Home > Domestic Diversions

Category

Albums

Files

West Coast Wanderings - August 2021Pictorial record of an expedition to the Pacific Northwest in August 2021, with numerous sojourns along the way - the Bay Area, Stockton, and Angwin in California; Bend, Oregon; the Seattle area and Pasco, Washington.

253

Angwin, California

On August 6 we arrived in Angwin, where Sandie's younger son Lief lives with his lovely wife Janeta, and sons Liam and Jensen, not to mention their golden Lab, Leila. Angwin is located high in the hills above Napa Valley; it's a most picturesque and pleasant area, although in recent years the terrible California wildfires have taken their toll. We sojourned in Angwin for several days, staying gratis in a pleasant apartment, as arranged by Lief with his stepsister Michelle and his dad and stepmom, Arnold and Bethel, who most graciously made the place available. While Sandie spent most of her time visiting with Lief, Janeta and the kids in their little house on Toyon Street, I took the opportunity to wander around Napa Valley and shoot pictures. I also accompanied them to visit the palatial estate on Crestmont Drive owned by Lief's deceased grandfather, Yacob Nashed, which is now in escrow pending its sale. This was a very fortuitous opportunity - although I had visited the house on previous occasions, I had never taken any pictures of it, and this was the last chance I ever would have to make a pictorial record of this extraordinary property for posterity.

61 files, last one added on Sep 16, 2021
Album viewed 56 times

Napa Valley, California

Although the time I spent in Napa Valley coincided with our sojourn in Angwin, I decided to devote a separate album to Napa Valley because the Angwin album was already too large, and because despite their geographical proximity, in a sense they occupy different worlds. Napa Valley is packed with wineries and overrun with tourists come to savor the delights of the grape; Angwin is secluded, serene, bucolic. Although I've been through Napa Valley many times, about twenty years have passed since my last visit and many things have changed; I wanted to record some of the changes as well as a few of the attractions I've missed on previous visits.

31 files, last one added on Sep 16, 2021
Album viewed 34 times

Rees Residence - Stockton, California

Sandie and I visit the residence of two of our favorite people in the world, JoAnn and Doug Rees, in Stockton, California. The visit was arranged by our treasured friend of many years, Diana Howell, who happens to be JoAnn's sister. JoAnn and Doug are longtime litterateurs, and a few years back they purchased an old but venerable house in a pleasant Stockton neighborhood, which house they then proceeded to renew and remodel into a veritable Utopia. They graciously let me shoot a myriad of photos of their property, and I have assembled the best of them here, with the only qualification that the SD card where photos originally resided somehow became partially corrupt, so that I lost most of those shot in the back yard; fortunately the cream of those I shot inside the house have survived.

28 files, last one added on Sep 17, 2021
Album viewed 37 times

Bend, Oregon - High Desert Museum

Sadly, our schedule only allowed us one day in Bend, but at least we were able to fulfill my long-cherished ambition to visit the Bend High Desert Museum, which I had never managed to do during all of my previous visits. The Museum had cosponsored (with Oregon State University) the venue where we viewed the Great American Eclipse of 2017, and our hosts Chuck and Elouise Mattox, who are members, highly recommended it and even furnished the passes for our visit, one of the privileges associated with their membership, in addition to providing us with the benefit of their company (always a delight) on our tour of the Museum. We were not disappointed. We only had one complaint - the Museum is so extensive that we wore ourselves out long before we could see even a large fraction of what it had to offer, so we'll have to go back again...and again...

48 files, last one added on Sep 18, 2021
Album viewed 45 times

An Afternoon in Edmonds, Washington

On the second day of our stay in the Seattle area, Sandie and I, together with Sandie's elder son Nick, visited Chuck and Elouise Mattox's daughter Sarah and her husband Mike at their fairytale house on the shore of Lake Ballinger in Edmonds, Washington, which turned out to be only a few short blocks from our B&B. Although Sandie and I had been to Sarah and Mike's wedding celebration in Bend (2001), we hadn't seen them together since then and we were anxious to renew our acquaintance. Sarah performs as a mezzo-soprano with the Seattle Opera, and Mike is a senior software developer formerly with Microsoft, now with Electronic Arts, Inc., a leading publisher of video games, and they tend to be rather busy people, so I was uncertain that they would have room in their schedules to meet with us. As it turned out, I need not have worried; they most graciously hosted us on the patio of their lakeside residence on a Saturday afternoon, and we spent several hours engaged in civilized conversation of a kind we can only experience with a very few people of our acquaintance (although, to be sure, we visited several of the others on this trip). And the ambience of the setting was amazing. We had a fabulous time, and we're most grateful to Sarah and Mike for their hospitality and their company.

