Florida vacation 2005
Here are some pictures from our recent trip to Florida. While there, we traveled through the state, starting out in Ft. Lauderdale, then to Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo for snorkelling, next to the Everglades National park (camping at Flamingo - our favorite spot!). From there we visited my Mom in Naples, then ended the trip with a couple of days in Orlando (OK, actually Kissimee), while we went to DisneyWorld.
OK, we flew in on a Saturday night. Got to our hotel and crashed. But it was nice to feel the warm wind - sorta magic! You leave when it is snowing, go into the tube shaped container, wait a couple of hours, step out and VOILA! Summer.
So here is G, soaking in the sun (or is it shadows?) at Ft. Lauderdale beach.
We found some kiteboarding going on - really cool, much better than the pictures show. Not only do these guys (that essentially are riding on things that look like floating snowboards) go fast in the water, they can steer the kites to pull them out of the water like 3 meters high! To the right, a flower. Gotta have pictures of flowers!
Another day, another place. The next day we went down to Pennekamp State Park on Key Largo. This is one of the only places in the US where there is a live coral reef. (It's mostly about the temperature of the water.) They take you about 8 km out to sea and the water gets really shallow (1 to 3 meters). There you put on your snorkel and explore. I just cannot describe how wonderful this is -- I will never tire of it!
Unfortunately, it is hard to take pictures, and we didn't even try. But they do have some really nice aquariums that have the same fish you see -- and here is a picture of one.
The picture on the right was at the end of the day where we arrived at destination 3 -- the Everglades National Park (or Refuge or whatever it is called!). If you skip the visitors' center, almost the first place you come to (Royal Palm / Anhinga trail) is also one of the best. Here is Masha standing by a cool tree there.
Boy, is it hard to pick only 30 some pictures from the 450 Masha took. Either way, on the left the three of us are at Anhinga trail, somewhere in the middle. To the right - well, it explains itself, especially if anyone is dumb enough to come any later in the season than mid-March!!
We camped for a couple of nights at Flamingo, which is as far south as you can get in Florida without going out on the keys. This is also the most southern point of the US (barring the Florida keys or Hawaii). One of the traditional things we always do when there is to take the "sunset cruise", which is a traditional sailboat that takes you out (by sailpower, there is almost always some wind) and you get to watch the sunset. So you get a pic of Masha and G, as well as one of the many sunset pictures M took.
Yes, Masha likes alligators! Not just fascinated with them (like everybody), but likes them! At one of the airboat places (yes, not all that good for the everglades, but I have to admit they are fun -- just bring earplugs!), they had some baby 'gators, and M held one. To the right are some standard teenage alligators in a ditch. They are everywhere - just everywhere!
Now on to Naples to visit my Mom. She is doing great, but we forgot to take pictures. Masha is doing great on the beach also! Should we be sending this to Sports Illustrated?
The next day it was raining all day -- this was the first day we had anything except perfect weather, with highs about 26 deg C, and lows about 19 deg C. But not on Friday. Friday it rained as we drove to Orlando to go to Disney. We arrived at a standard KOA there - rows and rows of campers - -a bit of a let down after the wonderful grass fields of ???????????. G almost refused to camp there, but it actually wasn't that noisy. So we camped. It had stopped raining, and the weather was going to be fair on Saturday.
So on Saturday, we went to Magic Kingdom. We have a couple of billion pictures to prove it, but here you get an assortment of 10. We start with the "classic" Main Street, with the famous castle in the background.
As soon as we get there and are settling down to ice cream for lunch, a skit starts, hence the left hand picture.
G and Nemo. To the right... Any guesses what these are? Think Fantasia. Think Dukas. A prize to the first person that guesses correctly.
Finally time to rest.... And reflect (I have this thing about lily pads, which is about the only thing I share in common with Monet!).
At night, they have what must be THE best fireworks display in the world. Not just fireworks, but computer controlled fireworks. And they have 365 chances a year to practice and perfect the show. And it was, it really was. This is the best single reason to go to Magic Kingdom. Everyone HAS to see this sometime in his life.
!
