4, since I needed a bit wider view to capture the tree without cars also intruding in the picture.<br /><br />The cherry blossom tree in my front yard is starting to bloom, so I'm sure I'll have some pictures from it soon. And tomorrow, Erin and I are headed to <a href="http://fw.ky.gov/Education/Pages/Salato-Wildlife-Education-Center.aspx" target="_blank">Salato Wildlife Center</a> so I'll have pictures to share from there eventually.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-73870727525862808632014-04-23T22:58:00.002-04:002014-04-23T22:58:43.350-04:00Red-tailed Hawk and Blue Jay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VoQ1txueyAo/U1hxmszeQ5I/AAAAAAAAL08/rPH9raqhmV0/s1600/IMG_5217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VoQ1txueyAo/U1hxmszeQ5I/AAAAAAAAL08/rPH9raqhmV0/s1600/IMG_5217.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
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All this spring at work, I've been seeing a couple of red-tailed hawks out my office window. A couple of times I've also seen one on a light post on my way home. Up until today, I either didn't have my camera with me, or had the camera and just plain failed. Today I finally had some success!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<h3>
Failures</h3>
Once I was driving through campus and flushed one from a tree and it flew off in the opposite direction. I went back that direction but couldn't find it. And of course, as I was driving home I saw it on a light post too late to get back on campus. It would have taken me 5-10 minutes to get back to the spot and I figured by then it would have flown off. Another time, I saw a turkey vulture soaring over the parking lot so I figured I'd take a few throwaway frames to play with some camera settings. After I was finished I saw a large bird soaring toward me and assumed it was the turkey vulture. Wrong. Turned out to be a hawk, but by the time I realized it it was much too late. And it flew right over my head.<br />
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<h3>
Success</h3>
<div>
Today was a win though. I exited work through a path that lets me see the light posts from a vantage point on campus. I saw the hawk, so I turned around as soon as I could. It had moved, so I was disappointed eventually. But then I saw it had moved to an even better spot. It was even closer! I stopped in the middle of the road (on campus) and grabbed some shots. I so wish the Tamron 150-600 I have on order was here, it would have been an excellent opportunity to give it a test. I got the opening shot, and then a blue jay showed up to harass the hawk. Awesome.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-26023679089323501792014-04-20T22:18:00.000-04:002014-06-02T19:00:39.075-04:00Easter Startrails<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXWjVF7HcfYrfsw4eP2oz2jFJpmkQW3A7LEBConTRRVPuAsxs56RSm3JQV3bEDKF5SSYzbfuzSptZYYL5VQU9gndQNAMifzFKa2jMqQC0MaSNBfC2P-HXl8MVRmxMZgKusWIxI6IbTjo/s1600/easter_2014_startrail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjXWjVF7HcfYrfsw4eP2oz2jFJpmkQW3A7LEBConTRRVPuAsxs56RSm3JQV3bEDKF5SSYzbfuzSptZYYL5VQU9gndQNAMifzFKa2jMqQC0MaSNBfC2P-HXl8MVRmxMZgKusWIxI6IbTjo/s1600/easter_2014_startrail.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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I <a href="http://ifpphoto.blogspot.com/2013/04/star-trails.html" target="_blank">wrote about Startrails</a> last year on my old blog, which I think I'm going to either abandon or transition into just posting an occasional picture.<br />
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Last night I captured another, this time with Polaris in the picture (it's the bright trail near the center of the concentric circles) over the course of 4 hours. I think it could still use a few more hours, but this one definitely is more filled out. This time I used my 6d with the 17-40 attached, ISO 100, f4, 75 second exposure.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-62323457035085076542014-04-04T21:04:00.002-04:002014-04-06T00:53:47.195-04:00Safari!<div dir="ltr">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LznVYlVIFjo/UzjpIDhUUOI/AAAAAAAALWY/vbyj3wjx6oA/s1600/IMG_1181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LznVYlVIFjo/UzjpIDhUUOI/AAAAAAAALWY/vbyj3wjx6oA/s1600/IMG_1181.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was a little late in deciding to take a picture of their sign</td></tr>
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<span id="goog_82242219"></span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Well, drive-thru safari. In Texas.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
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<div dir="ltr">
I'm separating this into its own post because it is lengthy and picture heavy. If you find any incorrect identifications please let me know. I spent way too much time on it already, and may have gotten a bit sloppy as time went on. We probably should have spent a few bucks on the guide book they had. Oh well, identification is a challenge that I enjoy.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
Anyway, back to the post... I have to say, Erin is the vacation planning master. She found a drive-thru safari, the <a href="http://wildliferanchtexas.com/" target="_blank">Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch</a>, just outside of San Antonio. It is a 400+ acre ranch, with about 6 miles of roads inside. It took us about 45 minutes to get there from Sean's place, then we had to wait about an hour and a half in the car line to get in. Luckily we were prepared for the wait (they had a warning on their website since it was spring break), and had candy and drinks and we found some music to set the mood via Songza. After the long wait we finally got in, and spent about 2 and half hours on the drive-thru portion and another 30 minutes in the walking area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nvvuZvpeIjs/Uz7BYHBsMwI/AAAAAAAALjo/gJwJcxz--_k/s1600/DSC00693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nvvuZvpeIjs/Uz7BYHBsMwI/AAAAAAAALjo/gJwJcxz--_k/s1600/DSC00693.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This only scratches the surface... but it was worth it. Picture by Sean</td></tr>
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<br />
I took a little over 1300 pictures, (Lots of continuous drive), which perhaps makes for an appalling keeper rate but it was a rare opportunity so I didn't want to miss a chance to at least have a decent snapshot of every animal. I also went super camera dork, putting both my DSLR's to work (6d with 100-400, XS with 17-40) and scooting back and forth across the back seat.<br />
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<h3>
Index Links</h3>
<div>
I've indexed the individual animals since this post is almost 60 pictures. Also note that each animal heading is a link to the corresponding Wikipedia article. My favorite photos are of the addax, ring-tailed lemurs, reticulated giraffes, emu, rhea, ostrich, kob and sika deer.</div>
<div>
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<a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#addax">Addax</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com//2014/04/safari_4.html#americanbison">American Bison</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#arabianoryx">Arabian Oryx</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#bactriancamel">Bactrian Camel</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#barbarysheep">Barbary Sheep</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#bluewildebeest">Blue Wildebeest</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#bongo">Bongo</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#bull">Bull</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#damagazelle">Dama Gazelle</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#damaralandzebra">Damaraland Zebra</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#donkey">Donkey</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#emu">Emu</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#fallowdeer">Fallow Deer</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#impala">Impala</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#kob">Kob</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#llama">Llama</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#longhorn">Longhorn</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#nilelechwe">Nile Lechwe</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#nilgai">Nilgai</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#ostrich">Ostrich</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#reticulategiraffe">Reticulated Giraffe</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#rhea">Rhea</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#ringtailedlemur">Ring-tailed Lemur</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#saanengoat">Saanen Goat</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#sableantelope">Sable Antelope</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#scimitaroryx">Scimitar Oryx</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#sikadeer">Sika Deer</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#springbok">Springbok</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#waterbuck">Waterbuck</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#watusi">Watusi</a> | <a href="http://newlywedlandia.blogspot.com/2014/04/safari_4.html#whiterhinoceros">White Rhinoceros</a><br />
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<h3 id="addax">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addax" target="_blank">Addax</a></h3>
<div>
Some of the addax were quite bold (friendly?) and would accept food straight out of the bags of food or even people's hands. The ranch says to drop it on the ground. People listen good. Oh and it looks like a little boy with a bowl cut. Or maybe <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moe_Howard" target="_blank">Moe</a>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iEf_qBSprwE/UzzRZTcakxI/AAAAAAAALe8/Ke-gtAspedc/s1600/IMG_3851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iEf_qBSprwE/UzzRZTcakxI/AAAAAAAALe8/Ke-gtAspedc/s1600/IMG_3851.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It does make for a cute photo</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7cnDAA6t-Y/UzzRc3mGGOI/AAAAAAAALfM/DCN9ZRprf6k/s1600/IMG_1230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g7cnDAA6t-Y/UzzRc3mGGOI/AAAAAAAALfM/DCN9ZRprf6k/s1600/IMG_1230.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So maybe we broke the rules too (I didn't do it!)</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nx_Hz-gG3n0/UzzReohB2lI/AAAAAAAALfU/huitErdj7NE/s1600/IMG_3911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Nx_Hz-gG3n0/UzzReohB2lI/AAAAAAAALfU/huitErdj7NE/s1600/IMG_3911.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe you should watch your fingers, dude</td></tr>
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<h3 id="americanbison">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison" target="_blank">American Bison</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VPPN81_NTfo/UzzR1C_J1dI/AAAAAAAALgc/9_KS2POtyIo/s1600/IMG_4053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VPPN81_NTfo/UzzR1C_J1dI/AAAAAAAALgc/9_KS2POtyIo/s1600/IMG_4053.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is he drunk? He's kinda leaning on that tree</td></tr>
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<h3 id="arabianoryx">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_oryx" target="_blank">Arabian Oryx</a></h3>
<div>
I had no idea there were so many types of antelopes.</div>
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<h3 id="bactriancamel">
</h3>
<h3 id="bactriancamel">
</h3>
<h3 id="bactriancamel">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_camel" target="_blank">Bactrian Camel</a></h3>
</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QxcJqj-B7ac/UzzSWsu4BXI/AAAAAAAALiE/oxsksf2niH4/s1600/IMG_4314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QxcJqj-B7ac/UzzSWsu4BXI/AAAAAAAALiE/oxsksf2niH4/s1600/IMG_4314.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="barbarysheep">
</h3>
<h3 id="barbarysheep">
</h3>
<h3 id="barbarysheep">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_sheep" target="_blank">Barbary Sheep</a></h3>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTINzVAB84A/UzzRs0ZUDRI/AAAAAAAALgE/evaP4KhlNms/s1600/IMG_1245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTINzVAB84A/UzzRs0ZUDRI/AAAAAAAALgE/evaP4KhlNms/s1600/IMG_1245.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aoB9IurfbH8/UzzSycipEJI/AAAAAAAALi0/_d3m1bpT8yQ/s1600/IMG_4324_DxO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aoB9IurfbH8/UzzSycipEJI/AAAAAAAALi0/_d3m1bpT8yQ/s1600/IMG_4324_DxO.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running after a ranger drove them off</td></tr>
