Category: Travel

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North Carolina Arboretum

Posted on By Tom No Comments on North Carolina Arboretum
Local, Travel

Monday was an absolutely stunning day. The air was clear, and the temperatures were much cooler than they had been. We decided to take the convertible up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and have a picnic. We knew it would be crowded with other Labor Day travelers, but we couldn’t resist.

Initially, the drive did not disappoint. The views from the overlooks were much more spectacular with the low humidity. There was a steady stream of traffic, but it wasn’t too bad. We stopped at one overlook for our picnic lunch, then continued on up to Mount Pisgah. That’s where things went crazy.

As soon as we pulled into the parking lot for the Mount Pisgah trails, steam started billowing from under the hood. There hadn’t been any other warning. The temperature gauge looked fine. However, something wasn’t right. We opened the hood and let it cool for awhile, then decided to hike along one of the trails for a bit to give it some more time to settle down. We decided that the best thing to do would be to head back down the mountain, since continuing would take us further from civilization.

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Washington Wrap-Up

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Travel

Mt. Ranier

We’re back home, after an arduous trek across the country. Our flight across country was uneventful – that is, until we got to Atlanta. Our plane apparently had finicky landing gear, which is something you DON’T want to mess around with. We finally got home at 1:00 am, and I had to get up at 5:30 to be back at work. So much for vacation.

The last several days in Washington were spent pretty much around the island, without the long treks we had done earlier in the trip. Thursday was down time. We stayed around the house, did laundry, and managed several other chores. That evening we took Laura’s mom out for dinner.

Friday Laura and I headed over to the Anacortes Arts Festival. We figured that since we had started the trip with an arts festival we should end with one. The festival was huge, covering several blocks of the town. It was also quite crowded, even though it should have been a work day. The quality of the art offerings was impressive, as well as expensive. We only bought one small print to take home with us. There were also musicians playing on several stages. Our favorite was the Incan pan pipe players.

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The Wilds of Vancouver Island

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Travel

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

We had kind of overdone it the day before. We were exhausted, and on top of that we hadn’t gotten much sleep because it was hot and most of these BC hotels have no AC. So, it was a late start to the day with a leisurely breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

We figured we had until 4:00 before we had to line up for the return ferry to Anacortes. That gave us several hours to explore. Eventually, we decided to head up along the coast to see if we could get to where we could see the Pacific Ocean, and not just the Puget Sound. Our target was Port Renfrew, which was barely where one might see the ocean, and about at the limit of our range for the day.

We headed northwest(ish), outside of Victoria, and toward the town of Sooke. From Sooke we took Highway 14 toware the coast.

Our first stop was French Beach, a BC Provencial Park along the coast. The sun was shining, but it was still very cool and foggy off of the coast. The ranger said that a couple of pods of whales lived nearby, so we grabbed binoculars and sat for a bit.

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Anacortes Ferry, Butchart Garden, and Victoria

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Anacortes Ferry, Butchart Garden, and Victoria
Travel

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Laura and I got up early this morning. We had reservations for the ferry from Anacortes to Sydney, BC, and knew we had to get there early to board. We drove off of the island while the sun tried to break through the ubiquitous fog.

The Ferry

The ferry wasn’t very crowded this time. Only the lower car deck had vehicles, and the seating area was largely empty. We took our usual positions at the front of the boat, despite the chilly, damp wind.

Pretty soon, though, it got too foggy, and they even closed off the outer decks for safety. Visibility was nil, and the ship slowed and blew its horn regularly.

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Kayaking around Burrows Bay

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Kayaking around Burrows Bay
Paddling, Travel

Monday, August 2, 2010

One thing I love about this is the abundance of paddling opportunities. There are flatwater lakes, swift moving rivers, and challenging open water courses. I never get to do as much kayaking as I would like when I’m up here, so this time I decided to make sure I got to paddle at least a little bit. I booked a five-hour tour with Anacortes Kayak Tours before we left South Carolina.

I set out early, planning to catch breakfast in one of my favorite joints in Anacortes before starting the tour. The bay between Samish and Fidalgo Islands was completely fogged in, but it looked like skies would be clearing. When I drove onto Fidalgo, the fog really set in. I found my way to my restaurant and had a fantastic breakfast while also putting out fires at work over the phone. So much for vacation.

I headed on over to the kayak place. I had been another another tour around Hat Island several years ago, but it turns out that it was a different group. This place not only had kayak tours, but also offered whale watching tours.

I was early, and got my instructions to meet the rest of the group on the other side of Fidalgo. Since I had some time, I stopped by Washington Park, which is just past the Anacortes Ferry Terminal. This early the road around the park was closed to auto traffic, so I walked around and took a few shots.

