Predawn Atlas V Launch of the Lucy Space Probe
What a beautiful Star-filled night for a predawn Space Coast Rocket Launch! United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V rocket carrying the Lucy Space Probe. Lucy will be exploring the Trojan Asteroid Belt in Jupiter’s orbit. After the launch the wind blew the rocket’s contrail into a cool smoke-ring in the sky.
Click on photo to see larger. You will miss all of the stars if you don’t.
After photographing the rocket launch, at Space View Park in Titusville Florida, I stuck around with a few other photographers and a few others that were just waiting for the sun to rise. It was a beautiful light show, a pod of dolphins went swimming buy as well. It was worth the wait!
Click on photo to see larger.
Share this:
Road Trip To York PA. A Side Trip to Washington DC Day 2 Part 3 (AKA Hamilton Tour)
06-26-2021
Robbie and I had a great morning on our Washington DC/Hamilton tour. We saw lots of things and walked lots of miles. We were exhausted, but we still had lots more to see. We went back to the hotel to freshen up and rest for a while. We planned to take the car and park either by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial or the Jefferson Memorial. This would save us quite a bit of walking. First we drove to a Safeway to pick up a few supplies. From there we drove to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. The parking area there was full, so we drove to the Jefferson Memorial. The parking area there is larger and had lots of spaces left. Since it was after hours, we didn’t need pay the kiosk for parking! The Jefferson and MLK memorials are basically on opposite sides of the Tidal Basin. We walked all of the way around the Tidal Basin, we started with the MLK Memorial.
Continuing around the Tidal Basin we came to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. This is a memorial that you don’t hear too much about. I was thinking that it must be fairly new, it’s actually been there since 1997. The memorial is really quite impressive. It covers a 7.5 acre area consisting of four sections, representing each of FDR’s four terms as president. Each area has lots of stone work and water features. There are statues depicting the depression and other prominent points of his presidency. There is a statue of FDR with his faithful companion Fala by his side.
Continuing around the Tidal Basin we arrived at a stop on our Hamilton tour, the Thomas Jefferson memorial. The memorial was undergoing a partial renovation but we were able to enter to see the Jefferson statue. We were able to get a nice sunset view of the Washington Monument from the portico, also on the Hamilton tour.
We had enough time to visit two more locations. We got back in the car and moved to the MLK parking area, everyone there had left by this time. We were heading to the Lincoln Memorial, on the way we wanted to stop at the Korean War Veterans memorial. Robbie’s father is a Korean War Veteran. It’s a pretty impressive memorial with a life size bronze platoon in formation crossing rice paddies. The lighting at night make the soldiers look pretty spooky. We were disappointed to see that the memorial was undergoing a total restoration; we were not able to see it in all of its glory. We did visit the memorial a few years ago on our last visit to DC. We continued on to the Lincoln Memorial, probably everyone’s favorite memorial. I always remember visiting it when I was a kid. We climbed the steps to see the huge statue of Lincoln. We like to walk around the to the back to view the Potomac River. There is always the awesome view of the National Mall and the Washington Monument. It is even better at night.
My little Fujifilm X100V was working out great! It was very easy to carry around and I was traveling much lighter. I normally only carry one camera and one lens anyway, but it was much lighter. I got some really nice twilight images. For the twilight images, I was using my monopod. With my big Nikon, I would have needed to use my tripod. In DC, you can’t use tripods in the monuments.
We made our way back to the car and then to the hotel. We had a very long day! We ended up logging 30,000 steps, over 13 miles!
The next morning we had a long 12 hour drive back to Florida. We took turns driving, had a nice lunch stop, and several stops for gas. We made it home around midnight.
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. A side trip to Washington DC. Day 2 part 2 (AKA Hamilton Tour)
06-26-2021
Robbie and I found a nice pizzeria and sat down for a nice long relaxing lunch. We were very hot, tired and thirsty. Feeling very refreshed from our lunch, we got back to sightseeing. We heard that there was a Freedom Ride rally on the National Mall. We headed to the National Mall to see what was going on. There were lots of people with red shirts, even a few horses. We hung out there for a while and listened to a few speakers.
