Glenn's Notes

A Day at the Jax Zoo

Glenn Martin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:35:00 GMT

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.

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

Glenn Martin — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:25:00 GMT

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.

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

Glenn Martin — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:58:00 GMT

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 .

Jacksonville Air Show

Glenn Martin — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:41:00 GMT

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

Alaska

Glenn Martin — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:21:00 GMT

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.

My new townhouse update

Glenn Martin — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 12:37:00 GMT

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:

Fernandina Beach

Glenn Martin — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 13:49:00 GMT

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

Glenn Martin — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 13:26:00 GMT

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

Glenn Martin — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 12:46:00 GMT

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

Glenn Martin — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:36:00 GMT

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.

Roots and Nails

Glenn Martin — Sun, 13 May 2007 17:07:00 GMT

When I first moved up to Jacksonville I had about 3 hours to find a place to live. The requirements were pretty simple: not too far from the office, nice community and affordable. Well I looked at about 6 complexes before deciding upon Cape House. This place has served me well as I learned about my new home over the past several months.

My lease expires in August so I was beginning to weigh my options. I could easily just renew so I wouldn't have to move again for the 4th time in as many years. But Jacksonville is quite affordable and certainly when compared to South Florida a much better value. So I started to look around at what was out there. I took a look at several communities and they all had their plusses and minuses like any place I suppose. I headed a bit south of town to an area called Bartram Springs and thought this would be a good choice for me. So on Thursday last week I purchased a new townhouse.

I bought a model called the Edison and its a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath, townhouse with a loft and a two car garage. At almost 1,600 sq ft its quite a bit bigger than what I need but it should be good for resale down the road. As the complex is still under construction I was able to buy into a building that is still being built. What that means is that I get to pick out all the flooring, appliances, cabinets, lighting and the like. I also like that I will be overlooing a man made pond and nature perserve beyond that so I will never have to look at someone else's place. My particular building will be ready in July so with my lease expiring in August this works out quite well.

Here's some pictures of the models they have as well as some shots of my particular unit under construction. More pictures are available in my web album. The link its to the right.

So it seems that with every nail driven my roots here grow a bit deeper.

Air & Sea Show

Glenn Martin — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:15:00 GMT

So I've lived away from Ft. Lauderdale for several months now but I have always enjoyed the Air & Sea Show held annually in May. Scott had contacted me about coming down and I gave it serious consideration. I figured this would be a great time to meet up with some friends as well as shoot the show. I drove down on Friday afternoon and it was a pretty easy drive until I got off the highway in Ft. Lauderdale.

Once I got off my truck started giving me fits...first it was just the engine coughing a bit then the whole thing just shut down...grant you this was only rush hour and no one behind me was in any particular hurry to get home and start their weekend. Patience was a virtue observed by all as they patientely passed me by offering their condolences for my vehicular troubles and bidding me well whilst throwing money so that I may rectify the situation. Well despite the lack of money offered I'm quite certain that's what the horn honking represented.

I manage to limp it off to the parking lot of a bank and form a strategy. I called Dick whom I was staying with and he was just up the road and a car guy. He checked things out then called Dino who is another car guy who can pretty much put one together in his sleep. After the problem was described the prognosis was to turn off the air conditioner. Well that solved the immediate problem...you know that pesky not working bit. The rest of the weekend went off without a hitch transportation wise.

Dick & Geri were kind enough to put me up for the weekend but weren't able to make it to the show but Jim, an avid plane buff was and I was thrilled he was able to go. We went over to Scott's place and had a great time. Attached are some pics of the air show and party. If you'd like more my web album is at your immediately right disposal.

Dick had just bought a new Corvette and its an incredible machine. After he gave it a nice bath on Sunday morning I asked if we could take a ride and I was a bit surprised that he suggested that I drive it...WHOOO!!! We picked a not so busy but rather wide side street and I punched it up to just about 120...incredible....Thanks Dick!!!!

Here's the Vette:

All in all a great weekend!!! Thanks again to Dick & Geri for putting me up and putting up with me...all the same

A day of National Parks

Glenn Martin — Thu, 03 May 2007 02:58:00 GMT

I decided I haven't checked out the resources I have around this place and wanted to do so. I went down to St. Augustine this weekend with the intention of going to Casillo de San Marcos and Fort Matanzas. I managed to do both and had a wonderful time shooting them. (some pun intended) I will have to go back to shoot the lighthouse, the alligator farm, the old town area, Flagler College and some of the other sites but I hope you enjoy the shots from the Forts. If you'd like to see more photos just click on my web album to the right and you'll get a full dose.

