Thank you, Yoshiaki & Naoko

In Tokyo Bay, there's a man-made island with a replica of the Statue of Liberty on it. It also has several other American style monuments: two huge malls, and a gigantic ferris wheel and a television station housed in a architectually facinating building. Naoko took Michelle and I there in June of 2004. I captured this picture in the landscaping near the statue. Thanks, Naoko and Yoshiaki!
What I like about this picture is... well, there are several things that endear this picture to me. Besides the fact that I like being in Japan, I really like the colors in this image: hues of blues blend with pink purples on a dark green background. Next, I love how the focus on the far left stamen is perfect and the blur on the petals blends the colors. You have to click on the picture for it to be displayed full size. Take a guess at what kind of flower this blossom belongs to. Today this hydrangea is my favorite. OK, otro dia otro foto.

Las seis sirenas

The title of this image, "The six sirens" sounds better in Spanish. Unfortunately the name is wrong because the six stamen are the male part of the flower. Can you suggest another name?
This image was captured while walking from our house to the Blakes where they were holding an open house for Stuart's return from his mission. Thanks to Stuart for serving a mission. Picture him doused with blessings for his service. Those associated with him also got splashed a little. I consider this image as one of those tender little mercies that fell like sprinkles around E. Blake.

The things you come across on the Appalachian Trail

This Turks-cap lily was a real eye-catcher along the AT. It was blooming between the summit of Blood Mountain and Slaughter Gap. (These names come from a big battle between the Cherokee and the Creek Indians.) This is about 34°44'9.15"N and 83°57'1.10"W.
This picture was taken six years ago last week (10 Aug 2002). Historically it's important because it's one of the pictures that made me realize I liked doing this. The camera was the first digital camera we've owned: Nikon Coolpix 995. Up until then, all of our pictures were taken with a Yashica that my brother Clark bought while working as a missionary in Spain in 1976-1977 (before the days of digital).
This image is a favorite of at least 50% of my customers (i.e. Tamara M. liked this one).

Getting back on track

The original intent of this blog was to share a little of the history of the more popular flower pictures I've taken. 100% of my customers liked this one. (By "customer" I mean both the people who have made prints of my pictures.)
I owe this picture to my brother Conal and his wife, Monique. In 2003 they organized a memorable family reunion near Capitol Reef, a National Park in Utah. We all stayed at the 1000 Lakes Campground (which is a real ironic name for a place in the desert.) This flower was part of the landscaping at the campground. The coordinates for the campground are: 38°18'5.81"N, 111°26'41.46"W.

Milano - final day.

Our last day in Italy was filled to the brim. First we had to wrap up some shopping, so it was a great convenience to be right next to the mall. Then Arben and the boys picked us up and we drove to downtown Milano. Mimosa could not come. She was wrapping up a project at work.
We toured the Duomo, Milan's cathedral built in gothic style.

This church is very photogenic. I could spend hours there, but I'll just post a few of my favorites shots here.



More are available for your perusal at my Picasa site.
After touring the Duomo, we walked back to the car through the shopping district of Milano that caters to those who can afford $300 shoes and such. Fancy to the max; the absolute max. I didn't see anything I particularly liked, so we didn't spend much time there. The park was nicer.

We were tired from so much walking, so it was good to get back to the hotel. Darcy had enough energy to shop for another hour before Arben, Mimosa and the boys picked us up again for dinner.
Dinner was in Bergamo, a city about an hour East of Milano. The 'upper' city is on a hill surrounded by a tall stone wall. After a long search we found a parking spot and walked along the cobblestone streets to the restaurant. It was late, but the place is popular and it was still very busy. Nevertheless, we were able to get a table and then a delicious dinner. In this picture we are waiting on a park bench that overlooks the city, while Arben retrieves the car.

We got back to the hotel after midnight. Arben was up early the next morning and waiting for us at 7:00 a.m. to take us to the airport.
Darcy flew Lufthansa through Frankfurt to Atlanta. I flew standby on a direct Delta flight from Milan to Atlanta. Michelle and Matt were waiting at the top of the escalators when I got there. We had some snacks waiting for Darcy, then we all loaded up in the red car and Michelle drove us home.
The end.

Milano - day 1.

On the 6th, we took the train through Genova to Milan. We were met by our friend Arben and his boys. Here we are in front of the central station in Milan.

Arben and I met when I worked for Intergraph, in Alabama. He took us to a nice, modern hotel where he had rooms reserved for us. The hotel was next to a shopping mall that Darcy and I visited several times. I specially liked the anchor to the mall, Carrefour, which is a huge store with more variety than Walmart and higher quality than Target. After we got settled in the hotel, Arben came back with his wife and the boys and we went to see their new house. They are moving in this week. The view from their place is more beautiful than ours was in Alabama. They are next to fields of rice and corn that are protected from industrial development by zoning laws.

After touring their house we went to dinner. I ordered fish for the first time on this trip. Yes, the bones were a problem, but other than that, it tasted great.
This is Darcy with the youngest of Arben's boys:

Last day in Vernazza

Today Darcy and I hiked along the coast through three of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre: Corniglia immediatly to the south followed by Manarola and then Riomaggiore. The first part of the trail had a lot of up and down, but the last part was quite flat which made for a nice way to end the hike. Then we took the ferry back to Vernazza. This is a national part and there is a fee to hike the trail, but it was well worth it. There were some great views... many more great views per mile than the AT. We were also considering renting an open kayak for two, but by the time we got back we were beat. So we took showers and just chilled. Again, I regret it takes so long to post pictures and I'll have to add them later or point you to a Picasa sight. Last night, and again this night we sat on the rocks and watched the moon set in the west, listening to the waves crash against the break-water. Very nice. We decided some family members would love it here and others would not. This is definatly a place that Lizde, Jacquie and Jeana would fit right in.
Tomorrow we head to Milano, and then Friday we're off to Atlanta, sweet home.