We went from the rally to the Capitol Building. It was disappointing to see the Capitol Building surrounded by a security fence. It was nice seeing the Capitol Building, fence and all. The fence has recently been removed.
Our next stop was on the list of monument to Hamilton characters. The Library of Congress: James Madison Memorial Building. Madison was one of the first people to indicate a need for congress to have a library. He suggested a list of books that would be helpful to members of congress. Inside the main hall of the Madison Building there is a statue of James Madison. Unfortunately, due to covid, all of the federal buildings were closed to the public. There was a very nice capitol police officer at the door. He informed us that we were not allow to enter. Robbie asked him if he would take a photo of the Madison statue for us. He said yes! So he took Robbie’s phone inside and took a few photos of the statue for us. We were very grateful and thanked him for taking the photos for us. We didn’t tell him about our Hamilton tour but we did mention the other reason that we wanted to see the Madison statue. James Madison and I are “cousins” or something like that. My Grandmother was a Madison from Virginia, apparently her family goes back to James Madison’s uncle. So James Madison and I share a great grandfather.
Our next stop was another one on the Hamilton tour, the Jefferson Library of Congress Building. Unfortunately also closed. This is the main building for the Library of Congress. We were able to go inside on our last visit to DC a few years ago. It’s a very beautiful building!
The Supreme Court Building is next to the Library of Congress. It was closed as well but was also barricaded at the street. We also went inside of the Supreme Court Building on our last trip to DC. It would have been nice just to walk up the steps though. From there you get a good view of the back of the Capitol Building.
They call it Capitol Hill, because the Capitol Building is on a hill. It doesn’t look like a big hill, until you walk to the top of it! We are from Florida, so the biggest hill we have is an ant hill. Walking up and down Capitol Hill made us quite tired. We planned on using the car for the next places on our list. So we headed back to the Hotel to take a break before heading back out. About half way to the hotel we took a little break at the fountain for the National Botanical Garden.
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. A side trip to Washington DC. Day 2 part 1(AKA Hamilton Tour)
06-26-2021
My wife Robbie and I took a road trip to York PA to see my family. It was great seeing everyone again, we really missed them a lot! We had a great visit but it was time to head home. We planned on visiting Washington DC on the way back to Florida. We spent two nights in DC, this way we would have one full day to see all of the sights. We had a very full day planned, we wanted to see everything! We wanted to visit some of the Smithsonian museums while we were there. In the past, you pretty much just walked into the museum you wanted to visit. During our visit in June, because of the covid pandemic, they were restricting the number of people visiting each museum. To control this we needed to get a free admission ticket online, 30 days in advance! Unfortunately, we started planning our trip less than 30 days before. We were unable to get any museum admission tickets. According to the website they were holding a small number of tickets for walk ups. We wanted to see the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. It was under construction during our last visit a few years ago. We planned on being there in the morning when they opened. On the way there we took the scenic route through the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden next to the Smithsonian Arts and Industries Building. There was a line of people waiting to get into the African American Museum. We asked the woman who was checking tickets if there were any left for today. She said that there were no more tickets for today. She told us that to get tickets the day of, you actually needed to go to the website the day before at 4:30 to get them. So we were unable to get tickets for any of the museums. I checked recently and it looks like you no longer need to get a ticket to enter the museums.
Robbie is a huge Hamilton fan, so while we were in Washington DC we also wanted to see all of the monuments to Hamilton characters. Alexander Hamilton was the first Secretary of the Treasury. The US Treasury Building is just a few blocks from the African American Museum, so this was our next stop. There is a statue of Hamilton at the rear of the building. This also seems to be the main entrance, there is a security fence with a guardhouse there. We were only able to see the Hamilton statue from a distance. In the front of the building along Pennsylvania Ave is a Statue of Albert Gallatin, the longest serving Secretary of the Treasury.