A Day at the Hot Rod Show

Glenn Martin — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 19:12:00 GMT

Last week I went to the Jazz festival with Drew, a friend from South Florida. We had a great time but unfortunately they wouldn't allow cameras in so no shots from that day. As I entered I was handed a coupon for a Hot Rod show that was happening this weekend. I thought it might be a good place to take some photos and I was right. The cars were very cool and I definately had my favorites. Chevy Bel-Airs, Ford Deluxe and 1930's Buicks were among some of my preferred cars. Below are a couple of shots from the day. If you'd like to see more just click on my Web Album to the right. Enjoy!!!

How to use this blog....hmmm

Glenn Martin — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 21:19:00 GMT

So lately I realize I haven't been the worlds best blogger being sporadic at best with my posts. What I have kept up on is my Picasa Web Album. I will put a permanent link to the side here but for reasons of this post here's the link.

Glenn's photo album

While there is little, if any, commentary it does have the benefit of lots of photos. I'm sure this will make Andy happy. :-p

Another thing I'm struggling a bit with is Picasa vs. Photoshop Elements. I bought Elements the other day and while I know its an extremely powerful program it is also complicated. I find myself doing half of what I want in Picasa for the ease and half in Elements for the learning of it. Although Elements isn't an overly expensive program its not free but at this point I can do what I want in Picasa for free with ease. Hmmmm...I'll have to figure this out. Alaska looms you know.

A weekend with good friends

Glenn Martin — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 20:28:00 GMT

For the past several months my friends from South Florida, Jim and Chris have offered an open invitation to come down to the Peace River for a weekend of camping and general ballyhoo. And for months I've threatened (Chris' term) to actually do so. Well last weekend was about my last opportunity as they were getting ready to head off on their way out west again. It also worked out well that Andy & Diane would be there last weekend as well. As an authorized dealer of Datastorm Satellite Dishes Jim was to install one on A&D's RV. Andy & Diane are always eager to put additional drill holes in the roof of their rig and simply couldn't pass up this opportunity. As fate would have it Jim found a way to install the dish without drilling holes in the roof. The disappointment on the faces of Andy & Diane was palpable.

I did my best to help out of course:

(photo stolen from Andy & Diane's blog without permission) (and no I didn't actually touch J(H)im)

So thanks to my selfless assistance the dish gets installed and there is much rejoicing. (or is that confusion? Either way)

Here it is all hooked up and pretending to be grandma's couch.

One of the best parts about the weekend, apart from seeing everyone again which was the prize, was being able to talk about photography with Chris and Diane. You see we all own very similar cameras and had many instances of offering tips that the others were not aware of. I don't know how many times I said to myself 'Oh, so that's how that works" or "so that's what that means". The great part was that all three of us had information that the others didn't so it was a wonderful learning experience. I'd love to spend more weekends like that as I'm quite certain there is more we all could learn from each other.

Here's a shot Chris took: Notice the extreme professionalism demonstrated in my left hand.

Here's Chris & Diane sorting things out:

A lot of the weekend was like this: And yes I'm referring to the appearently perplexed look of Andy :-p

We all, well Chris, Diane & I had a great time shooting the moon (so to speak). Andy & Jim just thought we were touched.

And then there was this little guy that Diane & I came across on a nature walk in the park.

A parting shot:

A Photographic Upgrade

Glenn Martin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:39:00 GMT

After pondering my trip to Alaska it became quite clear that I would be wanting to take a ton of photographs. And that's the thing, I wanted to take photographs not just pictures. I just knew that my little Sony point and shoot would not be up for the kinds of photos I want to take. So after thinking about it for quite some time and talking with my friend Lotte in Denmark who was considering a new camera at the same time decided upon the Canon EOS Rebel XTi. In Europe its known as the Canon EOS 400D but its the exact same camera. Besides it will be fun to learn this new camera and rediscover photography together with someone who's bound to have the same questions in figureing this thing out. I also have Chris and Diane for help as they have the Canon Rebel XT which is effectively the same camera and they've been using it for quite some time.

So I bought this digital SLR along with two upgraded lenses. I purchased a Canon 17-85mm IS USM and a telephoto 70-300mm IS USM to take pictures of wildlife from afar. I don't think it to unreasonable to want to be a fair distance away from a bear while taking his mug. I've no desire to end up as a couple hundred pounds of bear dung. I'm like that you know.

So here's my set up the way it stands now:

In addition to this I'd like to get two additional lens prior to the trip. I'd like to get a Canon 100mm macro lens for those close up shots and a Canon 10-22mm wide angle lens for taking landscapes. My current equipment is just fine for the time being for learning about the camera and photography again.

