Thursday, March 31, 2011

A Homecoming

***

A knock on the door on a chilly night:

"It's me, your friend, do not take fright!

I've roamed the hills to find your street,

with nothing to drink and nothing to eat.

And here I stand under the moon,

in hopes that we'll go riding soon.

Now let me in from the dark of night!

Let's take some photos in the candle light..."





















Yes, I've gone mad. Don't judge, it can happen to you.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Lake Superior Wood Lily



My dad told me about these nice Wood Lilies that were blooming on the shoreline in front of their house... of course I had to check them out! I intentionally shot this "wide open" (aperture f5.6 at 400mm) with my Canon 100-400 lens to create a shallow depth of field and give the image a "dreamy” look.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Day Two~Coco Cay


I am not a morning person. Nathan is a morning person. When we vacation we tend to live on Nathan's schedule which makes him very happy and me somewhat cranky at times. This morning however, I am the one that begged to get up extra early. I am the one that set the alarm for 6 am. Because I am the one that did the research and read if you take the first tender over to Coco Cay you will not only not have to wait for the tender, you will have the island to yourself for a bit. It turns out that the recommendations were spot on!



Coco Cay is Royal Caribbean's private island. It was much bigger than we thought it would be.





There is no dock there so the ship is anchored and then you ride small boats over to the island.



When you first get onto the island it is a bit commercial looking. Shops and restaurants and places to pay money to do day activities. We were there so early that none of these were open to begin with.



There are tons of beach chairs and many hammocks to hang out in.



I figured out which hammock would be under shade for most of the day and grabbed it right away. I was thrilled that I got to spend most of my day there, reading books and drinking fruity drinks. I didn't even have to get out of the hammock to eat lunch. It was my idea of a great day! I even had a buddy that kept me company most of the day.



Nathan joined me after he did some snorkeling and we snuggled together while swinging in the hammock. We decided we need a hammock right away. Hammocks are wonderful.



Beyond that, we walked around the island and enjoyed the very warm water and soaked up the beauty of all that was there. The water was just incredible. So clear and such a pretty color.







As you can see, we had this section of the island to ourselves for the most part. This part of the island was Barefoot Beach and for some reason, most people just didn't walk that far to know it was there. Which was fine with us! The time on Coco Cay alone made the cruise worth every penny.









We spent the whole day here, taking the second to last tender back to the ship. That night we had more night time fun and more great food. We headed to bed fairly early so we would be ready for Nassau the next day. We had a wonderful day today too. We slept well with lots of dreams about island living.










Eating Seasonally


Does anyone remember eagerly anticipating the arrival of watermelons in the summer? It seems that they would not appear in the grocery store until around the 4th of July, just in time for Independence Day celebrations and picnics. Now, we can get any type of fruit or vegetable any time of year.

This isn't entirely bad- in fact it seems indulgent and wonderful- but different harvests signal changing seasons. It's kind of exciting when pumpkins show up at the market, signaling the onset of fall. And I love when the signs for pick-your-own strawberries and blueberries appear along Highway 17.

If you are a tomato sandwich lover like me, you dream of vine-ripe tomatoes- the only kind suitable for this divine meal. I'm not sure I'd crave them as much if I could eat them all year.

A friend of mine asked me to post what's "in season" once a month on this site. Here's a list of what at it's peak in the south in August

Sweet Corn

Plum
s
Peach
es
Tomato
es
Carrot
s
Green Onions
Peanuts
Leeks
Onions
Basil
Figs

Okra
Peppers

Summer Squash

Eggplant

Zucchini

Beans (snap, pole, variety)
Beets
Butter Beans
Cauliflower
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Salad Greens

I'm sure there's more....add to the list if I've missed something!

RTC(W) Company 70-14 Graduation



In the picture at left, that's me carrying the Stars and Stripes. At right is the company passing in review.
After graduation from Basic Training on January 23, 1970, I was sent to the Naval Air Station in Norfolk, Virginia. In April 1971, I attended photographer's Mate "A" School in Pensacola, Florida and after that training was completed I returned to NTC Bainbridge! The base closing was announced in 1971 and I attended the last WAVES formal graduation on May 12th 1972, which was for company 28-72 . I thought it was sad that, according to the scanned article below, there were four additional companies that completed their training at Bainbridge but they apparently did not have a formal graduation ceremony. I can't imagine going through Basic Training without having some kind of ceremony to mark its completion.
The 1,000 acre Navy Training Center was located on the bluffs and rolling hills above the town of Port Deposit, Maryland (situated on the banks of the Susquehanna River where it enters the northern reaches of the Chesapeake Bay). It was officially closed on March 31, 1976 after 34 years of service. Opened in 1942 as a recruit training center for men, it became the home of the Naval Academy Prep School as well as the center for other specialized Navy training schools including, in 1948, the Recruit Training Command (Women).