Walking from the back of the Treasury Building to the front, we passed the Sun Trust Building. It’s just a neat old red brick building.
Walking down Pennsylvania Ave, we came to Lafayette Square. There is a statue of the Marquis de Lafayette, a good friend of Hamilton and French ally who helped win the American Revolutionary War. One of the men at the base of the statue is Comte de Rochambeau. Rochambeau and his French army were instrumental in defeating the British at Yorktown and winning the Revolutionary War. He is mentioned in Hamilton at the battle of Yorktown.
Across Pennsylvania Ave from Lafayette Square is The White House. There were barricades along Pennsylvania Ave, so we could not cross the street.
We were able to get into The White House for a photo though! No, not really. We stopped at The White House gift shop down the street to do some shopping. With our purchases, we could go around the corner to a small studio, for a free photo in a faux White House.
Heading back down Pennsylvania Ave we came to Pershing Park, sort of a two for one memorial. It honors General Pershing on one half and World War One on the other. The artwork reflecting in the pool will be replaced by a bronze mural when it’s completed. It’s a really pretty memorial.
We were getting pretty tired and hungry from walking around seeing the sights. We found a nice pizzeria and had a long relaxing lunch. The pizzeria was just around the corner from Fords Theater and the Peterson House across the street. The Peterson House is where President Abraham Lincoln died after being shot in Fords Theater. After seeing Fords Theater we walked across Pennsylvania Ave and got a good view of the Capitol Building. We were in Washington in June, it was Pride Month, the Federal buildings were flying pride flags. This one was the Commerce Building.
Share this:
Ladder Company 10 and Engine Company 10, The Ten House
Ladder Company 10 and Engine Company 10, The Ten House. The Ten House is literally across the street from the World Trade Center. On September 11, 2001, The Ten House was the first to respond to the towers. Members of The Ten House directed people to exit the towers through the subway. An estimated four thousand people escaped through the subway. The Ten House lost five firefighters in the towers. A total of 343 New York City Fire Department members lost their lives that day.
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. A Side Trip to Washington DC.
06-25-2021
Robbie and I had a great time in York PA visiting the family. It was awesome seeing everyone again. We missed them a lot! It’s always nice getting back to York. Hopefully it wont be so long until we get back again. It was time to say goodbye and head back home. It’s a really long drive back to Florida. To break it up a little, we planned a side trip to Washington DC. One of Robbie’s favorite cities. On our way from Florida to York we stopped at Mount Vernon. By the time we arrived it was too late to take a tour. We decided that we would stop at Mount Vernon again on our way to Washington. This time we arrived with plenty of time to take a tour. Due to covid restrictions they were limiting the number of people allow to take a tour of the inside of George Washington’s mansion. Although we could still walk around the grounds and see the farm and the mansion from the outside, they had reached the limit for tours of the inside of the mansion for the day. The admission to Mt. Vernon is fairly expensive. Since we could not see the inside of the mansion, we decided not to take a tour. There is a nice restaurant there next to the gift shop so we had a good lunch before heading into Washington.
Click on an Image to see larger
We had booked a room in downtown DC at the Holiday Inn. It was just three blocks from the National Mall, just behind the Air and Space Museum. This was a great location, most of the things we wanted to see were within walking distance. Our rate included come and go parking privileges for the parking garage, very important when visiting DC by car. The hotel was really nice, our room was on the top floor. The room was fairly large and had a sitting area with a sofa. There was also a refrigerator that we made good use of. Along with a view of the inner courtyard we could just see the top of capital dome from our window. There was a rooftop pool, but due to covid, it was closed.
