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Glenn's Notes
A Day at the Jax Zoo
Last Sunday was such a nice day that I decided to go up to the Zoo again. I've lived here for about a year and 3 months and this marks the 3rd time I've been to the Zoo. This might sound a bit odd for a single guy with no kids but it goes something like this. The first time I just wanted to get out and see what this city had to offer and I've always liked Zoos anyways. The second time was right after I got my camera and wanted to work with it. Sunday was to try to take better pictures than I've taken previously. So this was a photo shoot opportunity for me.
I had a great time with the giraffes.
I had a great time with the giraffes.
These little guys were good looking
And then there were these guys who were just too human
For lots of other photos check out my web album
A little time downtown
Since moving here a little over a year ago I have seen and done many things around town but one thing I have done very little of is spend any time downtown. Jacksonville has a beautiful river running right through the center of it with some picturesque bridges and vistas. Yesterday was such a beautiful day with clear blue skies so I decided to remedy this oversight on my part.
There is a VERY large VERY old live oak tree located downtown known as the Treaty Oak The story has it that a newspaper writer wanted to save the tree from developers so he concocted a story about early settlers signing a treaty with the indians. While that never actually happened the story caught on and well the developers never got their way. Who says a little white lie isn't a good thing from time to time.
There is a VERY large VERY old live oak tree located downtown known as the Treaty Oak The story has it that a newspaper writer wanted to save the tree from developers so he concocted a story about early settlers signing a treaty with the indians. While that never actually happened the story caught on and well the developers never got their way. Who says a little white lie isn't a good thing from time to time.
If you come to Jacksonville its worth a stop by and maybe a picnic!
After the Treaty Oak I moved over to the southbank of the St. Johns River. There are certain images in every city which is just iconic to that place. The Modis Building and Main St. Bridge is that iconic image of Jacksonville.
A night shot.
There is a park called Friendship Park there as well with a huge fountain known as the Friendship Fountain. When it was built in the 60's it was considered the largest fountain in the world (in terms of height of water). A fully functioning fountain has 3 rings of water with the center shooting water up to 120 feet. Unfortunately the pumps on two of the rings have broken and the City says its too costly to fix them. If I have my facts right the cost to fix them is $850,000 which the city says it doesn't have yet the Mayor proposed an idea that would destroy the fountain and move an already existing kids park to the spot, at get this, for a mere $4 million. I love governmental accounting logic. So here's a couple pictures of the fountain the mayor thinks should be destroyed. I tend to disagree (vehemently).
Check out my web album for more photos.
Kayak Fishing Camping BBQ Cookout
Whew that's quite a title for a blog entry but it kinda conveys what I did last weekend. This year was the second year I've attended a camping trip down to Princess Place Preserve down in St. Augustine with the guys from the Jax Kayak Fishing 'Club' . I had been on their boards for about a month before I went down there to go camping with them. Of course I had to open my big mouth and mention that I'd do a BBQ for the Saturday night meal.
Well fast forward one year and since the BBQ was such a big hit last year I did it again this year. Another success I'd say. I smoked 40 lbs of pork butt for pulled pork, a 20 lb beef brisket, a side of salmon I brought back from Alaska, two Pompanos that one of the guys brought and a big pan of baked beans. We had some happy campers on Saturday.
I had quite the camping kitchen center set up down there.
The weather couldn't have been better. Not a cloud in the sky which I tried to take advantage of with a long exposure of the stars on Saturday night with some success. After looking at it I have some thoughts on how to improve on this type of shot so I look forward to trying another day. I ran this through noise reduction software several times but as you can see its still pretty 'noisy'. Oh well.
And sometimes you just have to admire how the government goes above and beyond the call of duty to keep us citizens safe and sound.
I only went out fishing for a little while on Saturday but had a great time seeing the guys and getting out in nature for a couple days. For more pics you can always click on my web album .
Well fast forward one year and since the BBQ was such a big hit last year I did it again this year. Another success I'd say. I smoked 40 lbs of pork butt for pulled pork, a 20 lb beef brisket, a side of salmon I brought back from Alaska, two Pompanos that one of the guys brought and a big pan of baked beans. We had some happy campers on Saturday.
I had quite the camping kitchen center set up down there.
The weather couldn't have been better. Not a cloud in the sky which I tried to take advantage of with a long exposure of the stars on Saturday night with some success. After looking at it I have some thoughts on how to improve on this type of shot so I look forward to trying another day. I ran this through noise reduction software several times but as you can see its still pretty 'noisy'. Oh well.
And sometimes you just have to admire how the government goes above and beyond the call of duty to keep us citizens safe and sound.
I only went out fishing for a little while on Saturday but had a great time seeing the guys and getting out in nature for a couple days. For more pics you can always click on my web album .
