Hard Rock Riviera Maya

Joy and I took a wonderful vacation to the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya in June. I absolutely loved the lagoon setting. Joy did not, saying it was not a real beach. I think the sandy shore with chairs and gently lapping waves qualifies. I also loved the schools of fish, some a foot long or more, which would swim around your legs in the lagoon.

Tulum

We took a bus excursion to the ruins of Tulum. The tour was interesting enough, but rather crowded. Iguanas were everywhere, showing no fear of the tourists. The cliff side ocean setting really stands out on one side of the complex, but the other quickly fades to jungle.

Humpback Bridge

A lovely covered bridge crosses a small river in southwest Virginia. Joy and I took a long drive to check out the area. February is a cold month, and the trees were bare and the sky grey.

Casa Navarro

We visited Casa Navarro on a bright spring day. The story of this famous Tejano José Antonio Navarro unfolds as you walk through the walled enclave. He’s rather like the Benjamin Franklin of Texas.

The heat from the sun made the cool and dark interiors more inviting. The white-washed walls and dusty courtyards transported me to a much simpler time. The spaces really felt like a home.

River Walk

Joy and I spent the heat of the afternoon walking along the sunken river walk. Joy’s friend Carrie directed us to Boudro’s on the walk, where we had the best guacamole of our lives. The steak was delicious, but the guacamole was only topped by the double chocolate brownie. The guacamole recipe is available on their website.

Liendo Plantation

The Liendo Plantation served as a beautiful backdrop for the wedding of Jenna and Jacob. Despite persistent cloudy skies, the rain held off all day. The guests sat in comfort under the spreading limbs of the old trees. The bride and groom spoke their wedding vows as the sun neared the horizon.

Family Gathering

Many relations from across Texas and Oklahoma arrived at the country estate in west Texas. Parents and grandparents from both sides mingled. From my point of view, the stars of the show were Anna and John’s five girls, several of whom took part in the ceremony. I marveled at the young women Holly and Martha have become.

Dinner

Our hosts included dinner and dancing after the ceremony took place under a large tent. The sun broke free of the clouds as it neared the horizon, allowing some wonderful directional light with which to create artful photographs.

A Spring Evening

This evening I put my new(old) 50mm prime lens on my new camera walked around my neighborhood. Joy came with me. I watched for colors and compositions that would benefit from a really shallow depth of field. Joy played the role of model, as she so often does.

Settlers

Settlers moved to Central Florida late in the history of our nation. Rural villages and small towns were the norm in the late 19th century. Joy and I love touring old houses. Many homes in Virginia are hundreds of years older than those on the Pioneer Village site, but the old wooden house still holds so much charm.

Oranges

Florida grows oranges. The village displays a citrus packing house with sorters, juicers, and smudge pots that were used in the fields. Our helpful guide informed us that many of the orange groves have moved farther south over the years, so that there are few working orange groves left in Osceola County.

Trebuchet

We watched a show on Discovery about Punkin Chunkin featuring the Mythbusters. Who knew there was a world championship for throwing pumpkins? So when Joy found an event listing in a magazine for Punkin Chunkin in nearby Delaware, we snatched tickets from the Internet and set off that weekend on a late night adventure.

I love the idea of a trebuchet. Lifting and lowering of weight produces huge energy changes, and the lever arm converts that potential into motion in a thrilling manner. Even the modest machines hurl their pumpkins hundreds of feet. We got to see the free fire period, where cannons, trebuchets, and centrifugals launched their loads skyward in quick succession.

A Big Party

The size of the festivities surprised me. I couldn’t count the number of cars arrayed in the open field. The scene appeared more like tailgating outside an NFL game than the modest and slightly geeky gathering I expected. There were film crews and safety crews and TV crews rows of food trucks selling barbeque and beer. Everyone seemed in excellent spirits, especially the men seated on a couch perched high above the bed of their truck.

Ørstedsparken

On our trek through the city of Copenhagen, we ducked into the wonderful park of Hans Christian Ørsted. The park is sprinkled with fine bronze statues, like this one of the Arrotino. A wrought iron bridge crosses the central lake, which is the remains of the moat surrounding the medieval city wall. Summer flowers and lush grass speaks of the care of the gardeners.

Round Tower

The view from the top of the Round Tower rivals that of St. Paul’s in London. Built to house an astronomical observatory as part of the new university, it still has a telescope at the top. The coolest feature is the spiral staircase, which winds around the inside of the tower in place of a stairway.

Belle Grove

The plantation house sits on a rise overlooking the property. The stone exterior is beautiful work, made from the same stone used to construct much of Washington DC. The house itself has high ceilings, tall windows and the standard transverse hall leading from front to back porches.

Valley View

The location of the house and plantation provide lovely views of the surrounding mountains. This section of the valley has been extensively farmed, so most of the trees have been cleared. This give a sense of openness to the land and connection to the surrounding mountains.

Cows

The cows are the stars of the show at Polyface Farms. The are manure machines, each putting out 50 lbs. of brown stuff a day. For three seasons of the year, they move from pasture to pasture, eating the grass and depositing fertilizer.

Chickens

The chickens follow the cows in the pasture. The spread the cow patties and grow healthy on a diet of grass and bugs. During the winter, they are kept in multi-use shelters.