Photographic Expressions

BU Women vs. UAM Sept. 1st

2011-09-05T14:08:00.000-05:00

Thursday night, September 1st, the Belhaven University Women's Volleyball Team was in action with their second game of the season. Their opponent this night was University of Arkansas at Monticello. Once again, this was a home game for the BU women.

Gabriella Zorzoli (#15), Erin Bradley (#10),
Samantha O-Malley (#11), Christina Atwood (#7

While the crowd was smaller than opening night, the students and others in attendance were supporting and cheering for the green and yellow Blazers.

Natalie Davis (#14)

I wasn't able to arrive at the match until late in the second game. The BU women had won game one and moved quickly to win game two. Before I left Rugg Area, the BU women were well in control of game three and the match against the green jersey and black shorts women from UAM.

Christina Atwood (#7), Leigh Anne Huddleston (#13)

Head coach of the Lady Blazers is Ashley Stahas in her first year at Belhaven University. Her Graduate Assistant is Jordan Lay.

Christina Atwood (#7), Erin Bradley (#10),
Leigh Ann Huddleston (#13)

Here is the BU Women's Volleyball roster for the 2011 season:

1       Siobhan Hardy                    SOPH                 Arlington, TX
2       Katherine Owen                  SOPH                 Murrieta, CA
4       Serita Ingram                      SR                     Longview, TX
6       Alyson Plyler                       FR                       Spring, TX
7       Christina Atwood                SR                       Vancleave, MS
8       Taylor Williams                   JR                     Duncanville, TX
9       Lauren Zell                          JR                       Madison, MS
10     Erin Bradley                        JR                        Lubbock, TX
11     Samantha O'Malley             JR                       Sugar Land, TX
12     Erin Hampton                      SR                      Sugar Land, TX
13     Leigh Anne Huddleston      SR                 New Braunfels, TX
14     Natalie Davis                       JR                       Ballwin, MO
15     Gabriella Zorzoli                 SOPH                Germantown, TN

Belhaven University Football

2011-09-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

Saturday, August 27th, the Belhaven University men's football team took the field to open the season. The game with Texas College , Tyler, Texas, was played at Newell Field, home of Belhaven University football. My arrival was mid-way through the first quarter, but BU was already leading and never looked back.

The 6:00 p.m. kickoff made the hot day somewhat cooler, especially with a north breeze from the north. I was able to produce some quality digital images of our offense and defense before sunlight left beyond the western horizon. Due to less that typical stadium lighting (this field is also used by Jackson County Schools), my work was almost completed.

I must get an image or two of the cheerleaders for their sponsor, Dana Marsalis. Mission accomplished. Not only a group picture of the squad, but some images of push-ups on a board following a BU score (One push-up per point on the scoreboard). Since BU scored more than 40 points in the game, quite a workout for the poor soul doing the push-ups!

The next football game is in Pineville, LA, close to Alexandria, LA. I won't make this trip, but hope the BU men fight hard, but clean and no serious injuries for either team.

Belhaven University Volleyball 8-26-11

2011-09-05T11:15:00.001-05:00

Belhaven University's Rugg Arena

Wonderful news! College and University sports are back in action---finally. On Friday night, August 26th the Belhaven University women's volleyball team began their season at home on campus. Their opponent was Xavier University. This was my baptism into women's volleyball action. Add taking digital images to the mix and it was tense work.

Samantha O'Malley (#11), Natalie Davis (#14)

Our BU women won the match, but the excitement continued for five games to determine the winner. BU started out winning two lopsided games, but the next two games Xavier found their rhythm. So, it came down to game five which BU won.

Natalie Davis (#14), Erin Bradley (#10)

A great crowd helped keep the excitement level at a fever pitch and encouraged the BU women throughout the games.

I don't know how our women's team match up with conference opponents, but they will make it interesting.

Lincoln Co. 4-H Club 2011

2011-02-01T14:23:00.005-06:00

This is the fourth year I have had the priveledge to take digital images, make prints and produce a coffee table book for the annual 4-H Club and FFA in Lincoln County. What makes this even more enjoyable is seeing these young men and women growing up year after year.

The evening starts with the 4-H motto, Pledge of Allegiance, and a prayer. Dinner has been prepared by several of the women. This year it included, salad, rolls, beans, BBQ beef and dessert.

Once the dinner is completed the auctioneer starts the bidding on the first animal for sale. Different organizations or companies place their bid and the highest bidder has now purchased the pig, goat or cow.

If the animal wins at the regional or state competition, a higher price will probably be paid at that point.

The grounds for this 4-H and FFA gathering is tremendous. In the main building they have offices, rest rooms, kitchen and the large gathering room which includes a show area for the animal and owner.

Another building is open air on the sides for showmanship events. The third building houses the animals during these events. It is a first-class facility that everyone in Lincoln County is proud to use.

Twins Second Birthday

2011-02-01T13:52:00.010-06:00

How time can fly! That's a saying you hear for many different situations or events, i.e. high school reunions, life in general, marriages, deaths, dating, but especially true with children or grand children.

This popular saying is especially true with other children or grand children aren't seen every day. You continue with the last image when you saw them. Then the next visit with them provides you with a dramatic difference, more so when they are young.

Our twin grandchildren, Sterling and Mary Presley, had their second birthday celebration at our home on Saturday, Jan. 15th of this year. While their actual birthday is Jan. 16th, it worked out better to have it on Saturday.

While the tearing into the birthday cupcakes was a bit on the slow side, tearing into the wrapping paper seemed to be a much easier task!

When your birthday is so close to Christmas, it seems unfair. Not enough time between the two events to properly shop for that great gift or two. You sort of run out of ideas after Christmas is over. But, gifts were found and everyone enjoyed our time together.

Twins Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T09:55:00.007-06:00

It has always been wonderful to have Jennifer and Joel visit our home in the past. We enjoy the conversations, meals and being with each other. When the twins came along, they are the bonus. Yes, we are proud card-carrying members of the grandparents society which uses the slogan---love them, spoil them and leave them!

Christmas time takes on a new meaning with the toddlers in our group. While we each enjoy opening our individual gifts, it is quite entertaining to see the development of the twins opening packages and trying out their new toys and clothes.

Their personalities continue to grow and change. More words spoken, especially "Papa G" which really surprises me. I would have thought "Mama Di" would have been easier.

Most exciting is seeing both twins taking their new books, sitting on the floor and beginning to "read" the pages. Quite entertaining.

We cherish these toddlers as they grow and mature. It won't take long before they're providing more entertainment and conversation. We'll love these years forever.

Dana and David Cole's Wedding

2011-01-01T14:11:00.010-06:00

There are some people you meet in this world for the first time and you immediately know they are professional in their work and and wonderful people meet. This is definitely the case with Dana and David Cole.

In October of 2010, I took digital images, produced a video clip, produced a coffee table book of images and had a blog article about Melaine Fowler's wedding. Melaine mentioned to Dana about how I handled myself at her wedding and suggest Dana call me to discuss her December wedding photography needs.

Dana and I emailed back and forth and she came to the conclusion that she wanted me to document their wedding on December 27, 2010 at the historic Fairview Inn in Jackson, MS.

When I walked into this wonderful historic inn, it wasn't long that David Cole walked up to me and said, "You must be Greg". It wasn't long before Dana walked up to us and I concluded this was Dana. You see, I hadn't meet Dana face to face until this night for the wedding!

This wonderful inn has an incredible gathering room with fireplace and quality furniture. Boy, was this going to be a fun place to plan creative photography.

I asked David how the two of them met and wait until you hear "the rest of the story." David grew up in Puckett, MS. and Dana in the Jackson, MS area. David has two daughters, Cameron (14) and Karlee (11). Early in their lives it was determined they both had a rare blood disorder. They were taken to the University of Mississippi Medical Center and specifically to the Children's Cancer Clinic. Guess where Dana works. That's right, she's an RN in that facility!

So Dana and David have know each other for fourteen years. Some kind of story wouldn't you say.

Dana has two children, Morgan (14) and Brady (9). Two families of three changes into one family of six! Things will be a changing around the house. Dana's mom told me at the meal there's a particular dinner Dana prepares that they eat one portion and freeze the remainder for another meal. Well, she had to work hard to make the entire portion go around for everyone to enjoy in one meal instead.

The wedding itself was off the main room, down three steps to a room with another fireplace and Christmas decorations. A wonderful setting for a wedding and for me to take digital images. The four children were the attendants at the wedding to keep the family theme.

Following the ceremony and more pictures, we all sat down to a wonderful meal. You had a choice of salad, either steak or salmon for the meat selection with would include asparagus and grits. Desert was wedding cake, of course. Except you had two choices, either wedding cake or red velvet cake. For me, I took the latter. The food couldn't have been cooked any better.

Overall, it was a wonderful event for family and friends and me as the photographer. From the beautiful Fairview Inn itself, the wonderful bride and groom, to their immediate families, the inspirational words from the minister and the delicious meal, it was a wonderful memory in end year 2010.

Sheldon Kaiser

2010-12-02T13:58:00.004-06:00

Their are times in our lives when we have few opportunities to get to know people, due to distance and work requirements. But, often, you learn much about the real person from the comments made at their funeral. Such is the case of our daughter's father-in-law, Sheldon Kaiser.

Sure, we met before the wedding and for a few minutes at the reception, but due to his business at home and in Natchez, MS, trips to our home or to visit his son, daughter-in-law and twins at their home in Memphis, TN, didn't happen. To visit with all four of them required a trip to Natchez, MS.

Here's what I learned about Sheldon Kaiser at the funeral that made me wish we could have visited many more times. It was said of Sheldon that the majority of people that were members of their church was due to Sheldon inviting them personally. Their minister even mentioned that on one trip with Sheldon to meet a new family, they went to the door, knocked and found out they were at the wrong house! Not a problem for Sheldon, he invited them to church, said goodbye and went to the original house they had planned to visit. They tells me much about a quiet, hard working man who loved God and the church.

Sheldon was a lifetime resident of Natchez, MS. Thus, he knew just about everyone in town. When help was needed, if Sheldon knew about it, he was the one to provide the assistance. I was told that after Hurricane Katrina, he donated two, large tanks of fuel at no charge to those in need. That gives me just a little bit more insight about this man.

When you live in a smaller town, you get to know people and they get to know you very well. Many of the local police and sheriff's departments were at the funeral and standing at the entrance to the cemetery. The sheriff's department personnel had their white cowboy type hats off and held them over their heart in respect for Sheldon and his family members. That tells me just a little bit more about Sheldon.

As I mentioned earlier, Sheldon was a hard working man. The minister at the funeral said, "Now Sheldon can have some rest." Another bit of information about Sheldon.

Sheldon is now buried in the large, City of Natchez Cemetery, which local mystery writer, Greg Illes, named one of his books, "Turning Angel". Our son-in-law took us to the "Turning Angel" and gave us the insight into how it got its name. It seems that many years ago, when you walked or drove around the cemetery, it seemed this angel would turn toward you.

There is much to learn about this cemetery that was established in the early 1800's. I'd like more time to learn about this historic cemetery, the people buried there and if this cemetery could talk, what fascinating stories could she tell? The same is true of a well loved man from Natchez, MS..........Sheldon Kaiser.

The images I added to this blog were taken outside Sheldon and Kim's home. They depict the quiet, late sunset evening, created by God, that Sheldon would have seen each day. And, those words remind me of what I learned about Sheldon on a normal day, Monday, November 11, 2010.

Cooper, Man's Best Friend

2010-11-23T13:55:00.005-06:00

Some familes when their children are small agree to having a pet at home. When our girls were young, we agreed to bring Kalico, the cat, into our group. She was low maintenance to keep, and the girls took turns taking care of her food and other needs, for a short period of time!

Our next animal at our house was Cooper, the dog. Amy found Cooper, or Moose, as he was called at the Abilene Humane Society's facility. She changed his name to reflect one of the area high schools Abilene COOPER High School. She kept him in her one bedroom apartment the fall of her senior year in college.

The following spring, Cooper had to move to our home. We didn't want a dog smell in our house. The only time Cooper came in the house was to go into the back to play and smell the air, trees, bushes and bark with other dogs in the neighborhood.

He first resided in the garage in a cage large enough to give him room to move around. As he matured, we kept him on a lanyard to give him more room in the garage and partially into our driveway.

Once Amy completed college, she moved back into our home. Now routines included walks around the neighborhood, which I called the cling and jerk routine and visits to the local vet for annual checkups. Amy also leaned that if you asked Cooper a question he would cock his head. Two of the images with this blog give you that "look".

As time moved forward, Cooper and I had other routines that were fun and enjoyable to watch. We first began playing in the breakfast area. I'd separate my legs and he would stick his head between them. He would look side to side to see which hand would get within range. At first, Cooper didn't understand that his teeth and toenails could and would cut my arms, hands and legs. As he matured, he knew to "pretend" to be biting my hands, and let out with his attacking growl. Just a routine for him to burn off some energy and have fun.