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<h3 id="bluewildebeest">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_wildebeest" target="_blank">Blue Wildebeest</a></h3>
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TMQ8gNPeX0/UzzQ0dv4dJI/AAAAAAAALc0/EX9vnrTQD7g/s1600/IMG_3361.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6TMQ8gNPeX0/UzzQ0dv4dJI/AAAAAAAALc0/EX9vnrTQD7g/s1600/IMG_3361.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="bongo">
</h3>
<h3 id="bongo">
</h3>
<h3 id="bongo">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_%28antelope%29" target="_blank">Bongo</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NmWRswq16VY/UzzSItxt_tI/AAAAAAAALhk/ewsKsj70DkI/s1600/IMG_4181.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NmWRswq16VY/UzzSItxt_tI/AAAAAAAALhk/ewsKsj70DkI/s1600/IMG_4181.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="bull">
</h3>
<h3 id="bull">
</h3>
<h3 id="bull">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle" target="_blank">Bull</a></h3>
<div>
Or maybe a steer. Or maybe something else I couldn't find. I dunno.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGL0mf4cjQk/UzzSGBthrXI/AAAAAAAALhc/U8mXkgvzquI/s1600/IMG_4177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wGL0mf4cjQk/UzzSGBthrXI/AAAAAAAALhc/U8mXkgvzquI/s1600/IMG_4177.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="damagazelle">
</h3>
<h3 id="damagazelle">
</h3>
<h3 id="damagazelle">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dama_gazelle" target="_blank">Dama Gazelle</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-82mmFT_MRmA/UzzQfe5wa2I/AAAAAAAALb0/zn2kfHFpUTs/s1600/IMG_3225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-82mmFT_MRmA/UzzQfe5wa2I/AAAAAAAALb0/zn2kfHFpUTs/s1600/IMG_3225.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="damaralandzebra">
</h3>
<h3 id="damaralandzebra">
</h3>
<h3 id="damaralandzebra">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapman%27s_zebra" target="_blank">Damaraland Zebra</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jF4RW9bqU5M/UzzQ-eSpOUI/AAAAAAAALdU/UJ-X6SYMunc/s1600/IMG_3522.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jF4RW9bqU5M/UzzQ-eSpOUI/AAAAAAAALdU/UJ-X6SYMunc/s1600/IMG_3522.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cuddle Eating?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uzZEftjvxdM/UzzRBC0ApoI/AAAAAAAALdc/Eo-D8VkSVGs/s1600/IMG_3544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uzZEftjvxdM/UzzRBC0ApoI/AAAAAAAALdc/Eo-D8VkSVGs/s1600/IMG_3544.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="donkey">
</h3>
<h3 id="donkey">
</h3>
<h3 id="donkey">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey" target="_blank">Donkey</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGPUtjuZCZc/UzzRl9A_LUI/AAAAAAAALfs/DpIFbYNHrG8/s1600/IMG_3986.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qGPUtjuZCZc/UzzRl9A_LUI/AAAAAAAALfs/DpIFbYNHrG8/s1600/IMG_3986.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="emu">
</h3>
<h3 id="emu">
</h3>
<h3 id="emu">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu" target="_blank">Emu</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihmWl5jjILw/UzzRhXGt7WI/AAAAAAAALfk/V2IvtwFtjSo/s1600/IMG_3975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihmWl5jjILw/UzzRhXGt7WI/AAAAAAAALfk/V2IvtwFtjSo/s1600/IMG_3975.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lookin' for trouble</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XCaMqdjwSmI/UzzRbJ7oQVI/AAAAAAAALfE/eHz0aBUL2Lw/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XCaMqdjwSmI/UzzRbJ7oQVI/AAAAAAAALfE/eHz0aBUL2Lw/s1600/IMG_3860.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bad idea...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The large birds were aggressive when going after food from cars. I saw emus and ostriches with their heads in cars.</div>
<h3 id="fallowdeer">
</h3>
<h3 id="fallowdeer">
</h3>
<h3 id="fallowdeer">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallow_deer" target="_blank">Fallow Deer</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iamTgslCIFo/UzzQjAldKCI/AAAAAAAALcE/gctFctEuXYs/s1600/IMG_3263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iamTgslCIFo/UzzQjAldKCI/AAAAAAAALcE/gctFctEuXYs/s1600/IMG_3263.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nmc9pl2y5gw/UzzQpCN1RGI/AAAAAAAALcU/drdKpSQkeNE/s1600/IMG_3314.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nmc9pl2y5gw/UzzQpCN1RGI/AAAAAAAALcU/drdKpSQkeNE/s1600/IMG_3314.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="impala">
</h3>
<h3 id="impala">
</h3>
<h3 id="impala">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impala" target="_blank">Impala</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4hK1sHNhSDM/UzzR8tfNCiI/AAAAAAAALg0/uHgNDhCnQO8/s1600/IMG_4095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4hK1sHNhSDM/UzzR8tfNCiI/AAAAAAAALg0/uHgNDhCnQO8/s1600/IMG_4095.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="kob">
</h3>
<h3 id="kob">
</h3>
<h3 id="kob">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kob" target="_blank">Kob</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WLOYoK0D4kA/UzzRRfcUGuI/AAAAAAAALeU/GM6Trv2h1Yc/s1600/IMG_3732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WLOYoK0D4kA/UzzRRfcUGuI/AAAAAAAALeU/GM6Trv2h1Yc/s1600/IMG_3732.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AO-usCZcw4/UzzRgWQW8SI/AAAAAAAALfg/S6SyVEKyH-w/s1600/IMG_3949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1AO-usCZcw4/UzzRgWQW8SI/AAAAAAAALfg/S6SyVEKyH-w/s1600/IMG_3949.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9F5-tSSjLZU/UzzRn6zRSKI/AAAAAAAALf0/ElsMqRUrwfM/s1600/IMG_3990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9F5-tSSjLZU/UzzRn6zRSKI/AAAAAAAALf0/ElsMqRUrwfM/s1600/IMG_3990.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="llama">
</h3>
<h3 id="llama">
</h3>
<h3 id="llama">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama" target="_blank">Llama</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKgZbXVE68U/UzzRO_EH6LI/AAAAAAAALeM/PW53zhOT7J8/s1600/IMG_3703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKgZbXVE68U/UzzRO_EH6LI/AAAAAAAALeM/PW53zhOT7J8/s1600/IMG_3703.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo bomb!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 id="longhorn">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longhorn" target="_blank">Longhorn</a></h3>
<div>
This guy was in the middle of the road. Sort of frightening, but luckily he was very calm.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3_ShHSRsB4/UzzRuzPrIbI/AAAAAAAALgM/DPYEyrKIvhc/s1600/IMG_4031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3_ShHSRsB4/UzzRuzPrIbI/AAAAAAAALgM/DPYEyrKIvhc/s1600/IMG_4031.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9nTw53CTLM8/UzzR26yywVI/AAAAAAAALgk/ZC9BFsq8b9M/s1600/IMG_4060.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9nTw53CTLM8/UzzR26yywVI/AAAAAAAALgk/ZC9BFsq8b9M/s1600/IMG_4060.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IkTIVL-6lN4/UzzR42P59NI/AAAAAAAALgs/V3lPPBRFTd4/s1600/IMG_1250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IkTIVL-6lN4/UzzR42P59NI/AAAAAAAALgs/V3lPPBRFTd4/s1600/IMG_1250.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Way closer than I cared to be to such a large pair of horns</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 id="nilelechwe">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile_lechwe" target="_blank">Nile Lechwe</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkug2zXQCk0/UzzSCx481mI/AAAAAAAALhM/b35Er-yLq9M/s1600/IMG_4154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dkug2zXQCk0/UzzSCx481mI/AAAAAAAALhM/b35Er-yLq9M/s1600/IMG_4154.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JWRm-EIUGIE/UzzSEcxvjZI/AAAAAAAALhU/555Ch2Ns8oQ/s1600/IMG_4162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JWRm-EIUGIE/UzzSEcxvjZI/AAAAAAAALhU/555Ch2Ns8oQ/s1600/IMG_4162.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="nilgai">
</h3>
<h3 id="nilgai">
</h3>
<h3 id="nilgai">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgai" target="_blank">Nilgai</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc0uKwHSmLM/UzzQ6Mb7goI/AAAAAAAALdE/40A1ROzxSWo/s1600/IMG_3470.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Mc0uKwHSmLM/UzzQ6Mb7goI/AAAAAAAALdE/40A1ROzxSWo/s1600/IMG_3470.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 id="ostrich">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich" target="_blank">Ostrich</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bwtl3ZyKrQk/UzzRT-2eYeI/AAAAAAAALec/JigjelhsE4g/s1600/IMG_3765.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bwtl3ZyKrQk/UzzRT-2eYeI/AAAAAAAALec/JigjelhsE4g/s1600/IMG_3765.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foraging</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mN5Riq7DorU/UzzRVRBehrI/AAAAAAAALek/czsAJJrOHjU/s1600/IMG_3780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mN5Riq7DorU/UzzRVRBehrI/AAAAAAAALek/czsAJJrOHjU/s1600/IMG_3780.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creepy inner eyelid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ViiIfuOCo7E/UzzRWvEE6SI/AAAAAAAALes/ibfvSDtRKKM/s1600/IMG_3786.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ViiIfuOCo7E/UzzRWvEE6SI/AAAAAAAALes/ibfvSDtRKKM/s1600/IMG_3786.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inner eyelid in action</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NhEsGKvEis/UzzRX7ajXGI/AAAAAAAALe0/xSdoff2zH5c/s1600/IMG_3812.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NhEsGKvEis/UzzRX7ajXGI/AAAAAAAALe0/xSdoff2zH5c/s1600/IMG_3812.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="reticulategiraffe">
</h3>
<h3 id="reticulategiraffe">
</h3>
<h3 id="reticulategiraffe">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reticulated_giraffe" target="_blank">Reticulated Giraffe</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhnXPNA3eDg/UzzSK69IwjI/AAAAAAAALhs/wf6e3hWWRzI/s1600/IMG_4234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BhnXPNA3eDg/UzzSK69IwjI/AAAAAAAALhs/wf6e3hWWRzI/s1600/IMG_4234.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7e9sd1bpx8/UzzSM-Qg1aI/AAAAAAAALh0/py-Q3N02eaA/s1600/IMG_4237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-W7e9sd1bpx8/UzzSM-Qg1aI/AAAAAAAALh0/py-Q3N02eaA/s1600/IMG_4237.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="rhea">
</h3>
<h3 id="rhea">
</h3>
<h3 id="rhea">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhea_%28bird%29" target="_blank">Rhea</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u3_X4_ffiYI/UzzRDnb858I/AAAAAAAALdk/4APucWFqYcU/s1600/IMG_3571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-u3_X4_ffiYI/UzzRDnb858I/AAAAAAAALdk/4APucWFqYcU/s1600/IMG_3571.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t0-GJ50P7FM/UzzRHuzCkHI/AAAAAAAALds/MURQD8NeWAU/s1600/IMG_1207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t0-GJ50P7FM/UzzRHuzCkHI/AAAAAAAALds/MURQD8NeWAU/s1600/IMG_1207.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What are you lookin' at?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qaBQe_ahSuk/UzzRI1yR4HI/AAAAAAAALd0/JKQX38Qm5qY/s1600/IMG_3609.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qaBQe_ahSuk/UzzRI1yR4HI/AAAAAAAALd0/JKQX38Qm5qY/s1600/IMG_3609.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="ringtailedlemur">
</h3>
<h3 id="ringtailedlemur">
</h3>
<h3 id="ringtailedlemur">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring-tailed_lemur" target="_blank">Ring-tailed Lemur</a></h3>
<div>
Sun worshipers, expression masters, scoffers at my camera equipment and photography skills. Lemurs are impressive. And judgemental. Oh so judgemental.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vivKPjqUKHg/UzzSZI2n7KI/AAAAAAAALiM/2cURitDMM4M/s1600/IMG_4364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vivKPjqUKHg/UzzSZI2n7KI/AAAAAAAALiM/2cURitDMM4M/s1600/IMG_4364.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I've seen bigger lenses"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NbHQ0UIukgI/UzzSboTCODI/AAAAAAAALiU/7ScLMFB6FmY/s1600/IMG_4369.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NbHQ0UIukgI/UzzSboTCODI/AAAAAAAALiU/7ScLMFB6FmY/s1600/IMG_4369.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"And better photography"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AwIeMii98bY/UzzSgF_Ly3I/AAAAAAAALic/skv8BmLeGro/s1600/IMG_4372.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AwIeMii98bY/UzzSgF_Ly3I/AAAAAAAALic/skv8BmLeGro/s1600/IMG_4372.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Your photography is a joke" (maybe I'm too self-conscious...)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIBDdr4ga90/UzzSiSOIk1I/AAAAAAAALik/T5w0TY9Nfms/s1600/IMG_4388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PIBDdr4ga90/UzzSiSOIk1I/AAAAAAAALik/T5w0TY9Nfms/s1600/IMG_4388.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"And boring"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlD2CdSj-ok/UzzSofZcUAI/AAAAAAAALis/5_Znk7VRRWE/s1600/IMG_4393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hlD2CdSj-ok/UzzSofZcUAI/AAAAAAAALis/5_Znk7VRRWE/s1600/IMG_4393.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Look</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 id="saanengoat">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saanen_goat" target="_blank">Saanen Goat</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKwHmb8EhLc/UzzRKwhdJ_I/AAAAAAAALd8/OqlPc-rf0lw/s1600/IMG_3630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKwHmb8EhLc/UzzRKwhdJ_I/AAAAAAAALd8/OqlPc-rf0lw/s1600/IMG_3630.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuhTAvjsuh4/UzzRM1JuHtI/AAAAAAAALeE/41lrMXSNPTA/s1600/IMG_3634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DuhTAvjsuh4/UzzRM1JuHtI/AAAAAAAALeE/41lrMXSNPTA/s1600/IMG_3634.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="sableantelope">