There is also a great parade, full of light. Feels sorta like Chinese New Year, not that I've ever seen a Chinese New Year. But you get the idea!
That was Magic Kingdom. When we went back (which was at about 10 pm), it was starting to rain. We had heard this weather forecast, and were not looking forward to it. So we took our raincoats into the tent. G went into the tent and was never heard of 'till morning. Masha and I went back out to check out a ride (called the Slingshot) we saw along the road driving towards the campsite. This is the ride shown here with the two rainbow lit columns. It works like this. The towers are about 100 feet (33 m) high. From each drops a cable which suspends a 2-person "pod" in the middle. There is a HUGE spring assembly that quickly tensions the cables, accelerating the pod straight up (with occupants). When it gets the the top of the tower, it has reached maximum speed, and then continues to just shy of 200 feet. Then it free falls, slows, misses the ground and bounces around for several more times.
Masha REALLY wanted to do this ride, and was willing to pay for the priviledge. As for me? Well, I wasn't going to be shown up by a girl :-) !!!! (And I wanted to anyways). So we did it - great fun. The scariest part is just before launch and for the first 3 seconds - very hard to describe the feeling - WOW, GADS and SHI_ come to mind...
After that, Masha wanted to look at the "big" ride - something called Skycoaster. I had heard of these rides before, but this was the tallest in the world - about twice the height of the other versions. It works like this. You see the twin white towers in the middle. They are 95 m tall (300 ft). From them is suspended two wires, which connect to a hook. You get in a harness (belly facing down), and are clipped to this. So ta-da - a 100 meter swing set! But that's just the start. 100 meters away is a third tower, also 100 m tall. From this comes a single cable. This is also attached to the harness, but this has a "quick release" fitting attached.
You start in the middle (face down, remember). Then the long cable from the third tower starts cranking you up, and up, and up - until you are at the top of the third tower, 100 m off the ground - the "swing" stretched totally horizontal! The loudspeaker then says "3 - 2 - 1 - FLY" (or is it "die"??). You pull a nylon strap and you are dropped. At first, you free-fall for about 40 meters before the cables start to pull you to the center. You then swing (200 meters in about 5 seconds or roughly 90 mph / 145 km per hour) up the other side, and then swing back and forth for about a minute.
OK, I didn't have the guts to ride this (although I regret it now), but Masha had no hesitation. Up she went by herself, looking very small on this huge ride. And she was the only "single" rider of the night -- everyone else was jumping in doubles or triples -- not quite as scary. As she was being winched up to the top, the announcer was talking about how she was from Russia and fearless! When when told to fly/die, she pulled the cord and the rest was history! (She is alive and well, in case anyone is wondering).
The next morning we awoke to rain. The tent was swimming in a pool of water, although luckily it did not leak and the inside was dry -- count our blessings. Oh yeah, and it is windy. Hmmm. Do we really want to go Epcot?
Of course. We went, although we don't have many pictures to show (remember, it was raining). Epcot is very different from Magic Kingdom. It is divided into two parts. The first (about half the park) was a set of large "exhibits" showcasing technology, space, earth, etc. The second part, which follows around a lake, is a set of individual "countries", where you can see exhibits, skits, presentations, and gift shops of the individual nations. And of course each also had a restaurant. We ate lunch in Mexico, and dinner in Morocco. It was good, although if I were only going to go to one place, Magic Kingdom would win out, I think.
The good news was that it stopped raining in mid-afternoon, and that we had a fun time. But it went downhill from there. When we got back to the campsite, our tent was still sitting in the same puddle, although it was still dry (again, count our blessings). But then we checked to ensure when our flight left the next morning. I had remembed this to be 10 am, and this is what I told G and Masha.
Well, I was wrong, and boy was I in trouble -- grumpy & exhausted fellow travelers. The flight left at 8 am. Hmm. So need to leave, totally packed, for the airport by 5:30 am. And we have not packed at all. And, although by many standards we pack somewhat "light", we had not only vacation supplies, but also complete tenting supplies -- tents, thermarests, sleeping bags, etc. In short, it takes us a solid 2 to 2 1/2 hours to pack things compactly enough that we can get it on the plane.
