State Fair Time!

I went to the State Fair last week with some of my family. The fair is an interesting beast. I always want to go to the fair, but once I get there and stay a little while, I realize it kind of sucks and I'm ready to leave. The fair has good food. Really good food, but that's about it. It's expensive and the crowd is a little... rough around the edges.

Oh well, regardless of the downsides of the fair, I had a good time and I'm sure by the time it rolls around next year, I'll be wanting to go again.

It was Really Busy at the Fair

Mary and Mom Went with Me

And so Did Dad

Did I Mention the Crowd is Rough?

But This is Why We're Here. FOOD!!!

Fried Hot Dogs!

Fried Bread!

Fried Sandwiches!

Fried Oreos!

Fired Moon Pies!

Fried Twinkies!

With a Sno-Cone Chaser

Why? Will He Clean the Table?

Judging from My Previous Caption... No.

Parent Of The Year Award

Now That I'm Full... Rides!!!

And More Rides

Play Some Games?

Pop a Balloon...

...and Win A Prize

Hasta Lluego State Fair

Quck San Diego Vacation

Mary and I were lucky enough to spend a couple of days out in San Diego with Mom and Dad recently while they were on vacation.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado, which is incredibly luxurious and peaceful. The Hotel Del has a lot of history and is in a pretty cool location, surrounded by military installations. What that means is while Mary relaxed on the balcony, I could check out the aircraft carriers moored nearby, the F-18s flying over regularly, or the Navy Seals doing beach assaults right on the hotel beach. It was pretty neat.

I highly recommend the Hotel Del, but be sure to bring a cooler of your own food. $25 for a cheeseburger is a little steep for even my taste.

Welcome to the Hotel Del Coronado!

Front of the Hotel
(In HDR)

The Lobby is Old and Neat.

Lobby Centerpiece

This Hotel IS Old.
I Hear These Devices Are Called "Pay Phones" and Are What People Used to communicate Prior to the invention of Cell Phones

Old Can Sometimes Be Spooky Too...

Our Room
(In HDR)

View From Our Hotel Room
(In HDR)

Dinner Time!

Mary & Mom At The Mexican Restaurant

Brand New Morning
(In HDR)

Mary is Enjoying our Balcony

We Took a Tour of the USS Midway Aircraft Carrier

F-14 Tomcat

A-4 Skyhawk

Monument In The Life Preserver

The Hangar Bay Is ENORMOUS

Anchors Away in the Forecastle

Living Space Is Cramped

But It's Better Than Living In The Brig!

Up In The Con Tower

The Air Boss and Mini Boss Run Flight Operations

View of the Carrier Deck

Mary and Mom Watch the Bay

A panoramic shot of the Three Other Carriers In For Rehab
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

There Was a Lot of Security In the Bay

Back to the Hotel!

And Time for Portraits...

Mom & Dad

Mary & Myself

Me & Mom

Mary & Mom

Still Time Left for Candy!

And Ice Cream Too!

The Ice Cream Shop was Cool

Moon Over the Dell
(In HDR)

Time to Say Goodbye From the Beach
(In HDR)

Ana and Mike's Wedding

Just got back from a trip to Toronto, Canada. This time we were up in the great north for a family wedding. Specifically, Ana and Mike's wedding.

Our trip was great, and the wedding was very nice. I'm particularly happy that it was planned for the summertime, as my last trip to Canada in December was a little rough. Canadian winter is a bit too cold for my continued survival. Visiting in the summer is definitely the way to go.

Another cool thing about this trip is that I used High Dynamic Range photography (HDR) for some of my shots. Combining multiple exposures gives you more detail, and hopefully I will get better at it with some more practice.

We flew in a SMALL aircraft. Yes, the Cockpit Door is Open

Flying over Chicago!

You Can Rest Easy Knowing Jetway Technology Remains Solidly OUT of Canadian Hands

So That's Why My Luggage Never Arrives...

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore...

Home is Ouest

Castle Balen (in HDR)

The Entryway to The House is Cool (in HDR)

After my last trip to Canada, I got a lot of grief from everyone in Arizona about not taking photos of the inside of the new house. So this time I took a few to keep everyone pacified.

Inside the Front Door (in HDR)

The Main Stairway (in HDR)

My Arch Nemesis... The Sun Room!

Family Room

Kitchen

Sprawling Back Yard (in HDR)

Rambo Pulls Guard Duty

More Rambo

Gas is $1.36 a liter. That's $5.24 a gallon in America-Speak. (Note They Had to Paste a '1' to the Gas Station Sign Since It Doesn't Go That High.)

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Mike is Getting Ready Too

It's a Groom!

And He has a Posse

The Croatian Church

Inside the Church

The Bride and Her Parents

Ceremony in Progress

Time to Make It Official

This is My New Friend, Boris (On the Right).
Boris Is a Dentist in Slovenia

Sweet Ride!

The Reception Was In a Cool Old Train Station

It Was Pretty Neat Inside

The Old Tracks Ran Under the Grand Ballroom

M.C. Mary Strikes Her Best Hillary Pose

The Ladies Celebrate

And So Do The Guys

Well, that's it for this trip. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Idaho & Washington Thanksgiving!

Met up with the family for Thanksgiving and had some good times. This year we all got together at Christy's and Trapper's new home, in Moscow Idaho.

All in all, the weather was pretty good for our trip, even if I'm not so used to the cold. ;) We had a good time in Moscow, and spent a few days across the state border in Spokane Washington as well.

Look! It Snows in Idaho!