There were the trips to recycle our newspapers, plastic items and aluminum cans. Both back windows were down for Cooper to smell the air with his head outside the window. (A normal position for all dogs while in a car, SUV, or truck.) Afterwards, we would walk the paved trail thru many trees, plants and places for him to sniff and leave "his mark".

We then added trips to the bank drive-thru to deposit checks. It didn't take Cooper long to realize that this "building" would provide him with a treat each time. Sometimes the treat came before the deposit was completed, and sometimes at the end of the transaction. But, that didn't stop Cooper from smelling my hands to see if the treat needed to be passed on to his mouth.

Cooper liked coming into my office to look around, sniff papers and files, and take a nap. This was where Cooper wanted to be during thunderstorms and lightning. However, when I got up from finishing my work, he jumped up ready to leave this refuge.

Each time I drove into our driveway, Cooper could tell it was me, he would make one complete counterclockwise circle, and would stretch his lanyard as far as possible. I would roll down my window and stop to stroke the bridge of his nose and head. He would wait for me to say "OK', to come into the garage.

On Monday, October 18, 2010, Amy commented that Cooper wasn't acting normal. We went thru our normal day's routine. Tuesday morning, Amy noticed, then I noticed he didn't want to get up for anything. Totally not normal.

After my morning workout I took Cooper to the vet for an exam. On the exam table Cooper stood still for all of the "tests" a vet takes. Cooper and I were face to face during that time. No problem with Cooper even though the vet's assistance was concerned Cooper might bite me.

The vet put Cooper on an IV with liquids. Amy saw Cooper on Wednesday and he was his normal self, bouncing around with tons of energy. However, on Thursday afternoon, Amy and I went to the vet's office and Cooper was very slow in his walking, but wagged his tail when he saw Amy.

Amy and I sat on the floor to make it easier to pet and talk to Cooper. You could tell he had lost several pounds on his frame. When we came home I told Dianne, "Cooper's in trouble".

Friday morning, the 22nd, Dianne received a call from the vet that Cooper died that morning. For some unexplained reaaon, the white blood cells considered the red blood cells as anti-bodies and began killing them this week. Cooper's oxogen levels were dropping as a result. His last breath he sighed and died.

Such an unexpected and sad event to experience. Cooper, who would bark when anyone was walking in front of our house, or driving up in our driveway. The dog that when a light went on in the washroom, would signal to him to sit and look inside the door glass to wait and see if he would be invited into the house. The animal that shed hair during the spring and summer months in our garage and house. (There were times I could have knitted an afgan for our family to use during the winter months!) The dog that enjoyed being rubbed on a daily basis, was now gone forever.

Man's best friend had been a part of our lives for several years, and now the garage was quiet, and our usual routines with Cooper stopped. I thought about walking the trail the next time I took the recycle material to the large, green bins. But, I knew it wouldn't be the same without Cooper. The tug and jerk routine would be missing.

I catch myself moving my left index finger toward the controls to roll down my window driving into the driveway, then realize there isn't a dog named Cooper to greet me. I look out the door glass to the garage and Cooper isn't looking at me. I make bank deposits by myself, not getting a treat for Cooper or the response from the bank teller, "He's a good looking dog."

Even a friend who came to our house and garage to pick up his pressure washer made the comment, "It sure is quiet in your garage." Yes, he right about that for sure.

Our daughter made the decision to have Cooper cremated. She hasn't decided yet whether to bury the white box with the blue ribbon in the back yard, or to spread his ashes in the back yard that Cooper enjoyed or something else.

For now, the white box with the blue ribbon sits on my desk in the office. His lanyard, collar, walking leash, and sleeping bed are in my office. There are times when I smell the collar to remind me of Cooper.

How ironic. Cooper always smelled us when we were home and liked being in my office. Cooper is in my office, for the time being, and I smell his collar often. Before I finished this paragraph, I smelled his collar and yes, the scent of Cooper still remains.

Man's best friend, Cooper in this case, still remains, but in totally different material, shape and size. Goodbye my friend. You have been a joy to be with.

Melanie and Adam Fowler's Wedding

2010-11-20T11:44:00.011-06:00

I met Melanie at church one Sunday morning. A delightful lady with a mile wide smile and bubbly personality. She grew up in Charleston, MS, and graduated from Strider Academy. Melaine has two wonderful children, Jordan David Musgrove and Carmen Rae Musgrove.

Adam grew up and still lives in Greenwood, MS, and has one sister. From what I am told he is an avid Ole Miss sports fan.

After a few weeks, I learned she was engaged to an Adam Fowler who lived in the Greenwood, MS, area.

So, if Melanie lives and works in the Jackson, MS, area how did Melanie and Adam meet? A mutual friend introduced them and their first correspondence was by email on October 16, 2007. For three years Melanie would spend weekends in Greenwood, MS, to get to know Adam better and the same for Adam toward Melanie. During the week nights, I learned from Melanie, they would talk on their phones for a long period of time.

Three years later, to the day they were introduced, they married at the Old Union Church of Christ building which recently celebrated its 100th year as a church.

I had heard about this church, but hadn't had an opportunity to visit. A wonderful, small church with a cemetary that goes back to the 1800's.

The wedding day couldn't have been better weather. Clear day and moderate temperatures, with no wind. One humerous conversation was with Adam's dad of 80 something years of age. Since this was the first wedding for either of his children, he said "Greg, I don't know how to act as a father-in-law!" I suspect it will be very easy for him.

Following the private wedding ceremony, the wedding party travel to downtown Greenwood for lunch at an old famous cafe. A wonderful lunch and time to visit with family members, minister and his wife.

The reception was held at the West President Church of Christ in Greenwood. A wonderful gathering of friends and family congratulated the bride and groom. In one sense it was almost like a family reunion!

The caterer did a marvelous job in both the food and arrangements. When I wasn't taking digital images of the event, it was a treat to see the excitement and fellowship everyone had at this reception.

After a week's honeymoon in along the South Carolina coastal cities, Melanie and Adam will live in Brandon, MS, until Melanie retires from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in five years. Their residence will then change to Oxford, MS, home of Ole Miss!

Labor Day Weekend - 2010

2010-11-14T15:39:00.009-06:00

Labor day of 2010 found Dianne and me traveling to Cordova, TN, to visit our daughter, Jennifer, her husband, Joel, and our twin grandchildren, Sterling and Mary Presley. What a grand time we had!

Friday night was spent just relaxing and getting to be with all four of them and some playing with the grandchildren. I've had to catch myself calling them babies when in fact they are toddlers.

Saturday was a delightful day to enjoy. The weather was cooler than we had been experiencing in July, August and the first week of September. Couldn't have asked for a better temperature range from morning to evening.

J0el directed me to a meat shop approximately 18 miles from their house. Fantastic prices for meats, fries, vegetables, etc. My only problem was we brought the smallest cooler with us and it was back at the house! So, next weekend trip to Memphis, we'll have a larger cooler to take advantage of this business.

Saturday evening Joel cooked great steaks for dinner. Then it was on to Mississippi State football on tv.

Sunday morning was a trip to the church they attend in their newly constructed buildings. Quite nice to see what the inside looked like instead of just driving around it by means of the parking lot!

The remainder of Sunday was prime time visiting. Sterling and Mary Presley were great entertainment fast walking from one place to another. That evening Joel inflated a tunnel and tent combination play toy the twins could crawl thru to the tent area. Then out and back around to the tunnel several more times!Monday after lunch was travel day for us back to Jackson. But, what a wonderful way to celebrate Labor Day 2010!

Ann and Ryan Case's Wedding

2010-11-09T17:16:00.011-06:00

Dianne and I have known Ann Mize for many years, along with their parents, Tom and Joan, and their brother and sisters. Our children went to rival schools-the Mize family at Brandon High School and our girls to NW Rankin.

Ann and Ryan met at orientation for Hinds Community College. Ryan and Ann met due to Ryan's roommate. Ryan asked Ann out on a date and she accepted on September 11, 2003. Their date was to see the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl". Their dating continue all thru college, Ann at Ole Miss and Ryan at Mississippi State University. Ann then worked on her master's degree at Mississippi State University.

Ann and Ryan's big test came when Ann worked for Walt Disney World college program. They came thru that long distance fine.

Ryan proposed to Ann on Halloween night in 2010 and set their wedding date for their first date anniversary, September 11, 2010, so that they would always remember the day their relationship began!

Ann and Ryan's rehearsal, wedding and reception was held at the Castle Hill Pavilion and Park, south of Jackson, MS. Their rehearsal dinner on Friday night was at Penn's Fish House, in Jackson, MS.

I had never been to Castle Hill Pavilion until this wedding. A wonderful place to have a wedding and reception. Outside the main building, that includes dressing rooms and kitchen, you walk down several steps to a wood walkway to a gazebo.

The wedding was standing room only in the gazebo that was set up for approximately 100 people.

Yes, the bride's cake and table arrangements had the Disney World theme!

The wedding location was beautiful, the bride and groom were exited about their wedding day and ceremony, I just wish there had been more clouds to reduce the heat and humidity! Oh well, it was in early September in Mississippi.

Ann and Ryan now live in the Houston, Texas area, where Ryan's work is located. Ann continues to search for a school teaching job in that area.

Tara and Jackson's Wedding

2010-11-02T16:25:00.008-05:00

Tara is the daughter of Tom and Joan Mize. We have know this family in Brandon, MS, for many years, including church and in 2006 an Alaskian cruise to celebrate Tom and Joan's 30th wedding anniversary. Little did we know at that point Tom and Joan would move and work in Juneau, Alaska, in 2007!

We met and learned to love Jackson Cline. Jackson also lived in the Jackson, MS, area, but attend a private school instead of Brandon High School like Tara. This wasn't the only different school they attended. For their college degrees, Tara attended and graduated from Ole Miss in Oxford, MS. Jackson attended and graduated from Mississippi State University. Two big time rival schools in Mississippi.

After a brief time in Arkansas, Jackson determined he wanted to teach high school Physics. This decision took him to Hattiesburg, MS to accomplish that goal.

Tara, Jackson, family members and friends made their way to Columbus, MS, for the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception on July 2, 2010. The rehearsal, wedding and reception were held at the famous Hickory Sticks Mansion. The rehearsal dinner took place downtown Columbus, MS, at J. Broussard's.

Jackson and Tara now make their home in Hattiesburg, MS.

Barber's Museum

2010-07-20T13:17:00.012-05:00

One of my dear friends is Retired Lt. Colonel Michael Hooten. His responsibilities now are to make sure the commercial plane he is 1st officer takes passengers from one point to the next on a safe and unevent flight.

Mike and his wife, Sarah (my twin sister from a previous lifetime!), love to ride motorcycles. They have taken several trips from Jackson, MS, to the west coast of Florida, The Blue Ridge Parkway and other spots in the United States.

In 2007, Mike mentioned to me there was a wonderful museum east of Birmingham, AL, tucked away in Leeds, AL, by the name of Barber's Museum. This museum was created by one of the Barber's Milk family in Alabama.

The main structure is five floors, which take you through generations of motorcycles, bicycles and race cars with the actual product in view. You get close enough to many of these pieces of equipment you could touch them, but are requested to leave along and view. There is a small fee to enter this incredible building, but worth the price to see this collection.

This isn't one of those you see it once and you don't ever want to go back again. No, the museum changes their collection, from time to time, so you'll see something different each trip.

There are thousands of vehicles in this collection. Some motorcycles are mounted on "trees" which display more of them in a smaller amount of space.

I mentioned there are several floors to walk thru the history of these vehicles. The only floor you aren't allowed to walk is the bottom floor which houses their mechanical and body shop activities. Yes, you can look down from the other floors and get a peek at the work process on floor one, but that's as close as you get unless you have special priviledges with the museum.
One additional aspect to this museum is behind the main structure. That is the concrete race track. During my trip to Barber's museum, there were seven silver Porsche two-door vehicles on the track during their "learning process" in handling a sports car similar to the one the drivers recently purchased. I don't know the cost for this track experience, but anticipate a large sum of money.

This track is also used for both car and motorcycle races throughout the year. There is a grand stand area to sit and enjoy the races. And you can walk around the outside of the track, at a safe distance, to take incredible shots in the turns and straightaways.

Sturgis, South Dakota enjoys being the birthplace of motorcycle events and race track activity. However, the wonderful, newer conditions found at Barber's Racetrack is growing in popularity and lapping the competition, so to speak!

In the fall of the year they have their annual racing event and have several vendors which sell different motorcycle items. Haven't made that weekend yet, but hope to in the near future.

If you are on Interstate 20 east of Birmingham, AL, and have some free time, Barber's Museum would be an excellent place to visit.

Tara and Jackson Cline Wedding

2010-07-10T11:58:00.006-05:00

Two of our dearest friends in Jackson, MS, are Tom and Joan Mize and their extended family. We have seen our children grow up for babies to college graduates, to getting married.

In 2006, Tom and Joan celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. They asked if we would travel Alaska with them on a cruise since we had been two prior times. We agreed, not knowing two years later they would move to Juneau, Alaska! I'm jealous!