Luckily it has stopped raining. So, starting at 11 pm, we pack everything except the actual tenting equipment. It is windy, very windy. Masha sleeps in the car -- the quietest place around. G and I stay in the tent. The next morning we get up at 4:30 AM, and somehow finish and get to the airport in time to catch our flight.
Published: Wednesday, 2 March 2005
Toronto 2005 - Another weekend, another trip
One of the pleasures of having an exchange student is being motivated to go on trips (mini-vacations?), and not only see what you may have seen before, but also have everything be "fresh" when seen through other people's eyes. Such was our weekend trip to Toronto.
This does not mean that this was a simple trip. We do those on normal years. It is a lot more complicated when you need to obtain visas first. Originally we were just going with Masha. But then we offered to Masha that she could bring a friend. Enter Dasha, another exchange student from (guess...) Novgorod, Russia. So now we have 2 visas to get.
Collecting all of the paperwork, forms and signatures took quite a bit of time, but was straightforward. The trick is that you need to get to the consulate in Buffalo soon after they open, or you could have a long wait. Our goal was to be there between 8 and 8:15. Well, after finding we had to stop in Scottsville "on the way" to get some J-1 forms signed, our traditional 20 minute late departure, and our obligatory getting lost once, we arrived at 8:45. Well, no matter - everything went as planned, although with a long wait - we finally got the visas just before noon...
First stop - Niagara Falls!
Wonderful as always, and lots of water. And, since it was winter, lots of ice. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but on the left is the horseshoe falls (Canadian falls).
The two Russians in Canada, and a view of the American falls from the right.
Then, a stop for a (not very tasty) lunch, and a (very tasty) ice cream cone, it was off to Toronto. We only took one really bad turn (par for the course), and soon found ourselves in our hotel room. Here we didn't pinch pennies - we stayed at the Sheraton Eaton Center, in the heart of the downtown. Here are several views from the 26th floor.
That night, we went out and ate at an Indian restaurant. I wish I could remember the name, since it was the best Indian food we have ever had, and was pretty reasonably priced (for Toronto). Very yummy!
We returned to find a party in the room next to ours. Not just your average, several people hanging out and making some noise party - this was a convention. Don't ask me how this happened, but somehow we were about the only people on the 26th floor that were NOT part of a (and I am not kidding here) conference on psychosis! Now, I think what was really happening is that these people were talking about psychotic people, but wanted perhaps to become closer to the experience themselves. So they were drinking whiskey. How do I know this? Well, around midnight they started shouting really loud - WHISKEY! WHISKEY! WHISKEY!
Well, I don't know if this was making them psychotic, but it was sure working on us! G and Dasha just fell asleep. Masha and I (in our different ways) did not. We tried pounding on the walls, etc. We called the front desk - you name it, we did it. The only effect it had was to wake up G, who started, well, doing G things. She went next door and sort of yelled at them. She called the front desk and asked for a room change. Et cetera. Finally she got an agreement that the party would stop at 1 am sharp. And it did! So we cancelled the room change until morning (as they were planning to do the same thing the next night).
To make a long, fun story short, the next day I went down and talked to them. And I used my best negotiation technique - ask for something, and when you start getting concessions, just stare and don't talk (not easy for me, as some know!). In the end, we got $80 off the price of the room, relocation to the "executive floor" (40th), and a free breakfast the next morning.
Day 2 - first we did some shopping and wandering. G explored the bus system and went to some fabric shops and supported the Canadian economy with some wonderful (but expensive !!) wool fabric. In the late afternoon we visited (and went up) the CN Tower.
OK, the CN tower is the tallest building in the world (553 m)- the Russian tower in Moscow is second (540 m), and then there is everything else. You go up the the top and the view is rather amazing - over a half a kilometer in the air! One of the particularly cool features of this tower that that on the lower observation deck there is a glass floor. Very freaky feeling to walk here! The picture on the right (above) shows 4 pairs of feet (Masha, Dasha, Gwendolyn, Chuck) standing on the glass floor. Below that, you see the column that supports the tower and then the ground at the base of the tower, complete with a little snow.
