Ladies and gentlemen, the unthinkable has happened (well, not so unthinkable really): my laptop has died. Sadly this may mean no chance of further blog or photo posts until I return. Given my stellar record so far it may not be a huge loss but its rather a bummer as I was about to put up a bunch of Bryce and Zion pictures. But alas fate has intervened.
I will of course be tinkering with my laptop trying to fix it but so far it does not look good. I'm posting this from my new phone and while the typing experience is surprisingly good for a 4" keyboard, there's still no way this could work.
Fortunately our trip is otherwise going quite well, despite some annoyingly persistent rain (it really does seem to be following us around). We're in Georgia now, heading down to New Orleans next.
So friends, wish me luck and email me if you want to keep in touch!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Delayed reaction
So obviously I'm a "little" behind in my blog updates on the road trip. Fortunately I'm starting to catch up now (yes, I know I've said this before - shhh!), and I'm also uploading photos from further on in the trip before the blog posts go up (partly because the photos go into the blog posts).
For photos I haven't been using my Photoblog as much as I expected, though I'll be uploading my favorite picture from each day there once I select them. In the meantime it's been much easier and faster just to upload to my Picasa and Facebook galleries immediately after culling and editing. So keep an eye on either of those links for photos to show up prior to a related blog post (could be as much as a few days). Right now I'm working on a batch of Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon pictures, then comes the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Those should all show up within the next few days, along with more perhaps. Related blog posts hopefully within the week.
Also, don't forget the occasional YouTube upload. I'm taking a fair amount of video on this trip and trying to upload those along with the photos for a given location. For example, have you seen The Glorious Moose? Or The Gauntlet of Mono Lake Flies? Not to be missed! (especially the moose - Katy took that one)
Sorry about the delays, and thanks to anyone who is still following along! ;-)
For photos I haven't been using my Photoblog as much as I expected, though I'll be uploading my favorite picture from each day there once I select them. In the meantime it's been much easier and faster just to upload to my Picasa and Facebook galleries immediately after culling and editing. So keep an eye on either of those links for photos to show up prior to a related blog post (could be as much as a few days). Right now I'm working on a batch of Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon pictures, then comes the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Those should all show up within the next few days, along with more perhaps. Related blog posts hopefully within the week.
Also, don't forget the occasional YouTube upload. I'm taking a fair amount of video on this trip and trying to upload those along with the photos for a given location. For example, have you seen The Glorious Moose? Or The Gauntlet of Mono Lake Flies? Not to be missed! (especially the moose - Katy took that one)
Sorry about the delays, and thanks to anyone who is still following along! ;-)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Great American Road Trip Days 5 and 6: Yosemite - Tripping in the valley
We started out the day in Fresno with ambitious plans to leave by 9:30AM. We only had a bit of shopping and some goodbyes to take care of, but in the end we barely got out before 11AM. Still we were well equipped and had a chance to see my grandparents again before heading out, so no regrets.
The 2 hour drive to Yosemite passed quickly, though the foothills of the Sierras greeted us long before we actually made it to the valley. It's a pleasant drive and I hope those Fresno residents realize how lucky they are to be so close! Our Annual Access Pass for US National Parks ($80) began to recoup its value here, good for the $20 Yosemite entrance fee.
The 2 hour drive to Yosemite passed quickly, though the foothills of the Sierras greeted us long before we actually made it to the valley. It's a pleasant drive and I hope those Fresno residents realize how lucky they are to be so close! Our Annual Access Pass for US National Parks ($80) began to recoup its value here, good for the $20 Yosemite entrance fee.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
A brief stop in civilization
A quick update from Midvale, Utah, just south of Salt Lake City. The trip is going fantastically so far. From Yosemite we stopped briefly in Benton Hot Springs (lovely!), then crossed Nevada in a day to arrive in Zion, and on to Bryce from there. Both of these southern Utah parks are outstanding, but Bryce is definitely my favorite so far (I have yet to visit Capitol Reef or Arches, not to mention the many smaller parks in this whole amazing region).
So we've been camping and without much in the way of Internet access (or power) since Monday of last week. I had hoped to be able to put up some photos and do a bit of posting here more frequently, but so far that has proved difficult. I've been keeping mental notes though and I still intend to go back and write a post about each day. So far there has been more than enough of interest in almost every day that passes.