On Saturday, July 3, 2010, their middle daughter, Tara, and husband-to-be, Jackson, married in Columbus, MS at the famous Hickory Sticks. This home was built in the 1820's and the first President of Mississippi Agriculture and Mechanical College (later changed to Mississippi State University) lived here.

A beautifully kept home located just north of downtown Columbus, MS. Sitting majestically at the top of a hill, on three plus acres of magnolia trees and various other trees. Being shaded and on a hill, the hot, summer day was cooler with a breeze.

Tom had two eventful days prior to the wedding he would just as soon forget. On Thursday before the wedding, one of the shutters on the front of the house fell, hitting him on the bridge of the nose. Nothing broken, just a great, red bruise.

Friday afternoon before the rehearsal and dinner, Tom had piled up a large amount of brush and tree limbs to burn. He covered the wood with gasoline and, like a good boyscout, made his fire trail. As he lit the trail, he remembered he had cleaned the paint off his legs mineral spirits. Yes, the flame flashed and Tom suffered 2nd degree burns on his right leg below the knee.

After the rehearsal dinner, Dianne and I drove Tom and Joan to the local emergency room of the hospital. The doctor cleaned out the wound, applied medicine, and finished the process with a bandage.

Pain medication had Tom sleepy and wobbly the day of the wedding. But he was prepared for the big event that afternoon.

Tom now cleans the wound twice a day with soap. His doctor in Juneau, Alaska, complimented Tom on how well he is taking this chore seriously. Hopefully, total healing will occur quickly.

Following the wedding and reception, Jackson and Tara flew on their honeymoon to Quebec, Canada.

Congratulations to both of you and enjoy Quebec and your life together as husband and wife!

50th Wedding Anniversary

2010-06-24T10:22:00.006-05:00

Following my work with the UMMC Donors Guild event, I was asked to photograph a couple's 50th wedding anniversary celebration. So, this past Saturday, I met the extended family at a local subdivision's clubhouse.

This is a delightful couple with three sons and two daughters. Add in the grandchildren and friends and it was a marvelous group of people.

While most of the digital images were taken inside, we did venture out into the heat and humidity to take advantage of the beautiful reservoir and and trees. Since it's June, there will be heat and humidity!

With all of the conversations taking place, it was obvious that everyone had a delightful time.

I have completed my work in processing all of the images, producing a DVD video clip with background music and special effects and placed the images on my web page. All that is left is for the family members to select their prints, determine print size and place their order.

Abilene, Texas Trip

2010-06-02T21:22:00.010-05:00

With our parents aging, it becomes even more critical to plan trips to Texas (Ft. Worth and Abilene) to visit with them and other family members.

Our trip took us from Jackson, MS, to Ft. Worth, Texas the first evening. The first mission of the trip was for our youngest daughter having her bi-annual visit with her doctor in the Dallas/Ft. Metroplex. This is two days of alergy testing to determine the correct shot mixture. After visiting with my parents and two sisters it was time to move on.

The middle of the week we left Ft. Worth for the drive to Abilene. Dianne and I attended Abilene Christian University and received our degrees there. Dianne's dad, step mother and sister's family live there.

Wednesday night we left the church building to find a wonderful rain storm and an incredible rainbow. Have camera, will shoot!

Thursday was visiting day on the ACU campus to see the most recent building - the Bob Hunter Welcome Center. Wonderful facility for recruiting students, Alumni Association and other offices.

This same day became very special for me - visiting with the Business Dept. Head when I was a student. Dr. Overton Faubus is now ninety-six years old and bed bound. But, his memory is as strong as a twenty year old! A wonderful time to visit and talk about the past and current experiences. Hopefully, there will be a return visit to Abilene that will include another conversation with Dr. Faubus.

Friday was travel day from Abilene back to Jackson, MS. As if the ten plus hour drive wasn't enough, Dianne and I had tickets with another couple to see the play "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" which is Neal Sedaka music with a story line. Fine acting and incredible music.

MCSB Final Band Concert 2009/10 Season

2010-06-02T16:17:00.014-05:00

Saturday night, May 22nd, was our last Mississippi Community Band Concert for the 2009/10 season. We had special plans for those who attended!

Since this concert fell between to military type holidays, it was decided to invite an active military person from each branch (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard) to participate in the concert.

We had Sgt. Major Dusty Reynolds (30 yrs. veteran) from the U. S. Army, Chief Petty Office Christopher Zeigler form the U. S. Navy, Sergeant Curtis Jones from the Marines, Col. Glenn Taylor from the U. S. Air Force, and BM1 Shawn Sappington from the U. S. Coast Guard. Each were in dress uniform with medals and ribbons.

Our band president purchased each branch's flag and the fun began at the beginning of the concert when Captain Curtis Jones presented the U. S. Flag for the playing of the National Anthem. It was so quiet with the 600+ people attending that you actually could have a pin drop!

Having all five branches with their flags in unusual to see at one time. Only at Presidential innaugurals and funerals do you typically see all five together. So this made the event even more special. And probably some people had no idea what the branch flags looked like in person.

The second to the last song had all five hymns for the branches. The five military men came to the front of the audience section with their flag. When they hymn was played they raised their flag and did a figure "8" with it. People in the audience who either served or currently serving in that branch or have a friend or family member were asked to stand at that time.

The final number was "Stars and Stripes Forever". All five men were now on stage in front of the band. When the last strain was played and the confetti cannons were fired, all five military men saluted the audience.

Our band director is retired U. S. Air Force and he now had his military uniform on and turned to salute the audience.

There were definitely tears in many people's eyes this night for this celebration of our military people.

Next year we're considering adding the MIA/POW flag to the concert!

Following the concert, the band celebrated its 6th birthday with a reception for all band members.

MSU vs Ole Miss Baseball

2010-05-06T19:16:00.006-05:00

Every state in the United States have what we call college in-house rivalries. Mississippi is no different. Ole Miss and Mississippi State are big time rivals in all sports. Typically, you don't look at the records when they play. As they say, "Anyone can win on any given day."

Trustmark Park is the home of the Mississippi Braves, AA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves network of players.

On Tuesday night, March 30th of this year, these two teams hit the diamond. Called "The Govenor's Cup", our Govenor threw out the first pitch. Nothing to write home about, but appropriate for the game.

Ole Miss at the time was ranked in the Top 20 of all Division I baseball teams in the country. MSU was still trying to find its identity with a very young club.

Ole Miss performed up to its current standing, and MSU couldn't keep from making errors. Final score---Ole Miss 5, MSU 1. Big emotional win for Ole Miss, and back to the drawing boards for MSU.

UMMC Transplant Guild

2010-05-06T13:30:00.021-05:00

I had the privilege to attend and take digital images of the first UMMC Transplant Guild "Day at the Derby" event, Saturday, May 1, 2010. The location for this event is the lovely and incredible Providence Hills Farm in northwest Hinds County.

The "Farm" is hundreds of acres purchased several years ago from a prominent Jackson family and converted into a lodge, stables, competition arena and man-made lake to ski.

Entertainment for this event was the Jackson AllStars. They are a small group of professional musicians who played music from the oldies, to jazz, to dixie land, to Lousiana Cajun music and everything in between!The women attending were asked to wear a Kentucky Derby type hat for the event. The men wore a tie that they hoped would win a prize as the best looking tie contest.

Two young ladies who received donated organs at

UMMC Hospital in Jackson, MS, were in attendance, recognized and spoke briefly to the gathering to express their appreciation to the hospital, donor and the difference it has made in their lives.

The horse owner who stables her stallion at Providence Hills Farms was gracious enough to allow me to take the attendees pictures with the horse. What a wonderful and unique setting for images!

Plans are in place to hold the second annual event May 7, 2011 and the organizers want me to take digital images!

NWR vs Brandon Girl's Fast Pitch Softball

2010-04-16T16:10:00.005-05:00

Several years ago dear friends of ours took on the responsibility of taking care of a newborn girl until their parents could straighten out their situation. That young baby is now graduating from high school this year and plans to enroll at the University of Mississippi in the Business Department. My how time can fly!

Lauren attended a local private school until her senior year and transferred to the local high school to finish. Her position on the fast pitch softball team is pitcher and she has been working with a pitching coach to improve her skills.

This final home game of the senior was appropriately called Senior Day to honor their four senior players. Once that was completed, the game began.

Lauren pitched three innings, but her team was behind by three runs. Another pitcher for the team and two more runs by the opponent.

While the outcome of the game wasn't what Lauren's wanted, we were proud to watch her play the game.

She probably won't play softball in college, but we'll get to visit with her when our travel plans take us to Oxford, MS.

Ole Miss vs USM Baseball 2010

2010-03-27T22:16:00.007-05:00

Ole Miss asked that I take digital images of two interstate baseball games--Ole Miss vs USM and Ole Miss vs MSU, both at Trustmark Park, home of the AA Atlanta Braves farm team.

Tuesday, March 23rd was the first game. While the weather was great, it would have been a better game to photograph if it had started earlier than 6:30pm. But, I'll take the good weather and run.

The first image is the Ole Miss baseball coach, Mike Bianco. He has created a very competitive SEC baseball program. It seems he is well respected by his players, the administration, alumni and the SEC.

The starting pitcher for Ole Miss had a rocky start. Two walks, one hit batsman and a balk led to four runs in the bottom of the first inning. But, the next five innings no runs scored on him.
Ole Miss bats started to the top of the first inning with two runs and finished the evening with an 11-6 win. Next up Mississippi State University.

Lake Harbour Dr. church of Christ Ground Breaking

2010-03-21T13:26:00.007-05:00

Dianne and I moved our membership to Lake Harbour Dr. church of Christ March 1, 2008. What our spiritual life needed, the leadership and membership has provided! At the time of our addition, the church was approximately 160 attendance on Sunday mornings. Now we have broken the 200 barrier on a regular basis!

Due to that growth and the future growth of this congregation the leadership determined a strong need to make changes to our facilities. More classroom space, larger sanctuary, larger greeting area, more parking, larger office space are the major areas.

With excellent pre-planning, involvement and prayer, the church made an outstanding monetary pledge to the needed areas of our facilities. Coupled with that pledge was an incredibly quick purchase of church bonds to gather the necessary funds for this committment.

Sunday, March 7, 2010, we had a wonderful lunch and ground breaking ceremonies, which included the Mayor of Ridgeland, our bond company and our contractor's construction manager.While it will be a few more weeks before the actual ground and building work begins, patience will be the key word as we combine classes and do without certain parts of our facilities over time. But, the end result will be worth the temporary incoveniences!

Church Wii Bowling Tournament

2010-03-18T15:41:00.009-05:00

Danny and Lynn Spain are very active in our local congregation. They are very much servant-type people, both in the church setting, community and business. One of the recent activities they developed was a Saturday night meal from Waffle House and a Wii bowling tournament.

If you aren't familiar with the different video gaming units, Wii is one of the more recent offerings. There were four "projectors" and screens to have four bowling lanes for the competition. Teams were created and the games began.

There was no doubt that everyone had a wonderful time from the time we ate, bowled and heard who the winning individuals and teams announced.

What a wonderful evening of food, fun and fellowship. Thanks Danny and Lynn--mission accomplished!

Canton Community Concert Series

2010-02-12T15:25:00.005-06:00

With my participation in the Mississippi Community Symphonic Band and the Mississippi Baptist Symphony Orchestra, my circle of fellow musicians has grown. Each member of those organizations are dedicated to producing the most professional concerts they can. It also exposes us to people in the state of Mississippi who enjoy well-played music covering a broad spectrum of music styles and composers.

Martha Morgan is the principal flute player for the community. She also participates with the MBSO and First Baptist Church orchestra in Jackson, MS.

Martha, her son, Starkey, Jr. and the pianist from Liberty Baptist were the musicians for the Canton Community Concert Series. Starkey is the professional cello player of this trio.

Together, they provided the community of Canton, MS, a wonderful concert of diverse music to enjoy.

Lincoln Co. 4-H Club

2010-02-12T15:03:00.004-06:00

This is the third year for me to photograph the Lincoln Co. 4-H Dinner and Auction. Such a thrill to see these young men and women involved with animals in such a loving and caring way. Each one of them are mature teenagers who have a passion for the care and upbringing of their animals. You can tell from the hours they dedicate to the animals in their feed, appearance and showmanship.

The parents are so supportive of their teenagers and their work with animals. So, this really a team effort.

While some of these teens may not continue their entire lives raising animals, the ground work for maturity, reponsibility and reward are being established.

Snow in Mississippi!

2010-02-12T14:02:00.010-06:00

The predictions came true! Middle Mississippi received over 3" of snow. Nothing like the east coast records the past two weeks, but a wonderful reminder we are in the season called winter.

A blanket of winter snow, for me at least, is like an aquarium, or a fire in the fireplace - soothing and relaxing.

As you would expect, tomorrow's high is to be in the upper 40's. So, all the 'white stuff' will melt quickly.

Due to my recovery from having the C-6 and C-7 discs removed, I was told by top management of our home that I could only go outside and stand on the porch area, as long as it wasn't wet. You might think this is cruel and unusual punishment, but if I were to fall down during this recovery process, I might earn an expensive pass back to the hospital and more surgery to correct that damage. Or worse, loss of the use of my left arm. So the porch thing isn't so bad after all.