</h3>
<h3 id="sableantelope">
</h3>
<h3 id="sableantelope">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sable_antelope" target="_blank">Sable Antelope</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHkkWCX5snc/UzzR_UUBUTI/AAAAAAAALg8/wKFfZFgxeMw/s1600/IMG_4102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHkkWCX5snc/UzzR_UUBUTI/AAAAAAAALg8/wKFfZFgxeMw/s1600/IMG_4102.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="scimitaroryx">
</h3>
<h3 id="scimitaroryx">
</h3>
<h3 id="scimitaroryx">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scimitar_oryx" target="_blank">Scimitar Oryx</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F9JxI_9GX-0/UzzQ8N31IvI/AAAAAAAALdM/OLy3jrhkpTA/s1600/IMG_3485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F9JxI_9GX-0/UzzQ8N31IvI/AAAAAAAALdM/OLy3jrhkpTA/s1600/IMG_3485.jpg" height="400" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="sikadeer">
</h3>
<h3 id="sikadeer">
</h3>
<h3 id="sikadeer">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sika_deer" target="_blank">Sika Deer</a></h3>
<div>
They might have a licking obsession.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2K0lzZ3tU_8/UzzQlpsBZOI/AAAAAAAALcM/plRUdndoPzw/s1600/IMG_3289.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2K0lzZ3tU_8/UzzQlpsBZOI/AAAAAAAALcM/plRUdndoPzw/s1600/IMG_3289.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SLEFWgvKBlQ/UzzQsxP1udI/AAAAAAAALcc/e8X_v8sC7oI/s1600/IMG_1182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SLEFWgvKBlQ/UzzQsxP1udI/AAAAAAAALcc/e8X_v8sC7oI/s1600/IMG_1182.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OTkgxUaE0U/UzzQxwLnDlI/AAAAAAAALcs/xWz49Tg48Bg/s1600/IMG_3352.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OTkgxUaE0U/UzzQxwLnDlI/AAAAAAAALcs/xWz49Tg48Bg/s1600/IMG_3352.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="springbok">
</h3>
<h3 id="springbok">
</h3>
<h3 id="springbok">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springbok" target="_blank">Springbok</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AILdYAgUP3M/UzzQ3i4WE7I/AAAAAAAALc8/CcfE_CKpDJg/s1600/IMG_3385.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AILdYAgUP3M/UzzQ3i4WE7I/AAAAAAAALc8/CcfE_CKpDJg/s1600/IMG_3385.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="waterbuck">
</h3>
<h3 id="waterbuck">
</h3>
<h3 id="waterbuck">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterbuck" target="_blank">Waterbuck</a></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RY7HfURZDKM/UzzRpw-xhkI/AAAAAAAALf8/FYFYFYqEScE/s1600/IMG_4017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RY7HfURZDKM/UzzRpw-xhkI/AAAAAAAALf8/FYFYFYqEScE/s1600/IMG_4017.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKz43AaWnC4/UzzQhUGqcBI/AAAAAAAALb8/i3FCT3-9rDM/s1600/IMG_3255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dKz43AaWnC4/UzzQhUGqcBI/AAAAAAAALb8/i3FCT3-9rDM/s1600/IMG_3255.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3 id="watusi">
</h3>
<h3 id="watusi">
</h3>
<h3 id="watusi">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ankole-Watusi_%28cattle%29" target="_blank">Watusi</a></h3>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ECXUwOXcEE/UzzRwzg6-AI/AAAAAAAALgU/YEjs-gqb1hA/s1600/IMG_4036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7ECXUwOXcEE/UzzRwzg6-AI/AAAAAAAALgU/YEjs-gqb1hA/s1600/IMG_4036.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Whaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuup?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 id="whiterhinoceros">
</h3>
<h3 id="whiterhinoceros">
</h3>
<h3 id="whiterhinoceros">
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros" target="_blank">White Rhinoceros</a></h3>
<div>
Stupid fence wires...</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Vd99dcUJ5I/UzzSQOXeaDI/AAAAAAAALh8/7Gye8_8K-Ao/s1600/IMG_4260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Vd99dcUJ5I/UzzSQOXeaDI/AAAAAAAALh8/7Gye8_8K-Ao/s1600/IMG_4260.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0Natural Bridges Wildlife ranch, 26515 Natural Bridge Caverns Road, San Antonio, TX 78266, USA29.6940836 -98.33578720000002729.6940836 -98.335787200000027 29.6940836 -98.335787200000027tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-87142493085378009022013-12-06T19:00:00.000-05:002014-01-18T00:44:28.339-05:00New Family Member!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-au3mpXuwXcQ/Upl9jAilRlI/AAAAAAAAKQg/0RRtqjz0nJ8/s1600/IMG_0425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-au3mpXuwXcQ/Upl9jAilRlI/AAAAAAAAKQg/0RRtqjz0nJ8/s640/IMG_0425.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abby</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This is Abby, our new adopted dog. We got her from our friend, Jessica, who moved to shorten her commute and wasn't allowed to have a pet at her new place. She is 12 years old and is an English Setter / Brittany Spaniel mix. She's settled in quickly, is super calm and generally a very well behaved dog.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
She's already made friends with the gerbils too.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzL77rZBV0U/UqIqzH0gRGI/AAAAAAAAKR4/yPlQDDMSwb4/s1600/IMG_0493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WzL77rZBV0U/UqIqzH0gRGI/AAAAAAAAKR4/yPlQDDMSwb4/s640/IMG_0493.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Gerbils are friends, not food."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Speaking of gerbils...</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NFKLZKVfhY/UppUolAtFKI/AAAAAAAAKRQ/NyjiEQipqGE/s1600/IMG_0247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--NFKLZKVfhY/UppUolAtFKI/AAAAAAAAKRQ/NyjiEQipqGE/s640/IMG_0247.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sniff</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--15uppZ5Ggk/UppUm2JTN-I/AAAAAAAAKSE/UI1dDFicMQ0/s1600/IMG_9964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--15uppZ5Ggk/UppUm2JTN-I/AAAAAAAAKSE/UI1dDFicMQ0/s640/IMG_9964.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kisses</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-46772482876563501002013-11-06T23:49:00.002-05:002014-01-18T00:43:13.006-05:00Cincinnati Museum Center<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RDSLPywAUjY/Unm1-40hgKI/AAAAAAAAKMY/IgfZ4067H8o/s1600/IMG_0027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RDSLPywAUjY/Unm1-40hgKI/AAAAAAAAKMY/IgfZ4067H8o/s640/IMG_0027.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Union Terminal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We recently went to Cincinnati to meet up with Erin's parents for lunch and a visit to the <a href="http://www.cincymuseum.org/" target="_blank">Cincinnati Museum Center</a>. For lunch we had <a href="http://www.wildgingercincy.com/" target="_blank">Wild Ginger Asian Bistro</a>. The food was good, though a touch on the pricey side.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We started out at the Museum of Natural History and Science. It was a pretty typical natural history museum. Skeletons, fossils and a space exhibit. There were also artificial caves and an ice age exhibit.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b9UlVmQcarA/Unm1q6I0PXI/AAAAAAAAKLA/VzwWTYTxujk/s1600/IMG_9988.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-b9UlVmQcarA/Unm1q6I0PXI/AAAAAAAAKLA/VzwWTYTxujk/s640/IMG_9988.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elk</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mbd74m1IHdc/Unm1sXclOzI/AAAAAAAAKLI/wqVrcUr1WrM/s1600/IMG_9992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mbd74m1IHdc/Unm1sXclOzI/AAAAAAAAKLI/wqVrcUr1WrM/s640/IMG_9992.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Creepy Face (of a giant bison)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKz9eJytbv8/Unm1tw1omYI/AAAAAAAAKLQ/45e--RuXBb8/s1600/IMG_9996.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKz9eJytbv8/Unm1tw1omYI/AAAAAAAAKLQ/45e--RuXBb8/s640/IMG_9996.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Redwood (from California) Cross-section</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fr8eN5mf5hY/Unm1v4PcYkI/AAAAAAAAKLY/LIqejK9gG9o/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fr8eN5mf5hY/Unm1v4PcYkI/AAAAAAAAKLY/LIqejK9gG9o/s400/IMG_0001.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-je_1GOk7BII/Unm1x9XL0MI/AAAAAAAAKLg/VMwSItkx2B0/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-je_1GOk7BII/Unm1x9XL0MI/AAAAAAAAKLg/VMwSItkx2B0/s400/IMG_0002.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After that we stopped off for some ice cream, then headed into the Cincinnati History Museum. It consisted of a really cool model of Cincinnati based on the early-mid 1900s, a large scale model of the waterfront from the 1800s, some machine history, and a World War II exhibit focusing mostly on life on the home front.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-And1FU9n8GY/Unm10DkackI/AAAAAAAAKLo/U-nWRj5EEsY/s1600/IMG_0012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-And1FU9n8GY/Unm10DkackI/AAAAAAAAKLo/U-nWRj5EEsY/s640/IMG_0012.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh no! I missed my stop!"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SQS8oHXXDEw/Unm11s50AgI/AAAAAAAAKLw/81NnOXpZayU/s1600/IMG_0015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SQS8oHXXDEw/Unm11s50AgI/AAAAAAAAKLw/81NnOXpZayU/s400/IMG_0015.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0-dKBglKBDA/Unm13tCs2_I/AAAAAAAAKL4/fQbuZW4DVVw/s1600/IMG_0016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0-dKBglKBDA/Unm13tCs2_I/AAAAAAAAKL4/fQbuZW4DVVw/s320/IMG_0016.jpg" height="320" width="242" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I found this poster very amusing</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I think one of the more interesting finds was learning about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Nimmo" target="_blank">Bill Nimmo</a>, since I basically never see the Nimmo surname outside of my family.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqHcbDwdZwY/Unm150Gg-vI/AAAAAAAAKMA/hpPblrnWafw/s1600/IMG_0017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AqHcbDwdZwY/Unm150Gg-vI/AAAAAAAAKMA/hpPblrnWafw/s640/IMG_0017.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was an audio clip of him discussing his experiences</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hvjh9jEULDg/Unm17J7A9vI/AAAAAAAAKMI/q5KsPLuItrg/s1600/IMG_0018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hvjh9jEULDg/Unm17J7A9vI/AAAAAAAAKMI/q5KsPLuItrg/s640/IMG_0018.jpg" height="640" width="406" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A quick blurb</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oVvkpliuu9k/Unm19BNaBxI/AAAAAAAAKMQ/JhgiyVblB5c/s1600/IMG_0018-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oVvkpliuu9k/Unm19BNaBxI/AAAAAAAAKMQ/JhgiyVblB5c/s400/IMG_0018-2.jpg" height="400" width="206" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill Nimmo (with awful reflection)</td></tr>
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By the time we found Bill Nimmo, it was pretty much closing time so we headed out. I grabbed the leading shot as we were heading out.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-86452493660047240992013-08-20T22:08:00.000-04:002014-01-18T00:41:37.651-05:00Party Photobooth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0H5l5x2HySc/UgMKOMW6XUI/AAAAAAAAH88/MqSwCZymIvE/s1600/IMG_0450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0H5l5x2HySc/UgMKOMW6XUI/AAAAAAAAH88/MqSwCZymIvE/s400/IMG_0450.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Initial testing - I took this as a sign of good things to come</td></tr>
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Warning: This post is extremely picture heavy.<br />
<br />
