Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Morning Dew

These webs are in a 'cup' shape, so I couldn't get all dew drops in focus. 




Monday, April 29, 2013

Bubbles Close Up

An experiment of close up photography using karo syrup on glass with colored paper.

Nikon D7000
Nikon 35mm f/1.8 lens
w/Raynox 150 lens
Tripod, manual mode

1/60, f/3.5, ISO 100

1/15, f/4.5, ISO 100

1/60, f/4, ISO 100. Most of the bubbles were disappearing so I took a toothpick and made lines.


Sunday, April 28, 2013

Morning Trip to Thurmont Maryland

28 April 2013:

I spent the morning with my friend Charity taking pictures in Thurmont Maryland, about a 25 minute drive north of home.


We met early in the morning at a central meeting point on Rte 15. 

Our first stop was to Roddy Road Covered Bridge (Rte 15 and Roddy Creek Road - it's 1/2 mile in). It's the smallest covered bridge in Maryland and is 40 feet in length. It dates back to about 1856 or earlier. On the other side of the bridge is a pretty area, including the remains of a stone wall.  




Next we went to Pryor's Orchard. The place was closed but the owner allowed us to walk around the property to take pictures. We were told we missed a beautiful spring so we'll be sure to go next year.







Our last stop was to Cunningham Falls State Park, which is located in the Catoctin Mountains. We hiked 1/2 mile up to the falls. Only a few others were in the area. The falls were not as spectacular as the one I visited in Costa Rica last month.


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Flowers and Bees

Photos taken in my yard (4/21/13).









Afternoon with Dad


 



I had lunch last week with my dad. We usually go to a French restaurant (or steamed crabs during the summer) but I wanted to try something different. I googled and found a Greek restaurant in Annapolis called Chris' Charcoal Pit.

It's the kind of place I love - home-style cooking, family atmosphere, friendly waitresses, and lots of paintings, plates, etc. on the walls. There were even two large t.v. screens with a nice slide show of pictures taken in various areas of Greece.

They have an open kitchen with a busy staff making a large variety of typical Greek dishes. It looked liked they did a good amount of take-out service as well.

Dad ordered the avgolemono soup and gyro sandwich.
  

I went big with the Gyro Greek platter ($16.95), which came with a salad and choice of fries or rice. I selected the rice. Oh my! It was huge and of course, I couldn't eat it all. The gyro meat (combination of beef, lamb, and spices) was flavorful and not greasy at all. The tzatziki was creamy and with the right amount of garlic.

Dad ordered the baklava for dessert. I was too full to have any. Our waitress brought it out. She pointed out that she cut a corner off just for me. I guess  she didn't want me to leave without trying it. Another winner - sweet, sticky, and dense.



1946 West Street
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-266-5200

After lunch, we walked around the watefront area of Annapolis. It was a beautiful day, breezy, but not too cold. 



       

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Paul McCartney - Out There Tour Concert July 2013

Ever since I was a young kid, I've listened to the Beatles &Paul McCartney and Wings. I missed the opportunity last year to see him in concert.

He's performing at the Washingting Nationals in DC. So I decided to splurge for a VIP seat, which includes four different packages. I thought I'd go for one of the top two but figured the "hot sound package" would be in my price range.

Front Row Package
One front row floor ticket, side section
Special entrance
Invitation to Sound Check
Pre-show hospitality reception
Exclusive merchandise item
Collectible laminate
Onsite event management staff

Hot Sound Package
One premium floor ticket, Rows 3-6
Special entrance
Invitation to Sound Check
Pre-show hospitality reception
Exclusive merchandise item
Collectible laminate
Onsite event management staff

Being that mid-July is my birthday, I thought I’d splurge if the prices of tickets were in my range. I pictured mingling with other VIPs, enjoying the reception, listening to Paul during the sound check saying, “Test, test, check 1, check 2, test, test, check 1…..”, and sitting right up front.

...............WRONG!

This morning right at 9am (for VIP pre-sales) I got online and hit the magic button. My eyes popped out when I saw the Front Row Package was selling for a whopping $2,000 (now sold out); and the Hot Sound package selling for $1,200 (as of 6:30pm they are now $1,500).

So I decided I would check on Friday when the 'general' seating tickets opened to the public. But about two hours ago, a friend of mine posted on Facebook stating she bought her tickets. So I got to itch to buy mine. It wouldn't be VIP seats, but maybe still close to the front.

Oh my God!!!! I spent the next two hours on the computer trying to buy one ticket for little ole me. I attempted 1/2 dozen times entering the credit card and all the details, while the countdown clock warned me that I had 3-4 minutes left before the transaction expired. I wouldn’t take the damn security code on the card. I called the credit card company (“…The number is valid, try again”), Washington Nationals (no answer), and ticketmaster.com (“…We’re not selling the tickets…can’t locate an alternate number for you for Washington Nationals...").

As I re-tried, I would get a different area/seat. I cleared out the cookies so I could get the area I wanted. 

FINALLY, one last attempt and the web site finally "took" the security number and I got my ticket!! I’m on the field (section 3, yeah!), row 27.

I’m exhausted after being frustrated and getting the run-round. I'm having a glass of wine right now to cool off.

This better be a damn good concert!