Twins First Birthday

2010-02-11T14:51:00.000-06:00

Every grandparent looks forward to their grand children's first birthday and all of the hoopla involved in that grand occasion. Dianne and I are no different as grandparents!

This past weekend marked the first birthday of the twins, Sterling and Mary Presley. Joel and Jennifer were gracious enough to bring the twins to our house to make it a shorter drive for Kim, Joel's mom, to drive up from Natchez to enjoy the gift opening and birthday cupcake eating. We weren't disappointed in either event.Saturday, Jan. 16th was the birthday celebration with enough toys and clothes to cover up an size Christmas tree. One toy they both loved was a plastic, rolling object they could either ride or walk behind. Since they had a similar toy at their day care center, they quickly adapted to this new toy.

As you would expect, the cupcake eating was a treat to watch. Sterling, the boy that he is, took to stuffing as much of the desert into his mouth as possible. Mary Presley, being a girl, was slow and started with a finger of icing.

Sunday was the surprise event. Jennifer held Sterling's hands and then released him to take his first steps to Joel. It was so exciting that we were able to duplicate the event which I caught on my hd camcorder. While the taping time of this new discovery by Sterling is short, you'll find it attached to this blog along with a few seconds of gift opening and cupcake eating.

What a wonderful weekend to enjoy!

Twins First Christmas

2009-12-27T19:49:00.005-06:00

Since the twins were born Jan. 16, 2009, it has been a year full of first. Each one important to each of us in this wonderful world of being grand parents!

This month was celebrating their first Christmas. A trip from Cordova, TN, to Natchez, MS and then to Brandon, MS, for the holidays before returning back to Tennessee on Sunday.

Dianne did the reading of Twas The Night Before Christmas Texas Style as usual. The twins at times seemed to be listening, then at other times distracted by their new surroundings at our house.

From the looks of Joel and Jennifer's Jeep vehicle, it's a wonder they didn't have to leave the twins with us in order to pack everything in the way of gifts in and on top of their vehicle.

The twins learned from their parents the art of tearing thru wrapping paper to get to the "goodies" inside. Still grasping that process, but fully expect them to be experts this time next year.

What wonderful children's toys are made today for these little ones. Tables with different lights, moving parts, voices talking, etc. And of course, Mary Presley's first Christmas baby and Sterling's truck.

While the walking hasn't taken place for either twin, precautions were taken to reduce the potential of physical injury with furniture in the room and of course, covering the brick fireplace shelf.

All in all, a wonderful time to experience Christmas with the twins. Next big event - First Birthday Party in January!

Soldier Home for Christmas!

2009-12-23T07:34:00.007-06:00

Christmas comes around at the end of each year. Nothing new about that event. We meet at homes, businesses and eating establishments to continue our relationships with family, business associates and friends under the umbrella of the freedoms we enjoy as citizens of the United States of America. But, there are times in your life when you have the opportunity to experience something unique and touching.

In 2004, I purchased a new Nissan Altima from one of our local Nissan dealerships. Due to poor customer service, I moved my maintenance needs to another Nissan dealership. What did I find at this new dealership--customer service the way you expect and would want to treat others if the roles were reversed. Friendly, professional personnel who have a vested interest in taking care of your automobile needs. Because of that treatment, I don't have any need to take my automobile anywhere else in the Jackson metroplex.

A few days ago I noticed on my Facebook account that my Assistant Service Manager's son had been delayed out of Kuwait to return home for the Christmas holidays. Then yesterday morning I saw on my account he was to arrive in Jackson approximate 12:00 noon. So, I picked up my phone and called Kendall to see if that time was solid or just a good estimate. No, she replied, somewhere between 12:00 and 12:45pm he should arrive from Atlanta's airport. Since I didn't need to be at the GNC store until 3:00pm, I had a window of time to take some digital images of that arrival!

At the Jackson-Evers International Airport, I visited briefly with several employees of Southwest Airlines and Delta Airlines that I have known for years.

Once I had my camera equipment assembled, I turned around and Kendall was checking out the arrival times from Delta. To her surprise, Joshua was already waiting outside the terminal!

Let the fun and excitement begin! Family and friends pounced on poor Joshua outside. Tears of relief that he was safely home for a few days sunk into everyone's mind. The twenty-hour travel time from Kuwait was finally over.

Now it was time to unwind, visit with his personal family of Tammy and Lexi, parents, relatives and probably other friends from the past. All in the comfort of being home for the holidays.

While I didn't know Joshua, Tammy and Lexi until this moment in time, it was an experience in 2009 I won't soon forget.

And that's how every Christmas should be experienced--celebrating Christ, family, friends and food, in that order. Some kind of Christmas for Kendall's family, wouldn't you say?!

There are soldiers and support staff who continue at their outposts protecting our freedoms in the United States of America. Won't it be a grand celebration as each one of them come home to be with family and friends after completing their mission! AMEN

Linden Plantation

2009-12-10T11:35:00.003-06:00

Dear friends of ours has two daughters. The youngest, Whitney, is married to Cameron Dinkins and they have a son, Banks, and a daughter, Linden.

Cameron's family has owned Linden Plantation is Glen Allen, MS, for three generations. Cameron is A-1 hunter and fisherman! While he doesn't allow his Hunt Club hunt deer during the season, there is more than enough to hunt ducks, doves and fish on Lake Washington!

Cameron and Whitney are in the process of updating (just completed having the exterior brick re-grouted) the two-story home. It will take time, but the progress can already be seen and it is wonderful.

Four couples, including Dianne and me, travel to Linden Plantation on Friday, Dec. 4th to enjoy a few days of R & R plus playing bridge. The house had been decorated by Whitney and her mother Sharron for the Christmas holidays.

Cameron was busy the entire weekend with a group of duck hunters assisting them in bagging their limit.

One of the spectacular views on the grounds of Linden Plantation is the ginko tree in the front year. Considered to be the largest ginko tree in the state of Mississippi, the image of the yellow leaves of the tree falling to the ground is a wonderful experience. We were at Linden Plantation at the best time for this annual event. So, several images with this blog include the original image, a sepia image, a graphic pen image and a infrared image of the same ginko tree.

The final images on this blog are a picture of our group with the ginko in the background and the second image with the main entrance to the home.

What a wonderful time with special friends. We all look forward to a return visit.

2009-12-08T11:11:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year to celebrate live, family and blessings. This year that was especially true since our twin grandchildren celebrated this holiday with us for the first time in their lives.

As one would expect, the twins slept from Memphis to Jackson. So, our duty as grandparents was to get them wired for a later than normal time to go to bed! We were successful in that duty.

Thursday, my son-in-law, Joel, and I made our way to the Bass Pro Shop building. Joel came home with several new items, but my focus was look only, no buying. My new reduce the money going out policy.

After a grand late lunch by Dianne and the girls, several football games watched, and more playing with the grandchildren, Thursday ended.

Friday was more visiting and playing with the grandchildren and taking images of this family of our at one of our parks. The weather was tolerable with sunshine and moderate temperatures. We took images at several locations to give our daughter and son-in-law options. Well, some of those images are not only located with this blog, but on my facebook page and our daughter's blog page!

For once, I have an image with the two grandchildren and I'm not zoned out asleep!

LSU vs Ole Miss

2009-12-03T14:10:00.000-06:00

My last of three trips to the Ole Miss campus came on Friday, November 20th, to prepare for the LSU vs Ole Miss game on Saturday afternoon. For those of you unfamiliar with this rivalry it doesn't come any closer to an all-out war when these two schools meet on the gridiron!

I drove to the campus the night before the game to get a parking spot. This being the last home game for the year and against LSU, parking could easily become a problem on game day. So, I spent the night with one of our friend's son who is a residence director across the street from The Union and The Grove where all of the action takes place before game time.

A nice easy Saturday morning began with overcast skies, but moderate to cool temperatures. The featured event for me was the approval of the band director at Ole Miss approval for me to use his aluminum ladder in The Grove to snap the band before their short "concert" before moving to the stadium.

Using my fisheye lens made this task easier, but I did need to take three images to later photoshop into one image. That task completed it was now time to listen to the band and move to the stadium, pick up my sidelines pass at the Media Gate and collect my thoughts for the game.

While the weather wasn't as balmy and sunny as the prior week, it was a few degrees warmer than two weeks prior for the N. Arizona game.

I delivered the images to my cheerleader contact for her to have a print of the University of Tennessee image I took of them. And, now it was show time for the two football teams.

To say this was a classic game in the SEC was truly an understatement. CBS was thrilled with the entire game and the utter ear shattering noise in the last three minutes of the game.

I was positioned behind the north endzone for the LSU touchdown that pulled them to within two points from tying the game. A successful onside kickoff for LSU and they began their final drive to win the game.

Unfortunately, the LSU coaching staff allowed seventeen precious seconds elapse off the clock before calling their last timeout. That proved to be a disaster because it now was first and goal at the Ole Miss six yard line. But, with only one second left in the game, LSU couldn't get a play off nor bring on their field goal team for what would have been the winning score.

So, Ole Miss fans were higher than a kite during those last three minutes and with the final score.

I moved toward the Ole Miss tunnel where the cheerleaders had store their gear in a room before the game. Unfortunately, someone broke into that room during the game and stole the cheerleader's drivers license, credit cards, cash and cell phones. Such a terrible event after a wonderful game.

So, the images I had given my contact there were now in the hands of the robbers. Those images can and were replaced. But, the items stolen from the cheerleaders could do great damage to their credit and lives. Hopefully, since that time those involved in this incident will have been apprehended, brought to justice and items returned to their owners.

Tennessee vs Ole Miss

2009-11-30T10:06:00.003-06:00

The second weekend of November found me back on the interstate traveling to the Ole Miss campus for the Tenneessee game. Since this game had a kickoff time of 11:21am, I had to drive to Oxford on Friday night.

Fortunately, one of our dear friends has twin sons attending Ole Miss and one of them is a Residence Director for Deaton Hall. He was traveling that weekend to the University of Kentucky, so I had his four-room suite all to myself!

As you would expect before a big SEC football game, the Ole Miss fans setting up their tailgating tents in The Grove spent their joyous, loud conversations late into the night. That and other unique sounds found only in dormitory living were heard!

Saturday couldn't have been a better scripted weather forecast. Total sunshine, highs in the upper 60's and a shootout between two rivals in the SEC.

The usual order of things at Ole Miss on game day is to line up "The Walk of Champions" thru The Grove. The Ole Miss coaches and team pull up in their wonderful chartered buses and unload at the entrance to The Grove. As usual, I was allowed on the street and not behind the barriers like the Ole Miss fans. Once the team began making their way thru The Grove to the delight of the fans, I followed the last player thru The Grove and on to the stadium. They went into the locker room and I went to the Media Entrance to the stadium to check in and receive my final sideline pass.

Before the game, I was able to visit with a sophmore cheerleader at Ole Miss. Her dad was an Abilene Christian University graduate and practices medicine in Dallas. Her grandparents are ACU grads, also, and live in Abilene. So, once again, it's a small world and you must be careful what you say!

Tennessee has a new head coach, Lane Kiffen, and the season was an less than required record for the season for Tennessee fans! While they provided an entertaining game, it was basically all Ole Miss, or should we say all Dexter McCluster!

Dexter McCluster, is listed in the program as 5'9", 170 lb. running back from Largo, FL. Standing close to him on the sidelines during warmups, I question both the height and weight. Probably a taller and heavier listing than his actual measurements.

Dexter is one-of-a-kind player you see rarely. He is extremely gifted at any position you ask him to play. Great receiver, great running back, great punt return man. Only one problem--he can't play every down on offense nor be the key person in the play.

Well, when the dust settled at the end of the game, Dexter had set a new school record for total rushing yards of 296 and all-purpose yards of just over 300. A one-man show to say the least.

His first touchdown was directly in front of me and I thought he might hand me the ball in the endzone! Since over 80% of the time I am in the right part of the endzone action, I have decided to alert the coaches as to what clothes I am wearing for the receives and runners to run toward. Oh, did I forget to mention my fee per touchdown?!

Ole Miss beat Tennessee worse than the previous week against lowly N. Arizona. You couldn't tell it from the Ole Miss fans. They were relieved that the Rebels had one and it wasn't that much of a challenge. Now Ole Miss became bowl eligible with this important win.

Ideal weather conditions for fans and photographers alike. A win for Ole Miss. And a three hour drive back to our house in Brandon, MS! A full day and weekend to say the least.

N. Arizona vs Ole Miss

2009-11-28T09:48:00.005-06:00

The first weekend of November found me traveling Interstate 55 North and Hwy 6 East to the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford, MS. A delightful town, with a beautiful campus of rolling hills, pine trees and pristine buildings on the campus.

Since this was a night game, I didn't make the trip until Saturday morning. Evening football image work is more challenging in relationship to the lighting at the stadium. Not my choice for when to shoot a game, but Ole Miss didn't ask for my suggestion of a noon kickoff!