Erin and I threw a party for our friends to celebrate our recent marriage. We put up a photobooth, which turned out to be a great time, and some awesome shots were captured. The <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112670640203057255027/20130727Photobooth02?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLegwZjOxoTdlAE&feat=directlink" target="_blank">whole set is available here</a>. Following are some of my favorites. Yes, there are a lot. We're a photogenic bunch of people, and apparently we know how to rock the photobooth.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love the handcuff medallion</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dLRj3pFYKw/UgMKZbaV2GI/AAAAAAAAH-E/WCzUShTz4eA/s1600/IMG_0471.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dLRj3pFYKw/UgMKZbaV2GI/AAAAAAAAH-E/WCzUShTz4eA/s640/IMG_0471.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That mask is just plain frightening</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incoming!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Best. Photobomb. Ever.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktbhw0v186Q" target="_blank">What Is Love?</a>"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0" target="_blank">Who invited Psy?</a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slap Fight!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Somebody's in trouble</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFJ6S9g3iQDNpUi-Qqt6pkF0hVlbUShmAhfWzQhmGbfvhOi4bo0NgSD9HrNg9t4qsO1wR6hGzCgseGFJnE9iPaNBuxwaqrTSAl5F3dNmggHhX8wqMH0X9HQAf1rMq9C0RmSbv-fshbVE/s1600/tunak.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwFJ6S9g3iQDNpUi-Qqt6pkF0hVlbUShmAhfWzQhmGbfvhOi4bo0NgSD9HrNg9t4qsO1wR6hGzCgseGFJnE9iPaNBuxwaqrTSAl5F3dNmggHhX8wqMH0X9HQAf1rMq9C0RmSbv-fshbVE/s640/tunak.gif" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I am a sucker for animated GIFs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-29938755163224719512013-07-20T18:36:00.000-04:002014-01-18T00:44:02.917-05:00Wedding Pictures!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our pictures finally came! yay! Some of our favorites are posted here. You can look through all of them <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/112670640203057255027/WeddingPictures?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIPeyLbwvveX_QE&feat=directlink" target="_blank">by clicking here</a>.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14412587458349763422noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-18551922995769893282013-07-08T17:11:00.000-04:002013-07-09T01:07:59.062-04:00Honeymoonin' (back to Victoria)Disclaimer: Some photos taken by James (many of the very awesome ones!)<br />
Day 9:<br />
This day started off with James waking up early and spotting some crows out the window. He looked and saw they were pestering a bald eagle. He shot some great pictures of the eagle being chased by the crows, the eagle sitting up at the top of a spruce and the eagle soaring off. He woke me up so I could see the eagle too, which was very cool.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V5eX5zhmY-o/UdUM7fpNX_I/AAAAAAAAAeY/36O7qyEXZPg/s1600/IMG_7994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-V5eX5zhmY-o/UdUM7fpNX_I/AAAAAAAAAeY/36O7qyEXZPg/s640/IMG_7994.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wet eagle</td></tr>
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It was rainy and chilly, so the eagle looked drenched from sitting in the treetop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x-KRF91KtXs/UdUM80I4odI/AAAAAAAAAeo/P63mCN063zc/s1600/IMG_8070.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x-KRF91KtXs/UdUM80I4odI/AAAAAAAAAeo/P63mCN063zc/s640/IMG_8070.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flying off. Look at those talons!</td></tr>
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After getting ready, we went downstairs to the hotel restaurant, Fetch, for breakfast. We got seated by the window again and enjoyed the waves. James had a salmon bennie with potatoes and I had granola with fruit and yogurt and a green smoothie. Our next stop was the hotel gift store, where James picked out a nice photography book of the scenery and wildlife of British Columbia. It's like a nice big coffee table book that will be neat to leaf through later. We did a whirlwind packing job once back up in our room, said goodbye to the amazing view, and checked out. As we drove out of town, we stopped at a little art and print shop called Pina. We were looking for a print we'd seen in Ukee Dogs the day before of the town of Ucluelet, but they only had it as a tiny magnet. Oh well. The magnet would have to do. Then it was goodbye Ucluelet. The drive out onto Pacific Rim Highway was once again turny, twisty, and rainy. There were some beautiful waterfalls running over the rock cliffs, some mysterious, misty lakes, and raging rivers hoping over big boulders. We made a stop at Little Quallicum Beach and did some hiking. The rain stopped right as we pulled into the parking lot. Win! The falls consisted of a lower and upper falls.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lower Quallicum Falls</td></tr>
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Both were beautiful and showed the great power of rushing water. The hike was a nice break too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">happy hikers</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful clear water with a view of the stones underneath </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">powerful rushing water from the upper Little Quallicum Falls</td></tr>
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We spotted a frog, big slug, snail, and lots of other hikers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big ol' slug</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">camofrog </td></tr>
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Next stop wasn't planned for. On the road, we saw a sign for the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, where they supposedly rehabed black bears, owls, and other birds of prey. I was immediately interested, since I'd worked at a camp that had a raptor rehab center. We stopped off expecting a small place, but were pleasantly surprised to find a pretty big facility. We paid and entered a room full of plaques about different birds, cougars, wolves, etc, along with some taxidermied examples, then wound around to an eagle flight house. We viewed the eagles from slots above as to not disturb them or give them human contact. There were also several monitors where you could watch live feeds of black bears. Two cubs were playing and rough housing when we watched. Next came the outdoor path around to the rest of the animals that had no chance of release back into the wild.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7QfW-oZvU1E/UdUM94zgdhI/AAAAAAAAAew/5YsWPmurWcw/s1600/2013-06-27+15.24.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7QfW-oZvU1E/UdUM94zgdhI/AAAAAAAAAew/5YsWPmurWcw/s640/2013-06-27+15.24.43.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barred owl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qth0u8UhVJQ/UdUNUTROyeI/AAAAAAAAAgw/BRhe8WIPwrg/s1600/IMG_8297.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qth0u8UhVJQ/UdUNUTROyeI/AAAAAAAAAgw/BRhe8WIPwrg/s640/IMG_8297.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short eared owl</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckk7Dhe8NB0/UdUNcOjPDfI/AAAAAAAAAhI/ElI2elvDt0A/s1600/IMG_8326.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ckk7Dhe8NB0/UdUNcOjPDfI/AAAAAAAAAhI/ElI2elvDt0A/s640/IMG_8326.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Funny log full of turtles</td></tr>
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There were ravens, eagles (bald and golden), barred owls, barn owls, great horned owls, short eared owls, ferrets, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, peregrine falcons, doves, turtles, and ducks. The place was huge and well maintained. I was certainly impressed. Before we left, we had to take a photo in their little set up....<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uuBg46AWc6k/UdUNNfPsGpI/AAAAAAAAAgY/ahS02PiYo3A/s1600/IMG_8251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uuBg46AWc6k/UdUNNfPsGpI/AAAAAAAAAgY/ahS02PiYo3A/s640/IMG_8251.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hungry baby eagle </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5RTLWVNEBw/UdUNQDauZwI/AAAAAAAAAgg/8pSErMphMQw/s1600/IMG_8260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-X5RTLWVNEBw/UdUNQDauZwI/AAAAAAAAAgg/8pSErMphMQw/s640/IMG_8260.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"FEED ME!"</td></tr>
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After spending a good chunk of time there, we got back on the road, got a little turned around, then found our bearings. Off to Nanaimo for a light lunch. We ate at a place called Corner Bistro. James had some chowder and a great piece of herb bread and I had some little quinoa sliders. Back on the road to Victoria, we noticed the sun peeking out a little, which was strange since we hadn't seen it in so long! When we arrived at the hotel, it was pretty late. We lugged our bags to the room and headed across the street to Sizzling Tandoor for some excellent Indian food. I had paneer tika masala and James had lamb masala and we split some naan. After dinner, we walked over to the harbor and back across the bridge and enjoyed the mild evening before hitting the hay.<br />
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Day 10:<br />
We slept in very late, almost until noon. After our late start, we walked over to a nearby diner called John's Place. The service was friendly, decor was amusing, and the food was tasty. The bread alone was enough to get a thumbs up from me. I also had a Jerusalem Wrap with falafel and veggies and James had a lamb soublaki. We headed back to the hotel, grabbed the car and drove out to Fort Rodd Hill, home of the Fisgard Lighthouse, which is one of the earliest permanent lighthouses on Canada's west coast. The walk around the grounds was beautiful.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-De9wH5IEom8/UdUNpK5-PoI/AAAAAAAAAiI/P-cABML8BUc/s1600/IMG_8374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-De9wH5IEom8/UdUNpK5-PoI/AAAAAAAAAiI/P-cABML8BUc/s400/IMG_8374.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain view from atop the old bunker at Fort Rodd</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fisgard lighthouse </td></tr>
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The weather was sunny and warm. James got lots of nice pictures and we enjoyed seeing the pretty lighthouse, mountain views, birds, and learning a bit of history.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spotted a few herons around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robin Chripbotski (for all you How I Met Your Mother fans)</td></tr>
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Back at the hotel, we brought up the rest of the luggage so we could repack for the plane and relaxed a bit. Since the weather was so great, we decided to walk up to a park that had the world's tallest totem pole. The park was called Beacon Hill and it was just a bit of a walk past the Royal BC Museum, which also had a totem pole display outside to stop and wonder at.<br />
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Once we entered the park, we found out there was a lot to explore. Our visit to Beacon Hill began with us taking some "action shots" of the many types of ducks in the pond.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty light hitting the water</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diving duck</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty heron atop a tall tree</td></tr>
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We also took more pics of the talkative crows. We continued on through the large park admiring the tall trees and colorful gardens along the paths. There were black squirrels, which I hadn't seen many of before.<br />
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Then we heard the unmistakable cries of peacocks. First, we just saw a few females, pretty, but not the kind of splendid, showy colors of the male peacock. We wandered a bit more and found a few males. Some even had their feathers up in display, yapping and dancing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peacock crossing the road</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peacock showing off</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Female Peacock</td></tr>
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We wondered more through the pretty gardens and trees and past a trail along the waterfront.<br />