Jacksonville Air Show
Each year Jacksonville holds an airshow either at the beach or at NAS Jax. This year it was out at the beach. I was able to get a couple of tickets to a hotel on the beach with a rooftop bar (go figure). I went with a friend and she and I watched it from up there. I ended up watching most of the show through my viewfinder but I was OK with that.
Compared to the airshow in Ft. Lauderdale it's quite a bit smaller in terms of audience and number of acts but the show was still great. The weather couldn't have been better as there wasn't a cloud in the sky all weekend.
Being a Navy town each year the headliner is the Navy Blue Angels. That just makes sense and you always know you're in for a good time when they put on a show. Of course it was no different this year as they were fantastic.
Jacksonville beach is such a great place to see a show from as it has miles and miles of beaches so the crowds could stretch along quite a way. I went down both days but only was at the hotel on Saturday. Sunday I spent it down on the beach.
I'll put up a couple of photos here but to see a whole lot more check out my web album. The link is to the right.
This first shot is a 'Heritage Flight' consisting of a WWII P51 Mustang, Vietnam era F4 Phantom and a modern F16 Falcon
Of course this is the Navy Blue Angels
Compared to the airshow in Ft. Lauderdale it's quite a bit smaller in terms of audience and number of acts but the show was still great. The weather couldn't have been better as there wasn't a cloud in the sky all weekend.
Being a Navy town each year the headliner is the Navy Blue Angels. That just makes sense and you always know you're in for a good time when they put on a show. Of course it was no different this year as they were fantastic.
Jacksonville beach is such a great place to see a show from as it has miles and miles of beaches so the crowds could stretch along quite a way. I went down both days but only was at the hotel on Saturday. Sunday I spent it down on the beach.
I'll put up a couple of photos here but to see a whole lot more check out my web album. The link is to the right.
This first shot is a 'Heritage Flight' consisting of a WWII P51 Mustang, Vietnam era F4 Phantom and a modern F16 Falcon
Of course this is the Navy Blue Angels
Alaska
Well I have just got back from my big trip to Alaska. The trip was long due to the distance but so worth it. I drove down to Orlando the day before and spent all day at the two Universal and then caught the Blue Man Group show in the evening. It was a great way to start off the trip but pales in comparison to what was to come for me.
As usual I have posted a number of photos in my web album which you can access through the link to the right.
The next morning I got up for an early flight to Anchorage. I ended up getting to Anchorage at about 2PM their time. On the whole I didn't think all that much of Anchorage but to be fair it was a miserable day weather wise and I was beat from flying for 11 hours so that may have something to do with it.
As I walked through the numerous gift shops (don't laugh) a lot of the stuff seemed trite as you flip it over and it said 'Made in China' or elsewhere. Anyway I did find some OK stuff made in Alaska from local gems and some wood boxes made in Russia. They were kinda cool. I didn't buy anything b/c I was just wasting time and had no desire to truck anything more than I brought with me around the state.
OK now the cool stuff starts:
The next morning starts off nice and early with a bus ride up to a little town outside of Denali Nat'l Park called Talkeetna. This little town was the inspriation for the TV show 'Northern Exposure'. It was from here that picked up my flight seeing tour around the park and Mt. McKinley. I got shotgun and off we went for and hour and a half trip. Here's a shot I enjoy from the trip.
There are lots of other shots from that trip on the web album.
I took a trian ride back from Talkeetna to pick up a flight to Kodiak the next morning. Kodiak is known as the Emerald Island and its easy to see why. The place is perfectly green. Here's a pic from the B&B I stayed at which is about 40 miles outside of town.
In keeping in the spirit of Jim and Chris I stumbled upon a winery in Kodiak. Convenient how they put it right next door to the place I was staying. Had to stop in for a look.
I ended up buying a Salmonberry Wine from them. Not the greatest stuff in the world but hey it was local. When in Alaska, try the Alaskan Amber...now that's a good beer!!! But they had a nice setting I thought.
I drove out to another part of the island where they actually launch rockets that the military practices shooting down but it was the landscape of the place that I was interested in. Here's a look at a beach called Fossil Beach that I found.
After a couple days on Kodiak I was off to the big part of my trip. The wilderness lodge. I booked 4 days at Afognak Wilderness Lodge and the place was simply awesome. It is a family run operation started by the father and mother in the early 70's. Its about a 30 minute float plane trip from Kodiak to it and its as remote as it gets. Their two sons serve as the guides these days. They've been running the boats and serving as guides since they were 7 years old. They know every inch of this enormous place and were great with people.
On one of the days we went halibut fishing, saw puffins, sea lions, seals, eagles, and bears. Pretty cool day I'd say. Go to my web album for a bunch of pictures but heres a couple
The orange fish below is called a yelloweye and according to the guides this fish is probably about 60 years old. Shhhhh don't tell the AARP!!!