Tickets for this game from Ole Miss season ticket holders were going for the incredible price of $.86 each of Stubhub! What a bargain to watch an SEC school play and lower division school that wouldn't count toward the six wins Ole Miss needed to be bowl eligible.

So, expectations were high that Ole Miss would have a basic scrimmage on their hands with no question as to the final outcome. The first quarter provided a different scenario than what Ole Miss has scripted or wanted. Ole Miss scores a touchdown and N. Arizona responds with a touchdown. Ole Miss drives for a second touchdown and N. Arizona responds in kind.

Halftime had Ole Miss leading by the thinest of margins. But, halftime adjustments by Ole Miss was the difference in the second half. N. Arizona didn't score after halftime.

So, Ole Miss fans went home with another win under their belt and N. Arizona traveled back to their campus with additional money in their athletic fund.

Florida vs L.S.U. College Football

2009-11-07T07:59:00.009-06:00

I had a problem on my hands. In the late spring and early summer is when you petition the universities for photo credentials. You don't know when you send in the request if you will actually be approved. So, during the process I requested the Alabama game at Ole Miss and the Florida at L.S.U. game for the same weekend, hoping one would be approved.

You guessed it, both were approved. The October 10th Alabama vs Ole Miss game was scheduled for 2:30pm being televised by ESPN. The Florida vs L.S.U. game was to start at 7:00pm with CBS handling the television coverage. At the time Alabama was #2 in the country, Florida #1 and L.S.U. #4.

I couldn't do both games even if I had a private plane to fly me to both stadiums. Since I hadn't been to an L.S.U. game, the choice was easy - drive to Baton Rouge. From Jackson, MS, to Baton Rouge, is a rather easy drive since it is all interstate driving. But, the fun began once I left the interstate in Baton Rouge to snake my way toward the campus.

Remember me saying earlier that the game kickoff was 7pm? I am exiting the interstate in Baton Rouge at 2pm, but don't find a parking spot for one hour. But, the location I found was within six blocks of the stadium.

My son-in-law had told me earlier this year that it was a must to be positioned to watch the players walk down the street to the stadium, watch the band travel the same path, then stop. When all was quiet, the brass section would start the "Hold That Tiger" theme song. The hair on your arm will stand on end.

I noticed on the street both groups would be using there was a parking "arm" where you had to have a pass to enter. Security was there and I asked if I could stand there to take images for the university. No problem for them. All others had to be behind the barriers next to the curb. I had a front row seat to the activity.

At the appropriate time, here comes the coaching staff and players for L.S.U. dressed in suit and tie, except for one offensive lineman wear a bow tie with his suit. Next enter the L.S.U. Tiger Band. Led by the directors, then the spirit squad, called The Golden Girls, majorettes, then the band. The percussion section was on either side of me at "the island" location. At this point I remembered I hadn't brought my earplugs. Where was that coke/water/peanut vendor? Surely he was also selling earplugs!

My son-in-law was right on target. The Tiger Band started "Hold That Tiger" and the hair on my arm and neck moved to attention. Great experience that everyone should enjoy at least one time.

With my photo credentials, I moved with the band the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Basketball arena) for the band's thirty minute concert for the movers and shakers at L.S.U. I was able to walk behind the scorers table to take images of the band on the basketball court.
Now where was that vendor with the earplugs for sale?

After the "concert", we all exited the assembly center and to the stadium area across the street. Once my camera bag had been searched, for whatever that shouldn't enter the stadium, it's a short walk to the field.

To say the crowd was "juiced" for this game, is a total understatement! A record crowd, ready to see two of the top four teams play college football SEC style.

L.S.U.'s team enters the playing field from the north end zone and the visitor's from the south end zone. Both teams came out for warm ups and there's Tim Tebow suited up and warming up with the Florida Gators.

Here's one event that CBS didn't get coverage. L.S.U.'s team is leaving the field after circling up arm-in-arm and doing their "chant". As they leave the field, they notice that the Florida team has positioned themselves at mid-field over "Mike the Tiger" mascot that is painted on the field.

L.S.U.'s players begin to rush the 50-yard line for a "meeting". Coaches and officials separate the players and determine both teams should next exit the field to their locker rooms.

L.S.U.'s team enters the field first to play the game. The band is playing whatever, and now fireworks are going off in the south end zone where I'm positioned. Now where is that coke/water vendor with the ear plugs again?

I had positioned myself where the Florida Gators would enter the field to see about Tim Tebow. (This was his first game since the concussion.) The second string quarterback came out leading the team with Tebow at the very back.

Florida won the toss and chose to receive the kickoff. In the huddle before the kickoff was the second string quarterback for Florida. Tebow is on the sidelines. Interesting, made you believe Tebow would not be playing tonight.

Following the kickoff, Tebow's in the huddle with the offense and ready to start the game. Probably a little cat and mouse with the L.S.U. coaches as to who would start at quarterback.

The game was close for most of the game, but when Tebow completed the only touchdown in the game, I was once again right where the action took place. The Gator receiver caught the pass on the five yard line approximately 10 feet from where I was positioned! He scores and I'm caught on CBS television. Our friends watching the game back in Jackson thought they saw me, backed up their tevo unit, and there I was! Of course, since we don't own a tevo unit, Dianne and the girls didn't catch me on the sidelines wearing a yellow shirt, blending with everyone else!

Following the game was the drive back home, getting in bed at 2am. But, I could now saw I have been on the sidelines of an L.S.U. game with #1 playing #4 in the country and experienced the history of L.S.U. style SEC football.

Day of Disembarkment

2009-10-28T20:04:00.001-05:00

Ah, that day finally came. Our time in Alaska has now come to a close and we are back in Seattle, Washington. Before our group left the ship, one final picture on the main stairs.

Every one was in a great mood and ready to head back to their homes.

And, thus, ends another wonderful experience and trip to the great state of Alaska!

Stay tuned. Dianne's sister mentioned recently that she would like to take a trip to----

you guessed it Alaska! Dianne's response--we'll go with you and your husband! That would be trip number five. I think I hear my luggage, camera case and camera equipment calling my name!

Ketchikan, Alaska

2009-10-25T19:38:00.002-05:00

Our last port was Ketchikan, a small town which is famous for its "Creek Street", former brothel during the gold rush era. Ketchikan is unique in Alaska since its airport is a ferry boat ride across the inlet of water!

Two unique events took place while in Ketchikan and both had to do with salmon. The salmon were running late in Alaska this year. But, we saw for the first time on this cruise salmon running in the stream near Creek Street. It's amazing to watch these beautiful fish "sit" stationery in the water. What an amazing abilitiy.

The second salmon happening was watching a young boy fishing for salmon next to the boat slips. He worked hard to snare the fish, and began the labor intensive task of reeling his catch to the slip area. As he moved the fish closer to the slip, his dad brought the net to capture the prey. You guessed it. As the father gathered the salmon in the net, he accidently cut the line and the salmon excaped for another day. The crowd watch was wanting the son the push the dad into the water for that mistake!

Back onboard the ms Zaandam, we were pleasantly surprised that Holland American Lines has been raising money for breast cancer research, called On Deck For The Cure. Since Dianne's mother died of cancer, she purchased her t-shirt and joined the others to walk five miles on the deck in honor of her mother. Such a wonderful cause and idea for cruise ship passengers.

This night was the last night all the passengers would be onboard. (Our following night we would be porting in Victoria, B.C.). With that in mind, it was dress up night for the final dinner onboard.

The dinning area passengers were entertained by the wait staff with juggling act and singing. A wonderful night to end with the midnight buffet and the orchestra quartet playing.

Another night's rest, a full day of sailing at sea and porting in Victoria, B.C. early evening for approximately four hours.

Sitka, Alaska

2009-09-24T13:03:00.012-05:00

Tuesday, July 21st must mean we were in Sitka, Alaska. This is the year that Alaska celebrates their 50th year as a state in the United States. Before that purchase, Russia owned this beautiful land. Sitka was the capital of Alaska under Russian rule.

Downtown is the small, but beautiful Russian Orthodox Church, wonderful shops, a Russian Cemetery, a wonderful overlook to the harbour area called Castle Hill and on the outskirts of town the incredible Raptor Center to rehab injured eagles.

Our cloudy morning started off early with a photographic tour excursion This particular excursion isn't designed to teach you how to use your camera equipment. It is not especially designed for the first-time visitor to Sitka.

This excursion takes you out of the city to the north to explore areas around Sitka that you normally wouldn't see. We visited several forest areas, noting different trees, plants, eagles, and yes, bear droppings.

During one of the forest hiking trails, our guide told us about the skunk cabbage plant. Black bears don' hibernate the entire winter period. When they do wake up, they are in need of unblocking their intestinal track. Well, the skunk cabbage handles that need extremely well. In fact, the guide continued, the "event" usually works within fifteen to twenty feet from the plant.

It was at this point that we noticed one of the skunk cabbage plants had missing leaves. Up ahead about fifteen feet was the "deposit". One of our traveling members on the cruise works for the 4-H Club in Mississippi. An avid hunter, he told us that deposit happened within the past two hours.

The image I included at this point is Dianne's foot NEXT to the dropping! From the camera angle it looks like her shoe is in the dropping, but actually it is CLOSE to it to show the size. (Granted, Dianne's shoe size is 5 1/2, but still gives you some perspective.)

During our hike his wife made the comment that she thought she could smell the bear near the bridge area. That coincided with the guide telling us it was time to head back to he van to leave the area. Maybe what he was really telling us was he had spotted the bear and it would serve us best to leave.

Our arrival back in downtown Sitka brought us to the lunch hour. A bowl of clam chowder, and other food products. The group decided to trek up the steps to Castle Hill. After seeing the harbour area and the location of our ship, you could then look out over the downtown area.

Our next stop, shopping, shopping and more shopping. Well, at least we looked in the stores. I had been looking on the internet for several months to find a long-sleeved casual shirt that had an animal print. Found it in Sitka! Well, really my 4-H Club buddy found it, but that's what I had been searching high and low.

In one of the fur stores, Dianne asked me if I wanted to purchase this full length fur coat that was on sale. On sale, my eye. The price tag did say it was on sale, but the sale price was over $25,000. Hard to choose, spend the money on a fur coat or a new car. Since I wasn't in the car buyer mode, let's just pass on this decision totally!

We rode one of the tenders back to our ship in the harbour and relaxed before our daily evening food feast and entertainment in the theatre.

Another night to see what towel animal waited on our bed in the stateroom, another good night's sleep and preparation to experience Ketchikan!

Glacier Bay Cruising

2009-09-24T07:58:00.005-05:00

Monday, July 21st, was a peaceful day of cruising outside of Juneau in Glacier Bay. As you would expect, surrounded by icebergs and a glacier, the weather was the coolest since Dianne and I had be to Sawyer Glacier in Tracy Arm Fjord.

The weather was overcast, but didn't stop any of us onboard from taking numerous digital images and enjoying this beauty of nature.

If there was any disappointment at this glacier it was we didn't see any "calving" of the glacier wall. Calving is the term used when a piece or section of the glacier wall breaks off and falls into the icy waters.

On other cruises to the glaciers, we experienced different calving episodes. The process begin with a cracking sound similar to thunder. You draw your eyes toward that sound and within a few moments, you witness the calving event.

Some calving will be small slithers of frozen ice that has made it way to the front wall of the glacier. If you are fortunate, there can be large pieces of glacier ice that breaks off. On our previous cruise to Alaska, we witnessed a large, Christmas tree shaped size break off and fall into the waters. An incredible experience that looses much in writing about it versus seeing for yourself.

While the ship sat motionless in the icy waters, you had the option of drinking hot coffee, hot chocolate and even a bowl of pea soup! Now that's what I call roughing it!

We now begin our short cruise to the former capital of Alaska when Russia owned the country--Sitka.

As you would expect, we had time now to shop on the ship, relax on one of the decks, continue our eating process, relaxing in the room, taking a short nap, or all of the above!

College Football at Lubbock, Texas

2009-09-21T12:09:00.001-05:00

The college football season moved into it's second week and once again you could find me on the sidelines shooting digital images.

However, this weekend was different. Dianne and I left Jackson, Friday morning, Sept. 11th to travel to west Texas. This was my one game that wasn't in the SEC. Dinner found us in Ft. Worth to eat with my parents and youngest sister. Great time, just not long enough.

We ended the day in Abilene, Texas, after ten hours of drive time. Our "motel" for the weekend was with Dianne's sister, Kitty and her husband, Gene.

One of the discussion topics with the four of us was Kitty mentioning where she would like to take a future vacation trip. You guessed it--Alaska. Before, my mouth could open, Dianne said, "We'll go with you." Way to go Dianne. In two or three years, it could be trip number five to Alaska. Had I known we would make several trips to Alaska, I should have purchased a punch ticket and have it punched for each trip. Then after, say, five trips, you get a free trip!

Saturday, it was cloudy and high chance of rain. With Lubbock a good two and one-hours away, I could only hope the weather might be different. Following breakfast and additional visiting time, I left Abilene at 11:00 AM to journey to Lubbock, Texas, and the campus of Texas Tech University.