I wanted to see how my new little Fujifilm X100V performed for travel photography. The X100V is a very small camera and easy to carry around. Although it is a small camera, it has all of the features and capabilities of a larger camera, with one, well, two exceptions. The X100V has a the smaller C size sensor (lots of big DSLR cameras have C sized sensors too, so not much of an issue) and a fixed 23mm focal length lens, equivalent to a 35mm focal length lens on my full frame size sensor Nikon (sensor size affects the focal length). I normally use a 24-70mm zoom lens on my Nikon. So the 35mm equivalent focal length lens on the X100V is in the middle of the range that I’m used to using. I was eager to see how being tied to the fixed 35mm (equivalent) focal length would affect my photography. There was still lots of daylight left, so I thought I would walk around and take some photos. When I photograph a place like Washington DC, if I have time, I like to walk around and sort of just follow my nose. I usually have a few things that I want to photograph, but I like to keep things loose. I like to also be able to photograph things that I find along the way. Here, my main targets were the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. If I found something along the way, all the better. I walked a few blocks from the hotel on the way to the Capitol building and found the National Museum of the American Indian. This museum has some really nice architecture. I was having a great time photographing it. This museum was not on my list of places to photograph. Not having a strict itinerary allowed me to spend some time on a found place. Tomorrow will be much different, we have a larger list of places to see, so I won’t have as much time for found places.
After photographing the American Indian Museum, I made my way towards the Capitol Building. It was a really nice evening for a walk through the Nation’s Capital. It was disheartening to see the security fencing around the Capitol Building. The reason why it needed to be there in the first place is even more disheartening. Area closed is not something you want to see around your Capitol. That aside, the Capitol Building was looking very majestic as usual. Thankfully the security fencing has since been removed.
I walked all the way around the Capitol Reflecting Pool then started down the National Mall. There was not a large number of people on the Mall. The people who were on the Mall had been taking part in many activities. They were sitting in the grass relaxing and enjoying the beautiful evening. People were walking, taking in the sights, like me. They were playing games and having fun. Bike riders and rental electric scooter riders were zipping up and down the Mall. A Segway tour passed by. There were people sitting on benches just watching the world go by. It was a great evening to be on the Mall. I was treated to a colorful sunset as I approached the Washington Monument.
Click on an image to see larger
On my way back to the hotel I stumbled onto the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden. The garden is a beautifully landscaped brick walkway between Jefferson Drive and Independence Avenue. It’s part of the gardens surrounding the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building, the prominent 1800s redbrick building along the National Mall. The Air and Space Museum was undergoing a renovation and had construction fencing around parts of it. I poked my camera through the fence and I was able to get a photo of the Delta Solar sculpture. Just a block from the hotel I passed the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial with a nice view of the Capital Building. I had fun walking around the Nations Capital taking photos. I was very happy with the performance of my little Fujifilm X100V. Occasionally I needed to reposition myself to frame an image. With my 24-70mm I would have been able to simply zoom. For the most part thought I was working well with the fixed focal length. The camera was really nice to carry around, I felt very light and free. I just had the small camera, with an extra battery and lens cloth in my pocket.
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. The York County Heritage Rail Trail, Glen Rock
06-24-2021
During our recent trip to York PA, Robbie and I took walks on the York County Heritage Rail trail. This is a great trail for riding a bike or walking. On our last walks we visited the Howard Tunnel and Hanover Junction. This time we started our walk South of Seven Valleys in Glen Rock PA. Glen Rock is another quintessential American small town along the rail trail. Most of the rail trail is pretty flat. Glen Rock is in a valley surrounded by rocky hills and dotted with small farms. Heading south out of Glen Rock there is an uphill grade. Trains from the 1800s did not like going uphill so it’s not a very steep grade, but it does give your legs an extra workout.
My great uncle Roy lived in Glen Rock. I remember visiting with my grand parents when I was a kid. They lived in an old three-story farm house. The house was built into the side of the hill, so the lower level was partly under ground but the front was exposed. This was not a basement but additional living space. My aunt and uncle lived in this lower level. They were avid antique collectors. The upper floors of the house were jam packed full of antiques as well as the barn. I always enjoyed looking at them when we visited. I especially liked the old organs; they had several. They were huge, well huge for a six year old boy. They had ornate oak cabinets with lots of keys and buttons. Their house was like walking into an early 1900s parlor.