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As it was getting later, we decided we had better find that big totem pole. You'd think it would have been easy to spot, being the world's tallest and all, but the gigantic trees that blanked the park did make it a more challenging search. Finally, we spotted it over the trees. There was a bird-like silhouette sitting atop the pole. From a distance, we assumed it was part of the totem design. But James looked through the zoom lens from his camera and discovered it was an actual bald eagle!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome sight</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle talking to the crows</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totem from below</td></tr>
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We tried to quickly make our way toward the pole to see this cool sight. After a short stop to get pictures of the mountains across the way and a quick walk through some buggy woods, we were at the bottom of the pole and the eagle was still sitting on top. It was such a majestic sight! Then came the crows. They flitted around, cawing and diving toward the eagle and trying to bother him and get him to leave the area. The eagle seemed unbothered by the crows and held his ground. Finally the crows left. We walked closer to the pole to get some neat perspective pictures. The eagle remained on top. As we were walking away from the pole, we heard a barred owl calling from the woods..."whoo cooks for you- whooo cooks for you aaaallll?" it called. So we decided to take a quick look in the woods. The eagle also decided it was time to give up his post upon the pole and flew off. We didn't find the barred owl and it was starting to get buggy, so we decided to head back to the hotel and clean up for dinner. Dinner was right around the corner from our hotel at a hip little place called Mint. It was dimly lit with sparkly lights strung about over the tables, pillows tossed about on the seating, and decorated with masks, and kitchy artwork. There was live music followed by a dj. The atmosphere was pretty fun and chill at the same time. James ordered the naan pizza and I had spinach curry. We both had some yummy drinks and split a lemon tart. After hanging out for a bit, we decided to head back to the hotel and pack up since it was our last night and we'd have to wake up super early to catch our red eye flight back to the states. We did not want to leave Vancouver Island!<br />
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Day 11:<br />
The trip home was uneventful and went mostly smoothly. We flew from Victoria to SanFransico (we saw the Golden Gate bridge and San Mateo bridge from the plane), then from San Fran to Chicago (saw more mountains and Lake Tahoe from the plane), then Chicago home to Lexington. It was thunderstorming when we arrived a little before midnight. The honeymoon was wonderful and I loved the island! Can't wait to make a return visit sometime!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountains from the plane</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-51428477480630916952013-07-07T18:02:00.000-04:002013-07-07T18:02:57.318-04:00Honeymoonin' (Ucluelet)Day 7: (continued)<br />
We arrived in Ucluelet (it means "safe harbor") and found our next hotel, Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. We were early to arrive, but they had the room ready, which was wonderful since we were tired from being up so early for the bear tour. We went up to our room and were immediately taken with the view.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful view from our room at Black Rock. </td></tr>
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Ocean waves crashed over mighty black rocks right out our floor to ceiling windows, then if you looked further, you could see the Pacific stretching into the distance as far as the eye could see. The sounds of rolling and crashing waves with the occasional fog horn were pleasing to the senses as well. We decided to shower off the sea from the earlier bear tour and relax with an open window and fresh air for a bit. Then we finally made it out for dinner at Romans Grill. I had a margherita pizza and James had veal parmesan. Pretty good. We stopped off at the local market to grab some cheese for later and headed back to relax by the fire and sound of the waves for the evening.<br />
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Day 8:<br />
This morning, we woke up pretty late and made our way down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We enjoyed the breakfast buffet and our view of the waves out the window from the table.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breakfast at Black Rock's Lure Restaurant</td></tr>
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It was an on and off rainy day, so we layered up, grabbed jackets and headed toward the Wild Pacific Trail for some hiking. Most of the hike was dry. Yay!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UtHsCs_lzIA/UdUMw-PeOLI/AAAAAAAAAdI/UbfbtZ5rIn8/s1600/IMG_7896.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UtHsCs_lzIA/UdUMw-PeOLI/AAAAAAAAAdI/UbfbtZ5rIn8/s320/IMG_7896.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying the beauty and rugged landscapes of the wild pacific trail</td></tr>
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We enjoyed many beautiful vistas of the ocean along with twists and turns through the rainforest and a neat little red and white lighthouse.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EYASwIacPYw/UdUMs4CkHsI/AAAAAAAAAco/Js-FJteyglE/s1600/IMG_7835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EYASwIacPYw/UdUMs4CkHsI/AAAAAAAAAco/Js-FJteyglE/s640/IMG_7835.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The strange, yet serene Amphitrite lighthouse in Ucluelet</td></tr>
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The highlights of the hike were spotting several more bald eagles, one with a freshly caught fish, another sitting atop a tall evergreen guarding it's huge nest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9edJLnWEGtQ/UdUMt1f1NOI/AAAAAAAAAcw/76Q9z-rtCCA/s1600/IMG_7849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9edJLnWEGtQ/UdUMt1f1NOI/AAAAAAAAAcw/76Q9z-rtCCA/s640/IMG_7849.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eagle sitting over it's giant nest</td></tr>
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After our hike, we headed to Ukee Dogs for lunch. It is a tiny local hot spot with all sorts of delicious hot dogs, coffee, and cookies. I had the Veggie Ukee dog with mac n cheese and James had the carnivore Ukee dog with fries. Our next stop was the Ucluelet Aquarium. It is a pretty small place, but neat. They catch and release all the sea life locally and have lots of touch tanks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big sunflower starfish</td></tr>
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We spent a good chunk of time in there watching a friendly halibut spit water at guests and checking out a speedy sunflower star fish.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hilarious spitting halibut </td></tr>
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There was even a red octopus feeding going on while we were there. Though it wasn't like any other aquariums I visited, I enjoyed it and I think James did too. He sure got a few good pictures of the sea creatures. Next, we drove up the main drag of Ucluelet looking for some statues we'd seen on a cartoon map of the town while sitting in Ukee Dogs. We saw an eagle statue, bear statue, and lady with a bird statue. Nothing too wild, but it was fun to drive through the tiny town and try to spot the landmarks. After that, we headed to the hotel to relax a bit. Later on, we went to the Crow's Nest gift store for a few trinkets to take back. Then it was dinner time. We headed up the street to Matterson House, a cute little restaurant in an old, historic house. The atmosphere was quaint, service was friendly, and food was amazing. I had the Cheesedillicious pasta and James had some kind of sea food pasta with olive oil. We both enjoyed nice green salads and some very yummy bread. The best part was dessert- lemon cheese cake. Yum. Having stuffed ourselves, we went back to the hotel to wind down for our final evening in Ucluelet. Now, a few words about Black Rock Oceanfront Resort. The view!!!! I just couldn't get over the view of the waves breaking over the dark, jagged rocks, especially during high tide. It is just amazing. The rhythmic waves are almost hypnotic. The room itself wasn't too shabby either. Cute little patio overlooking that beautiful ocean view, comfy bed, cozy fireplace and...drumroll please....an awesome bathroom! Now usually I don't care to take the time to rave about hotel bathrooms. They is what they is. But this bathroom was something I could get used too. It had a giant soaker tub with sliding windows so you could watch out the floor to ceiling windows and enjoy those wonderful waves rolling in.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-Rlp7OJ_Yg/UdUMnevoO8I/AAAAAAAAAb4/2ea9S3f1wOo/s1600/IMG_0023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7-Rlp7OJ_Yg/UdUMnevoO8I/AAAAAAAAAb4/2ea9S3f1wOo/s640/IMG_0023.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture doesn't do the bathroom justice...</td></tr>
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It also had beautiful black rock heated floors, and a black rock shower with a rain spout. I felt pampered just taking a regular old shower. Ahh. Do we have to leave? We ended our night listening to the sea, the wind (which really started roaring for awhile), and the moan of some not too distant whistler bouys. Relaxing.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-17932632518972670512013-07-06T15:08:00.002-04:002013-07-06T15:08:29.610-04:00Honeymoonin' (Tofino)Disclaimer: James also took some of these pictures (he is awesome like that)<br />
Day 5:<br />
We woke up and walked up the street for some pizza from New York Style Pizzeria in Nanaimo. It wasn't open yet, so we walked about a bit in the rain and came back to enjoy some yummy pizza before hitting the road for Tofino. The drive to Tofino was an experience in itself. We made a stop at Coombs Country Market to see the famous market with goats grazing on the grass roof.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-soP3c0kwfjQ/UdUKzE5pvsI/AAAAAAAAARQ/UWb0u_cZJXs/s1600/IMG_6364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-soP3c0kwfjQ/UdUKzE5pvsI/AAAAAAAAARQ/UWb0u_cZJXs/s640/IMG_6364.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goats on the roof at Coomb's Country Market</td></tr>
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We also, once again, grabbed some ice cream. I had to re-visit the Nanaimo bar flavor and James decided on the spumante again. We took some pics of the goats and also a big, oddly colored bunny then headed back out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Random rabbit </td></tr>
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We got going again for a bit, then decided to stop off at the Port Alberni Walmart to buy some items, including an extra small suitcase for taking home souvenirs. The Canadian Walmart seemed much cleaner and nicer than any US Wallys I've visited. We filled up our Mazda with petrol and kept truckin'. The drive became very interesting after leaving the Port Alberni area. It was pretty remote and pretty...well, pretty! We made one last stop at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. This place was magical. The trees in the grove were Douglas Firs and Red Cedars. The trees in the forest are very old and very tall. Some were 700 years old. I felt small in the forest. It was an amazing stop.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oe_mp106RQY/UdUKnImIy8I/AAAAAAAAAQg/BE2QHswHykk/s1600/IMG_9951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Oe_mp106RQY/UdUKnImIy8I/AAAAAAAAAQg/BE2QHswHykk/s640/IMG_9951.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesomely tall trees in Cathedral Grove</td></tr>
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The drive got windier and twistier and wilder and more scenic. Misty mountains loomed in all directions. It was hard to tell how tall they were in the clouds. Rivers and lakes were almost always in sight, some with beautiful rapids and small waterfalls. After several hours of wonderful scenery and twists and turns, we arrived in the sleepy, little surf and fishing town of Tofino. As we came in towards Tofino, glimpses of the open Pacific Ocean could be caught through the rainforests. There were also signs warning travelers that they were entering tsunami zones. This prompted me to research the last tsunami in the area. It seems any noteworthy tsunamis around Vancouver Island haven't happened since the 1700's. I still wanted to read the safety signs before entering any beaches or hiking grounds. It seems if you feel the ground shake or see sudden rise in the ocean, you better high tail it to higher ground. Anyway, we arrived at our resort, Pacific Sands. It was a nice place with it's own private beach access. Our room was on the second floor, overlooking the beach.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching surfers from our balcony </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dogs playing on our beach</td></tr>