I experienced some rain during the drive. But, once in Lubbock, not a drop fell until I left the city limits at 11:00PM. (For those of you counting, I made it back to Abilene at 1:45AM Sunday morning.)

Texas Tech University has been know in the past as an excellent School of Architecture. Now add Law School to the list.

Since it had been several years since I had been on the campus and a game, it was important to brush up on the ground rules. The athletic dressing rooms are adjacent to the south end of the stadium. Both teams enter the playing field via tunnels. The visitors from the southwest tunnel and Texas Tech from the southeast tunnel. Since the Texas Tech team runs onto the field with an immediate left turn down the sidelines, standing a few feet from the tunnel would result in instant death.

So, I asked one of the staff members if it I could stand approximately twenty feet away in the end zone. Not good. You see, Texas Tech's mascot is The Red Raider. In this case, a female was saddled on a beautiful black stallion. She and the stallion used this area to make their initial run to the other end zone to raise the excitement in the stadium. That choice to take digital images would also mean instant death.

Third choice, was a few feet before the goal posts. Finally, an area where I didn't risk damage and embarrassment to my body. The team arrival and stallion racing events occurred in the proper order and exactly where the staff person predicted. You'd think they had done this a few times before.

Well, having captured both events on my camera, I thought all was well and safe. Not a chance! Behind me was the drum corp for the marching band. They began their cadence and I think I jumped right thru the goal posts! I had company jumping, the back judge official!

The stadium's press box side exterior was obviously designed by architects. Great aesthetic viewing before the gladiator's match. The astro-type surface is much easier on the feet and joints than a grass field. But, the lighting of the stadium was interesting to say the least. The press box side had a continuous band of lights. The visitors side had one light pole in the northeast corner and another one in the southeast corner. Nothing in the middle. Shooting toward the press box side lighting was acceptable. However, shooting toward the east, lighting was more difficult.

The quarterback for Texas Tech is a junior from Abilene, Texas. All-State in high school, Taylor Potts, also excelled in basketball and baseball. Taylor is an unusual and special athlete. He studies, goes to classes, makes high grades and the tutors for the football team don't know what to do with him. I say, LEAVE HIM ALONE. He obviously knows what he's doing. Taylor's major is Physical Therapy. So, you know there are brains in his head!

Taylor has a rifle for an arm. At 6' 5" tall and 218 pounds, people have observed him throwing eighty yard passes in practice. This particular night I witnessed him rolling to his right and throwing a forty yard bullet to his receiver. Incredible pass, thrown dead on to the receiver, receiver caught the ball and a new first down much further down the field. You can't draw that play on the board any better.

For the second straight week, Taylor threw for over four hundred yards. Yes, Texas Tech beat Rice University 55-10. The perfect season continues.

But wait. The next game is at the University of Texas, who is ranked #2 in the country and still smarting from a last second win by Texas Tech last year in Lubbock. That was UT's only loss and probably cost them the chance to play Florida for the National Championship.

After the game, while waiting to get with Taylor Potts, the Sports Information Director came up to me and introduced himself. I thanked him for the sidelines pass and he responded it was great to have me taking digital images for the university. I mentioned that I would love to shoot for him at the UT game the following week, but that was one of only two weekends I'm not shooting a game. His response, "I could make that sidelines pass appear for you!" What a dilemma! I graciously declined since I knew Dianne and I had plans for Friday night, would have been a long day flying to Austin, Texas, and I needed to have this break. But, next year UT travels to Lubbock and we're working on being there for that game on the sidelines.

While waiting for Taylor to appear outside the facilities, his mother told me Taylor doesn't like to have pictures taken of him. He would rather sign autographs for the youngsters. Sounds like he continues to have his head on his shoulders--thinking of others first. Off the field he blends into the background and is very quiet. But, once on the field, he is the general , directing traffic and has the respect of his coaches, team mates, parents, relatives, fans, including the youngsters.

It is wonderful to meet young people who have their heads on straight, know what they want to do with their lives, and serve others first. Congratulations Taylor Potts, you are impressive both on and off the field!

Juneau, Alaska July 19th

2009-09-20T15:08:00.005-05:00

Following our in-room breakfast routine and workout in the health club, we learned that we would be passing the entrance to Tracy Arm Fjord approximately 8:30am before arriving in Juneau at noon. Since Dianne and had taken that excursion two Fridays previous, iceberg entrance was very familiar.

A nice, semi-clear afternoon welcomed us in Juneau. Once we were allowed to debark the ship, our group of eight had some time to pre-shop before our whale excursion. Since the location of our excursion company was conveniently downtown, directions were easy to follow and meet at the appropriate time.

In 2006 was Dianne and my first experience with whale watching in Juneau. What we saw were several humpback whales backs and tails. A few people saw a whale breach, but I wasn't in that group.

Using a group our Juneau friends recommended from their 2008 experience was a totally different story. The phrase "being at the right place at the right time" was significant to remember.

Leaving Auke Bay, just north of Juneau, we maneuvered into the open water by our main guide and owner, Captain Larry. He had a knowledgeable naturalist that kept pouring information into our heads about the area, the animals and hopefully, what we might see on this excursion.

Here's the routine from Captain Larry. When he found a group of sea gulls circling overhead it was time to cut the engines and wait for the incredible event. The humpback whales do not have any teeth, so they swallow water and fish, straining the water out of their system. They can hold in the billow-type bottom portion of their mouths up to 15,000 gallons of water.

Now for the fun part to this scene. Once the whales locate the herring, the dive below the fish, and in a clock-wise direction begin blowing bubbles thru their blowhole. Since the herring are afraid of the bubbles, they continue moving toward the surface. Once the herring are close to the surface, the seagulls drop water level and grab a few of the herring.

Here's the point where you better have your field glasses or cameras on ready. The next event is difficult to describe, but I'll give it a shot. The circling whales break the surface with their mouths open to the maximum, gulping in water and fish. The process of surfacing and completing their eating routine lasts maybe three minutes.

The whales now look to locate another school of herring and repeat the process. We had the good fortune to be between two "pods" of bubble net fishing whales. When one pod finished, the other group were close to surfacing. We probably watched this hunt and fish routine for over forty-five minutes.

My job was to capture as much of the bubble net fishing as possible. My professional digital camera can record seven frames per minute. So, I began firing when the whales surfaced and stopped when it seemed to be finished. One couple standing nearby during one of these events asked how many images I was taking per feed. Their eyes got big when they heard the answer.

Morris told me once we returned to Auke Bay, "I was hoping to see some whale tales" during this excursion. I never thought for a moment that we would see something like this." You can safely say we were extremely impressed, satisfied with booking this excursion group and awed by the beauty of whale bubble net fishing.

Once on shore, we rode a school bus to Gold Creek for a buffet dinner of salmon, chicken, cooked on open grilles, various salads, vegetables, desert and drinks. Dianne and I had enjoyed this same group in 2006 and our band of eight wanted to book this excursion for this trip.

Gold Creek runs along the western edge of the eating area. So, it was off to see if we could spot salmon, and take husband/wife pictures in front of the small water fall.

Our Juneau friends met us here and six of our group and they sped off in a rental van. Our next stop a short ride from Gold Creek was Mendenhall Glacier. There was a light mist in the air, so the group decided not to walk to the waterfall area to be closer to the glacier itself. After some picture taking and looking around the immediate area, we boarded our van and journeyed to downtown Juneau.

Here is where we planned some serious shopping time and having a soft drink in the famous Red Dog Saloon. Riding the tram halfway up Mtn. Rogers was cut from our list due to fog conditions. If you went to the top of the tram, you would be looking down onto the fog, not downtown Juneau and Gastineau Channel. That money was saved for other shopping opportunities.

Since we had the salmon dinner experience, eating in the formal dining room on the ship wasn't required. And boarding the ship at 9:30pm, we missed the entertainment in the theatre based on a water theme.

Time, once we disembarked, was spent relaxing on deck and then to the room to be greeted by another towel animal, mark our in-room breakfast card, and preparations to sleep. Monday would be another day at sea and several activities on board the ship.

Dianne Celebrates a Birthday!

2009-09-20T14:25:00.002-05:00

Ah, birthdays. They have the tendency to come around every year. It's just a question as to whether we acknowledge or celebrate them.

Birthdays are like Christmas. The younger you are the slower they seem to come up on the calendar. The older you become, the quicker they arrive.

There is really only one area where I am ahead of Dianne. It isn't Bible knowledge, beauty, overall intelligence, common sense, low-key approach to potential disasters, exercise. Nope, not me in comparison to Dianne. The only area I can think of that I am ahead of Dianne is my birthday falls two and one-half months before hers! For those months, I can tell people I rocked the cradle when I married Dianne. The remaining nine and one-half months we share the same age.

I tend to be the one who purchases the different cards we need for weddings, funerals, birthdays, and other special events. (Not that Dianne doesn't like selecting cards.) The card purchasing for Dianne is a special treat, whether it's for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthday, or Christmas. Those are the times I enjoy pushing my way through the other shoppers to get that special card for my special lady. And, often, it's the first card that catches my eye that ends up being purchased. How does that work?

This year September 19th falls on a Saturday. Great time to have a birthday celebration. You aren't bothered with the normal work week routine. You can focus a longer period of time on the birthday, take her to dinner at one of your favorite establishments, talk about fun and interesting events that have happened in the past to the two of you. And then, the grand finale, present her with the special card you picked out just for her and this moment.

When Dianne either has a grand smile on her face, or moist eyes, I know the words from the card have relayed to her how much she means to me and my daily life.

Come to think of it, it's too bad birthdays only come around once each year!!

At Sea Sailing Toward Juneau

2009-09-15T18:40:00.000-05:00

Saturday the cruise schedule stated "At Sea". Our cruise began in Seattle, but we were now well on our way to Juneau, the northernmost post of our cruise. This leisure day at sea gave us the opportunity to check out the shops on board, continue our orientation of the ship and enjoy the peaceful journey.

Dianne and I on each of our past cruises opted to have our breakfast meal in the stateroom. No extra charge for this service and it made the day start off on the right foot. Once we had finished breakfast and dressed, we opted to make our way the eight deck to use the health club to get in weights and aerobic workouts. The treadmill area faced the front of the ship. With glass to protect you from weather and wind, it was a unique view to travel on the treadmill.

The weather had cleared since the early evening fog on Friday's deportation day. That was a blessing. While the coast was several miles away, it provided a comfortable, picturesque day to travel.

The newsletter on our bed Friday night noted several activities to consider for Saturday. Two caught our eye quickly. First, there was bridge playing available in the afternoon. Second, was the cooking classes. While Dianne and I love to play bridge, Dianne's choice was the cooking classes.

I traveled up two floors from our stateroom and visited the bridge room. Only problem, there was only one seat not occupied at the last table. And one of the ladies' son was to show up soon. So, my bridge playing consisted of one hand of bridge. But, I'm happy to report our opponents didn't make the score they intended. Not with my skillful defensive play.

Now to the cooking classes. I had noticed before our cruise on HAL's website, you could take a panoramic view of several areas of the ship. One of those areas was the cooking room. And what a room it was. It doubled as a movie theatre at night. While I didn't count the seats, the capacity was probably fifty to seventy-five.

Wine and Cooking Magazine outfitted the "kitchen" area that was kept out of sight during movie time with a curtain. But, when the curtain was raised, there was all you ever wanted to use in cooking wonderful dishes.

Dianne, Myrion, and Morris were in cooking heaven! What they didn't know before the class was they would be eating what they had cooked. That doesn't mean the food was a disaster. Just the opposite, the food was tremendous. However, eating that much food mid-afternoon provide new challenges at dinner time.

I had noticed on the itinerary there would be computer classes. This was a class that hadn't been offered on any of our previous cruises. So, my focus in the afternoon moved to sit in on a beginner's class on how to take your digital images and move them to your computer and the hard drive for saving.

Trisha was the facilitator for all of the computer classes. She was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay in education. An avid photographer, like myself, she contracted with HAL thru Microsoft to offer these classes as a prototype activity. Since HAL caters to an older aged crowd, the thinking was some of these people would probably like to have these classes to become more comfortable with their computers at home. I believe it was receiving a very positive response when I walked into the beginner's class. A full room at the twenty something notebook computers and others sitting along the perimeter of the room.

While the class wasn't of particular interest to my skills level, it gave me some insight as to the teaching skills of Trisha. It became apparent very soon in that class that she is an excellent teacher and communicator. No question was silly or stupid, just not answered at that point.

Of course, the software that Trisha used was provided by Microsoft and available free of charge to PC owners. The software was very user friendly for these first time students and as the one hour class finished, you could tell the participants were more relaxed and comfortable with the process.

Since I use Adobe Photoshop CS2, an advance software with many more options, this class didn't have a particular interest on my part. What did interest me in these classes was two sessions on creating a blog page.

We had a full house for the first session to begin our orientation to the software and how to maneuver through the menus. Once again it was software from Microsoft which seemed more than what I would ever use.

The second session of the class ended up a one-on-one with Trisha. I don't know if the others in the first session decided it wasn't for them, or had enough information and didn't need the second session, or there were other activities that were more important to them. I didn't mind, since when I had a question, it could be answered quickly by Trisha.