A panoramic shot of the View from Christy and Trapper's Patio. Fresh Air!
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

If You can't Tell, I Suck at Ice Skating. It's a Miracle I'm even Standing in this Photo

But Dale and Jared Seem to have No Problem

Checked out the Old Power Plant and Hydroelectric Dam

River and Dam

Say Cheese!

Awww. Family Bliss

Spill-over from the Dam

Looking at the River

The Old Main Street Bridge in Spokane

Walking the Riverfront

We Stayed at the Davenport in Spokane. Fancy!

Grandma is Enjoying her Vacation

While Jared approves of the Food

Beautiful Las Vegas

Just got back from quite the fun trip to beautiful Las Vegas, Nevada. My folks were celebrating their 25th anniversary and decided to renew their vows at the Wynn's Wedding Chapel. Saw lots of friends and had an all around good time.

Photos weren't allowed at the ceremony, but I managed to get more than enough shots throughout the rest of the trip. Did my share of heavy drinking and even did a little winning at the roulette table. Time was short, so I'll have to head back sometime soon to do the rides on the Stratosphere.

Whizzing past the Rio on the freeway, it looks like Prince is playing there soon

The Wynn was really hi-class. Very secluded since it's set back a bit from the Strip

Yes, he signed the building. And probably a check just as large to build it...

Did I mention this place was fancy? Smallest tables were $15. And that was at about 8am!

These crazy "flower-balls" were hanging all over the lobby

View from my hotel room. They project colors onto the big white thing at night for a music/light show

Kara, Sandy, and Mary get together for a welcome dinner

Mary is in Vegas and ready to do evil

Dramatic gestures? Must be Dale!

Time for a stroll down the Strip. Bye-bye Wynn!

Fashion Show Mall. I hope the fashion is better than the architecture

Must... stop... to gamble!

"Cold Beer and Dirty Girls" Who could ask for more!?

Hooray Fremont Street! 72oz Daiquiris and 50 cent roulette!

Thanks for the money, Binion's!

Wynn looks spooky in the dark

SHOE!!!

Next stop... Bellagio

These glass flower sculptures cover the lobby roof

They're everywhere!

Caesar's is old school. You almost expect to see Evil Knievel jumping the fountains

They're expanding the Venetian. I think it may become the largest hotel on the strip...

Surprisingly, Bally's was the busiest casino I photographed. I couldn't get a shot without pedestrians in it

Paris. Never liked it, never will

Attack of the nerds

Grandma Smith and Grandpa Bill

We have a winner!

Respect knuckles from Grandma

Time to cash out all her winnings

And back to the Wynn for a good night's sleep. Walking the Strip is tiring!

Disneyland -=VIDEO=-

Started my year off on the right foot with a trip to The Happiest Place On Earth! Mary, Mom, Dad, and I all headed off for a great weekend at Disneyland, and as usual, had a blast!

Don't mind the band aid on my head, I had some minor surgery just before going on vacation. All better now!

My Wedding!!!

Well, it finally happened! After years of waiting, planning, and navigating the horrors of the immigration system, I'm finally married to my beautiful wife!

Mary and I tied the knot today at the most perfect of locations, Walt Disney World! We've been staying at the Grand Floridian (DEFINITELY recommend) and had the ceremony at Disney's Wedding Pavilion.

The folks at Disney really make these kinds of events special and everything went off without a hitch. Where else in the world can you get wedding photos like the one with us in front of the castle? Perfect memories.

Posing on the beach between the Grand Floridian and the Wedding Chapel

Better get back or we'll miss the reception!

Castle in the Sky. Best tasting cake... EVER

Yes, she smashed it into my face

The obligatory night time castle portrait

Oooh... now I'm standing further back

Looking to Cinderella's Castle

We have the Magic Kingdom all to ourselves!

Must pose in front of the Mansion. No, she didn't jump off of the roof

There's my beautiful bride!

Posing on the steps of the Grand

Let me get some of that stairway action!

Who's that handsome man?

First dance

Uncle George dances the night away

Jamie and Scott enjoying themselves

Grandma steals the groom!

Judy and Jimmy dancing

Can it be a Carla sighting?!

Party animals

Parents of the Bride

Mike and Amy came to my wedding even though I missed theirs!

Prosecutors in love

Kara looking fabulous

The ultimate party table!

We had quite the turnout for a wedding in Florida!

Making things official in the chapel

This place really is beautiful

You may kiss the bride

Parents of the Groom

Time to depart in our carriage!

There we go!

A HUGE thanks to all of our friends and family that came and made this moment special for the both of us. This is one trip we'll never forget!

Jamie's Wedding

What could be better than a family wedding? Taking some time off to get away from the heat and enjoy the pacific northwest along with the wedding!

My sister, Jamie got married this week in Seattle, WA. Seattle is always a great place to visit not only for the cool weather, but because I actually look tan compared to the standard citizen there.

Wedding went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time on our trip!

Downtown Seattle looms atop a large hill

Entering downtown Seattle




Buildings crowding the sky around my hotel

Views inside the hotel lobby

The guest of honor

Almost go time

Man of action

It's a happy wedding!

Here comes the bride

Bill and Kody

Dale and Kara

Three Stooges

Parents of the bride

Bill and Jean

Bill and Mom

Trapper and Christy

Everyone had a great time at the wedding and Seattle was a blast! Until next time...

First Pitch!

My Uncle Bill was invited to throw out the first pitch today at the Arizona Diamondbacks game. He brought along the whole family and we had a great evening of baseball.

Uncle Bill with his sister Jean and his mother Alverta

It was pretty neat being down on the field before the game

Bill poses with Baxter

Baxter macking on Kara

And Nicholas plays catch with Baxter

Getting ready for the pitch...

Play Ball!

Thanks for the great time! Can't wait to come back for another game!