Look for those blog posts to begin in a week or less, depending on whether we find Internet access in any of our upcoming stops - The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, The Badlands, Devil's Tower. If nothing else, I'll get it all up here once we reach Chicago around the 8th or 9th of September. I'll begin on "Day 5", our trip in to Yosemite, since that's when things really kicked-off.
So we've been camping and without much in the way of Internet access (or power) since Monday of last week. I had hoped to be able to put up some photos and do a bit of posting here more frequently, but so far that has proved difficult. I've been keeping mental notes though and I still intend to go back and write a post about each day. So far there has been more than enough of interest in almost every day that passes.
Look for those blog posts to begin in a week or less, depending on whether we find Internet access in any of our upcoming stops - The Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, The Badlands, Devil's Tower. If nothing else, I'll get it all up here once we reach Chicago around the 8th or 9th of September. I'll begin on "Day 5", our trip in to Yosemite, since that's when things really kicked-off.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Great American Road Trip Days 1-5: Fresno - All packed and ready to shop
After leaving San Francisco on Tuesday, we have spent the last several days in Fresno visiting family and making sure we have all the essentials for our long-distance trek. We packed very well, but there are always things that get missed, or that you don't have time to buy before you leave. Everything from new hiking shoes to water containers to jumper cables and more.
In-between trips to sprawling mega-stores, we had a moment to visit the Tower District of Fresno, which was apparently recommended to Katy by my first cousin (once removed) as the "cool part of Fresno". I mainly remembered it for the classic old theater and its tower that unmistakably identify the area.
We found a rather nice little tea shop and had some enormous iced teas while we relaxed and did some people-watching. One or two other little gems presented themselves...
But my favorite was the pie shop.
We unfortunately didn't have time to sample, but I'm curious for next time.
Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite which is the real start of our trip, though we'll be in a cabin so the first test of the tent will have to wait for Benton Hot Springs on Monday. From there we drive straight across Nevada to Zion National Park, the first major destination that neither Katy nor I have seen before. I expect to put up the first pictures from the trip on my photoblog as soon as we get Internet access again after Yosemite.
It's been great to see everyone down here, lots of relatives we don't get to spend much time with, and some of whom were in from out of town as well. There's no hospitality like that of close family and we're fortunate to have this be our first stop. It's a nice way to ease into the coming weeks of travel. Soon enough we'll be on our own, fending for ourselves with nothing but our new (and largely untested) camping equipment to rely on!
Next check-in will probably be from Benton or beyond...
In-between trips to sprawling mega-stores, we had a moment to visit the Tower District of Fresno, which was apparently recommended to Katy by my first cousin (once removed) as the "cool part of Fresno". I mainly remembered it for the classic old theater and its tower that unmistakably identify the area.
We found a rather nice little tea shop and had some enormous iced teas while we relaxed and did some people-watching. One or two other little gems presented themselves...
We unfortunately didn't have time to sample, but I'm curious for next time.
Tomorrow we leave for Yosemite which is the real start of our trip, though we'll be in a cabin so the first test of the tent will have to wait for Benton Hot Springs on Monday. From there we drive straight across Nevada to Zion National Park, the first major destination that neither Katy nor I have seen before. I expect to put up the first pictures from the trip on my photoblog as soon as we get Internet access again after Yosemite.
It's been great to see everyone down here, lots of relatives we don't get to spend much time with, and some of whom were in from out of town as well. There's no hospitality like that of close family and we're fortunate to have this be our first stop. It's a nice way to ease into the coming weeks of travel. Soon enough we'll be on our own, fending for ourselves with nothing but our new (and largely untested) camping equipment to rely on!
Next check-in will probably be from Benton or beyond...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time Flies and the Epic Road Trip
Just a quick update this time. I started writing a longer, more involved post, and then I realized it was kind of a waste of time. A lot has happened since my last update and I can't possibly do justice to it all in any single blog post. So rather than try to do that, I'll just mention a few things and leave the rest for future updates.
Most importantly, although this blog has seen very infrequent use, it's about to get a lot more action. I've quit my "day job" at Bauman College, where I have worked for the past 4 1/2 years, and I'm going on an 8 week road trip with my girlfriend who just graduated from college. We'll be doing a big loop around the US, first North then South, and we've got a ton of things in the itinerary already.