While the information was well worth my time, I opted to use the same software our daughter uses for her blog page. My thinking was, if I hit a snag in producing or changing something on my blog, my daughter can probably rescue me.

When dinner time arrived, it was much easier remembering to travel two decks up and at the back of the ship, travel one set of stairs down to the main dining room level. The food selections once again were so tempting it was difficult to make the final selection.

The entertainment this night had a western music theme. All of us were thoroughly entertained by this small band of singers and dancers. During the "intermission" to give the singers/dancers a break, they had three cute audience participation segments. First, was the wife placing fake food on the plate position on a football helmet strapped on her husbands head. His job, walk quickly to the trashcan and dump the food inside. The second game was golfers using blow-up golf clubs to see who could hit the simulated golf ball farther into the audience. The final segment was husband and wives teaming together to make up a bed and create a towel animal. The results of all three games provided numerous opportunities to laugh and relief you weren't part of the stage entertainment.

Back to the room to see which towel animal was waiting for us and getting a good night's rest before our time in Juneau on Sunday

Alaska Cruise Begins!

2009-09-10T09:09:00.007-05:00

Friday, July 17th, began the third part of our trip to Alaska and Victoria. The first part was spending five days with our dear friends in Juneau, Alaska. Part two was Sooke Island and Victoria for four days. Now comes the seven-days cruise with Holland America Lines.

Before we left Jackson for this long-awaited trip, I mentioned to Dianne, I don't know what may be more exciting, the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion outside of Juneau, whale watching in Juneau, the photographic excursion in Sitka or seeing our friends enjoying and absorbing the beauty of Alaska for their first time (this was our fourth cruise to Alaska). The answer really became all of the above.

The eight of us that had completed the three day visit of Sooke Island and Victoria finished our late morning breakfast, casually packed our bags and left the motel to arrive at our ship's location.

The remainder of this Friday was to orientate ourselves with the ship's different levels, where our room were located and visually find the main dining room and the cafe area.

Holland America Lines caters to an older group of guests. This isn't to say that only gray haired, wheel-chair bound guests were allowed. We saw several teens and children on the ship. Holland America Lines has been in business for over one hundred years. You better have your act together or you wouldn't last this long in this highly competitive cruise business!

Holland America Lines, or HAL, is noted for having mid-sized ships. This reduces the crew-to-passenger ratio, which translates into better and quicker service. Our particular ship's name was the ms Zaandam. Each of HAL's ships names end with "dam", due to their Dutch ownership. Yes, jokes abound about "those" ships.

Watching the ship leave port was something to witness. Not only do these large water-bound motels have engines at the rear, or aft, they have jets on the port (left side) and starboard (right side) of the ship. All of these engines were placed into motion to slowly maneuver us away from the dock area.

As we made our departure in a northwesterly direction, you realized downtown Seattle was behind you and Mt. Ranier off the port side of the ship. Great photo opportunities to begin our Alaskan cruise.

Since we had secured early dining on the ship, we began the food feast approximately five-thirty in the evening. The food options and service were tremendous. But, looking out the port windows in the formal dining area, fog was settling along the coast line area.

Following dinner, there was one show in the theatre for all guests. The four singers and dancers performed a show with a general theme. One female singer, from the UK, became obvious to all of us that she was the strongest singer of the group. One black female dancer was the strongest dancer of the group.

Following the show, it was time to finish up any unpacking duties in the room, relaxing in a chair on one of the outside decks, and finally calling it a night. Saturday, we all anticipated to be a day of becoming more familiar with locations on the ship, experiencing being at sea, more food choices, entertainment and our first opportunity to shop on board the ms Zaandam!

Ole Miss at University of Memphis

2009-09-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

September has finally arrived and that can mean only one thing, college football! Sunday was my first game of the 2009-10 season. Dianne, Emily and I traveled to Memphis on Saturday to be with our oldest daughter, Jennifer, her husband, Joel, and our twin grandchildren, Sterling and Mary Presley. The best of all world's, spoiling the grandchildren, visiting their parents and taking sideline pictures of an NCAA football game.
The University of Memphis plays its home games at the Liberty Bowl, which sponsors a post-season bowl game. The forecast earlier in the week was high of 79 degrees, with a 30% chance of rain. Wrong again weather man on The Weather Channel! The temperature outside the stadium was hovering around 88 degrees. Once inside the concrete laden stadium it cruised on up into the 90's.

Before the game I visited with the referee and head linesman to review their number one task for this game--provide a continuous cloud cover over the sun to reduce the temperature!

Pre-game included taking digital images of the Rebellettes, the spirit squad for Ole Miss and their cheerleader group. Such a tough job, but someone has to do it.

When the referee signaled for the game to began, it was all professional business for me. My mission, looking for those special moments to capture an image none of the other photographers on the sidelines noticed. It is difficult to accomplish when you consider there are over thirty photographers with the same mission.
Typically, this type of photography requires three things, being in the right place at the right time, using professional equipment and taking the image.

As you can see from a few select images with this blog, I had some success. One case was the Memphis runner being upended, landing head-first on the artificial turf. My photographic timing caught him before landing with his legs at a ninety degree angle forming an "L" with his body!

With less than six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss was driving toward another touchdown. When there was a timeout on the field, the head linesman came toward the sidelines for a water break. Seeing me near the water person, he came over and said, "I think I did ok on the cloud cover for the second half." He was right. After halftime the clouds moved in from the west, the temperature dropped a few precious degrees and before the game ended rain fell.

Once again, I didn't suffer any injuries from the action. But, when I arrived at our daughter's home, I noticed a stone bruise type symptom under my right heal. When did it happen, I couldn't tell you. Just a part of life, I guess.

Sunday's game featured Jevan Snead, quarterback for Ole Miss, former high school quarterback from Texas. He's the quarterback in the images with this blog. This week's Texas Tech game will feature another former Texas all-star quarterback that is a strong candidate this year and the next two years for the Heisman Trophy. His name is Taylor Potts from Abilene, Texas.

This Saturday, it's off to West Texas and Lubbock, Texas, to shoot digital images of the Rice vs. Texas Tech game. Yes, I anticipate the same 90-plus degree weather with no rain in sight before you touch the shores of the Pacific Ocean!

July 15, 2009 Victoria, B.C.

2009-09-06T07:12:00.002-05:00

Located off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, is a wonderful place called Victoria. We drove approximately forty-five minutes south of Sooke Island to experience this beautiful place.

The first location to visit is The Empress Hotel. Located at the intersection of the harbour and The Parliament Building, one quickly realizes this old, historic hotel could tell some great stories if it could talk.

Kept in pristine condition this hotel exemplifies the 1800's culture, but feels like home. Undoubtedly expensive per night's lodging, but worth the cost if it weren't for the length of time we were on this trip.

The food is what you would expect in a multi-cultural city. One lunch meal was seafood at the harbour with an evening meal of Italian cuisine.

One excursion we decided to take at the last minute was a city tour of Victoria. The bus driver was extremely knowledgeable about the history and buildings, both commercial

and residential. There were several stops where you could exit the bus, visit the immediate area and then board a later bus to continue the "circle" of the city.

One such stop was at Craigdarroch Castle. Completed in 1890, the fortune amassed by coal baron Robert Dunsmuir is reflected int he Castle's four floors of exquisite stained glass, intricate woodwork and lavish Victorian-era furnishings. The original estate extended over 28 acres overlooking the city. Following our self-guided tour within the castle itself, it was time to re board our tour bus to return to The Empress Hotel, our starting point.

Following our dinner meal, the sun was setting in its usual western direction on the horizon. A beautiful ending to a beautiful, clear sky and moderate temperatures. The adjacent picture at the harbour portrays that relaxed atmosphere.

The evening in Victoria concluded with watching the Christmas type lights that outlined the Parliament Building being turned on. Victoria is a part of British Columbia in Canada and is the "county seat" of this area.

It was now time to travel back to Sooke Island and our last night at Ocean Wilderness B & B.

Forty Years and Counting!

2009-09-05T16:54:00.006-05:00

I remember many years ago attending one of my mom's high school reunions at Northside High School in Ft. Worth, Texas. As a young teen, most of these people looked old! Or maybe it was ancient! Oh, no. I'm in that age bracket now.

Saturday night, August 22nd, the Class of 1969 at Castleberry High School in Ft. Worth, Texas, held our fortieth graduation reunion. Could it be that those years have passed entirely too fast.

During our school years there, we witnessed seeing President John F. Kennedy, his wife and the Governor of Texas thirty minutes before the assassination of our president. Our high school choir was in Los Angeles on our way to Hawaii for tour when Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. We watched intently on black and white televisions man landing and walking on the moon. These and other events were witnessed throughout the world.

Here is some background information about our high school. Castleberry High School is located in Ft. Worth, TX. C.H.S. is an independent school in the bedroom community of River Oaks, TX. During the years we attended that high school, it was known throughout the city, state, country and many places around the world for its high quality choir and band programs.

The band was the first Texas representatives to the Rose Bowl in 1965. The choir was the Texas representatives to the World's fair in Montreal. Choir tours included Hawaii, Mexico, Israel and Europe. Our senior year our choir had the privilege of meeting Maria Von Trapp, on whom the movie "The Sound of Music" was based. And the list goes on. You might say we were the toast of Ft. Worth, Texas and the United States!

Several of my class attended elementary school thru high school together. That is more difficult in today's world due to job relocation and job changes.

On this particular Saturday, our class, and a few others met at Angelo's BBQ north of downtown Ft. Worth. The food was great (what true Texan wouldn't like BBQ), visiting with some of our former teachers, and of course, visiting with our classmates.

Our class regrouped outside to take our historical 40th Reunion Picture.

While the hair may have turned gray, or left the building entirely, or we added some unwanted pounds in areas we wouldn't have chosen, or we may have slightly forgotten a name or two, or an event long, long ago, the time together was much too short for any of us gathered.

There is word going around that we might gather more often that every five years. I don't know if that is due to wanting to increase our visiting time, getting more of our class members to consider coming, or at our age, we'd better get together more often! Doesn't make me any difference what the reason is to get together as a group--I'll make the trip from Jackson, MS, to Ft. Worth, TX, to be a part of that happening!

Grandchildren Meet Great Grandparents

2009-09-04T14:07:00.008-05:00

August 22nd and 23rd were special days in our family's history. Those were the days the great grandparents and some aunts and uncles meet the twin grandchildren.

Driving from Memphis, TN, and Jackson, MS, we converged at the new second home of Kitty (Dianne's sister) and Gene Wasemiller at Lake Granbury, TX. Sitting adjacent to the tenth hole of one of two golf courses, the location was outstanding. A family-friendly home was our base for two days and three nights.

Kitty and Gene brought Robert and Ruth from Abilene, TX, for the grand introductions of Sterling and Mary Presley. Stuart (Dianne's brother) and family made it to the house later Saturday afternoon from Grapevine, TX. The grand children didn't disappoint anyone.

Kitty and Gene's house is in a gated community called Pecan Plantation. For obvious reasons you gaze at hundreds of planned, planted pecan trees in great rows. The surprise of the trip was the number of deer that frolic in the area. Since there isn't any hunting allowed in the community, the deer are not afraid of humans, nor the strange sized steel vehicles they drive! You'll see groups or individual deer any time of day to early evening.

Sunday following lunch we visited in Ft. Worth with my side of the family. Once again, Sterling and Mary Presley made great impressions in meeting other family members. That evening Dianne and I ate in the downtown area of Lake Granbury and enjoyed the country drive back to the house.

Monday was traveling day back to Memphis and Jackson. I had several images of Ft. Worth I needed to include with the high school class reunion images (more on that subject in a future blog).

As Dianne and drew close to Jackson, MS, she remarked, "I miss seeing the deer." I don't know how I can correct that situation!

Two words come to mind about this trip---Mission Accomplished!

July 14, 2009 Butchart Gardens

2009-08-29T07:36:00.013-05:00

Tuesday, our adventure began at the Ocean Wilderness B & B on Sooke Island. Following a wonderful breakfast, our group of eight boarded the SUV and traveled to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C.

Of the three previous cruises to Alaska, Dianne and I hadn't included Butchart Gardens on the itinerary. After seeing digital images of the incredible site, that wasn't to be the case this trip!

Here's some history about Butchart Gardens. Robert Pim Butchart and wife, Jennie, moved to the current location of Butchart Gardens in order to mine the area for limestone type product to produce Portland Cement.
Once the mining operation completed in 1908, Jennie, envisioned a wonderful garden area to replace the remains of the area. Her task began with moving soil that would be acceptable to flowers, trees, and wildlife. Thus, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden. As the years progressed, more was added to this beautiful, breath-taking site.

Our group spent well over six hours observing and taking in this wonderful vision Jennie had in her mind and produced. Dinner, in fact, was reservations at the home where the Butchart's lived.

As twilight began somewhere around 8:30pm local time, lights on the grounds began to signal evening was close behind. Even at this point in the evening, the gardens not only remained beautiful, but provided you additional photographic opportunities.
Leaving Butchart Gardens, we made the journey back to Ocean Wilderness B & B for another wanted night's rest.

