Windward Journey

AA891: My Ride to Paradise

•February 16, 2008 • 1 Comment

Nearly every week I crawl into the back of a Boeing 757 in Washington, DC to catch a ride to work in San Juan, PR. Most days I hope for a window seat where I can curl up against the fuselage and snooze the 4 hour flight away. Today was a little different, however, as I was flying to San Juan for a visit with friends.

Having returned to my home exhausted following the trip to Montreal, I slept all day yesterday – and I do mean ALL DAY. It was embarrassing, really. I finally rose from the crypt at 5 pm after sleeping for 16 hours. I erupted in a frenzy of laundry, cleaning, bill paying, email reading, bag packing, etc., and collapsed again at 11pm. Another 6 hours of sleep ensued and I woke at 5 am ready for my ride to San Juan. For the first time in a long time, I really felt rested and I looked forward to enjoying the flight in a fully conscious state.

Just after take-off on runway 30, we made a right turn to the north and passed by Beaverdam Reservoir, which supplies water to northern Virginia. We’re recovering from a significant drought last summer, and the water level is still very, very low. Normally the waterline is right against the trees, with no exposed shore.

We continued the right turn until heading south east towards Bermuda. Here is a shot of the Chesapeake at sunrise looking east. Not bad for an airplane window shot, really. The Delmarva peninsula is one of my favorite sights from up high.

As we continue southeast at 35,000 feet, we cross the gulf stream about 100 miles offshore. There are almost always interesting cloud formations around the gulf stream, as the stream itself carries a column of warm water northward along the US coast. It can also be very bumpy here due to rising warm, moist air. Add the northern jet stream and it can be a downright bone-jarring ride, but we’re normally through this area within 20 minutes. Today it happened to be crystal clear with a smooth ride, punctuated by the occasional nudge from winds aloft.

Fast forward three hours and here we are on the approach to the Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, PR. This is a view of El Morro, one of the icons of Puerto Rico, which is in Old San Juan.

Fuerte San Felipe Del Morro, commonly known as “El Morro”, owes its history and architecture to the Spaniards who began building it in 1539. It suffered attacks from Sir Francis Drake in the 1500’s and the Dutch fleet in 1625. El Morro also came into play in 1898 during the Spanish – American War. The fort was in use as lately as World War II when the U.S. added an annex to the fort for military purposes. The fort has only been breached once in its history, owing to a large scale land attack while the entire garrison was suffering from the flu.

Today its historical significance has been sealed by its designation as a World Heritage Site and is also a U.S. National Park Site administered by the U.S. National Park Service. The fort is open 9:00am to 5:00pm from June to November and 9:00am to 6:00pm from December through May, and I strongly recommend a visit when you come to San Juan. This is one of my favorite places, and for my geocaching friends, there be caches and benchmarks here!

The old port was quiet today, with only a Princess ship calling. The port is part of Old San Juan, where, on the first Tuesday of every month there is a large scale salsa celebration in the streets. Old San Juan is riddled with narrow cobblestone streets housing dozens of small shops, restaurants, art galleries, and more. Aside from the monthly salsa event, there are numerous holiday celebrations here as well which reveal the rich cultural tapestry of Puerto Rico.

Most visitors to San Juan will recognize the lagoon and hotel strip of Condado, which is a very busy commercial and tourism district. The beach is quite nice, and within a block of the sea are dozens of shopping and dining options. This area is a good choice for family getaways, as all the modern conveniences are nearby and the area is very heavily patrolled by the police.

Another view of the Condado area where it joins Isla Verde. Moments later we touched down and my quick getaway began…

Coming tomorrow: a traditional family-style birthday celebration for my friend Jesus in Cagua, PR!

Posted in Airline Flying, Caribbean, Photography, Puerto Rico, washington dc
Tags: Condado, El Morro, Photography, Puerto Rico, San Juan, Virginia

The Poutine Contingency

•February 10, 2008 • 2 Comments

Hello snow.

I am in Montreal this week speaking at a cabin safety symposium, maybe a little against my will (at least as far as the weather goes), and although I am trying to make the best of it, the truth is: its friggin cold up here. The winds are blowing at 30 mph gusting to 45, placing the windchill so low that they are measuring it in Kelvin.

So what was my plan to cope with the cold? Eat a hearty Quebec meal and seek the company of like minded folk. Where did I go wrong? Well, I decided to brave the elements and attempted to walk 3 miles to the selected restaurant.

I made it 2 blocks.

Rather than truly endanger my well being (this kind of weather can cause frostbite, hypothermia, and even death) I solicited transport from a taxi driver and settled in for a comfortable and warm ride. Warmth. If only it were that simple. The Canadian taxi driver, you see, had the AIR CONDITIONING on! I sat in the back of a frigid taxi, shivering and clenching teeth in the sub-zero weather whilst trying to enjoy the luxury of air conditioned comfort. And to think that I was actually paying for the ride…

Once I arrived, it seemed as though the least I could do is snap a quick shot of La Banquise, a 24 hour purveyor of one of the most classic of Quebec dishes: poutine (pronounced like the Russian President’s name). Poutine is a tasty and potentially hazardous dish comprised of fried potatoes, cheese curds, and brown gravy. The dish has a cult following, of which I have been a proud member since first tasting it way back in 1984 during a visit to Quebec City. Poutine connoisseurs will go to great lengths to find poutine nirvana, including braving arctic weather with new Caribbean skin.

