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Showing posts from September, 2008

The Maze: A Vacation with Glenn in 1987

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This story has been told in book form available on Blurb. It has a much larger range of photos from the trip and may be purchased here ... Recently on my last trip to the US I stopped to stay with my dad and Joanne. My dad and I dug through the archives of Glenn's photos and I retrieved some old slides of his. The ones I was particularly interested in were from a vacation we took together in November of 1987, about 20 years ago. We traveled to Southern Utah in Canyonlands National Park. What Edward Abbey referred to in an essay Terra Incognita: Into the Maze (Desert Solitaire, 1968). Indeed, this was the inspiration for the trip we took. Ever since having read this essay I was captivated by the description and had to see it for myself. Being as such I will literate our journey's description with Abbey's words. Interestingly his book was published a further twenty years earlier than our visit. ( The photos are ones that Glenn and I took with his Olympus OM2 camera. He

South African Holiday with Old School

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South Africa Holiday This last fall Vicki and I settled on Africa as our next summer holiday to have Redington along with. I had never been before, Vicki has enjoyed safaris before and Redington had a new lens his Grandfather had given him the previous summer. So it was decided. Alas there was turmoil in Kenya where planned to go. However we had a chance encounter at a friend's 50th birthday party who suggested a little out of the way park in South Africa call Hluhluwe-Umfolozi (pronounced as near as I can Shlu-shlu-way Um-fu-lo-zee). In addition to one of the oldest parks in Africa (1899) it is in the Zulu kingdom. Redington followed with interest the battles in the movie Zulu at Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana. So that settled it We booked flights to Durban on South African Airways and found accommodation in various game lodges. Our travels would involve more than Hluhluwe-Umfolozi park. We would head to the center of the battle area near Dundee, and then to the Drakensberg moun

Prague Honeymoon

For our honeymoon we went to Prague for a long weekend. A beautiful old city. It was somewhat marred by being a destination for British Hen and Stag parties. We had a lovely time there though. Most surprising for me was the great number of art deco buildings there mingled with 16 and 17th architecture. We also visited the small but good Museum of Communism. Below is a map with markers of places we visited. Below that is a slide show of some sites. View Larger Map

Wedding Day May 17th 2008

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Here is a slide show of the day. My apologies to anyone who didn't get their picture in. Our Wedding This was a fantastic day. So great to get married to Vicki. I felt so happy all day and was on cloud nine. Everyone was so wonderful and seemed so happy. I am really fortunate to have this great new family. NIce that my Dad and Joanne came out and my old Friend Terry. The whole day went at a nice consistent pace. Everyone did as they should and there was no tension except where it belonged, in a nice way. Vicki is a very special woman and I think it shows. The event was held in the Bath Priory Hotel which is a very posh venue. We had an opening reception before the civil ceremony. The civil cermeony was in the drawing room full of comfortable furniture and colonial era paintings. Very richly decorated and yet compfortable. After the ceremony some Proseco was opened for toasts before we moved on to the wedding breakfast. The meal was a leisurely affair that stretched into

Cheddar Gorge January 2008

Not too far from where Vicki and I live is Cheddar Gorge. It is an impressive cleft in the limestone that makes for a good day's hike. Vicki, Redington and I went there in January. We hiked along the rim and then into the Gorge and walked out along the road. The place is very popular with rock climbers and we saw many that day.