Many generations ago the Thoman family immigrated from Bubendorf, Switzerland to southern York County. Several years ago Robbie and I visited Bubendorf. I was amazed at the similarities between Bubendorf and Glen Rock. Bubendorf is a small town in a valley surrounded by rocky hills and dotted with small farms. It was easy to see why the Thoman’s chose southern York County.
The lane to my uncle’s house is right next to the rail trail. The last time we walked the trail in Glen Rock we could see a little of my uncle’s old house through the trees. This time it was too overgrown. We could not see the house. Keeping with the bicycle art theme all along the trail, there are some old bikes in a garden and a big dog sculpture made of old bike parts.
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. The York County Heritage Rail Trail, Seven Valleys PA.
06-23-2021
While Robbie and I are visiting York PA, we like to take walks on the York County Heritage Rail Trail. The trail is a 20 plus mile long trail through southern York County. We like this trail because it’s very scenic with lots of things to look at along the way. In the heat of the summer the trail is covered in shade by trees on both sides of the trail. The shade keeps it nice and cool while walking the trail. The other day we walked from the Brillhart Station parking lot to the Howard Tunnel. We wanted to walk a different section of the trail, so today we started from the Seven Valleys trail parking lot. We walked South past Hanover Junction for about two miles before returning to the Seven Valleys parking lot.
The rail trail winds its way through 200 year old small town America. It’s like a trip back in time before suburbs and urban sprawl. Seven Valleys is one of those small towns, population 517. There are several bike themed art pieces all along the trail. The Seven Valleys parking area has three large bike sculptures. There is also a building with old bikes mounted to a wall. There is an antique store that probably has that amazing piece you have been looking for. Back when I rode my bike on the trail, it was more of a general store. On my way back home I would stop for a snack and a drink. Seven Valleys is known for cigars and ice cream.
Just past Seven Valleys is Hanover Junction. In Hanover Junction the Northern Central Railroad line split and headed west to Hanover PA. Trains would either go west to Hanover or continue north to Harrisburg. Abraham Lincoln passed through Hanover Junction twice. The first time he was on his way to Gettysburg, to give the Gettysburg address. There was an infamous photograph that was said to be Lincoln at Hanover Junction on his way to Gettysburg. It has been determined that it was not Lincoln. Photo or not, his train did stop in Hanover junction. The second time, his funeral train passed through Hanover Junction on the way to Harrisburg PA. The train station has been restored to look the way it did in the mid 1800s. There is a small museum inside. It is currently closed due to covid. Outside there is a small butterfly garden full of butterflies. There is a man and horse sculpture, sculpted from old bicycle frames and parts.
The other day we noticed new railroad ties laying along the tracks all of the way from Brillhart Station to the Howard Tunnel. Today we ran into the railroad tie machine in Seven Valleys. There is a steam excursion train that is based at the New Freedom train station. New Freedom is the southern most town in PA along the trail, close to the Maryland line. They have been running the excursion train for several years. They needed to do an extensive rail restoration in order to be able to run the train. The restoration work was completed north as far as Hanover Junction. The train has been running from New Freedom to Hanover Junction and back. After the track is renovated into York, the train will run from New Freedom to York. That will be a really nice train ride!
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. The York County Heritage Rail Trail, Howard Tunnel
06-21-2021
The York County Heritage Rail trail is a 20 plus mile rails to trails project. The trail winds its way through scenic southern York county. It follows the old Northern Central Railroad line. The NCR served Harrisburg PA and points north and south through York County to Washington DC. It was an important freight and passenger route from 1838 to 1972. The rail line was abandoned for many years, in 1990 one of the two sets of tracks was removed. Starting with an Eagle Scout project from two Boy Scouts, the rail bed from the removed rails were transformed into the Heritage Rail Trail.