Masha took all but one of these pictures. Even in the CN tower she found art. I love these!
Following the tower, we proceeded to our dinner, which was Chinese (Dasha had never eaten Chinese, and we decided to fix this immediately). After that we went to an incredible show - one that I can completely recommend. It was called Mama Mia!!, and features the music of Abba. I have no pictures, and words won't describe the experience (which was great).... And the music was good also!
On Sunday, Masha and Dasha started the day out swimming (heated outdoor pool) and in the sauna. G and I went ice skating. After that we packed the car and went to the zoo. I had forgotten how far "out" of Toronto the zoo was, but we finally got there. Yes, several additional hours would have helped, but we did get to see quite a few animals, and had lots of fun.
To end, we had giraffes. They were not stupid giraffes and hence were inside. But we finally found them. Here is a picture of the fence they were behind :-) Really though - if you look, you will find two adult giraffes and a pretty recently minted baby! I understand that the baby at this stage in live grows several centimeters a day! Cool.
Published: Monday, 14 March 2005
9 am - Brilliant morning
This morning I had that wonderful experience of waking up in to a warm room with sun streaming in the window. I lay there for a while and daydreamed, and then finally joined the day.
I went out into the hot tub on the back deck and listened to the sounds of the earth and world. The dripping of snow melting, the russle of squirrels, and the decending glissando of a cardinal.
This is the beginning of spring. Often we talk about destinations and getting there. If spring with green leaves is the destination, what is happening now is the way of getting there. And it is just as wonderful!
Published: Tuesday, 22 March 2005
10:36 pm - Obsession watch
First, in the so-non-obsessive arena, I collected together the tax information tonight. We have this woman prepare it for us (I used to do it all the time until my Mom transferred some funds to my name - I can't for the life of me figure out all of her investments - indeed I think that anyone preparing taxes must guess or throw dice!), but I never get around to even calling her to file them.
Luckily I have a friend at work that introduced me to this woman, and she prepares his taxes also. This friend (I will call him Al - his real name :-) ) is far more focused on being on time. So we have an arrangement - when she comes in to pick up his stuff, he reminds me, and she picks up mine also. So far the system has worked well for 3 years!
OK, ObsessionWatchtm - how are we doing?
Per Robert's rules of order, first we have old business:
Hot tub lid - still hanging in there, so presumed completed, at least for another year. Yes, it has gained weight, but probably only 5 kg additional so far.
CD ripping project - slow but sure. At this point the entire library (some 350 CDs) is ripped, barring some that I missed or were bought when I was mid project. I have to finish them, then I move on to pass 2, which is to correct misspellings in composer's names (how many ways can YOU transliterate Tchaikovsky?). Pass 3 (which will take awhile) is do review and revise the metadata to ensure I followed the rules I had set out. These changed a bit over time as I learned. Then do pass 4, which is to make a copy and convert to WMA 96k and I am done. I hope to get there by May.
Photoshop - somewhat inactive at the moment. I had some somewhat disappointing results at color matching prints against the monitor - but I have a friend with a monitor color calibrator gizzy that I will try sometime soon. Still though, making some pleasing prints. And I am really impressed by what Photoshop can do.
Chemistry - in a rather unfocused manner I am taking advantage of Masha's excellent AP Chemistry book to learn all of the stuff I never learned well. Although she occasionally benefits, it is not for Masha. She needs little help and knows much more Chemistry than I will ever know (and yes, I am impressed). But, it is fun learning this stuff as an adult when I don't have to.
Running - well, Spring is here. I can't run in Winter. So stay tuned... My first race will probably be the corporate challenge in May - perhaps one "warm up" race earlier to be run at 95% effort - more motivating than doing the same in training mode.
Oboe - this obsession is in remission, but not forgotten. I am waiting for the CD ripping project to end.
Birding - missing this one, but having lots of general fun going on vacations with G and Masha in a non-focused on birding way. All told a good trade.