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It was great to hear and see the waves rolling in. We got changed for dinner and headed into town to a place called SoBo (sophisticated bohemian). After a bit of a wait, we enjoyed our meals. James had halibut over veggies and a carrot emulsion that he really liked and I had green curry soup and veggie arepas. After dinner, we went back to our room, donned our bright yellow raincoats and went to the beach to enjoy the drizzly evening. There were quite a few surfers out and people walking dogs. We walked up and down the beach and to a big rock to look at some tide pools. There was a neat view of a lighthouse from the beach too. We sniffed out a nearby trail to come back to the next day, then called it a night. The sound of the waves rolling in was a great way to fall asleep and a beautiful sight to wake up to.<br />
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Day 6:<br />
We woke up pretty early, expecting our in room breakfast delivery, which never came. We were on a schedule to get to our whale tour, so we ended up scarfing down some Clif bars and heading out. We arrived at the Tofino Whale Centre around 10. The lady at the desk checked us in and said we could wander around for about 20 minutes then come back to get suited up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ppHftCXVet0/UdUK87aBD6I/AAAAAAAAASA/whEFqyXLjvE/s1600/IMG_6459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ppHftCXVet0/UdUK87aBD6I/AAAAAAAAASA/whEFqyXLjvE/s320/IMG_6459.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ridiculous red survival suit...so cool</td></tr>
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We walked up and down the nearby streets, looking at the little shops and the harbor, then headed back. The suits were bright red Mustang Survival suits that pulled over our many layers to keep wind and rain out. We were also given rain slickers, just in case. Our group of 11 people walked down from the centre to the boat dock (looking ridiculous in our puffy red suits) and hopped over into our Boston Whaler boat. The boat was small and quiet and great at jumping waves and making quick turns. Our skipper and guide, Howie, was very knowledgeable and had a keen eye for spotting wildlife. We hopped along the waves at high speeds, then idled in towards an island to have a look at a deer.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4QiRhr6joPs/UdULHN-5wCI/AAAAAAAAASg/2vOIiUuArC8/s1600/IMG_6503.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4QiRhr6joPs/UdULHN-5wCI/AAAAAAAAASg/2vOIiUuArC8/s640/IMG_6503.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh dear, what a cute deer!</td></tr>
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It didn't seem much bothered by us being there. Next, we rode out a bit further to a small island. As we approached, there seemed to be something curled up for a nap atop a large rock. It was a wolf!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zbh2LZLmk6Q/UdULLdOj3sI/AAAAAAAAAS0/j78I-2fPeto/s1600/IMG_6552.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zbh2LZLmk6Q/UdULLdOj3sI/AAAAAAAAAS0/j78I-2fPeto/s640/IMG_6552.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful wolf</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ct4QKv3wtl0/UdULMFkbmGI/AAAAAAAAAS8/e-ibUUxqwPk/s1600/IMG_6613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ct4QKv3wtl0/UdULMFkbmGI/AAAAAAAAAS8/e-ibUUxqwPk/s400/IMG_6613.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out what's going on</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pL_q0QKr3bc/UdULN_qyWrI/AAAAAAAAATI/9zhHmOcXz_o/s1600/IMG_6628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pL_q0QKr3bc/UdULN_qyWrI/AAAAAAAAATI/9zhHmOcXz_o/s640/IMG_6628.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out our boat</td></tr>
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We got closer and he awoke from his nap, standing up to stretch and check out the boat. He decided to walk around to some other rocks and our boat was able to follow along side the island. He finally settled back down, poking his head over some rocks to nap again, but kept his ears alert, like little radars turning this way and that. After wolf watching for some time (Howie informed us that wolves were his favorite and he had even recently had a wolf tattoo done) we headed back to open water. We then saw it, our first whale! Gray whale to be exact. It was pretty awesome. You'd see a blow, a back, a tail, a fin. Were they playing? Eating? Waving? There was a moment when one whale was not but 20 feet from our boat! Another interesting thing about whales....they have a smell. A gross smell. But the smell was nothing to worry about during this awesome experience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KVf-PAxPm90/UdULWIkUu5I/AAAAAAAAAUI/eYth8jjY60U/s1600/IMG_6806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KVf-PAxPm90/UdULWIkUu5I/AAAAAAAAAUI/eYth8jjY60U/s640/IMG_6806.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gray whale tail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UUI98tvPy4s/UdULYLRl9fI/AAAAAAAAAUk/fFDDepfxOuc/s1600/IMG_6834.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UUI98tvPy4s/UdULYLRl9fI/AAAAAAAAAUk/fFDDepfxOuc/s640/IMG_6834.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So big!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FYxft9JaGwM/UdULdKrHneI/AAAAAAAAAVI/MNPaIRESm3w/s1600/IMG_6875.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FYxft9JaGwM/UdULdKrHneI/AAAAAAAAAVI/MNPaIRESm3w/s640/IMG_6875.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Hello!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HMhaqnv6vw8/UdULhQsLoPI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ZjzPcCIQPBk/s1600/IMG_6947.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HMhaqnv6vw8/UdULhQsLoPI/AAAAAAAAAVo/ZjzPcCIQPBk/s640/IMG_6947.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome shot, James!</td></tr>
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Our boat also passed a group, or raft, of steller sea lions sunning on a rock. We saw a harbor seal poking out of the water, some bald eagles, brandt's cormorants, puffins, starfish, gulls, and a cute little otter floating about.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEK7i5h6Jnk/UdULRHpuaTI/AAAAAAAAATg/zdVlS3Z7yvk/s1600/IMG_6701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEK7i5h6Jnk/UdULRHpuaTI/AAAAAAAAATg/zdVlS3Z7yvk/s640/IMG_6701.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sea lions sunning</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bald eagle ignoring a crow</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0J9cez6uPKM/UdULkw5ouQI/AAAAAAAAAV4/euegnmH1ieE/s1600/IMG_6992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0J9cez6uPKM/UdULkw5ouQI/AAAAAAAAAV4/euegnmH1ieE/s640/IMG_6992.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"You otter join me in the water!"</td></tr>
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We saw whales a couple times, though I'm not sure how many individual whales there were. Overall, an amazing tour! Once we were off the boat and back to the center, we thanked Howie, lost the red suit, and left.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QfzdANgIKpI/UdULnfWv36I/AAAAAAAAAWI/I_neMdTMNRQ/s1600/IMG_7026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QfzdANgIKpI/UdULnfWv36I/AAAAAAAAAWI/I_neMdTMNRQ/s400/IMG_7026.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tour boat</td></tr>
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Lunch was at a small Chinese place called Gary's Kitchen. James had Szechewan Chicken and I had fried tofu over veggies and noodles. We split some veggie spring rolls. It was a mighty big portion and was mighty tasty too. After lunch, we headed back to our hotel where we stopped into the main reception area and bought some frozen curries and a dessert ice cream cookie sandwich to make for dinner later. Then we decided to hike the sunset trail out to Pettinger Point, which was the trail just by our hotel property.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1-iA-6bEsE/UdULwEl5ZmI/AAAAAAAAAWw/GgHHtD44HZg/s1600/DSC00379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l1-iA-6bEsE/UdULwEl5ZmI/AAAAAAAAAWw/GgHHtD44HZg/s640/DSC00379.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful views everywhere</td></tr>
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It was a fairly short hike out to some stunning and picture perfect viewing spots of the ocean, rocks, and some shorebirds. We spotted a golden eagle and some oyster catchers, and lots of crows as far as birds go.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LrkW_6lG30I/UdULzMJ5xPI/AAAAAAAAAXA/e27fHJ4fZKg/s1600/IMG_7057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LrkW_6lG30I/UdULzMJ5xPI/AAAAAAAAAXA/e27fHJ4fZKg/s640/IMG_7057.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden eagle and crow</td></tr>
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There were some pretty plants too. We hiked back and decided to head over to Schooner Cove, a trail in the Pacific Rim Provincial Park. We had to drive a few miles to get there and purchase a daily park pass, then we headed onto the trail, which was mostly boardwalks through some beautiful rainforest. Before we really even started, we met a giant (as far as slugs go) spotted banana slug.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s-P_cOpI_zo/UdUL7Z9iAfI/AAAAAAAAAXw/O91KzvSSYpw/s1600/DSC00467.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s-P_cOpI_zo/UdUL7Z9iAfI/AAAAAAAAAXw/O91KzvSSYpw/s640/DSC00467.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant slug</td></tr>
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We took its picture and headed onto the trail. It lead us out to a nice, very secluded beach. We were the only people on there for awhile. After exploring the beach a bit, climbing through some driftwood, and of course picture taking, we decided to head back up the trail as it also looked as though it might rain.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNZRQKa5w0s/UdUMAN8RQXI/AAAAAAAAAYA/t_d79C58Dkk/s1600/DSC00476.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tNZRQKa5w0s/UdUMAN8RQXI/AAAAAAAAAYA/t_d79C58Dkk/s640/DSC00476.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peaceful and empty beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><3</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gqx8cdy_xbQ/UdUMLOK3SBI/AAAAAAAAAY4/DKSR127cPYA/s1600/DSC00492.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gqx8cdy_xbQ/UdUMLOK3SBI/AAAAAAAAAY4/DKSR127cPYA/s400/DSC00492.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Made a quick sand heart for my love</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Silly perspective shot</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We look so short </td></tr>
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Right as we got back into our car, the rain started really coming down. Great timing! We decided to use the rainy down time to do some laundry in the guest laundry facility and then we made dinner in our kitchenette. We made chicken curry for James and palak paneer for me (spinach with cheese). Both were tasty. We entertained the idea of going out on the beach for a bit, but the heavy rain dissuaded us. We used the indoor down time to do some picture reviewing, journaling, emailing, and general relaxing by the fireplace.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cozy room at Pacific Sands</td></tr>
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We knew we'd have to be up super early for our bear tour.<br />
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Day 7:<br />
This was bear tour day! We were up at 6:45am. We ate a Clif bar and had some ginger ale to settle our stomachs for the potential choppy waters since it was a rainy and windy morning. We checked out of Pacific Sands on our way out and headed back to the Tofino Whale Centre where we were cheerfully greeted by the same receptionist. She got our familiar red suits and yellow rain slickers ready and gave us a hat for the wind and rain. Our skipper was Howie again. He had come in on his day off just to do a tour for the two of us. Super nice.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Howie waiting on the bear tour boat</td></tr>
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The boat we took out was slightly different from the one we went whaling in the day before, but still very quiet and quick. We hopped into the front for good viewing. On the way out to the inlets, the driving rain and wave spray was harsh and sharp on my face. I had my sunglasses on and hoods pulled around me best I could. James seemed to be doing the same thing. When we arrived to the inlets, the weather had calmed down greatly and Howie spotted our first bears- a mommy and two little cubs. Magical!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crazy! We are watching real black bears out for their morning breakfast!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So cute! Love the cubs.</td></tr>
