Thursday, April 08, 2010

Easy as 1,2,3. And, sometimes 4 & 5..

I read somewhere you should not blog or mention online any upcoming trips.

Criminal types will take note.

Come back and your stuff is gone.

Worse when it happens to you on the road.

Well almost.

My recent 8-day Amtrak vacation included a very comfortable ride up to Washington,DC. After a few days there, hopped on for a day in Baltimore and that evening continued to Philadelphia.

The Cherry Blossoms peaked right on time while I was there.

The Smithsonian had several areas open that were closed my last trip.

Saw Archie Bunker's chair and hat.

Went into the Smithsonian Castle too.



The best though was a narrated night tour of 6 monuments and memorials.

Gave my new "almost SLR" point-and-shoot camera a real workout.

The deal was the way I kept track of my valuables: 1. My camera on my belt, 2. My cell phone and 3. My wide-brimmed Tilley hat (with a $20 tucked inside.)

Adding my back pack one day meant adding another number.

But, before that, I left my hat in the cafe at the Newseum.

Remembered it 15 minutes later as I walked past real sections of the Berlin Wall and entered a theater. Reached up to take off my hat.

Went back to the dining area and the cashier said "Here's your hat," when I asked if it had been turned in.

Later that day used my camera at National Building Museum to capture the huge room that was a site for an Inaugural Ball last year. Used some photo manipulation to make it really special looking.

The back pack got left behind in Baltimore.

I realized it was gone when I was across town an hour before the train was to leave for Philly.

More on that later.

(As usual, please click on the photos for a larger image and more detail. The new camera is the Canon S90 with lots of manual controls.)

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

If there's A sign, somebody tried it.....

I feel I am a law abiding person.

My daughter is a sworn police officer but, even without that, I tend to do the right thing.

Seeing signs that forbid certain behavior or actions tells me someone must have tried it.

At the end of a tour of Buckingham Palace, I saw that someone MUST have flipped out a blanket and picnic basket on the Royal Lawn.


At Niagara Falls, I did not see anyone lugging around a barrel so maybe "going over the Falls" is no longer a popular fad.

The sign is a reminder NOT to even think about edging closer to the massive water surging past.

Perhaps lawyers suggested this sign as a head start in presenting a sad case in court.

Going in to see the inspiring Lincoln Memorial in Washington, I fought the urge to give that banister a ride.

Similar to the reaction we have when we see a "wet paint" sign.

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Friday, October 03, 2008

It's An Honor Just To Be Nominated....

Since I am the worst person in the world to know how to include a link in my blog, this is pretty gutsy.

Hope it works so you can see that I was tapped to be a "random" candidate for President of the United States. (If there is no obvious link, simply click on the red colored headline shown up above).

Me as POTUS himself.

As if the country isn't in enough trouble right now.

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