The photographs in the above article are credited to PH3 Becky Wise. . . but it really was me that took them, I was the only Navy photographer on base at that time.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

How Big?


This photo give a perspective on just how big Teakettle Rock is compared to a man and his dog. Actually Lee and Tuffee.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Buddy and Diane Visit Us at The Villages


We had a visit from some of our favorite people in the world: Buddy and Diane. They came during the week that Nathan and I went back down to Wauchula, but luckily they waited for us to get back for a night out with them and Rich and Donna.



We headed down to Wildwood to eat at a place that Rich and Donna had been to before, the Cotillion Southern Cafe.






We had dinner reservations at 4:30. We arrived early enough to peek at the menu that had sitting out front. It looked like a wonderful country cooking menu to me. Once we were inside I could see how unique this place really was. The decorations were so down home and relaxing, right down to our mis-matched dishes at our table. Most importantly was the food there. It was very good! We ordered a variety of dishes and we all agreed that our food was wonderful. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area.






We enjoyed our night of fun, food and most important of all: Friends!

Titanium for Transportation?

Test Riding Van Nicholas AmazonOver the weekend I am test riding a titanium bicycle from the Dutch manufacturer Van Nicholas that was enthusiastically recommended by a reader. I will be posting a review in the future, but for now I have some general thoughts on titanium bicycles as transportation.

Seven Cafe Racer Belt DriveI've been thinking about this more and more after test riding several Seventransportation bicycles over the past few months, including this belt drive cafe racer.While their idea of how a transportation bicycle should be set up is not quite the same as mine, I have to say the ride quality was divine. I could go over all the roots and bumps I wanted and feel nothing.



Seven Axiom SThis is the same sensation (or lack thereof) I had reported after many miles on the Sevenracing bike I had on loan over the summer: Riding it with 23mm tires over bumps and potholes, I would feel only an "echo" of going over them, as if it were happening to someone else.At the time I was careful not to attribute this sensation to titanium per se, because I had no experience with other titanium bicycles. But it did make me curious to go out and try some others. This wasn't easy, because titanium bicycles are not exactly common. Still, I managed to briefly ride an older Merlin with 28mm tires. While the ride was completely different from the titanium Sevens, I did experience the same "otherwordly" sensation over bumpy surfaces. Around the same time I also briefly tried a steel and a carbon fiber Seven, and they did not feel like the titanium Sevens.

Brompton P6L-XAnother encounter with titanium took place when I test rode a Brompton over the course of several days. I had heard that bicycles with small wheels tend to have a harsh ride quality, but the Brompton felt just fine. The Co-Habitant pointed out that this could be because the model I'd borrowed was fitted with a titanium fork and rear triangle. "Nonsense," I said, "It can't possibly make a big difference!" But when I returned the Brompton I made it a point to try the all-steel version immediately afterward. Darn, I could feel a difference. The model with the titanium fork and rear tringle had a softer ride quality over bumps. I say "darn," becauseI was biased toward not wanting to feel a difference: that was one factor that prevented me from actually buying a Brompton, as the titanium model is considerably more expensive.



Van Nicholas AmazonAnd now there is the Van Nicholas. This is a touring/commuter model that rides not unlike a titanium version of a Rivendell.At the same time, it has the "echo-like" quality I've noticed in the other titanium bicycles I've tried, and in combination with the 32mm Schwalbe Marathon Supremes I just do not feel the road. It's as if the bike rides on balloon tires, but without the heavy sensation these tires sometimes have.



Test Riding Van Nicholas AmazonHaving tried about half a dozen titanium or partially titanium bicycles at this point, I can say that I do feel a common aspect in their ride quality independent of manufacturer and geometry - namely the manner in which they dampen road vibration. This alone would make titanium a good candidate for a transportation bicycle, simply because it makes for a comfortable ride without the need for super-wide tires. In addition, titanium does not rust and does not require paint. The frame should be absolutely fine in the winter and in the rain with virtually no need for maintenance. Any scratches can simply be buffed off the surface. Combined with an internally geared hub, which would further reduce the need for maintenance, this type of bike could, in theory, be indestructible - lasting for decades with minimal maintenance. And of course the light weight of titanium does not hurt. The downside? Well-made titanium bikes tend to be painfully expensive - if only because they are typically handmade by small builders.