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The mom turned rocks to find food while the cubs played. Howie talked about how cubs usually stay with their mother about 2 years and that these were first year cubs. He also talked about how good the bear's sense of smell and hearing was but not so much their eyesight. We watched as she munched away at the bounty she found in the rocks until her cubs ran off into the treeline and called to her. We moved on to the next grouping of bears.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Anything tasty under here?"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paw lickin' good</td></tr>
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One bear was so close, it seemed we were no more than 10 feet away. They really didn't seem to mind that we were there. Just busy eating. Crows seemed to hang around the bears, I guess to pick off the leftovers. We ended up seeing 15 black bears, which was apparently very lucky! We also had the pleasure of seeing more bald eagles and a couple porpoises. Overall, a really awesome and dreamlike experience. We had a quick bite to eat at Breakers Deli, right across the street from the Whale Centre. James had a salmon sandwich and I had a falafel wrap. Then we headed to the town of Ucluelet, just a short distance from Tofino. We stopped at Incinerator Rock, a little beach area with big rocks on the way, but only for a short time since it was windy and chilly. I will continue about Ucluelet on the next post since I've been trying to break the posts up by town.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-51601569533051962722013-07-04T02:45:00.003-04:002013-07-05T00:18:30.129-04:00Honeymoonin' (Nanaimo, BC)Disclaimer: Some photos taken by James (many of the most awesome, in fact)<br />
Day 3:<br />
We woke up, had some OJ out on the balcony and enjoyed the company of a seagull who came to visit us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Got any treats for me?"</td></tr>
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Then after a bit, headed out for lunch in downtown Victoria at a small place called Mo:Le. It was a cute little restaurant with art covered walls which spawned about as artsy a conversation between James and I as you'll get. James ordered some fish tacos and I had some havarti mac n cheese. All was delish. On the way back toward the bridge, we went through China Town and Fan Tan Alley. This is the largest China Town in BC.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fan Tan Alley entry</td></tr>
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We walked back across the bridge, checked out of the hotel and packed up to go up the coast a bit to Nanaimo, harbor city. The drive up was lovely and sunny and only took about 1.5 hours. We stopped off at a scenic viewing spot for a few quick pics.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Road to Nanaimo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenic stop off point</td></tr>
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We arrived to Nanaimo and checked in to our hotel. The view was not as stunning as our Victoria view, but still had a nice bit of the harbor and boats within sight. After unpacking, we headed out for an easy hike at Buttertubs Marsh. It was a nice stroll around some different wetlands and forest. We saw a few birds and of course James took a bunch of pictures.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buttertubs Marsh</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photobombed</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red-winged blackbird</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hungry little guy</td></tr>
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That tired us out, so we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. We walked down to the docks by the harbor to a tiny, floating, outdoor restaurant called Penny's Palapa. It was fun eating on the water and the food was tasty. James had red snapper and I had a veggie plate with beans, corns, rice and greens.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying dinner on the floating restaurant, Penny's Palapa</td></tr>
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After dinner, we walked along the water's edge admiring the view. We were then drawn into a sweets parlor for some gelato. James had spumante and I had white chocolate raspberry. We walked onto the docks to watch people pull in their crabbing baskets in. There was also a curious harbor seal that swam right up to see what was going on and a bald eagle made a quick appearance.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curious harbor seal, awwww :)</td></tr>
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Once the sun went down, it became a bit chilly, so we headed up to our hotel and called it an early night since we knew we'd need a lot of energy for the next day on our kayak trip.<br />
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Day 4:<br />
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We were up and rearing to go. It was our wildlife kayak trip day. We made the short drive to Ladysmith and pulled into Transfer Beach. The Sealegs kayaking outfitters was easy to find. Our tour guide, David, helped us get fitted in our 'yak and showed us some paddling techniques, then it was off we went in our tandem kayak (our guide told us these double kayaks were also known as divorce boats).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready to paddle around</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to be synchronized </td></tr>
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Once out on the water a bit, paddling and using the pedals to steer became easier. David showed us a yellow baby Sunflower starfish. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby sunflower starfish....these apparently get HUGE, like trashcan lid sized</td></tr>
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Then we continued on to some islands. We passed a heron standing calmly in the shallow waters. He was so still, maybe waiting for an unsuspecting fish to swim past. The tide was very low at the time, so we had to carefully navigate around rocks in the shallow waters. It was good though, for finding more types of starfish. Our guide found an Ocher starfish (not yellow, but purple, contrary to it's name, though I guess there are yellow ones, it's just more rare) and then a Leather starfish. It was cool to hold them and feel the different rigidness of the different species. The more floppy ones are faster movers and the more rigid ones slower.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starfish galore!</td></tr>
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We were also lucky enough to spot some bald eagles and a harbor seal along the way. Paddling was very relaxing and being out on the quiet waters felt so serene and peaceful. I almost hated for the trip to be over, but was a little tired after paddling around for about 2.5 hours.<br />
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We left a bit wet and fatigued, but super impressed by all the sights and sounds we'd experienced. Back at the hotel, we grabbed some showers and a nap before heading out for dinner at the Lighthouse Bistro down by the harbor. It was a nice al fresco dining experience.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Out for dinner at Lighthouse Bistro</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying outdoor dining </td></tr>
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James had fish and chips and I had a veggie burger and fries,errr...chips. We walked back down towards the dock to catch a sunset and view of the super moon. Of course we were once again pulled in to get some gelato. This time James tried banana chocolate and I had Nanaimo bar, which is a delicious mix of custard and chocolate. When we finally made it to the dock, we saw a bald eagle sitting on a floating pier not far off. James got some awesome shots of it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful bald eagle flying away</td></tr>
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We also watched more people crabbing. One man seemed to be having some difficulty casting his small reject crabs back into the water and was a bit comical to watch as he shook them and yelled for the "bonehead crabs" to "let go".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rejected tiny crabs</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I'm free!"</td></tr>
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The beautiful super moon loomed low over boats and buildings for a bit before rising into the pretty purple haze sky. Sleep came easily that night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posed with the super moon</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super moon</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-24535335263209793762013-07-01T01:39:00.001-04:002013-07-05T00:18:43.635-04:00The WeddingIt seems the time leading up to our wedding, and even the wedding day, went by like a whirlwind! It started getting real(ish) when my sister flew in (all the way from New Zealand!) a week before the wedding. I went up to my parents to visit for a few days. When I came back home, James' father had arrived and our friends from out of state were starting to arrive. The day before the wedding, my family came down and our final friend arrived from out of state. Everyone feasted on Giovanni's Pizza, salad, chips (with our favorite Panchos cheese dip of course), and cookies. That evening, the ladies went and had our nails done while the men hung out at the house. The morning of, I woke up early, grabbed a shower and headed to the hair dresser with my mom and friend, Jess. My wonderful hair dresser did a great job getting my unruly, frizzy hair looking elegant. When we got back to the house, everyone was arriving and packing and ready to head to our destination. We decided to get married at a small bed and breakfast located on beautiful rolling farmland up near the Ohio River. It was a sunny and very warm day and the drive up was nice. Once we arrived, the preparations began. We had to set up our music and sound system, put up some floral decor, set out some decorations and our cute little birdhouse favors. Soon, everyone was there, including our reverend. We had a very small wedding. My parents, James' father, my sister and brother, James' uncle, my childhood best friend and her husband, my college best friend, James' childhood best friend and his wife, James' college best friend and our reverend and her husband. A grand total of 16 people, if you count James and me. Rehearsal was next on the agenda. It was midday and the sun was beating down on us as we held rehearsal outside on the deck in front of the lovely flowers and with the woods in the background and rolling farmland to each side. Rehearsal was short and sweet, but I ended up with a surprise....sunburn!!! I happen to be pretty fair skinned and the sunburn had me looking like a lobster. Boo!!! Before I knew it, it was time to get ready. My mom, bridesmaids, and girlfriends rushed into the honeymoon suites' spacious bathroom and got ready. The men readied themselves much faster than we did and ended up waiting a bit. Oops! The photographer popped in and took a few pictures of my mom and I, then she headed out after lots of hugs and some kisses. My bridesmaids and I waited for everyone to be seated and/or outside before we emerged from the suite. We went outside to the spot we'd be entering from and I saw my daddy waiting for me. Then it all really hit me. My dad looked handsome in his black suit, pink tie, and green pocket square. We talked a little, and tried not to sweat while waiting for the groomsmen and James to start walking in to the music. Finally, they entered, then my bridesmaids went. They looked beautiful in their pink and green dresses! It was finally time for dad and me to walk around. I felt a bit nervous, but mostly just felt like I was maybe in a dream. I took my dad's arm and we slowly (ever so slowly in my tall heels through the grass) made the famous march. We made our way forward up towards all the people dearest to my heart. I wish I could have taken the time to look at them all better, but everything was just a blur and I was so focused on making it to my spot without falling. It was a bit overwhelming, then I saw James. My heart felt all happy. He looked stunning and I couldn't wait to be his wife (it wasn't going to be a long wait)! My dad passed my hand to James' and I think he said something along the line of "love you guys". I'm having a hard