I Love Living In Arizona

Where else can you spend your winters comfortably outdoors shooting your M4?

Enjoying the Great Outdoors!

Five Years!

Hooray! It's been five years since Mary and I got married at Walt Disney World! To celebrate, we decided to go back with our friends and family to where it all started, in sunny Florida!

Anniversary Time!

WDW Was All Decked Out For Christmas

And So Were Paul and Sheenae

We stayed at the Contemporary, on the Atrium Club level. It was pretty cool since they had free food and drinks all day and night for us. We also had our own private lounge where we could relax, watch fireworks, or play cards and watch TV.

You Can See MK From the Concierge Lounge

As Well as the Polynesian

And the Grand Floridian

Our Room Overlooked Bay Lake (HDR)

As Well as the New DVC Construction
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

All Aboard The Monorail to Fun!

I Was The Only One That Got Wet... :/

Too Many Rules!

Brer Rabbit

Brer Bear and Fox

Brer... Skunk?

Uh... Brer... Vultures?

This Is The Largest Audio-Animatronic Prop Ever Created

YEOW!

Haunted Mansion!

Leota Floating

Anniversary you Say?

I Forgot How Bad This Show Is

Yeah...

Now This Is Better!

Those Sure are Big Boots

Nick Approves

Sci-Fi was Neat, but Had Mediocre Food

OM NOM NOM

Hey! It's The Vucics!

The Food in Mexico was BAD

Good Thing It Doesn't Have To Stay Down For Long!

Ready To Upchuck Where No Man Has Upchucked Before?

Still an Awesome Ride

I Love Photographing the Tower (HDR)

Except When Jerks Get In My Shot! (HDR)

They're Heeeeere...

Back Row Rules You!

Do Drop In Again Soon (HDR)

The Safari at Animal Kingdom Was Good

And Expedition Everest Was Awesome!

Possibly the Best Ride at WDW

Beware The Yeti...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!

The Pauls Seem To Be Scared of Dinosaurs

We Ate at T-Rex. It Was Cool! (Har Har)

Meteor Storm!

The Lighting Drove Some To Madness...

Ohana Has The Greatest. Food. EVAR.

Too Much Drinking From Pineapples!

The Disney Studios Hat Looks Cool At Night (HDR)

But It Still Needs To Go To Unblock The Theater (HDR)

It's Japan! It's EPCOT! It's (HDR)!

I Found a Hidden Mickey In the Nemo Tank!

Thank God The Giant Wand is Gone! (HDR)

Cinderella's Castle

Reflecting in the Moat (HDR)

And We Finish With Fireworks...

...As Seen From the Contemporary.

Well, that's all for this time. We all had a great trip, and can't wait to go back again for our Tenth Anniversary! If you'd like to see all my WDW photos, you can CLICK HERE. Or, if you'd like to see all my Disneyland Photos, you can CLICK HERE. Enjoy!

Last Camp of the Season

Just returned from taking advantage of the last good camping weather of the season. Paul, Sheenae, Jason and myself spent the night out in the backwoods right on the edge of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced 'mug-E-on'). Despite a foreboding weather report, the weather on the rim was actually pretty nice!

We Found a Nice Secluded Spot with Good Tree Cover

Yes, there are Trees in Arizona

Weatherman Lies! No Storms Here

Paul!

And Sheenae!

She Secured our Campsite by Murdering the Previous Campers

Fail Catch

I tried my hand at star photography for the first time this trip. It didn't turn out all that great, but I learned a few things. 1. Ambient light will really show up in the exposures. The trees are all red from our small campfire that was about 20 yards behind the camera. 2. The exposures need to be long. This exposure was an hour and fifteen minutes, but wasn't nearly long enough. And 3. Watch the moon. It actually crept in the left side of my picture at the end creating a bright streak. Hopefully I can get some better results on my second attempt.

1hr 15min Sky Exposure

Fire GOOD

Who is Raul and What is He Doing With My Flashlight?

Until Next Time, Keep Your Feet Warm!

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!

Fresh Mountain Air!