When I lived in York the trail started in the middle of downtown York. It goes a little farther north now. The trail is a multi use trail it’s great for walking, jogging, bike riding and horse riding. No motor vehicles allowed. I would ride my bike from my house on the east side of town to the beginning of the trail downtown. Depending on how I was feeling that day, I would ride 8 to 15 miles south and then turn around and go back to the house. I really enjoyed riding the Heritage Rail Trail. When Robbie and I visit York we like to walk the trail as much as we can. My parents live a short distance from the Brillhart Station trail parking lot. We parked in the lot and walked just under two miles to the Howard Tunnel.
The Howard tunnel is a 275-foot brick lined tunnel with stone facades. It’s a pretty cool looking tunnel and worth the walk to get to it. It can be a bit creepy to walk through with water dripping on your head. It’s not quite long enough to be too dark. When you get far enough into the tunnel you start to see the light from the other side. It’s only a little bit dark in the middle. The York County Heritage Rail Trail is my favorite trail!
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. Happy Father’s Day!
06-20-2021
Our road trip to York PA happened to be over Father’s Day. My son had planned to go to the Father’s Day brunch at Troegs Brewery in Hershey PA with his family. They invited us to come too. We thought that sounded like a good idea, so we decided that we would go too. My daughter Nicole and her family came along as well. My mom came along with us, but my dad decided to stay home. The brunch was great, plus you got to have a good beer with brunch. The best part though was being with the family!
You can’t go to Hershey PA and not do the Hershey’s chocolate tour at Hershey’s Chocolate World! Hershey’s Chocolate World is a huge store with every type of Hershey’s chocolate known to man, in every package size you can imagine. The chocolate tour is an amusement style ride through a simulated factory. Along the way you learn all about the making of Hershey’s chocolate, from cocoa bean to Hershey’s Kiss. Hershey started this simulated chocolate tour many years ago in place of an actual factory tour.
Ryan and Shana have moved to a different house since the last time that we visited York. After Hershey, we stopped by to see the new house. My brother Brian and his wife Theresa picked up some lunch to have with dad. After visiting with the kids at Ryan’s we went back to my parent’s house to spend some time with my brother and his wife. It was amazing spending time with my kids and my father on Father’s Day! I have not been able to do that for many years. It was one of the best Father’s Day ever!
Share this:
Road Trip to York PA. Hanging out at Mom and Dad’s
06-19-2021
After mom and dad’s anniversary dinner at Primanti Brothers we all went back to their house. My son Ryan and his wife Shana own White Rose Hobbies in West York. Ryan had to work at the hobby shop and was not able to join us for dinner. We were waiting for him to join us at mom and dad’s house.
My son-in-law, Ronnie and his boys, Colin and Conner brought their remote control cars. They were playing with them out in front of the house. They were having fun, until a bad collision happened. One of the cars suffered a broken suspension part. Luckily, Ryan had not arrived yet, this meant that White Rose Hobbies was still open! So Ronnie was off to the hobby shop for parts.
While we were waiting for Ryan and now Ronnie, the grand kids, Brooke, Colton, Colin and Conner broke out their devices. When Ronnie returned with the part. He not only had a new suspension part to replace the broken one. He also had all new upgraded suspensions for both cars! I think the guy at the hobby shop saw him coming! Ronnie started working on the cars, when Ryan arrived he helped install the new parts.
We’ve really missed seeing everyone. It was great to hang out with them and spend some time together!
Share this:
Road Trip to York. Happy 62nd Anniversary Mom and Dad!
06-19-2021
While we were in York this past June, my mother and father, Roy and Linda Thoman, celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary! It was really great to be with them for their anniversary with the family that they started. We all went to Primanti Brothers restaurant in York. Primanti Brothers is from Pittsburgh. Their specialty is a huge sandwich your choice of meat with coleslaw and french fries on the sandwich between two thick slices of bread.
It was really great to be with the family again! We love you all! Happy anniversary mom and dad, we love you!