Below is a shot of our best day of fishing. The largest halibut on the dock here is about 140 lbs. The guides processed all this fish in less than an hour. It turned out to be about 500 lbs net give or take. I ended up having 100 lbs of salmon, halibut, ling cod and yelloweye shipped back to me. It showed up today and filled my new freezer in my townhouse. Man I've got a lot of fish to eat.
And this is the mama bear that had two cubs that chased (well followed) us for seemingly a long time down the trail. I don't have very good bear photos as I was was basically making number 2 in my pants.
And then there were the whales.
Check out the web album for pics of the sea lions, sea otters, puffins, eagles, boat rides, lodge shots and other great stuff. Enjoy!!!
Alaska was simply amazing and if you've ever had a desire to go just go you'll love every minute of the place. It truly is magical.
As usual I have posted a number of photos in my web album which you can access through the link to the right.
The next morning I got up for an early flight to Anchorage. I ended up getting to Anchorage at about 2PM their time. On the whole I didn't think all that much of Anchorage but to be fair it was a miserable day weather wise and I was beat from flying for 11 hours so that may have something to do with it.
As I walked through the numerous gift shops (don't laugh) a lot of the stuff seemed trite as you flip it over and it said 'Made in China' or elsewhere. Anyway I did find some OK stuff made in Alaska from local gems and some wood boxes made in Russia. They were kinda cool. I didn't buy anything b/c I was just wasting time and had no desire to truck anything more than I brought with me around the state.
OK now the cool stuff starts:
The next morning starts off nice and early with a bus ride up to a little town outside of Denali Nat'l Park called Talkeetna. This little town was the inspriation for the TV show 'Northern Exposure'. It was from here that picked up my flight seeing tour around the park and Mt. McKinley. I got shotgun and off we went for and hour and a half trip. Here's a shot I enjoy from the trip.
There are lots of other shots from that trip on the web album.
I took a trian ride back from Talkeetna to pick up a flight to Kodiak the next morning. Kodiak is known as the Emerald Island and its easy to see why. The place is perfectly green. Here's a pic from the B&B I stayed at which is about 40 miles outside of town.
In keeping in the spirit of Jim and Chris I stumbled upon a winery in Kodiak. Convenient how they put it right next door to the place I was staying.
Had to stop in for a look. I ended up buying a Salmonberry Wine from them. Not the greatest stuff in the world but hey it was local. When in Alaska, try the Alaskan Amber...now that's a good beer!!! But they had a nice setting I thought.
I drove out to another part of the island where they actually launch rockets that the military practices shooting down but it was the landscape of the place that I was interested in. Here's a look at a beach called Fossil Beach that I found.
After a couple days on Kodiak I was off to the big part of my trip. The wilderness lodge. I booked 4 days at Afognak Wilderness Lodge and the place was simply awesome. It is a family run operation started by the father and mother in the early 70's. Its about a 30 minute float plane trip from Kodiak to it and its as remote as it gets. Their two sons serve as the guides these days. They've been running the boats and serving as guides since they were 7 years old. They know every inch of this enormous place and were great with people.
On one of the days we went halibut fishing, saw puffins, sea lions, seals, eagles, and bears. Pretty cool day I'd say. Go to my web album for a bunch of pictures but heres a couple
The orange fish below is called a yelloweye and according to the guides this fish is probably about 60 years old. Shhhhh don't tell the AARP!!!
Below is a shot of our best day of fishing. The largest halibut on the dock here is about 140 lbs. The guides processed all this fish in less than an hour. It turned out to be about 500 lbs net give or take. I ended up having 100 lbs of salmon, halibut, ling cod and yelloweye shipped back to me. It showed up today and filled my new freezer in my townhouse. Man I've got a lot of fish to eat.
And this is the mama bear that had two cubs that chased (well followed) us for seemingly a long time down the trail. I don't have very good bear photos as I was was basically making number 2 in my pants.
And then there were the whales.
Check out the web album for pics of the sea lions, sea otters, puffins, eagles, boat rides, lodge shots and other great stuff. Enjoy!!!
Alaska was simply amazing and if you've ever had a desire to go just go you'll love every minute of the place. It truly is magical.
My new townhouse update
Well, well, well...its been quite some time since I've last updated this blog. As I was made sarcastically aware of by Diane, thanks hon for the boot.
I haven't been up to all that much but more a waiting for things to get here. Now that its August I've got quite a bit going on. My townhouse will be done later this month and then two days after I close on that I get to head to Alaska for 9 days. Whoo!!!
I do the final walk-through with the contractor on the 13th and close on the 20th then head off on vacation on the 22nd. My plan is to recover for a couple of days after I get back. The timing is good as I get back at midnight on Saturday the 1st but its Labor Day weekend so I don't have to be to work until Tuesday. That will give me something of a real weekend to screw my head back on.