Pretty soon it was time to meet my group, so I headed to the Skyline Marina on Burrows Bay. In addition to myself and the guide, Ken, there were three others – Robbie from Tasmania, and sisters Sue and Carolyn. Robbie and I got single 17 foot Necky Looksha sea kayaks, and the two sisters got a tandem kayak. All of us were experienced kayakers, so Ken gave us some obligatory brief instructions, and we set out across the foggy water.

Our route would take us out around Burrows Island, with a stop at the lighthouse there. We would paddle on around Allan Island, then out to Williamson Rocks if we had time.

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Upriver on the Skagit

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Travel

Diablo Lake Panorama

NOTE: Just catching up with blogging after traveling around the islands. Things are a bit post-dated right now.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Yesterday we followed the Skagit River through Mount Vernon and out to its confluence with the bay. Today we decided to head the opposite direction and follow the river upstream. Our route would takes up into the North Cascades National Park.

Old Skagit Railroad Trestle

We started on the Skagit River Road along the south side of the river, away from the more crowded Highway 20. The road twists through farms, runs through large stands of trees, and crosses many tributary streams. The last time we were up this way we found several access points that let us get down to the river for a better view. This time we couldn’t find the same access points, so we kept driving.

Near the town of Concrete we crossed the river and picked up Highway 20. The road crossed the Baker River, where we found a nice dirt road leading down to where The Baker and Skagit Meet.

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Skagit Ideal

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Skagit Ideal
Travel

Samish Island View

You see those mountains out there? They aren’t just mountains, those are islands!

So said my soon-too-be father-in-law, Jim Wright, as we drove across The Flats for my first visit to Samish Island in 1988. The reclaimed farmland that connected the mainland to the island created the illusion that we weren’t close to water at all. It wasn’t until we gained a bit of elevation that I saw that we were, in fact, surrounded by it.

Samish Island Panorama from Chuckanut

From that moment on, I was hooked. There was so much to see and do, and it was all so different from where I lived. Over the years, and with subsequent visits I’ve built up an ideal of life in Skagit Valley County. It’s an ideal of a slower pace of life, filled with cool weather, incredible scenery, wonderful coffee and fresh baked goods, produce from the local farms, and fantastic seafood. Each quaint little town is filled with curious characters and Victorian architecture. Travel up the Skagit River, and you enter the wilds of the Pacific Northwest, with soaring trees and volcanic mountains and lakes filled with glacial waters. Head two hours north or south, and you have the cultural vibrancy of Seattle or Vancouver. If I were to move from South Carolina, I think this would be where I’d want to settle.

Skagit Barn

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One Night in Santee

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on One Night in Santee
Travel, Weirdness

Seems like I’ve spent more nights in motel rooms since January than I have all of the past couple of years. There have been kayaking trips, conferences, and the rare vacation get-away. Some of the rooms have been spectacular, such as my recent stay at Charleston Place Hotel, or our trip to Washington, D. C. Some have been routine, such as the Quality Inn in St. George, SC, that seems to be where we seem to have stayed lots recently.

Of these, the most unusual has been the Whitten Inn in Santee, South Carolina. I think I hinted recently that I would write about the experience once I’d had enough therapy. A slow, restful weekend seems to have been enough therapy, so, here goes…

It had been a long day of paddling. We had battled heat and crazy motor boats both on Lake Moultrie and on the Tailrace Canal. One of our fellow paddlers had said she felt like she had been riding a moped on I-85. Some of our group had planned to camp out, then paddle Sparkleberry Swamp the next day. I was in no mood to camp, so I decided to find a relatively cheap place in Santee so I could get some rest before the next day’s trip. The requirements were simple. I just needed a good clean room, and preferred a place that had a restaurant on the premises. I would be happy with a sandwich and not having to drive somewhere once I got settled.

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Image-Stacking in Charleston

Posted on By Tom No Comments on Image-Stacking in Charleston
Photography, Travel

Guitarist

It’s been a very long, hard two weeks. Right after the funeral on Monday I drove straight down to Charleston for PowerSchool University – an intense training session on our new student database system. I learned some neat things I’m going to try when I get back to the office, but it was almost information overload. I did manage to sneak out for a couple of hours one evening to do some photography, and was keen to try out the new image-stacking techniques, as well as the content-aware fill tool in Photoshop CS5.

My friend Ken had given me the idea to use image stacking with crowd scenes. The idea was that there would be a blur of activity around a few static individuals. Since I was staying in the heart of Charleston’s tourist area, I figured I’d have ample opportunity to give this a try. Turns out it was a nice idea, but the process in Photoshop probably wasn’t the best choice of tools.

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