Share this:
Road Trip To York PA, A Visit To The Farmers’ Market
Our second day on the road from Lumberton NC to York PA went well, we didn’t run into too much traffic, a little but it wasn’t too bad. We did plan a small side trip but that didn’t work out so well. We wanted to stop at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. It took longer to get there than we thought it would. We didn’t arrive at Mount Vernon until after 4pm. Mount Vernon unfortunately closes at 5pm. There was not enough time to have a proper visit. So we took a spin around the gift shop and had a small break and got back on the road. We did a drive through Washington DC to take a quick look around and then headed to York. We arrived at my parents house around sunset. We stayed with them while we were in York. It was awesome to see them after being away for so long!
The next morning we wanted to take a drive around York to see the old and the new. Just to see what had changed and what had not. York has two farmers’ markets downtown. I would have like to have seen both of them but we only got to visit the Penn Market on where else, Market street. I always enjoy visiting farmers’ markets where ever we go. I enjoy the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the hustle and bustle. I think my fascination with farmers’ markets was born here at this market. My grandma Peggy lived just around the corner. Grandma Peggy lived alone and did not drive, but both markets were just a short walk from her apartment. There were no grocery stores close by so between the markets and the 5 and dime store, this is where grandma did her shopping. When my brother and I were young boys, grandma would take us to the market. She would grab her wheeled market basket and off we would go to the market. Two things I remember getting at the market were caramel cake and sugar cookies. This could also be where my sweet tooth was born. The caramel cake was very unique. It was a regular two layer cake with a very yummy caramel flavored butter cream frosting. The frosting was a weird brown color. To someone who was not familiar, it probably didn’t look too appetizing. But it was amazingly good! The sugar cookies were not really cookies. Although they were large for cookies, they were really a small cake that sort of looked like a big cookie. They were a round, sweet yellow cake with a sprinkle of coarse sugar on top. Very yummy dunked in milk, tea, or coffee. I think they are a Pennsylvania Dutch thing. My mom and dad now live close to a farm store that used to have a booth at the market. They still have the sugar cookies! I always enjoyed our trips to the market. Just going downtown when I was a kid was always a good time. I will always remember the wonderful smell of peanuts being roasted at the news stand. I don’t get this sloppy, wet Florida/southern boiled peanut thing. I was happy to see that the market was still open, but it was disappointing that it was only half full. I remember it being jam packed full of vendors and people. Market day was always a busy day for the farmers as well as the customers. We picked up some York county strawberries. York county strawberries are the best!
Share this:
Road Trip To York PA. A Side Trip to Tybee Island Lighthouse
My family lives in York PA. Robbie and I hadn’t seen them for a long time. We were planning a trip north for a visit in the spring of 2020. Due to the Covid 19 outbreak, we needed to postpone our trip to York. Fast forward to spring of 2021. Vaccines are available and things are starting to get back to normal. My wife Robbie and I both got the vaccine. My mom and dad also both got the vaccine. So our trip to York was back on! We were looking forward to seeing my mom, dad, kids and grand-kids.
We usually get a flight into Baltimore, but for this trip it just worked out better to drive our car from Titusville FL to York PA. So this past June we loaded up the car and headed north. We reserved a room in Lumberton NC, about halfway to York, for the first night. Sitting in the car for hours and hours is not fun. To give our butts a break, we planned a side trip to see the Tybee Island Lighthouse. Tybee Island is just east of Savannah GA and about halfway to Lumberton. Robbie and I enjoy visiting lighthouses, and we hadn’t been to this one. It’s always nice to visit a new lighthouse. Tybee Island is a nice little Georgia beach town. The lighthouse didn’t seem that big, there are 178 steps. We have not climbed very many steps or anything else lately. By the time we huffed and puffed our way to the top, we felt every step! The view at the top was worth it! We enjoyed visiting the Tybee Island Lighthouse and it was a nice distraction from our long road trip.