I say again b/c I took some courses in college and really enjoyed it but that was quite some time ago. I recall some of the basics regarding shutter speed, aperature settings and depth of field but have a lot to rediscover and learn. That's one of the great things about digital though is that the learning is easier b/c you don't have to wait hours or days to see your results. You get them right away and can adjust right then and there. So while the initial investment is rather substantial the ongoing costs are very reasonable.

So for my first use of the camera I went up to Little Talbot State Park to try it out. I have to admit I had very little idea what most of the buttons, dials and gizmos did but it was still fun to get out there and try things out. This is one of my first pictures. Lotte said it reminded her of a womans stomach and I didn't think of that until she said it but I see her point.

I then took this shot down on the beach that the trail leads out to. I sent the original to Chris and she showed me what Picasa can do. Here's my original.

After Chris worked with it for a bit on Picasa this is the same image she sent back.

Yeah you can say there's a huge difference there. Thanks Chris!!!

So the following weekend I went to the zoo. I figured since I'll be taking photos of animals in Alaska the zoo might be a good place to start. Going back to the benefits of digital, I took over 250 pictures inside of about two and a half hours. I never in a million years would have done that with film.

Just a couple of shots that I like.

And this one I really like.

Two more.

OK that's the end of this post. You can go about what you were doing before now.

Whooooo!!!!

Glenn Martin — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 19:59:00 GMT

I have posted in the past of my fondness for the music of Taylor Hicks. Well this past week he was in town and guess what? I got to meet him. I appearntly bought my concert tickets from the right place (play on words if you know his music) and won a chance to meet him before the concert. What I will post here is my message that I sent to the International fans whom I've come to know.

The plan was to meet Kathleen (ChattyK) at a restaurant where several SP'ers were meeting for a early dinner at 5:30. The official dinner was organized and neither of us took part in that but it was a good meeting spot. Well I took a couple of pictures so you could see the absolute masses of people, OK women, that were part of this thing. It was absolutely unreal the numbers there. The last I had heard it was to be 55 people but I would have guessed twice that at the restaurant. When I got there, about an hour after it started, JTFTW was playing on whatever audio system they had so it was however many people singing at full on volume, screw the tune, hands in the air swaying side to side, waiters giggling.

I first met up with Jeanne Marie and chatted with her for a short bit. She was kind enough to point me to Kathleen and her husband for me. After a bit I went outside (a covered patio where the main party was) and met Kathleen and Bob. It was here that I got to feel that SP vibe and these people were really into this...WOW!!! (waiters giggled)

Being able to only able to take so much estrogen I announced to Kathy and Bob that I was off to the bar for a double gin. Seeing the incredible wisdom in my decision they join me. We had a good time talking about how we got to this day and quite frankly it was a story that we today know as 'typical'. That being hooked at Las Vegas and so on. I trust you know the story. Anyway Bob and I had a good time talking about fishing too. (sorry needed to insert a little Y chromosome into the issue). But we also agreed what a wonderful bunch the SP was and how generous with the various support they've provided to others along the way.

Considering that I was a super important person winning a meet and greet and all I needed to get over to the theater quite early for my super important dealings with top talent. Kathleen & Bob walk over with me and actually there were quite a few people outside the theater milling about. There were some other very important industry movers and shakers like me in the 'Will Call' area awaiting their interaction with top talent as well but I think they knew when I walked in that the top mover and shaker had arrived. I really could stand to lose a couple.

Anyway we were supposed to pick up our meet and greet passes at 6:30 but the passes arrived late so we were all on pins and needles. Errr I mean, in this industry we understand delays and just deal with them...oh bullshit...we wanted our freaking passes. Once they arrived I was the second to get mine and as I passed the attendant my drivers licence to cross check on the list I had this terrible feeling that she would run her finger up and down the list whilst (I learned this from the message) shaking her clearly in power head. But no, things went smooth and she proudly proclaimed, yes here you are (well that's how I recall it anyway) and handed me an envelope with my pass. It was a credit card type thing with Taylor's album cover on it...I'll take a picture of it for you.

Anyway the plan is to meet outside a set of doors near the stage at 7:30 which of course we all did. As the line formed we all talked about all thing Taylor and also what we thought we could expect in our super high powered meeting with top industry talent. Of course we were all just guessing at it. There was 30 of us movers and shakers and they were bringing us in groups of 5 to meet him. I have to admit that I'm glad that this is the way they handled this. I had pictured at one point a room of 100 going all willy nilly and it was a nightmare as I know there are those more assertive than me about garnering his attention. But this was just great.