Brompton P6L-X, Ti ForkOne framebuilder in the Netherlands has been making titanium Oma-fietsen(!), which I find completely intriguing and would love to try some day. In the meantime, the only other woman-secific titanium frame I have seen is the ladies' version of the Van Nicholas Amazon, but I don't find the design appealing. I wonder whether there would be demand for elegant titanium loop frames in the US, where weight and hill climbing ability tend to be particularly important. While I am generally not attracted to welded frames, the ride quality and other features of titanium have drawn me into becoming increasingly interested in this material and its applications. What do you think? Does titanium appeal to you and would you consider it for a transportation bicycle if it were more readily available?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Competition












Although I’ve spent my whole adult life involved in sport, I still have big reservations about large parts of it. I’ve read a lot of work on the history and philosophy of sport, and to be perfectly honest, a good chunk of it makes for depressing reading. I wish more of it could be more like the way it’s supposed to be.




The fact that climbing on mountains and cliffs is hard to pin down, hard to reduce to numbers and results and competition was quite an important aspect of what drew me into it. It’s hard to say ‘I had a better adventure than you’. Even as a climbing coach, I’ve sometimes been uneasy seeing young climbers come up against some of these negatives. Sometimes I wonder if I should say ‘skip the comp this time’. Go and explore somewhere new with some friends and come back for the next comp. As well as providing the essential ability to see outside the bubble of the scene, the perspective might well make a better competitor in the long run.









Kev pointed to this picture on Facebook, of a Basque athlete helping a Kenyan who’d stopped running a few metres short of the finish line in a cross country event, thinking he’d already passed it. The Basque runner could have run right past and won the race. But he stopped to direct the Kenyan over the line, staying behind and keeping the place he would have got if the Kenyan hadn’t made a simple human error. The surprising thing for me was that the attention this story got was as a ‘rare’ piece of sportsmanship. Why shouldn’t it be the norm?




After getting my ankle surgery in November, I decided to enter a running race for the first time, and see how it went. I thought it would be good as a goal to help get me back on my feet and moving fast in the mountains again. I entered the West Highland Way Race for next June. Although I have done quite a lot of hill running at different times over the past year or two, like anyone getting involved in a new scene I was a bit nervous about how welcoming it would be to someone who is known as ‘a climber’. Yesterday a friend told me about this thread started about my entry, which was a bit of a downer. When I experienced this sort of thing as a teenager doing sport at school, I hated it, avoided it and eventually found it’s antidote in going climbing. This time round I don’t need to react like that. But if I am able to recover from my injury enough to do it, it will be weird to stand on the start line knowing I’m standing with others who feel I don’t deserve to be there. My slowly healing ankle joint is the only thing that would stop me earning a place. As I said on the thread, if anyone feels I really don’t deserve the chance as much as them, drop me a line and I’ll offer to withdraw and donate my place.

Dynafit Nanga Parbat









Nate was lucky enough to get a early pair of these guys. I'm still joneing. Nice ski by the numbers and after riding the Cho Oyu demos the last week.



http://wilsonalpine.blogspot.com//05/2014-dynafit-nanga-parbat-first-glance.html





Sunday, March 20, 2011

Ring Neck Dove


this ring neck dove and it's mate are setting up housekeeeping in the ponies shelter. Here it is sitting on the post at the corner of their pen. There is no sign of a nest yet but they have been courting and saying close to the shelter not even flying until i get just a few feet from them.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Wacky Weather!

We all thought La Nina was going to give us a cold and wet winter with lots of snow and great skiing. Well, there have been some good days of skiing at Paradise, of course, in the last month, but there's been a lot of wild weather.

We're currently on the tail end of a 7" rain storm at Paradise. It was raining at times, clear up to 9000 feet. Fortunately, no major flooding damaged any roads (so far). We're planning on opening the road to Paradise today, after keeping it closed yesterday, due to avalanches (both snow, rock, and mud), flood, and rockfall potential.

Ranger Drew Bryenton dug a pit last week. Look for more full profiles from Drew. We'll post them here as well as on the NWAC website. Here's the January 11th, full profile / before all this rain.

