travel

So I have finally decided it is about time to make another post. I have felt rather uninspired lately and haven’t been taking many photos. We have also been very busy. We recently made a 14 hour drive to northern Massachusetts for my oldest brothers wedding. Naturally Oshie came along for the ride. He was not entirely thrilled to be in the car for that long but he did well.

It was amazing to make it up North for Autumn again. I grew up in New Hampshire and have missed the brilliant fall colors and this was the first time I had made it back to see them in many years. It was also amazing to spend almost a full week with my parents and siblings (all except for one who is currently stationed in Japan). We had so much fun trying to kill ourselves on a dirt bike the best man brought. The dirt bike was bought by my brother Ethan (the best man) for the manly bachelor party we had at my brother’s house. This party consisted of almost no alcohol consumption, yard work, garden tilling and dirt bike riding ha-ha. Surprisingly we had a lot of fun. It was nice just to hang with my brothers again. There were a few close calls on the dirt bike for me but in my defense I have never really been on one before.

I took the opportunity to practice action and panning shots. This was my oldest brother, the groom.

Panning shot of my older brother.

The wedding was beautiful and held at the historic Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfield Massachusetts. My brothers and I made up the majority of the groomsmen and my wife and two of my younger sisters were bridesmaids along with a few of the brides relatives. I have to admit my wife looked gorgeous.

wedding2 — Nancy and I after the Ceremony.

Unfortunately time went by too quickly, as it always seems to do when you are having fun. The day after the wedding we made the long drive back to North Carolina. Thanks to traffic in New York, DC and Alexandria Virginia and also some pretty serious flooding in North Carolina thanks to Hurricane Matthew, what should have been a 14 hour drive took 20+ hours. we left around 8:30 in the morning and made it back to North Carolina around 5 AM. It was not fun. We spent a few hours trying to navigate flooded roads in the middle of nowhere North Carolina and almost ran out of gas while out there. GPS was of little to no help at that point. Eventually we found gas and a clear path. After 2 hours of sleep we were both up and headed off to work.

Despite all the traveling we had an amazing time that we wish would have lasted just a bit longer. Spending time with family you don’t get to see often enough is always a blessing.

Taken right before we hit the road back to NC. Mt. Monadnock in background.

Throwback Thursday

Just a few photos from when I was younger, in better shape and in the Marine Corps. The photos here were all taken with a sony point and shoot camera in Iraq in 2008.

Me waiting for a bus in Iraq. Al Taqaddum Airbase.

Camel Spider our Captain managed to kill but leave intact. I do not miss them.

View of Habbaniyah Lake from Al Taqaddum Airbase. Wouldn’t go in that water even if we were allowed to.

Al asad airbase iraq — Landscape shot from Al Asad Airbase.

Iraq sunset — Sunset in Iraq. Al Asad Airbase.

I was in Iraq from April to November 2008. I was stationed on Al Taqaddum Airbase and also spent three weeks at Al Asad Airbase for some training.

It was hot, sand got everywhere and often pretty miserable. Sand storms and camel spiders were a nuisace and days were long and boring. My experience pales in comparison to the true heros, my fellow Marines who were out drivinfg around the country in harms way. I have so much respect for those guys.

As much as I hated being there at times I am glad I got to go. It is an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Semper Fidelis!

September 15, 2016 4

Ah The Internet

What would we do without it? Well our parents got along fine without it so I am sure we would too. Thankfully we do have it and it makes life easier and provides plenty of entertainment. It also has the power to make your dog popular in Japan and Taiwan. I am sure those that regularly check out the blog remember the video I posted of Oshie excited to see his mom after she returned from 2 months in Norway. Well that video has somehow managed to get 120,000 views on YouTube with 57% coming from Japan and 26% from Taiwan.

Screen Grab of the Analytics for the video.

I even had a Taiwanese news outlet ask for permission to share it on their site. If you don’t remember the video here it is again.

Ahh the power of the internet ha-ha. Oshie is YouTube famous…kind of… in Japan and Taiwan. 🙂

September 15, 2016 4

Around The Estate

Here are just a few photos from our trip to the Biltmore Estate that I never got around to posting. I wish I had taken some more time with camera settings to prevent the blown out skies that were hard to recover. The overcast conditions didn’t help much either but I will chalk it up as a lesson learned. I need to slow myself down and think about a shot before I take it. Needless to say, the house and grounds are impressive.

26794031643_e121de8c9b_z — View of the House from the Rampe Douce

26793815903_03a204dd2e_z — A statue in the Italian Garden next to the House.

26793328653_bc69d549e4_z — Nigella in the lower garden.

27301624892_0d54ea097e_z — Bass Pond Waterfall with a slower shutter speed to smooth the water.

September 14, 2016 2

Oshie At The Biltmore

I don’t believe I ever posted any of the photos of Oshie at the Biltmore House. He would have fit right in at the Estate with his little bow tie. I am sure he would have appreciated the high society living too. This is the largest (or was) private home in the United States and has 250 rooms, 43 of which are bathrooms. One could easily get lost in there. It is still owned by descendants of George Vanderbilt and is open to the public year round. The setting is beautiful and Asheville is a fun location to explore and I would highly recommend checking it out.

golden_retriever_biltmore — This our new place mom and dad?

biltmore-italian-garden_oshie — Of course he couldn’t leave the fish alone.

flower_garden — Posing in the flower garden.

bass_pond_small — Posing again at the bass pond waterfall.

The grounds were gorgeous and very dog friendly. If only the weather had been a bit nicer on this trip. It was hot and overcast for most of the day we spent at the Estate. There was even a little rain at one point. Hopefully we can make it back during cooler weather and do some more exploring with Oshie. There are so many excellent photo opportunities and the grounds are just pleasant to walk around.