Monday, July 13, 2009

2009-08-20T07:59:00.007-05:00

Sunday, July 12th, was a travel and rest day. Following church and lunch in Juneau, it was time to say goodbye, for the moment, to our dear friends in Juneau. We then flew from Juneau to Seattle, picked up the eight passenger SUV and arrived at our motel for the night and to meet our three other couples for the next segment of our trip.

Monday, was an early wake-up call to travel to Anacortes, north of Seattle to board the ferry to Victoria Island. Vehicles and passengers boarded and we we
re off to the island! Once at Victoria, we traveled to the downtown area and parked in The Empress Hotel parking garage. A wonderful, old, but well maintained hotel. Lunch was adjacent to the harbour area, and yes seafood was the order of the day!

After some walking time to stretch the legs and see the outside of the Parliament Building and some quick looking in some of the shops, we traveled to our Ocean Wilderness Bed and Breakfast location on Sooke Island.

A delightful place to spend Monday and Tuesday nights. From the B & B there was a 15-story walk down to the beach area. Bill and Morris were the initial travelers down and back up the steps to

the beach. Dianne and I made the trek down to view the surrounding area.

While Dianne was sitting comfortably in a chair, I was observing and taking digital images of the beach area when it happened. I noticed something to our left moving out of the forest. Yes, a black bear. I'm guessing it was moderate in size, but didn't get close enough to take measurements!

The bear was approximately twenty-five yards from our position. He would look at us and continue his search for whatever he was searching for at the time. Both Dianne and I remained still and quiet. Yes, I was quiet.

After taking several digital images, I quietly said to Dianne, "I think it's time for the two of US to leave the building". Dianne agreed and we began our upward ascend to the B & B. I told Dianne on the way up, if I see the bear behind me coming our way, I will pass you, including my camera equipment!

Once back at the B & B I asked Bill and Morris if they had seen the bear. They didn't believe we had seen a black bear until I produced the digital images on my camera's viewfinder. The remainder of the afternoon was R & R at the B & B until dinner.

Bill and Myrion had visited Sooke Island several years ago and knew the lay of the land. They had made reservations at Sooke Harbour Restaurant for the evening meal. Great, multi-course meal.

Following the meal, we traveled back to the B & B to end the day with a well deserved night's rest, ready to experience Butchart Gardens in Victoria the next day.

Juneau, Saturday, July 11th

2009-08-03T22:18:00.012-05:00

Saturday in Juneau was a nice, easy-going kind of day. We had recovered from the eleven-hour excursion to Tracy Arm Fjord the previous day. But, we didn't want to over extend ourselves two days in a row.

We traveled from Douglas Island, across the harbour from downtown Juneau to Gold Creek. This creek is located on the northern edge of downtown Juneau. In fact, it would be the same creek that we eat salmon on Sunday afternoon, July 19th on the cruise.

After a relaxing lunch at Bullwinkle's, we traveled north of Juneau to Auke Bay. (We learned that the previous week Johnny Depp had spent three days on a yacht there.) It was now time for an incredible experience that you don't get during a cruise. Feeding the wild eagles.

On the rocks of the beach area of Auke Bay during low tide, the wild eagles realized there was food for them to secure. Well, in they came! Some passing by me within five to ten feet. In fact, one passed so close I could hear the "whoosh" of the wind thru their wings! An incredible experience and sound.

We were witnesses to two eagles "locked in" on the same piece of food and there was a mid-air collision approximately four feet off the ground and fifteen feet away from our small band of observers.

Some of the eagles were so comfortable with our presence that they "allowed" me the opportunity to capture their image only twenty to thirty feet away. What a sight!

Below, you'll see additional images of that event. As you look at all of the eagle images, notice that each eagle has a distinctive "look".

Sunday, July 12th, was a travel day to from Juneau to Seattle and an overnight stay before our travel to Sooke Island and Victoria, B.C.

Senior Saints Party, August 1, 2009

2009-08-02T07:37:00.016-05:00

Our local congregation has a group called "Senior Saints". Any member fifty and older qualify. Several times during the year, John and Betty Proctor, coordinators, plan an activity for these people. One trip included traveling to the Petrified Forest in Flora, MS. Last night's activity was a meal, funny emails and, of course, board games.

As we entered the multi-purpose room a group was already playing Chinese Checkers. I can't remember how long it has been since I have been that close to people playing this game!

We sang a familiar children's song with appropriate words for senior saints--

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me, this I know
Though my hair is white as snow.
Though my sight is growing dim
Still he bids me trust in Him.

Though my steps are oh so slow,
With my hand in His I'll go.
On through life, let come what may,
He'll be there to lead the way.

Though I am no longer young,
I have much which He's buegun.
Let me serve Christ with a smile,
Go with others the extra mile.

When the nights are dark and long,
In my heart He puts a song.
Telling me in words os clear,
"Have no fear, for I am near."

When my work on earth is done,
And life's victories have been won.
He will take me home above,
Then I'll understand his love.

I love Jesus, does He know?
Have I ever told Him so?
Jesus loves to hear me say
That I love Him every day.

Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so.

The tables were decorated with a "beach scene" complete with beach towels, flip-flops, beads, etc. Jimmy Buffett would have been proud of the arrangements!

John Proctor engaged the group in a game of Bible Trivia. While the group handled the questions well, there were a couple of times John Pigg and Danny Spain consulted with Danny's Bible application on his phone to verify the game's answer.

After dinner, the group broke into two smaller groups, one playing Balderdash and the other Apples to Apples. And the fun began. Laughter soon followed with the playing of the games. It could be that several people woke up Sunday morning with sore ribs from all of the laughing.

While the Ridgeland, MS, area received additional rainfall, thunder and lightning, every one of us focused on the group and great fellowship.

Thank you John and Betty for a wonderful Saturday night.

Emily's Graduation, July 31, 2009

2009-08-01T08:13:00.015-05:00

Friday was a special day in the Palmer household! Emily now has completed all requirements and earned her Associates Degree in Early Childhood Development from Hinds Community College.

Dianne, Amy and I were part of the guests in attendance to witness and celebrate graduation ceremonies on the campus of Hinds CC.

Emily not only completed the degree requirements, but had a 3.6+ GPA which placed her in the category of Magna Cum Laude territory. Congratulations, Emily, we're proud and you and your accomplishments.

Now, she'll change her major to Elementary Education, take core classes at Hinds from Aug. 2009 thru May 2010. Then, transfer to Delta State University for two years to earn her Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education.

Go Girl!!!!!!!!

Juneau, Friday, July 10, 2009

2009-07-31T09:08:00.005-05:00

This particular day of our seventeen day trip was one of great expectation for me personally. I had been looking on a website that described the Tracy Arm Fjord excursion out of Juneau. After several conversations with the owners of this excursion, I was convinced Tom, Joan, Dianne and I should think seriously about booking this one.

I talked to Joan about it thru emails and conversations and she noted that she had seen this excursion advertised on local tv and it looked like a trip-in-a-lifetime experience. That's all I needed to hear! The famous words from the tv series Hawaii Five-O--"Book It Denno!"

This excursion is impossible to take during the actual cruise since you leave at 7:45am and don't get back to Juneau until 6:30pm. The cruise ships just aren't in port long enough to include this excursion. So, since we had the time on Friday, off we went!

Here's a list of the animals we saw during the eleven hours--humpback whales, orcas, birds, eagles, seals, otters, black bear, sea lions and mountain goat. I've included with this blog an image of several of these animals.

There are two waterfalls that the ship's captain maneuvers, in a safe manner, next to the falls. The first falls is really a rapids that splits into three parts over a large bolder. Let's talk about this "I'll get you as close as I can safely" statement. As you would expect, I was at the front of the forty something passenger boat. Dianne, Tom and Joan were next to me.

As we moved in closer to the falls, I had my camera up and composing images. As the mist began to hit my face, I looked up and we were within a couple of feet of the falls! Looking to my left for my wife and two dear friends, they had moved further away from me to avoid the water. Tom and I both turned our backs on the falls and one pants leg got wet up to the knee. Now that's what I call close.

We progressed to Sawyer Glacier. Smaller than the Glacier Bay and College Fjord areas, but just as spectacular and awesome. With a smaller boat than a cruise ship, we were able to move in much closer to the glacier. Cutting the engines, we were pulled in the water by the current from the glacier. Not any closer, but still movement.

It's difficult to describe, but the quietness was almost deafening! During the time there, we began to see sea lions popping out of the water onto the icebergs! Probably over forty before we left.

As we left this glacier area, we were greeted by a small vessel whose purpose was to deploy two or three Kodiak boats of scientist to capture, tag and release sea lions. With small monitors attached to these creatures, other scientists could monitor their migrating patterns.

Now we come to the second waterfall experience. This particular waterfall is the traditional starting at the top of the mountain and falling to the fjord below. The boat's captain once again maneuvered us to where we were sideways to the waterfall, approximately one foot away! This time I had my fish eye lens attached and began shooting images of the waterfall--from top to bottom. Dianne made the comment later that she wished she could have taken a picture of me taking the images of the waterfall. I was twelve inches or less from the water. Why didn't I lean over the railing and get a drink of cold water? The image on the right is that waterfall. Dianne's right, seeing this image doesn't give you the real story of how close I was to this waterfall.

Lumping all three previous excursions on Alaskan cruises doesn't equal the scope and shear beauty of Tracy Arm Fjord. It's worth an entire day and cost to experience.

Dinner for the four of us was back in downtown Juneau at Tarantino's. Tom and Joan's suggestion of the Chef's Special Pizza was incredible. It included salmon and other wonderful ingredients.

Now was the time to relax at Tom and Joan's home and prepare ourselves for Saturday's newest and unexpected experience!

Juneau, Thursday, July 9, 2009

2009-07-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

Joan still had work duties, but that didn't stop Dianne, Tom and me from taking in more of Juneau than what is possible during our limited port time during the actual cruise.

This day we began mid-morning exploring Sandy Beach which is across the harbour from downtown Juneau. As the tides move from high tide to low tide and back, interesting artifacts are left on the beach. This was a mining area until its collapse, so you'll see pieces of equipment that had been used in the mining process. Parts of dishes also washed on shore, but finding a complete dish is extremely unusual.

After a leisure walk in the area forest, we stopped and looked across the harbour at downtown Juneau and cruise ships that were docked. Peaceful and beautiful are just two words to describe the scene.

Another trip to Mendenhall Glacier to actual capture closer images of the glacier and the waterfall. The cool temperatures balanced out the walking to and from the glacier/waterfall area.

We met Joan for her lunch break at The Hanger. This eating establishment is appropriately named since the pontoon planes begin and end their day's journey just below the resturant.

Mt. Roberts which is on the eastern side of Juneau has a tramway to the halfway point of the mountain. At that point there is a female bald eagle in a protected exhibit, but can be photographed. You guessed it, you're looking at one of those images!

Following dinner a The Twisted Fish, located near the cruise ship docks, we traveled to both end of the main road. Total of forty-five miles to the dead ends. Tom and Joan had us at the northern dead end at sunset. Incredible site to behold. I've included an image of that scene.

Our day was now completed and an evening's rest before our day long excursion on Friday to Tracy Arm Fjord.

Alaska Trip - July 8, 2009

2009-07-29T21:16:00.000-05:00

Our Alaskan experience, our fourth trip to the great state in seventeen years, began early this morning with a 5:20am flight out of Jackson, MS, connecting thru Atlanta and Seattle to arrive in Juneau, Alaska at 2:10pm local time. Our friends who moved to Juneau following our summer of 2006 trip to Alaska was the reason to plan an additional five days in Juneau. Tom, Dianne and I made the typical first stop in Juneau--shopping for t-shirts from the local Harley-Davidson store! Once that task was completed, next priority--vanilla ice cream cone at McDonalds.

We then travel a few miles north of downtown Juneau and walked from the Visitor's Center to the waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier. The final leg of the hike was to walk on small rocks to the waterfall area. Dianne decided it was too dangerous for her, but I, instead, walked in the just-over-the-ankle water instead of the rock steps.

While I took digital images of the waterfall and Mendenhall Glacier from the sandbar area, I ventured into the cold water with tripod and camera equipment to get a closer more direct images of the waterfall. Mission accomplished.

Dianne and I both observed the receding of the glacier since our first trip to the area in 1993. (Oh, no, I can hear Al Gore in the background talking about Global Warming again.)

After taking images of the colorful variety of flowers, we called it a day, after almost twenty-three hours straight of travel and photographic opportunities.

Return From Alaska Cruise

2009-07-28T17:47:00.000-05:00

After seventeen days of traveling Victoria and Sooke Island, B.C. plus the ports of Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan and visiting dear friends in Juneau for five days, Dianne and I left the cool temperatures to return to Mississippi. Fully expecting to return to heat and humidity, we were pleasantly surprised with lower than normal temperatures and chances of rain every day this week! Wonderful news indeed.

I'll add digital images from our Alaskian trip as days go by for you to enjoy.