Currently, the rain has switched to snow. It's sticking to the old rain surface pretty well. The new snow density is about 40%... Not good skiing, but good for stability.
There are some scheduled climbs this week. I hope to hear back from them so stay tuned.
~ 2 hours later: Just got back in from digging around for avalanche stability along the road to Paradise:
Date/Time: 1/17/ ~ 10:00amElevation: 5250Slope: 49degAspect: 170degTWeather: SnowingTemp: 32FLat: 46.781244Long: -121.743672
Results:
SST (Shovel Shear) - STE @ 35cm Q3 (Weaker waterlogged snow just collapsed).CT (Compression Test) - CTE(5) @ 35cm Q3 (Weak snow collapsing)ECT (Extended Collumn Test) - ECTX (No propogation across collumn / shovel only plowing down)RB (Rutschblock Test) - RB3 @ 35cm Q3 MB (Weaker snow collapse / no shear surface).

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Restaurant


My cousin, John called this morning. He is buying a restaurant. This is just another part of the endless loop running through my family. When my father first got married, his father black balled him in the Greek community because my dad dared to marry a non Greek. Papou hoped he'd give up, but stubbornness also runs in our family. My dad got work at the Macomb Deli (where the Zebra Room is now) right across the street from where his parents lived. Every day, his mother would go over there trying to convince him to reconsider his marriage. She offered him trips to Greece and money. She proposed sending him back to G.W.U. Then, when all else failed, she cried. Nothing worked. My father didn't particularly like the restaurant biz, but that was what he knew. He was nineteen years old with a baby on the way. The jobs he had before were picking up balls at a driving range, selling The Saturday Evening Post, and being a busboy for his father's restaurant, Macomb Cafeteria.

Later, the golf ball experience may have helped my dad get work picking up hangers off the floor for the Hecht Company, but the $15 a week was not cutting it for him. Finally one of the black balling Greeks, Steve Demas, broke down and he became a helper on a laundry truck. Eventually he was promoted to Service Manager, and got to drive a Ford coupe with the words QUICK SERVICE LAUNDRY lettered in gold on the door. By then he was 21, and he had two kids. My Papou broke down and rented him a road house called the Hollywood Inn out in Camp Springs, Md. They could live there cheaply enough, but the catch was he had to run the restaurant. By day, he worked for Quick Service and put flyers on people's cars advertising chicken dinners at the Hollywood Inn. On the weekends, he fried the chickens.

During World War Two, Papou talked my dad into running Churchhill's Bar and Grill with my Aunt Catherine and Uncle Mimi who had just arrived from Greece. Churchill's was where Cactus Cantina is now. If you go there you can see the old glass door where my mother used to sit at the cash register It was open from 6 a.m. til 2 a.m., and they all lived upstairs. My dad had to work the night shift until Uncle Mimi learned how to mix a cocktail. At the end of the war, they were able to sell Churchill's and buy their own linen service- Modern Linen. Soon my brother and all three of my cousins were drafted to go work there. They hated it. Everybody hated it, except for my uncle and my father who thought it was a piece of cake compared to running Churchill's.

Many years later, after my uncle died and my father retired, Modern Linen was sold and my cousins and brother all chose different trades. One became a teacher. One went into pest control, and one has passed on. But now years and years later, my cousin has decided to buy a restaurant. I can't wait to go.

Wordless Wednesday - Hosta Leaves

Tri-Lakes, Indiana. July ...Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Tall Boots, Zippers, and Mixte Stays

If you ride a mixte with twin lateral stays and wear tall boots with zippers along the inseams, you may notice that the zippers can rub against the stays as you pedal, which, over time, can damage the paint. This was a big problem on my vintage mixte - whenever I would wear boots like these, the entire length of the zippers would rub. On theRoyal H. this is less of a problem -either the stays must be closer together, or my feet further apart on the pedals. The zippers themselves clear the stays and only thepull tabs hit them occasionally. Still, it won't do to have metal tabs repeatedly hit parts of the frame.



I am going to try covering the pull tabs with black electrical tape or something similar. If that doesn't work, then I guess I just can't wear these boots on the mixte. Unfortunate, because I don't own that many pairs of footwear. My previous pair of tall boots had zippers along the back, but after wearing them out I was not able to find a replacement with the same design. Just a little glitch to be aware of when it comes to mixtes and tall boots!

Ringling Museum of Art

Today we headed over to Sarasota. We stopped off at one of my favorite Florida museums, the Ringling Museum. We only had time to see the Art Museum, which we are always impressed by. If you have never visited this museum, I highly recommend it.

After our visit there, we ate at an overpriced restaurant that we are still talking about. On the way home we played 20 questions. I love that the guys are still able to be entertained by such simple fun things. I hope they never outgrow that. Living the life in Florida!