« Archives in July, 2008

Remember When I Promised Another Hawaii Vacation Post?

July 24, 2008 / posted in Uncategorized / 2 Comments

On our last day in Hawaii, we went “tubing through Kauai’s sugarcane fields.”:http://www.kauaibackcountry.com/tubing.html. What with the water, taking along my camera was obviously out; we picked up a “waterproof disposable”:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004TWM6/ref=nosim/wadearmstrong-20 and took some fun shots. This was the first film I’ve shot in two years and, frankly, I didn’t miss it. All I wanted was the images on PhotoCD, So I dropped the film off at Rite Aid for overnight developing. And that’s where things went wrong.
The prints came back quite lovely, actually. The cheap plastic lens and waterproof casing give the photos some of the charming soft focus and chromatic aberration of a Lomo or Holga, and the film had nice tones. The problem, of course, was that PhotoCD. Apparently it was complicated. Apparently some family with a small black dog took a vacation in San Francisco. A month later, we actually got *our* photos on PhotoCD. And now, you get our photos too!
Here’s us in our tubes, getting ready to go down the canals:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/336072990_oaToU-M.jpg!
We went over rapids:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/336073357_v63KF-M.jpg!
And through tunnels:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/336073781_brXV6-M.jpg!
It was a ridiculous amount of fun. We actually traveled down irrigation canals blasted almost 100 years ago into the cane fields of Kauai, dragged along by a natural current that varied between paddle-along sedate and rapids that made your stomach drop just a smidge. Some of the trip was through overhanging vines and trees, some between old stone banks, and much underground, in tunnels blasted through mountains, bouncing from one wall to the other and spinning in the darkness. We also got a good view of one of the “wettest places on earth, Mount Waialeale”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Waialeale — oddly not covered by clouds as we drove past.
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/336074414_4Xdon-M.jpg!
I highly recommend the trip if you’re going to Kauai. Next time, I might take their zip line course too!















Housewarming!

July 21, 2008 / posted in Photos / 9 Comments

I moved! Did you hear? I’m renting a wonderful house with the wonderful AIG and, after 10 weeks, we’ve finally got the place set up. We had a great party Saturday night where many of our friends came by to see the place and turn green-eyed with envy have a great time and try our Spanish-style Tapas and our homemade infused vodkas. Can I show you the place? Would you like to see?
It doesn’t really look like much from the outside…
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335852159_YP4i2-M.jpg!
But it’s adorable inside! Check out our cozy living room:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335835363_tDJPG-M.jpg!
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335835857_uWZA8-M.jpg!
That’s a gorgeous big window, huh? And then off a little hallway:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335836169_Putvx-M.jpg!
We’ve got the office (that’s the AIG’s place, I’ve got a great space in the garage and just haven’t had a chance to shoot it yet.)
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335851652_KTdtC-M.jpg!
There’s our cozy bedroom (check out the AIG’s beautiful window treatments!):
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335849623_DFcyh-M.jpg!
And there’s a little bathroom, just perfect for two:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335849971_KqXBx-M.jpg!
Check out the pink tile (some might call it “cute”) and the great old fixtures:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335850487_dmUPK-M.jpg!
The other direction off the living room is the kitchen, just right for two people to cook in:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335833986_RPgNN-M.jpg!
(The washer/dryer is directly to my right in this shot — that’s right, I’ve got one in my home! Clean, fresh laundry almost every day.)
Beyond the kitchen is the pets’ room, birdcage pictured, dog bowls just below:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335832402_Dz57h-M.jpg!
Now, the pets share their room with something almost as important:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335833236_hWFtA-M.jpg!
The pets’ room opens onto the most incredible part of the house, the backyard:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335831986_nrYUL-M.jpg!
That whole thing is ours, I’m at the back of the yard facing towards the house in that shot, and there’s a fence in the middle which is convenient ’cause I can lock the dog behind that while I take out the garbage. The awning is a great shelter under which we enjoy dinner and, especially, weekend brunch. But maybe the biggest winner is the hammock, next to the lemon tree:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335831508_q4YQj-M.jpg!
Everyone loves the backyard!
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335829529_6pdJv-M.jpg!
As I mentioned, we had a *great* party. It was wonderful to see all our friends and show off the place to them. And I really want to thank them for all the wonderful loot they gave us:
!http://juniorbird.smugmug.com/photos/335852594_5v3Xq-M.jpg!
We’re going to have some great barbecues in the backyard, come on by later this summer!