We finally broke in our camping gear this weekend on our first camping trip of the year. Loaded up the truck and headed north into the woods north-east of Payson. Mary, Jason, Paul, Shay, Seth and myself found a nice backwoods site right on the edge of the Mogollon Rim (pronounced 'mug-E-on'). Awesome views, windy nights.

Yep, It's a Campsite!

The Awesome View Over the Rim from our Campsite

Mary Attack!!!

Whachya' Doin'? Whittlin'.

It Takes a Real Man to Chop Down a Tree... and Gloat Over Its Remains

Paul and Shay Enjoy their Luxury Accommodations

King... of the Mountain!

Taaaall Dead Tree

F150. The ONLY way to Travel

Fire GOOD

Mary is Enjoying Her First Camping Trip

Jason Checks to make sure the Rim is Still There. Yep, It's Still There.

Group Photo on the Edge

White Christmas

Mary and I flew up to the great white north of Canada to visit family for Christmas this year. The house they've been building is pretty much done, and it's pretty darn nice. It was good seeing all the family as well, we don't get to see them enough.

Didn't get to take quite as many pictures as I had hoped as the cold got to me and I was pretty sick for a good part of our trip. Good to be back in a dry warm climate now though, I guess I'm just not built for the cold.

Air Canada lost my luggage. Looks like I'll be Stinky for a while

House is all done!

Rambo Guards the House. Rambo does not like Company

Fancy!

Mary Rests at Home

...before a Traditional Christmas Game of 'Find the Leak in the Roof'

Back Yard. I think a Winter Lawn would be Tough to Grow Here

Toronto! Yes, that's the CN Tower, the Tallest Building in the World, completely Disappearing into the Fog

They Love their Hockey Here... a lot

Welcome to Our Fully Automated Public Parking Facility... NO PUBLIC PARKING

Can you feel my Nose? I Think it Froze Off

CN Tower Hiding in the Foggy Sky

Falling Ice... from the CN Tower... at Terminal Velocity... are You for Real!?!

No Trains Yet

Guess We'll wait at the Station!

AAHH! Dodge the Subway!!!

That's All for Now, I'm Spending My Evening in the Amuse-O-Matic Centre!

Had a great trip and everyone was friendly as usual. I think we'll have to plan some summer trips from now on though. This desert dweller can't take sub-zero temperatures like the rest of the family can.

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!

Disneyland's 50th!!! -=VIDEO=-

Finally made it out to Disneyland for the 50th Anniversary bash! The place is looking great (much better than recent years anyway) and it was good to hang out in my old stomping grounds again. :)

Knotts Berry Farm / Disneyalnd -=VIDEO=-

Jason, Mary and I took a weekend trip out to Knotts and Disneyland to celebrate MLK day. We had a great time, and I hope to recover from the bruises Ghostrider left on me in the near future...

Windows XP TroubleSHOOTING -=VIDEO=-

Finally got sick of my old laptop crashing, so I took it out for a trip to Four Peaks. After some quality time with the MAC-10, AR-15, Mossberg 12ga, and Glock 23, I think my registry has been fixed. :)

Another Visit to the Happiest Place on Earth!

I've been making good use of my Annual Pass to Disneyland this year! Decided to take a trip down to the theme parks along with my wife, Mary. Added bonus, our friend Jeff was there this weekend too and we were able to all hang out together.

Weather was great, I managed to get some good photos, and Mary almost died on the Challenge Trail. Good times for everyone! ;)

A panoramic shot of the entry to California Adventure. Can you guess if I had to be there really early, or really late to get this photo? ;)
(Click Image for Large Panorama)

We're finally here!!!

What happened to the railroad push cart?

The fruit cart is tempting me... Nah, I'll get a sticky-bun!

Mary is happy white space mountain is back!

Observatron sits motionless, wishing it could send cool laser and music messages to other planets...

I for one, welcome our new robotic overlords

If you look in the deep, dark corners of Frontierland, you can still see the remains of the Mine Train through Nature's Wonderland

You know what that means... we must be in DCA!

And there's Grizzly Peak in all its majesty

I really like this angle of Grizzly Rapids

Jeff and I on the Challenge Trail!

Mary REALLY wishes she didn't get up here...