Now we have new business:
Monitor research - the CRT monitor on "Masha's" computer still shows a usable image, but is effectively "dead". And I have no complaints - it is about 14 years old, and owes me nothing. So I need to replace it. I know I will replace it with a 19" LCD monitor. But what one? This was an easy decision before I learned Photoshop and color matching. Well, to make a long story short, I could buy a very fine monitor for about $X, or a very fine highly adjustable monitor for about $X + 170. Averaged over the life of the monitor the delta cost would amount to probably $17 per year - peanuts. But the up front cost is still $170 delta. And I could buy a "pretty good" monitor for as low as $450.
There is a whole new class of monitors that are starting to come out (LED backlit LCD monitors), but these are still in the $1800 range, and won't drop into my price range like, well, ever (maybe 3 or 4 years). So I can't really consider them - just dream about them. And from a photography standpoint, printers couldn't print the colors they would be capable of displaying anyways!
In summary, I already know the right thing to do, I just need to give myself permission to do it! This would normally not be a problem, but G's job situation is uncertain, so we have to consider finances and cash flow too.
Blog - at least a temporarily reactivated obsession. Let's see if we can keep at it!
Web pictures and Blog - this is an interesting one. As it happens, this blog site sorta sucks for displaying pictures. it is possible, but boy there are some things we could do better. And it doesn't give anyone the ability to pull down the high quality images, etc. So I am looking into the web site http://www.flickr.com/. This is a hot site recently acquired by Yahoo. It provides unlimited storage, allows people to leave comments, and provides a web source for pictures than can be incorporated into the blog (which is pretty good if you don't have to manage images in it). There are free versions and a "pro" pay version. We'll see.
Published: Wednesday, 23 March 2005
4 pm - yawn...
Really must get more sleep...
Published: Wednesday, 23 March 2005
11:46 PM - All planned CD ripping completed
Ok, the hard part is done. No more spraying each CD with windex and cleaning it, then putting it in the drive and entering all of the track names manually, etc. THE RIPPING part of the project is DONE. Over 350 CDs, each one taking an average of about 12 minutes each to process. Over 70 hours of work. No wonder I'm sick of this.
Now we have metadata cleanup left. Here I can be my own worst enemy. What I have to do depends on how fussy I am about consistancy and completeness. If I wanted, I could be done tomorrow!
I will celebrate by going to bed. - 'Night!
Published: Thursday, 24 March 2005
11:28 pm: Easter Eggs
Here is the report from the annual G Psanky party. This is something she and our good friend Nina put on each year, with minor support from myself. The two of them have been doing this party since the year before Max was born, and each year G and N's eggs just keeping better. And the eggs made by everyone else all look great. Some people are new, while some are "repeat customers".
I won't bore you with the process right now -- you can always look it up (http://www.ukrainiangiftshop.com/pages/art3.htm). In a nutshell it involves putting melted wax on the egg where you DON'T want a new color, then dipping the egg in a new color dye. Then repeat this for multiple additional colors. Finally, when you're all done, you remove the wax, varnish and blow out the insides.
So let's get to the pictures!
Here is the 2005 ensemble shot. Pretty stuff.
First, two of G's eggs. She just sits down and does them. They take about 2 hours each. The cross egg is a hybrid technique -- dye, Q-tips, then finishing with Sharpies instead of dipping in dye.
This is, in my humble opinion one of the best done eggs G has even produced. Congratulations, G!
Now for the newbies. Actually there were lots of people doing eggs at the party (about 20), but they all took theirs home before I could photograph them. On the left is Masha's very first egg. A complete beginner and look how it turned out - great! To the right is the egg I did. I wish I could say I was a beginner, but in reality I have done about 6 eggs over the years.
Now we move on to the eggs of a master -- Nina's eggs. These are in a class by themselves, and I just had to show you some. She is amazing. Enjoy!
I am told that this was a "sample" egg, not a serious egg. Well, I like it -- LOTS. Reminds me of a stained glass window at the Washington National Cathedral.
Sorry I didn't rotate the image. But this is a falcon egg (done several years ago) as a tribute to the Peregrine Falcons that nest downtown on the Kodak building.
Published: Thursday, 31 March 2005