I was in the third group and as the others came out they all said the same thing. He is so sweet and kind and couldn't have been nicer or more giving of himself and time.

Really think of it, isn't that what we have always though he'd be?

When its time for my group to go in the bouncer checks my ID and can clearly see my importance and backs away meekly. OK he had to move to let me through but you get the idea. Behind the door was a very non descript very small area that let to 4 or 5 steps up to stage level and a quite small room about the size of a small bathroom. At the top of the stairs was Taylor greeting us as we walked in. When I got to the top stair Taylor reaches his hand out to me which I shake (manly) and say. (this is a direct quote as I do remember this 'cause I kinda practiced it hoping not to say something stupid straight off the bat) "Hi, I'm Glenn, its a pleasure to meet you I'm here representing your International Fans" and his reply was "Well then get up on in here!" with a smile on his face.

I was the third to meet him and the two guys before me had 'VIP' stickers on their lapels...yeah yeah yeah I could have picked them up at the 5 and dime prior...but in actuality they were members of Auburn's Supper Club (this is like an Auburn institution where the members are a brotherhood) and Taylor told one of his people after their time that he wanted to talk to these guys more afterwards. My mover and shaker status was slightly diminished but it was Auburn Supper Club members so I understand.

After they stepped aside Taylor looks at me and again extends his hand out for a shake. He said "Hey, how's it going man?" I make as much sense as I can, which quite frankly I'm not sure what that in reality what that means but I tried. I pull the binder containing the IHOT message out and hand it to Taylor and he opens it up to sign and I say, No that's for you to read, its a message from your International fans that they wanted me to deliver. He said "How Cool" and took a moment to see what it was and then turned the page to your photos and I explained that you had all just met in London and that he brought these people and all of us together. He smiled at this knowledge. We then had our picture taken.

I explained to him about the play by plays and how you all were up at all hours of the night to find out what was going on with him. I also explained how people worldwide were voting for him via Skype and a whole community was formed in support of him. Again he thought that was so cool.

Then I told him how you all want him to do a European tour and he explained to me how difficult it was to break into that stream but that he'd LOVE (he really did mean it) to do a EU tour. He said 'I will always keep my options open and if I can, I will'

Then he signed my disc and that of Kathleens and a shirt she gave to me. He shook my hand again, thanked me for coming and said goodbye.

I will say what others before me have said. He couldn't have been nicer or more sincere. Solid person!!!!

I'm sure by now you've read other accounts of the concert but the opening band the 'Grayhounds' from Austin TX were just great...wonderful personality. When they first came on stage and stared and the crowd was going nuts the lead singer said 'Relax folks, we're the opening band' LOL...their set was wonderful and played an extra song for timing reasons...but they were a great bluesy band.

Then it was Taylor time!!!! Of course the place went nuts...He started off with Soul Thing and it was just wonderful. His band is SO great and you just know that they will improve as the tour proceeds.

My impressions are much like all the others out there...so much fun, so much energy though I understand he wasn't feeling well. I can't possibly recall each of the songs but he seemed to interlace the TH album and Under the Radar and then had a couple covers. One of Rod Stewarts 'Young Turks' and then two Doobie songs of course including TITTS (sorry, for some reason I perfer that abbreviation of this song).

I'll send more pictures along the way

After the show a group of us went to the bar at the Hyatt where I had a drink (or two) with JM, Kathy and her husband. There was a large group of SP'ers across the bar and I talked to them and after JM went to bed and Kath and Bob left for their hotel I sat with them for a bit.

There were something like 12-15 of them there and after some talking (and alcohol) we were all laughing and having a great time. Anyway while I don't possess any there are 2 or 3 photos out there of a group shot with Papas surrounded by this clan. LOL...oh god...its going to appear in Soul Connection isn't it? Shit...well so much for IMOM...I told Colleen to get generous with Photoshop.

And that was that. Wanna see a picture of Taylor's tour bus?

Alaska Bound

Glenn Martin — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 03:53:00 GMT

I was thinking a few weeks back that its been quite a long time since I've taken an honest to goodness vacation. In fact the last 'real' vacation I took was with Kayuba down to Cay Lobos on the Nekton Rorqual back in September 2003. So by the time this summer runs around it will have been just about 4 years. That's too long so I decided to do something about it.

After some thinking about what kind of trip I'd like to take I decided to ask myself a few questions. First I thought about places I've never been but have always wanted to go. This list was admittedly long but considering I knew I'd be burning about a week and a half of vacation time it pretty much ruled out Palau, Australia and New Zealand as the time just really isn't enough for that.