The one, the only... Tower of Terror!

The evil increases as you approach

The boiler is laughing at you

Room for one more...

Time to go!

We had an excellent time as usual this trip. Good food, good friends, and good fun make for the perfect vacation. Thanks for coming along!

ToT Preview Night!!!

Scored myself some tickets to the AP preview night on the new Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! :D

Mary and I had a fun and eventful day before heading out to the ToT for our after-hours preview. There were about a hundred people there, and we had a serious blast! I rode the Tower about ten or twelve times in a row before by stomach started to give out from all the hang time. We took it a little easier after that.

Disney put on a pretty good event. There was swing music, prizes, and I got a free commemorative Hollywood Tower Hotel pocket watch. The ride itself is pretty damn good. It's not as good as it's Florida cousin, but it's still the best thing to hit DCA so far. I don't think people will be disappointed.

Flowers were Blooming all over the Park. Pretty!

It's Good to Always See the Matterhorn Running. I Remember when it was Up only About A Month a Year.

Funny thing happened as soon as we got to the park. We decided to take the Monorail from the Disneyland Hotel into Tomorrowland, but when we were passing in front of the Disneyland main gate, our monorail ran over a palm frawn and it wedged under the train and started smoking. We were stuck in front of the main gate for about 20 minutes before they SLOOOOWLY drove to the switch back by the roundhouse and un-wedged the frawn. Good fun.

A Surprised Facilities Worker at the Roundhouse Switch Realizes there are Guests on This Train!

Mary Emerges Victoriously from her traile... no... wait... That's the Women's Restroom

GRR! I am Grizzly!

Time-lapse of Grizzly Falls. Purty.

Can't wait for Sundown to Ride This!

The Detailing is Awesome

There's Always My Way...

I Don't Care what They Say, the Midway is Cool at Night

A Train Rounds the Maliboomer

Another Cool angle of the Maliboomer

Screamin!

It's that Time!!!

Awesome!

A Final Goodbye! No on-ride Photography, so You Have to Wait until May!

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...

South and Camelback Mountains

With the large number of storms we've had lately, the skies above Phoenix have been unusually clear, offering fantastic views of the valley. I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity to lug my equipment to high ground and get some haze-free shots of the valley and surrounding mountains.

First, I took some photos from the top of South Mountain, located on the south side of Phoenix. (Hence the name.) The great thing about South Mountian is that you can drive all the way to the top, allowing for great photos with minimal strain on the body. Camelback mountain on the other hand, is a far different story. If you've ever seen Mission Impossible 2 where he's climbing the vertical rock wall, you've pretty much seen what Camelback Mountain is like. It is a serious hike/climb with several near-vertical sections. It took me an hour and a half of grueling work to get to the top. (Read: don't expect more Camelback shots for a while.)

Luckilly Paul was around again to help carry the tripod and equipment up the mountain. I most definately would have plummeted to my death off of some rock wall or something without him.

The sun nestles into the western landscape, ending another beautiful day

Blowing dust creates a brilliant sunset over the desert

Nothing is left but an orange glow after the sun has gone

And a purple sky marks the transition to night

Scaling one of the cliff-faces. Notice the tiny people and buildings in the background

Paul fights the high winds to brace and set up a tripod

Time for a brief glamour shot with the McDowell Mountains in the background

Looking north towards Squaw Peak and the homes nestled at its base

Paul precariously perches on a small peak

Just happy to have survived the climb!

Thanks for looking through my photos! Perhaps someday when my hands, feet, and lungs have healed, I'll be willing to climb Camelback again for some more photos. Until then, take care and I'll see you on my next trip!

A Capitol City

This summer I had the chance to relocate to Washington, D.C. for a legal job I took with the U.S. Marshals Service. Living in D.C. was kind of crazy with all the post September 11th edginess going on. It was definately a great experience though, living on the hill and working across the Potomac in Arlington. D.C. was a whole lot of fun to live in for the summer, but I couldn't imagine living there for life. It was far too crowded and the tempreture too extreme. (This coming from someone who lives in the desert!)