39 files, last one added on Sep 21, 2021
Album viewed 44 times

Fremont District, Seattle

On Sunday, August 15, 2021 Sandie, Nick, Jane and I hopped into Red Sonja and headed for the Fremont District of Seattle. I was bent on visiting two sites in particular: the Fremont Troll and the Statue of Lenin, located close together on North 36th Street. After that, I thought, we could go wherever our fancies took us (that turned out to be the Gas Works Park, to which I've devoted a separate album). In the captions to the pictures presented here I could record only a small fraction of the essential facts available on these famous (or notorious?) attractions; for more adequate information on the Troll, see for example the Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fremont_Troll, and for the Lenin statue, a good account may be found at https://seattle.curbed.com/2019/8/27/20830552/seattle-fremont-vladimir-lenin-statue-history.

31 files, last one added on Sep 23, 2021
Album viewed 29 times

Seattle Gas Works Park

Although the Seattle Gas Works Park is properly part of the Fremont District, I have devoted a separate album to it because of the profusion of pictures I shot there; one album containing all the Fremont pictures would be very large and cumbersome. Also, the scenes are very different visually and topically, as you will see immediately.

15 files, last one added on Sep 23, 2021
Album viewed 27 times

7 albums on 1 page(s)

Death ValleyDeath Valley National Park is an awesome place and second only to Joshua Tree NP in ease of access for us. Sandie and I are fortunate in having friends who are quite knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about visiting it themselves and in our company. We chronicle our visits with many photos, with a separate subsection of this category devoted to each trip.

Death Valley, October 2019We arrived on Wednesday, October 23 and left on Monday, October 28. As in November 2016, we stayed at the Atomic Inn in Beatty, Nevada, which served as a very satisfactory base of operations for our forays into DVNP itself. We were fortunate in enjoying the company of JoAnn Rees, who organized the expedition, and her sister Diana Howell, among others. We went on excursions to Titus Canyon, Marble Canyon, Monarch Canyon and Keane Wonder Mine. And, coincidentally, we had the unexpected good fortune to be in town for the Beatty Days festival on Saturday, October 26, with a parade and fair-cum-flea market. Fun times!

164

Monarch Canyon, 10/25/2019

15 files, last one added on Nov 09, 2019
Album viewed 26 times

Titus Canyon, 10/24/2019

42 files, last one added on Nov 06, 2019
Album viewed 33 times

Marble Canyon, 10/25/2019

27 files, last one added on Nov 10, 2019
Album viewed 33 times

Beatty Days, 10/26/2019

50 files, last one added on Nov 12, 2019
Album viewed 45 times

Keane Wonder Mine, 10/27/2019

14 files, last one added on Nov 14, 2019
Album viewed 27 times

Shoshone, 10/27/2019

16 files, last one added on Nov 16, 2019
Album viewed 25 times

6 albums on 1 page(s)

Home, Family and FriendsDomestic Delights, Visits and Adventures with Family and Friends

Other Fun StuffLocal Events and Adventures

Midwest MeanderingsVacationing with Family and Friends in the Midwest

Southwestern SortieA road trip to New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma, including a ride on a scenic train from New Mexico to Colorado, October 22.

308

Railroad Ramble

214 files, last one added on Jan 05, 2023
Album viewed 50 times

Dallas Depredations

51 files, last one added on Jan 05, 2023
Album viewed 42 times

Meteor Crater

43 files, last one added on Jan 05, 2023
Album viewed 32 times

3 albums on 1 page(s)

Random files - Domestic Diversions

Flames and Guns216 viewsThe sculptural adjuncts surrounding Lenin are supposed to represent flames and guns. The sculptor did not intend this portrayal to be adulatory, but rather critical - he created it at the height of perestroika, just before the collapse of Communism, at a time when such expressions had become permissible.

CIA207 viewsNo, not the CIA which is headquartered in Langley, Virginia. This is the Culinary Institute of America, which has (or used to have) a campus in New Haven, Connecticut as well.

Noshes and Hatters360 viewsBack at the Atomic Inn after our first day in Death Valley. Clockwise from left: Jock, Diana, Sandie, JoAnn, Kelly, at the Atomic Inn. Thursday evening, Oct. 24, 2019.

Cumbres & Toltec RR, Oct. 7, 2022227 viewsCumbres & Toltec RR, Oct. 7, 2022

Aerial Tramway273 viewsWe were going to take the tramway to the top of the hill, but it turned out to be closed on Sunday.

Canada Geese292 viewsThese geese are the same ones who show up on the golf course near our house in the fall and spring. The one in front is George, the next one is Georgia, the third is Geoff, then Glenda, and so on.

Boom Town265 viewsNew settlements sprang up in support of the mining boom of the mid-19th-century. This one is called Silver City.