We're also hoping for input from our friends and family on recommended places to visit and things to do on our route, so take a look a the PDF of our planned itinerary and let us know if you have something we just have to do or see on the way (in comments or by email). This is by no means a complete list of what we'll be doing, it's just an overview of the route and major "way points" (and we're leaving it somewhat open to allow for a good amount of flexibility in the details).
Along the way we'll both be blogging, taking photos, and even trying to get some decent video. I've got a new compact digital camera with high definition video recording capability (Panasonic ZS7), an intervalometer for my dSLR for shooting time-lapse (Pclix), and a new wide aperture prime lens as well (Sigma 24mm f/1.8). Photos will be at my photoblog, and video likely on my as-yet unused Youtube (or Vimeo) account. Reviews of all the new equipment will probably show up somewhere on our journey as I get the chance to use it all.
So if you'd like to follow us on our trek, we'd love to have you along for the ride. We'll try to make it interesting. ;-) When I get back I expect to have some more time to keep the blog updated on a regular basis and I've got some potentially interesting posts waiting in the wings that I'll be finishing up and publishing. Not least of which is the 2nd part of my 5 day week concept.
You can expect to see a new blog post at least once a week from here until the end of the trip!
Most importantly, although this blog has seen very infrequent use, it's about to get a lot more action. I've quit my "day job" at Bauman College, where I have worked for the past 4 1/2 years, and I'm going on an 8 week road trip with my girlfriend who just graduated from college. We'll be doing a big loop around the US, first North then South, and we've got a ton of things in the itinerary already.
We're also hoping for input from our friends and family on recommended places to visit and things to do on our route, so take a look a the PDF of our planned itinerary and let us know if you have something we just have to do or see on the way (in comments or by email). This is by no means a complete list of what we'll be doing, it's just an overview of the route and major "way points" (and we're leaving it somewhat open to allow for a good amount of flexibility in the details).
Along the way we'll both be blogging, taking photos, and even trying to get some decent video. I've got a new compact digital camera with high definition video recording capability (Panasonic ZS7), an intervalometer for my dSLR for shooting time-lapse (Pclix), and a new wide aperture prime lens as well (Sigma 24mm f/1.8). Photos will be at my photoblog, and video likely on my as-yet unused Youtube (or Vimeo) account. Reviews of all the new equipment will probably show up somewhere on our journey as I get the chance to use it all.
So if you'd like to follow us on our trek, we'd love to have you along for the ride. We'll try to make it interesting. ;-) When I get back I expect to have some more time to keep the blog updated on a regular basis and I've got some potentially interesting posts waiting in the wings that I'll be finishing up and publishing. Not least of which is the 2nd part of my 5 day week concept.
You can expect to see a new blog post at least once a week from here until the end of the trip!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
A new neighborhood
So it's been a few months again since my last post. But this time I have a good excuse - I moved to a new neighborhood!
I've been in San Francisco now for almost 2 years, most of that spent at one place near Japan Town and Hayes Valley. That place definitely had some nice aspects, and the neighborhoods were not bad, in fact I thought living near downtown was really the way to go. So when we started looking for new digs due to mold problems and a lack of natural light in the old place and ultimately found a great place in the Inner Richmond, I figured we'd be settling as far as the neighborhood was concerned, at least in relation to our old one. But it turns out I'm way more into Inner Richmond than Hayes Valley, Japantown, Downtown, or just about anywhere else I've spent much time in SF!
Read on to find out why the Inner Richmond rules (and where to go if you find yourself here)...
I've been in San Francisco now for almost 2 years, most of that spent at one place near Japan Town and Hayes Valley. That place definitely had some nice aspects, and the neighborhoods were not bad, in fact I thought living near downtown was really the way to go. So when we started looking for new digs due to mold problems and a lack of natural light in the old place and ultimately found a great place in the Inner Richmond, I figured we'd be settling as far as the neighborhood was concerned, at least in relation to our old one. But it turns out I'm way more into Inner Richmond than Hayes Valley, Japantown, Downtown, or just about anywhere else I've spent much time in SF!
Read on to find out why the Inner Richmond rules (and where to go if you find yourself here)...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