I will have lots to do when I get back. I should have 100 lbs of fish to deal with. Need to process all the photos and post tidbits on this blog, paint the place and pack for a move then move. Whew!!!! Well the calvary called and they are willing to help. My parents have offered to come down here and help me paint and pack. That is a huge help and I can't thank them enough for this. Thanks Mom & Dad!!!
So the place is really coming together now. I went down there on Friday for a quick look.
The kitchen is really coming together too.
And here's the master bath:
I haven't been up to all that much but more a waiting for things to get here. Now that its August I've got quite a bit going on. My townhouse will be done later this month and then two days after I close on that I get to head to Alaska for 9 days. Whoo!!!
I do the final walk-through with the contractor on the 13th and close on the 20th then head off on vacation on the 22nd. My plan is to recover for a couple of days after I get back. The timing is good as I get back at midnight on Saturday the 1st but its Labor Day weekend so I don't have to be to work until Tuesday. That will give me something of a real weekend to screw my head back on.
I will have lots to do when I get back. I should have 100 lbs of fish to deal with. Need to process all the photos and post tidbits on this blog, paint the place and pack for a move then move. Whew!!!! Well the calvary called and they are willing to help. My parents have offered to come down here and help me paint and pack. That is a huge help and I can't thank them enough for this. Thanks Mom & Dad!!!
So the place is really coming together now. I went down there on Friday for a quick look.
The kitchen is really coming together too.
And here's the master bath:
Fernandina Beach
It was a beautiful day here on Wednesday and I didn't feel like going home and just having a 'normal' night so I did a bit of poking around on the internet and decided to go up to Amelia Island and take a walk through Fernandina Beach. Amelia Island has a wonderfully rich history and a great little historic area. The Victorian and Itataliante mansions were wonderful. I had wanted to go up to Ft. Clinch which is adjacent to the downtown area but its pouring rain here today so perhaps tomorrow.
Memorial Day Weekend
Last weekend was Memorial Day weekend and it was quite nice here. I thought I might go fishing but decided to spend 2 of the 3 days down in St. Augustine. On Sunday I went down and visited the Lighthouse which was very cool though I have to admit 219 stairs to the top is a bit of work. I had such a good time that I decided to head down again on Monday and went to the alligator farm which is basically across the street from the lighthouse. Again it was a great way to spend the day. Go to the web album at the right for more pics. There were all sorts of great things down there!
Dancin' in The Street
This is a bit delayed in posting but now that we've finally got a rainy day I have the time/desire to catch up. A couple of weeks ago and Scott, a co-worker told me of a little annual tradition called Dancin' in the Street taking place up at Atlantic/Neptune Beach. I thought a nice little neighborhood music festival sounded like fun. I took a run up there and had a great time listening to the bands and checking out the art vendors booths. As usual here's some photos and more are in my web album. Scott and his family were volunteering so a couple of shots here are of his daughter and her friends helping out.
Kayak Fishing Tournament
I joined a kayak fishing club shortly after moving here. Its really more of a website with forums but the members do get together for fishing and happy hours. Each year for the past four they hold a kayak fishing tournament and bill it as the worlds largest. I can believe this as there were almost 300 people signed up for this years event.
I met up with a few of the guys I know from the board for a day of fishing. One of the guys is a park ranger at one of the City's parks where we were leaving from. Since the park normally doesn't open until 8am he let us stay overnight. So there were were all sleeping in our trucks waiting for first light. Well I don't have to tell you that sleeping in a truck or car is not exactly the Ritz. I got what amounted to about 3 hours of something vaguely resembling sleep but was up for good by 4:30am.
We fished all day at Dutton Island Preserve and WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I caught my first redfish ever. I have been trying for months to catch one of these guys as they really are the prize species. The fight they give is incredible making several runs before tiring out. It really is fun and I can see why this sport is addicting. I ended up with a 23 and 24 inch redfish. The law says you can only keep one per day so I kept the first one I caught which was the larger one.
Here's a couple of pics for you.
I met up with a few of the guys I know from the board for a day of fishing. One of the guys is a park ranger at one of the City's parks where we were leaving from. Since the park normally doesn't open until 8am he let us stay overnight. So there were were all sleeping in our trucks waiting for first light. Well I don't have to tell you that sleeping in a truck or car is not exactly the Ritz. I got what amounted to about 3 hours of something vaguely resembling sleep but was up for good by 4:30am.
We fished all day at Dutton Island Preserve and WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I caught my first redfish ever. I have been trying for months to catch one of these guys as they really are the prize species. The fight they give is incredible making several runs before tiring out. It really is fun and I can see why this sport is addicting. I ended up with a 23 and 24 inch redfish. The law says you can only keep one per day so I kept the first one I caught which was the larger one.
Here's a couple of pics for you.