Dallas, October 2022258 viewsDallas, October 2022

Last additions - Domestic Diversions

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022211 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022249 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022270 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022214 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022241 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022287 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022261 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Meteor Crater, October 5, 2022249 viewsMeteor Crater, October 5, 2022Jan 05, 2023

Debug Info

Debug Output: show / hide

USER: 
------------------
Array
(
    [ID] => 32961c7ba0e7a33f3a606218e43b0e61
    [am] => 1
)

==========================
USER DATA:
------------------
Array
(
    [user_id] => 0
    [user_name] => Guest
    [groups] => Array
        (
            [0] => 3
        )

[group_quota] => 0
    [can_rate_pictures] => 1
    [can_send_ecards] => 0
    [can_post_comments] => 0
    [can_upload_pictures] => 0
    [can_create_albums] => 0
    [pub_upl_need_approval] => 1
    [priv_upl_need_approval] => 1
    [access_level] => 3
    [disk_max] => 0
    [disk_min] => 0
    [has_admin_access] => 0
    [group_name] => Guests
    [can_create_public_albums] => 0
    [can_see_all_albums] => 0
    [group_id] => 3
    [allowed_albums] => Array
        (
        )

)

==========================
Queries:
------------------
Array
(
    [0] => SELECT name, value FROM cm_config [include/init.inc.php:177] (0.44 ms)
    [1] => SELECT * FROM cm_plugins ORDER BY priority [include/plugin_api.inc.php:48] (0.58 ms)
    [2] => SELECT user_id, time FROM `i5493328_cm1`.cm_sessions WHERE session_id = '30bb97ddc5569dee9c15f7966af7ae42' [bridge/coppermine.inc.php:241] (0.42 ms)
    [3] => SELECT MAX(group_quota) AS disk_max, MIN(group_quota) AS disk_min, MAX(can_rate_pictures) AS can_rate_pictures, MAX(can_send_ecards) AS can_send_ecards, MAX(can_post_comments) AS can_post_comments, MAX(can_upload_pictures) AS can_upload_pictures, MAX(can_create_albums) AS can_create_albums, MAX(has_admin_access) AS has_admin_access, MAX(access_level) AS access_level, MIN(pub_upl_need_approval) AS pub_upl_need_approval, MIN( priv_upl_need_approval) AS	 priv_upl_need_approval FROM cm_usergroups WHERE group_id in (3) [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:350] (0.31 ms)
    [4] => SELECT group_name FROM cm_usergroups WHERE group_id= 3 [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:362] (0.25 ms)
    [5] => SELECT COUNT(*) FROM cm_categorymap WHERE group_id in (3) [bridge/udb_base.inc.php:375] (0.33 ms)
    [6] => SELECT aid FROM cm_albums WHERE moderator_group IN (3) [include/init.inc.php:271] (0.23 ms)
    [7] => SELECT lang_id FROM cm_languages WHERE enabled='YES' [include/init.inc.php:334] (0.37 ms)
    [8] => DELETE FROM cm_banned WHERE expiry < '2025-10-12 00:25:52' [include/init.inc.php:448] (1.45 ms)
    [9] => SELECT null FROM cm_banned WHERE ('216.73.216.211' LIKE ip_addr OR '' LIKE ip_addr ) AND brute_force=0 LIMIT 1 [include/init.inc.php:464] (1.06 ms)
    [10] => SELECT rgt, lft FROM cm_categories WHERE cid = 6 LIMIT 1 [include/functions.inc.php:1091] (0.48 ms)
    [11] => SELECT aid FROM cm_albums INNER JOIN cm_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category
                                    WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28  AND visibility != 0 AND visibility != 10000 AND visibility NOT IN (3)) [include/functions.inc.php:1110] (0.63 ms)
    [12] => SELECT rgt, lft, depth FROM cm_categories WHERE cid = 6 LIMIT 1 [include/functions.inc.php:44] (0.25 ms)
    [13] => SELECT cid FROM cm_categories WHERE lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28 [include/functions.inc.php:49] (0.54 ms)
    [14] => SELECT keyword FROM cm_albums WHERE category IN (20, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16, 21, 19) [include/functions.inc.php:57] (0.25 ms)
    [15] => SELECT p.cid, p.name FROM cm_categories AS c,
                cm_categories AS p
                WHERE c.lft BETWEEN p.lft AND p.rgt
                AND c.cid = 6
                ORDER BY p.lft [include/functions.inc.php:2940] (0.51 ms)
    [16] => SELECT cid, lft, rgt, name, description, thumb, depth AS level, '0' AS alb_count, '0' AS subalb_count
        FROM cm_categories
        WHERE depth BETWEEN 1 + 1 AND 1 + 2
        AND lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28
        ORDER BY lft [index.php:299] (0.7 ms)
    [17] => SELECT aid, title, r.description, keyword, alb_hits, category, visibility, r.thumb, r.owner, depth AS level, lft, '0' AS pic_count
        FROM cm_categories AS c