So I've got the Americas, Europe and Africa. Now I've been to Europe before but I never got to the UK so my thinking was Scotland and perhaps England. Just have always wanted to get to Scotland so that took priority over England. For those of you that know me know that I spent about 6 weeks in mainland Europe and Ireland back in 1995 after I graduated from college. There's lots of places that I'd go back to but really there are so many more that I've never been to and that took priority.

After narrowing my choices down to the three above I thought about what I'd like to do and it came down to wildlife and getting out in nature. Clearly Scotland could be fabulous for this for the scenery and it'd be hard to deny that an African Safari wouldn't be fantastic. I'm not a hunter but I love to fish and dive so those options were open still.

I've been on several dive vacations and loved every minute of them but again wanted to try something different so that became less of a priority this time. So it came down to where haven't I been and always wanted to go where I could fish and see great wildlife within my timeframe. I chose Alaska!!!!

The more I learn about Alaska the more I'm excited to get there and check it out for myself. I love the Indian and Russian history of the place, the remoteness and grandure of it.

After making the decision I needed to look into where to go. I went through several options but I chose a lodge off of Kodiak Island for the main portion of my trip. The lodge I'm going to is Afognak Wilderness Lodge on Afognak Island. I need to get to Kodiak after flying into Anchorage and then a float plane picks me up and takes me on a 30 minute plane ride right into their bay. I will be at this place for 4 days and for now I'm planning 3 days of fishing and one day of whale watching. I'm thinking about two days of salmon fishing and the third being a halibut trip. On my wildlife sightseeing trip I hope to see whales, sea lions, sea otters, puffins and in the air some bald eagles amongst a host of other things.

That portion of my trip is a few days into things. The first full day in Alaska I'm headed up to Denali National Park
via Talkeetna where I'm planning on taking a flight seeing trip. I looked into this place but I booked with a travel agent and I'm not 100% sure it will be the exact same place but the idea is to fly around Mt. McKinley and land on the glacier. I'm looking forward to this part of the trip.

After the Denali trip I'm headed back to Anchorage and then straight off to Kodiak where I will have about two days before my lodge trip. I'm thinking about renting a car and doing some sightseeing on one of the days on the island itself and the second day of hiring a charter for a day of wildlife viewing or fishing. I'm not sure which yet but either way will be great. So this part of my trip is up in the air a bit but renting a car gives me some flexibility as I have to be back at the Kodiak airport first thing in the morning on the 27th for the float plane to the lodge.

After the Lodge its back to Kodiak for a day and in the late afternoon its back to Anchorage for the flight back home.

So there's the plan as it stands today.

With this comes a whole another realm of interests. Stay tuned for the next post to hear all about that. This time with pictures!!!

I purposely didn't add photos to this long post as I'll be saving those for my photos from the place.

Good Times with Good Friends

Glenn Martin — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:53:00 GMT

At some point in October or November my best friend Hans called me to say that his in-laws were spending January in St. Augustine and that he, his wife and their 2 y/o son Nicholas were going to be here for about a week. I had yet to meet Nicholas and was eager to do so. So the three of them flew in last Thursday and I met up with everyone on Friday night for some conversation and a couple of beers. It was great to finally meet Nicholas and he's a great happy kid. Hans and Susie are lucky to have him and I know they'll have a blast watching him grow up. I'm happy for them.

We had a nice time and they invited me back down on Saturday night for dinner. We went to a great little restaurant called Creekside Dinery in St. Augustine. They had live bluegrass music and a firepit where you could roast marshmellows. The seafood was very good to boot.

Here's the proud parents and the aforementioned Nicholas.

And the proud grandparents:

Here's my appearance with the bunch:

Hans came down last night as we had planned a day of deep sea fishing. We were up at the crack of stupid and went fishing about 10 miles off the Jacksonville coast. We ended up having a great morning as we both caught fish. Since there was just the two of us the Captain got to fish a bit too. He caught a very nice Red Snapper which you'll see in a bit. I caught a nice Grouper though he was 1/2 inch too short to keep, damn. I also got a legal Sea Bass and several small groupers and grunts. My big fish though was a nurse shark. That was fun. Here's some pics for ya.

Here's my slightly short grouper:

And here's my shark:

He was full of piss and vinegar:

Here's Hans and I with our catch.

This week the clan is thinking about coming up this way for a day at the Jax Zoo. I might meet up with them for that. I had a great time at the Zoo when I went this fall.

All in all its been a great visit and I look forward to spending more time with everyone while they are near.