Share this:
SpaceX SXM-8 Night Launch
Another awesome Space Coast night launch! SpaceX launched a Sirius XM Radio satellite into orbit. The SXM-8 was sent to replace SXM-7, launched last year. SXM-7, also launched by SpaceX, was successfully placed into orbit but was D.O.A. and was unable to be revived. SpaceX successfully placed SXM-8 into orbit. It will be several days until the health of SXM-8 will be known.
Usually when I do a streak photo of a night launch, I like to get the arc. As a rocket launches, it ascends into the sky. When it reaches altitude it levels off and continues to fly. Due to the curvature of the earth, from the ground, it almost looks like the rocket is coming back down. During a long exposure night photo, you are actually photographing the light from the rocket engines. This makes a streak in the sky, due to the curvature of the earth the streak makes an arc in the sky.
Now, to work out the exposure. A typical rocket takes 3-3.5 minutes to reach orbit. I usually use 3 minutes for my shutter speed for testing my exposure. In real time I will hold the shutter open until I can no longer see the rocket. To work out the f-stop, I do a series of test exposures at different f-stops. The amount of lighting on the foreground will determine the proper f-stop. When the foreground is exposed properly with a 3 minute shutter speed, that’s the correct f-stop. In this case it was f-16.
This launch had two issues. The first was trajectory, the rocket was flying due east. From Titusville it was flying directly away from the camera. So no arc, it would look like it was just going straight up. The second issue was cloud cover. Shortly after launch the rocket was going to go behind the clouds. Once again no arc, no matter what direction it was flying. Normally I use the widest angle lens I have, my 24-70mm at 24mm. Knowing the rocket was going to go behind the clouds shortly after launch, I zoomed in to compress the scene. This sort of, solved both issues to make a pleasing image. Also because the rocket was going behind the clouds, it wouldn’t be visible for the full 3 minutes. To make the exposure correct I still needed to keep the shutter open for the full 3 minutes. In this case I actually opened the shutter 1 minute before liftoff.
I photographed this launch from the newly renovated Rotary Riverside Park along US 1 in Titusville. The park had been destroyed by a hurricane a few years ago. It had just been reopened a few days earlier.
Share this:
Abandoned
I have always liked old abandoned places. I have seen some excellent images of abandoned places. One of my classmates from college did a portfolio on abandoned places. It was really good; I was very jealous. As I remember, none of the places in the portfolio were local. Anyway, I always have my eye out for a really cool abandoned place. The other day I stopped to check out an old abandoned building. I got some nice photos, but I wasn’t happy with the images from that day. I stopped by the building a second time. It had rained the night before. There was a huge puddle of water covering the floor. The floor was totally dry the first time I had stopped. The puddle of water created some amazing reflections. I can’t pass up photographing a good reflection, no matter where it is.
I was using my Fujifilm X100V. The X100V works really well in low light situations, like the inside of old abandoned buildings. It also has a flip out LCD screen. I was able to flip the screen out and hold the camera really low, just above the surface of the water. The low camera angle enhances the reflections. This was a really cool abandoned place. Keeping my eye out for the next one.
Share this:
Tabgha Church of the Multiplication
Tabgha, Church of the Multiplication on the Sea of Galilee in Israel. This is the place where Jesus preformed the miracle of the loaves and fish. He turned a few loves of bread and a few fish into many to feed thousands of hungry people. The rock under the alter is where Jesus stood to preform the miracle. It is also where Jesus appeared for the 4th time after his resurrection. He tells Peter to take care of his sheep. So I thought it would make a good post for Easter. Happy Easter!
Share this:
A Day At The Beach
My wife Robbie and I packed a lunch and headed to Playalinda beach at the Canaveral National Seashore. It’s always a good day on the beach listening to the crashing waves and the seagulls. I took my camera for a short walk to see what I could find. The texture of the images was speaking to me, so I decided to do black and white conversions.
Share this:
SpaceX Starlink L21
SpaceX Starlink L21 from the A. Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville Fl. I didn’t frame this photo correctly. The plan was to be able to see the rocket coming up under the bridge. I wasn’t paying close enough attention after a repositioning and missed the target. I will try this one again sometime.