        INNER JOIN cm_albums AS r ON r.category = c.cid
        WHERE c.depth >= 1 + 1
        AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
        AND lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28
        ORDER BY r.pos ASC, r.aid ASC [index.php:335] (2.04 ms)
    [18] => SELECT c.cid, r.aid, COUNT(pid) AS pic_count, MAX(pid) AS last_pid, MAX(ctime) AS last_upload, depth AS level, lft
        FROM cm_categories AS c
        INNER JOIN cm_albums AS r ON r.category = c.cid
        INNER JOIN cm_pictures AS p ON p.aid = r.aid
        WHERE c.depth >= 1 + 1
        AND approved = 'YES'
        AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
        AND lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28
        GROUP BY r.aid
        ORDER BY NULL [index.php:362] (20.44 ms)
    [19] => SELECT filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight FROM cm_pictures AS p WHERE pid = 1509 AND p.aid NOT IN (12)  [index.php:409] (1.56 ms)
    [20] => SELECT extension, mime, content, player FROM cm_filetypes [include/functions.inc.php:5952] (0.29 ms)
    [21] => SELECT pid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight FROM cm_pictures WHERE pid IN (1436,1411,1452,1437,1511,1484,1565,1563,1606,1574,1637,1618,1654,1638) [index.php:997] (0.3 ms)
    [22] => SELECT a.aid FROM cm_albums AS a INNER JOIN cm_pictures as p ON p.aid = a.aid WHERE uploads = 'YES' AND category < 10000 AND (visibility = '0' OR visibility IN (3) OR alb_password != '') AND owner_id = 0 [index.php:877] (0.32 ms)
    [23] => SELECT pid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight FROM cm_pictures WHERE pid IN (1123,1118,1090,1081,1150,1219,1233,1249) [index.php:997] (0.25 ms)
    [24] => SELECT pid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight FROM cm_pictures WHERE pid IN (1930,1981,2024) [index.php:997] (0.27 ms)
    [25] => SELECT count(aid) FROM cm_albums as a WHERE category = '6'  AND a.aid NOT IN (12)  [index.php:663] (1.28 ms)
    [26] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cm_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cm_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cm_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28) AND (1 OR keywords like '%27telp%') AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
                AND approved = 'YES' [include/functions.inc.php:1866] (22.21 ms)
    [27] => SELECT pid
                FROM cm_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cm_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cm_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28) AND (1 OR keywords like '%27telp%') AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                ORDER BY RAND()
                 LIMIT 0 ,8 [include/functions.inc.php:1878] (29.07 ms)
    [28] => SELECT r.pid, r.aid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight, filesize, ctime, r.title, r.keywords, r.votes, pic_rating, hits, caption, r.owner_id, user1, user2, user3, user4
                    FROM cm_pictures AS r
                    INNER JOIN cm_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                    WHERE pid IN (1224, 1090, 1646, 1863, 1623, 1528, 1960, 1440) [include/functions.inc.php:1894] (2.29 ms)
    [29] => SELECT COUNT(*)
                FROM cm_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cm_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cm_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28) AND (1 OR keywords like '%27telp%') AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
                AND approved = 'YES' [include/functions.inc.php:1614] (0.64 ms)
    [30] => SELECT r.pid, r.aid, filepath, filename, url_prefix, pwidth, pheight, filesize, ctime, r.title, r.keywords, r.votes, pic_rating, hits, caption, r.owner_id, user1, user2, user3, user4
                FROM cm_pictures AS r
                INNER JOIN cm_albums AS a ON a.aid = r.aid
                INNER JOIN cm_categories AS c2 ON c2.cid = category WHERE (c2.lft BETWEEN 13 AND 28) AND (1 OR keywords like '%27telp%') AND r.aid NOT IN (12)
                AND approved = 'YES'
                ORDER BY ctime DESC, pid DESC
                 LIMIT 0 ,8 [include/functions.inc.php:1630] (25.47 ms)
)

==========================
GET :
------------------
Array
(
    [cat] => 6
)

==========================
POST :
------------------
Array
(
)

==========================
COOKIE :
------------------
Array
(
    [a520716e4e1a802c3b699f97dd5ac36c] => 18e04a7cbc0c7ab9c26c282b14acd80f
    [cpg16x_data] => YToyOntzOjI6IklEIjtzOjMyOiIzMjk2MWM3YmEwZTdhMzNmM2E2MDYyMThlNDNiMGU2MSI7czoyOiJhbSI7aToxO30=
)

==========================

Event Horizon - Astronomical and Terrestrial Images