There was a literally endless number of things to do and see in the greater D.C. area, and best of all, it was almost all free. The monuments, museums, libraries, and government agencies provided endless sightseeing, and more importantly, picture taking.

The sun rises over the U.S. Capitol Building

People rest on the west Capitol patio

One of the many peaceful walkways encircling the Capitol Building

A calm reflecting pool in the early evening night

The inside of the Capitol Dome is breathtaking. The Painting is called "The Apotheosis of Washington"

This painting (Yes, it's 2-D) rouns all the way around the inside of the dome and tells the history of the United States. You can see the start/end here

This small plaque in the old Senate Chambers marks Abraham Lincoln's desk location

The crypt below the rotunda was originally supposed to house Washington, kinda like Lenin, but now is full of architectural exibits




My home for the summer. (The Blue one.) It was across the street from the Supreme Court at 2nd St and Maryland Ave

My morning view waiting for the subway at Union Station

The J. Edgar Hoover Building. Home of the FBI

Me with John Ashcroft at DOJ. We had Rocketpop popsicles after that photo. (Scanned image from film camera.)

Time for court!

Posing in the lobby of US Marshalls Headquarters. I'd match if only I had a cool cowboy hat

Tough cases require the use of the "Thinking Sombrero!" (Patent pending)

The Supreme Court seems suprisingly small until you realize it's just one courtroom and a few offices

The really cool self-supporting spiral staircase inside the Supreme Court

Posing on the steps of the court

FDR and his doggie immortalized in monument form. Note FDR's well-hidden wheelchair peeking out from the back

A thought provoking quote by FDR

Visiting the Vietnam War Memorial is quite a sobering experience

Washington Monument reflects in the dark memorial

Space Shuttle Challenger memorial and gravesites

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded 24/7

John and Jackie Kennedy's gravesites

View and inscription from the Kennedy gravesite

The Jefferson Memorial lies in the tidal basin area

Front shot of Thomas Jefferson




Jefferson and his now famous words




The Washington Monument as seen from the Jefferson Memorial

A Triceratops gets friendly

The first lightbulb... EVER. From Menlo Park

The first Apple Computer. They haven't advanced much since then ;)

Four and three rotor German Enigma decoder machines

The Kittyhawk Flyer, first airplane ever

The flag from on the top of the World Trade Center. I can't believe how well it survived the attacks

A baby elephant tromps towards the water for a bath at National Zoo

A bizzare little bird. I have no clue what the heck it is

That is one huge Lincoln

The monumnet hides behind some trees...

...but its reflection gives it away

Framed with the trees

As seen through a hole in the railing of the FDR Bridge

Looking across the National Mall from the Capitol Building

Flags and security barriers surround the Washington Monument

Looking up at the edge of the monument

Looking east from the top. You can actually see my house nestled just behind and left of the Supreme Court

The monument and Capitol Building shimmer in the reflecting pool at night




Looking up at the monument


Well, that about does it. Thanks for taking the time to look through such a long tour! Hopefully some day I'll return to DC and visit all of my old stomping grounds. Until then, take care!

Mary Visits Disneyland!

Mary visited Disneyland with me this weekend to celebrate my birthday. She had never been before, so this was a great trip for us both!

Together In Front Of Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Mary Found Some Friends!

And We Finished With a Romantic Dinner at the Blue Bayou

I Left My Heart In... Canada?

Went to Toronto, Canada to visit my girlfriend, Mary. Had a grand old time. Saw the CN Tower and Niagara Falls. Sad I had to leave so soon, but we'll get back together before too long.

Toronto is definitely the largest city I've ever been in

The CN Tower is the tallest free-standing structure in the world

And the floors inside are glass! Can you see my knees shaking?!

Mountie-Moose!

Nothing says 'hot date' like... Glow In The Dark Mini-Golf! (She missed! Ha!)

Uh-oh! Car Foul! At least the parking structure she hit didn't come crashing down...

The Ever Beautiful Mary poses in front of Niagara Falls

That's one handsome (and cold!) dude...

Avert your eyes! The beautiful couple in all our grandeur

That was one heck of a date! It's not often you get jet-lag afterwards... We'll have to get together again soon!