travel

10
Dec
2020

Coronado, California Photos

Our annual meeting that’s usually in May was moved to February this year. That was a lucky change because it meant that it took place right as the COVID-19 pandemic was beginning but was not so bad that we couldn’t travel. As fate would have it, this would be the last trip any of us would take for business or pleasure for quite a while. The meeting was on Coronado Island this year. In our off hours, we enjoyed a lot of delicious Mexican food in San Diego and even found ourselves an incredible Mexican diner for breakfast every morning.

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
28
Nov
2020

Cape Breton Photos

Several years ago, when we took a vacation to the Canadian Maritimes, we had to cut Cape Breton off our schedule in Nova Scotia due to time constraints. We decided that Cape Breton deserved an entire trip to see it all, especially the Cabot Trail. This is that trip. In July and August 2019, it was the last major vacation we took before COVID curtailed our travel. Other than a short time in Halifax since that’s where we flew in and out of, we spent the vast majority of our time in cape Breton. It’s such a fascinating place. You almost feel as though you’re no longer in Canada. We experienced Gaelic, Acadian and Mi’kmaq cultures both by visiting museums/cultural centers and by talking to some locals. We also learned a lot about Alexander Graham Bell that isn’t taught in the US such as his huge impact on aviation.

The food in the Maritimes is always incredible and we literally ate lobster every single day of the trip. Some days we had it more than once! It’s also rare that we go back to a city we’ve previously visited, so while we were in Halifax, we hit one of our favorite restaurants and stood in line for Cows Creamery ice cream.

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
24
Nov
2020

Arizona Photos

The Grand Canyon has been a bucket list vacation for a long time. In April 2019, we finally made it there. We explored every inch of the south rim and took a helicopter flight over and into the canyon.  Of course, while in Arizona, we also visited a number of other places as well. We drove a portion of Historic Route 66 and checked some roadside attractions and the cool little towns that remain along the “mother road.” We also headed into the desert to check out some more little towns, drove into the mountains for a boat ride on a mountain lake and even visited an olive mill. Yes, they grow and press olives into olive oil in the Arizona desert. Before heading home, we spent some time in the Phoenix area visiting the botanical gardens, Scottsdale, Tempe and more. Because our vacations are never dull, we spent the last evening of the trip dealing with a crazy person at the hotel. Now you have incentive click and read on!

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
08
Nov
2020

Southern California Photos

While in Southern California in May 2018 for a week of meetings at Port Hueneme, a few of us flew out a couple days early to do some sightseeing. After landing at LAX, we spent our first day exploring Santa Monica before driving up Pacific Coast Highway to our hotel in Oxnard. It’s the first I’ve been on PCH in about 15 years. The scenery is as great as ever! The next day, we drove down to Los Angeles and took a tour of Paramount Studios. After our tour, we continued south to Long Beach for lunch at a place that had been featured on Food Network and then spent the afternoon at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

We then headed back up north to Oxnard to meet up with our newly arrived coworkers from around the country at the hotel. The remainder of the week was spent at work, but I still managed to snap a few more photos in our off hours. Most were taken around our beautiful oceanfront hotel (Mandalay Beach Resort) in Ventura County and Port Hueneme. The weather was perfect and the scenery was quite nice!

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
04
Nov
2020

Northern Virginia Photos

A few times a year, we visit my cousin, Theresa (Buy her book! It’s on Amazon here.) in Northern Virginia. In April 2018 beside our usual sitting around, catching up on family news and talking politics as one does while hanging out in the DC metro area with a former ambassador, we also did a little sightseeing. We visited Middleburg, toured the Manassas Battlefield and went to the incredibly impressive Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico. I highly recommend a visit if you ever get the chance! We also had a few really good meals ranging a cool little diner to our favorite Greek restaurant to a historic inn.

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
31
Oct
2020

Kentucky and Indiana Photos

In March and April of 2018, we took a spring vacation to Kentucky since we’d never been to the state before. We, of course, did all of the stereotypical tourist things like going to a bunch of bourbon distilleries, the Louisville Slugger factory, sites related to Colonel Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken empire, Churchill Downs and other horse racing related places and some Abraham Lincoln historic sites. When we weren’t busy with all things bourbon, horse or chicken, we took a short drive north into Indiana for a two-day visit with a bunch of Gatti cousins. We haven’t seen most of them for quite a few years and we’d never some of the younger generation before. If you look at my 2004 California trip photos, you’ll notice these are my “California Cousins” who are now the “Indiana Cousins.”

Click here to view the photos.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
15
Jan
2017

Canadian Maritimes Videos Posted

Just in case you couldn’t figure it out from all of the tweets, Google+ posts and YouTube notifications that were generated earlier today, I finally uploaded the videos I took during my trip to the Canadian Maritimes back in August. There are 2 videos from the Digby Scallop Days festival in Nova Scotia and 4 from the bagpipe and Celtic/Highland dancing show (Highland Thunder) that we went to at the College of Piping & Celtic Performing Arts of Canada in PEI.

Take a moment to check them out here and if you haven’t seen my photos from that trip, those are available too. Also, if you’ve never considered a trip to the Canadian Maritimes, I highly recommend it.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
15
Jan
2017

Canadian Maritimes Videos Posted

Just in case you couldn’t figure it out from all of the tweets, Google+ posts and YouTube notifications that were generated earlier today, I finally uploaded the videos I took during my trip to the Canadian Maritimes back in August. There are 2 videos from the Digby Scallop Days festival in Nova Scotia and 4 from the bagpipe and Celtic/Highland dancing show (Highland Thunder) that we went to at the College of Piping & Celtic Performing Arts of Canada in PEI.

Take a moment to check them out here and if you haven’t seen my photos from that trip, those are available too. Also, if you’ve never considered a trip to the Canadian Maritimes, I highly recommend it.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates
29
Nov
2016

Looking back at Gatlinburg

Seeing the news today about the horrific wildfire affecting Gatlinburg, Tennessee and surrounding area is heartbreaking. I vacationed there 2 years ago. It’s a truly fun tourist destination. I’m at least happy to hear that Emergency Management officials initial report that Ober Gatlinburg ski resort had been destroyed turned out to be false.

This seems like a good time to take a look at my photos from Gatlinburg when it wasn’t the frightening disaster area it is right now.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Randomness
21
Feb
2016

Bethlehem Steel Photos

Bethlehem Steel PhotosI usually go to Bethlehem a few times each year to visit the Sands casino for dinner and a little gambling. I also go to there every year for their Chriskindlmarkt. The striking thing about the city is the long idle Bethlehem Steel plant. The casino is built on part of its former site and the Chriskindlmarkt is now held on another part of the site. However, much of the plant still remains as a monument to what was once the most important business in the city, if not the entire region. This year while at the Chriskindlmarkt, we discovered the new Hoover-Mason trestle walkway. It allows an up close look at the trestle that was formerly used to bring coke, limestone & iron ore to the blast furnaces and serves as a small museum depicting the history of Bethlehem Steel.

You can take a look at the photos I took while walking along the trestle in this album.

Posted by Michael in Photography, Site Updates