time remembering clearly exactly how things went! I don't know if it was the nerves or that I was just in some kind of fog or if it's normal for that to happen. Our ceremony wasn't very long, it was finished off by my brother reading an Apache wedding blessing. The recessional music began and I walked off arm in arm with my new husband! Our wedding party headed around with us to the front gardens, followed by the guests. We had some posed pictures taken (and lost the heels!) before heading inside to a lovely meal. The bed and breakfast owners had a lovely long table set for us to all sit down for our dinner together. It was decorated with our flower bouquets from the ceremony and our little birdhouse favors. On the menu was apricot glazed pork (veggie pasta in cream sauce for me, the silly vegetarian), ginger glazed carrots, creamy mashed potatoes, green beans, a roll, and spinach strawberry salad with tea to drink. Everything was delicious and everyone seemed to be pleased with the meal. After chatting a bit, we moved back outside by the pool for cake and punch. Our cake looked beautiful with our little birds cake topper and some pretty flowers over the white icing. Andy, the best man, gave a heartfelt toast, almost making me tear up, then James and I cut the cake together. We fed each other without any cake smashing taking place. Everyone loved the cake and punch and everyone really loved that the heat was going away with the sunset approaching. The photographer grabbed a few more pictures of us in the changing light before she left for the evening. Our reverend and her husband and two of my friends had to head out. The rest of our guests stayed the night with us at the b&b. James and I had our first dance, poolside, to "Love is a Place" by Metric, then I danced with my dad to Heartlands' "I Knew Her First". It was fun to twirl around with him and enjoy the moment. We then played some games together where they asked silly questions to see how well James and I knew each other. It brought about some laughter and little known information. As the night went on, many of us made our way into the cool, refreshing pool. We also had some foam rocket launchers that added to the fun. After cleaning up from the pool, we all sat down to a game of Apples to Apples and enjoyed some snacks. When the game wrapped up, everyone headed to bed. Overall, a wonderful, smooth day. It felt like a great day with all my loved ones near me and I couldn't be happier to be sharing this milestone with them. It was also fun to think of myself as the new Mrs. Nimmo. The b&b staff did a wonderful job making things run smoothly and beautiful and my friends and family were all willing and ready to help with everything that needed doing. Love em all. We woke up early to a drizzly day and had a delicious breakfast. Everyone was able to order what they wanted. I had some yummy sweet potato waffles and juice. We then started packing up the cars. This is about the time we realized that Alex, who had left right after breakfast to make his flight, had James' keys in his pocket. James took my car and got the keys, but Alex ended up missing his flight. Boo. That was about the only blip in the whole celebration. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I was ready to get home and pack for the honeymoon! My family and Jessica came back home with us for a bit, so that was very nice too. Yay for a splendid wedding. It was a very happy time for me, and I hope for James too!!! I will add wedding pictures as they roll in from our photographer and guests.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-20649802690092623242013-06-26T01:45:00.000-04:002013-07-01T00:14:54.636-04:00AboutI'm Erin. Avid owl lover, wanna be world traveler, vegetarian food experimenter, and new wife to the adorable James. James is an engineer, soccer lover, and hobby photographer. This is my blog, mostly for personal use, of all the adventures I've had and hope to have. We are freshly married, as of June 15, 2013 after dating for about 4 years. The inspiration to start this blog came from the longing to journal about all the experiences we've been having on our honeymoon on the lovely Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15294042169002666205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8858950827186954639.post-3265811132806789262013-06-25T02:35:00.002-04:002013-07-05T00:18:30.124-04:00Honeymoonin' (Victoria)It seems like I've been planning this honeymoon trip for us forever! And now it's here!<br />
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Disclaimer: Some of the photos were taken by James (many of the awesome ones, in fact!)<br />
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Day 1:<br />
Left good ole Kentucky early...like really early. Got on a plane and flew to Chicago. We did see a pretty sunrise while in the air.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunrise on the plane</td></tr>
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After a short layover and breakfast at O'Hare Airport, we boarded our next flight to Calgary, CA. We had to go through customs (no line) and then had a good lunch at the airport Chili's. Our last leg was a short flight to Victoria, which is on Vancouver Island. It is British Columbia's capitol city. As our plane approached the Victoria Airport, I watched the islands that spotted the blueish-green water and the rolling mountains grow bigger and bigger. Once off the plane, we collected our ridiculous amount of luggage and signed off for our rental car, a pretty awesome Mazda 5.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much baggage!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mazda 5...nice roadtripin' mobile</td></tr>
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When we stepped outside, the smell of evergreen hit me. Ahhh! Love that scent. We used TomTom to get to our hotel in Victoria. The hotel was beautiful and our room had an amazing view! We could see the harbor and all it's huge yachts, water taxis, rowers, paddle boarders, cruise ships, and shorebirds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhemrgbYnCc/UdUIjR6plAI/AAAAAAAAAFY/6xLNqZ3yY5k/s1600/IMG_5686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OhemrgbYnCc/UdUIjR6plAI/AAAAAAAAAFY/6xLNqZ3yY5k/s640/IMG_5686.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our balcony and windows at the Delta Victoria Resort</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gpyAJCIE3EM/UdUIf4gQbII/AAAAAAAAAFI/5Rc44LTMvzk/s1600/IMG_5666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gpyAJCIE3EM/UdUIf4gQbII/AAAAAAAAAFI/5Rc44LTMvzk/s640/IMG_5666.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of a totem pole from our balcony</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YJhbvJ20BNo/UdUIiZjifHI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/D0vIreWMdkQ/s1600/IMG_5673.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YJhbvJ20BNo/UdUIiZjifHI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/D0vIreWMdkQ/s640/IMG_5673.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our balcony made the perfect place to watch sea planes come in and take off</td></tr>
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The cityscape was great. We had views of the government building (which is lit up at night), the Royal BC Museum, and the bridge into downtown. We also had a view of a few totem poles. Let's not forget the view of the mountains. I think they were the Olympic mountains off in the distance. They had beautiful snowy peaks when it wasn't too foggy or hazy out. Our room was on the 7th floor and had a great patio space to enjoy. We snapped tons of pictures, freshened up, then headed to dinner. The walk into downtown was easy and we crossed the cool Johnson bridge. Dinner was at a small vegetarian spot called Green Cuisine. We did the buffet and tried a range of goodies. Highlights included corn chowder, coconut curry, and vegan mac n cheese (who knew?).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Green Cuisine for dinner</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Johnson Bridge to downtown Victoria</td></tr>
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After dinner, we explored a bit of the town and got some groceries in Chinatown. Then we walked back to our hotel and explored the walkways nearby around the harbor, snapping pictures of the totems, harbor traffic and sunset.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogPCRcO3XRE/UdUIqLi0ktI/AAAAAAAAAF8/q0ZuXyiK8uc/s1600/IMG_5778.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogPCRcO3XRE/UdUIqLi0ktI/AAAAAAAAAF8/q0ZuXyiK8uc/s640/IMG_5778.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Totem pole </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James holding the sun</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm glowing</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this one of James</td></tr>
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After the sun went down, it got a bit chilly, so we headed to our hotel's lounge for drinks and a wonderful lemon tart (I could rave about that tart...).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC03SM4uSjZP2CxkAPLTI0u9G_ZR7KR0hXP48tnivHUZJIJ-fbpFTFaA_kaisiccFC07UTa_Jh6hIR0g9JZWTzlpDcnPlLaMyUZrn0_fPqGbAeG3LwtInc8Y3DMDhq5HC1i4IACsqisTWv/s1600/IMG_20130619_232307_260.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC03SM4uSjZP2CxkAPLTI0u9G_ZR7KR0hXP48tnivHUZJIJ-fbpFTFaA_kaisiccFC07UTa_Jh6hIR0g9JZWTzlpDcnPlLaMyUZrn0_fPqGbAeG3LwtInc8Y3DMDhq5HC1i4IACsqisTWv/s400/IMG_20130619_232307_260.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yummy lemon tart</td></tr>
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That about wrapped up our first day. We were pretty exhausted after 16+ hours of travel, but super excited to be in Victoria!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFblQesKeWkner-RicNUYfGyCmrhE0A-3GUEKbA3WVoBC54PDaKDC7nMbmG2WIUKexSa9GC4uLu1X9OJc-P-_gJMuyol6xko7HVKSBpn2vJbtv1VR8bIp8P5rpLReeHtYxnglhz_ibhzHD/s1600/IMG_20130619_195402_052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFblQesKeWkner-RicNUYfGyCmrhE0A-3GUEKbA3WVoBC54PDaKDC7nMbmG2WIUKexSa9GC4uLu1X9OJc-P-_gJMuyol6xko7HVKSBpn2vJbtv1VR8bIp8P5rpLReeHtYxnglhz_ibhzHD/s640/IMG_20130619_195402_052.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James relaxing on the patio</td></tr>
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Day 2:<br />
The weather was a bit gray and drizzly, so we decided to head to the Royal British Columbia Museum.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vd7aQS19uY0/UdUJDtuYHmI/AAAAAAAAAIg/uJsKERxOJnM/s1600/IMG_5887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vd7aQS19uY0/UdUJDtuYHmI/AAAAAAAAAIg/uJsKERxOJnM/s640/IMG_5887.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool whale topiary on the way to the museum</td></tr>
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It was pretty awesome! There were exhibits on the race to the South Pole in 1910 between the English and Norwegians (slightly depressing, but crazy interesting), a bit of natural history for the area, and history of the First Nations people of the area. I really enjoyed learning about the different cultures, their artwork, lives and regalia, though it is always sad to think how much has been pushed back or totally extinct.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Masks for different animals and supernatural beings</td></tr>
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After spending a good few hours in the museum, we walked to Re-Bar for lunch. James had a tuna melt and I had a 3 sisters enchilada (corn, squash, and beans in cheese...yum). We then walked to the Cowichan Trading Company store, which I had spotted the day before but it had been closed. They had lots of cool things, but we decided on some Haida inspired artwork of a green heron fishing. We walked back to the hotel for a quick rest then headed out for a drive. Our drive lead us to Mt. Tolmie. The view up top was great! We saw most of Victoria, water containing islands and ships of all sizes, and the misty, snow-capped mountains.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of snow peaked mountains over water and Victoria from Mt. Tolmie</td></tr>
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After admiring the scenery for a bit, we headed back down to town and stopped off at the grocery for a few items. After dropping our goodies back off at the hotel, we walked into town for dinner at the Tapa Bar. We enjoyed 5 different tapas including papas bravas, glazed carrots, curried cabbage, rice and beans, and fried oysters. Everything was great and we went home full and happy. We went to bed so we could be ready for our short drive up to Nanaimo.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parliment lit up at night</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Harbor view at night</td></tr>
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