The front window of La Banquise. All photos here were taken without flash in my continuing exploration of low light flash-less photography. My Nikon D300 seems well equipped for the job – I just love the shots that I’m getting with it.

Upon entering, I was pleased to see that the grill was in plain sight, and what a sight it was.

The menu contained no less than 22 kinds of poutine!

Almost here! Mmmmm…

The money shot! Yes, this is steamy, greasy, fat filled lusciousness worthy of praise in poetry and song. My particular variation included an onion gravy and ground steak. I fully intended to do a grueling hour on the treadmill upon returning to the hotel, but instead spent the evening chatting with friends both in Montreal and online. Vive la poutine!

Posted in cooking, Montreal, Photography, Traditional Cooking
Tags: food, Montreal, Photography, Poutine

Colorguard

•February 10, 2008 • 1 Comment

Well, as you will already know from reading previous posts, I am not scheduled to fly in the Caribbean again until March due to professional obligations (although I will be spending some time in Puerto Rico during vacation next week.) In the meantime, I have been filling in with posts from my life in Washington DC, which I hope you’ve enjoyed even though they are a little off-subject.

Tonight I attended a Color Guard competition in Maryland as the photographer for my daughter’s unit. More accurately, at this time of the year guard ensembles are referred to as Winter Guard. Now, if you are thinking of the guys in various kinds of uniforms who display national and state flags at sporting events, that’s not what I’m talking about.

Color Guard 101

During the temperate months when the school marching band is playing at football games and participating in local parades, the Color Guard’s duties are related to providing color and movement for the band. They toss flags in the air and twirl batons, and sometimes they have mock rifles and sabers. At the collegiate level, the color guard is a key component of half time shows and major holiday parades. They provide the WOW factor, using rippling color and synchronized movement.

During winter months the marching band is off doing other things, so the Color Guard becomes the Winter Guard, a wholly different thing altogether. Winter guard is truly something special. Cast free from the constraints of band performances, Winter Guard units emerge from the chrysalis as fully functioning performance ensembles, crafting drama, dance, costume, color, movement and music into a full blown spectacle. Flags wave, lithe bodies move, rifles spin, sabers fly, and the whole thing takes your breath away.

To help you understand what a Winter Guard show looks like, I found a video on YouTube of an excellent ensemble performance. The video quality is degraded, like all YouTube videos, but look carefully for the amazing flag, rifle and saber work.

[Here is a link to a higher resolution video of a performance by one of our local teams in Washington, DC.]

So, now that you kind of know what its all about, here are some photos from the competition tonight. Congratulations to my daughter’s unit for taking second place in their division. WOOWOO!

Far from being a bunch of pretty flags and dance routines, these ensembles are really working hard. Practices are long and demanding, frustration and injury are common, and each member must be in decent aerobic shape. I’ve seen some units so drained after a performance that they had trouble removing their equipment from the floor afterwards. Each unit is judged on a number of factors, including time.

These young adults really give each winter season their all, making each performance better than the last… and it shows in the smiles on their faces.

These shots were all taken with my D300 in ambient light. Flash photography is not allowed, because when the Guard members throw these rifles high in the air, they need to see clearly for the catch. This makes photography especially challenging, but I think I am starting to figure out how to maximize the potential for great shots. The competition’s official photographer was having trouble getting crisp, well lit shots with his Canon – partially due, from what I could see, to his using a long lens which was probably a little slow.

This small unit was particularly good, taking first place in their division. What they lacked in numbers and flashy props they more than made up for in raw talent. Just awesome!

One of the more advanced units put on a very colorful show, with some great moments.

I took over 700 shots at the competition, and I haven’t had time to go through them all. These were just the first ones that caught my eye as I very quickly went through them. I know I’ve got some real keepers in the bunch, and when I have time to crop, color correct and finish them I’ll post the best for y’all. Each of these competitions leads to the finals and then championships, and I plan to be there.

For your part, you should take advantage of the season while it’s here: these competitions are open to the public nationwide and only cost a couple of dollars at the door to defray costs. Competitions are generally held every Saturday during the season at a high school not far from where you live. Younger children will love the flags, dancing, colors and music, and adults will be amazed by these unique performances. For more information about Color Guard units in your area, call your local high school and ask to speak to the band or Color Guard Director. I promise, after one show you’ll be hooked 😉

Posted in Photography, washington dc, Winter Guard
Tags: color guard, Photography, Winter Guard

N 39 W 77

•February 8, 2008 • Leave a Comment

Today I managed to get outside for a spell with my daughter to take some shots with the new camera. One of my favorite barns is pretty near the house, so this seemed as good a place as any. With mild temperatures for this time of year, it was very pleasant walking around on the winter grass. This particular homestead was donated to the town by a well-to-do family many years ago, and the entire property has been opened as a public park.

If only there had been a little light on this squirrel. Once, just once in my life, I’d like to get that killer wildlife shot: crystal clear focus, vibrant colors, perfect light and an animal looking its very best. A National Geographic shot, if you will. Maybe someday…

Nice light on the barn door. I think I’ll be able to score some very nice textures with this camera for Second Life. Almost anyone can make pretty prims; the real magic is in custom textures and scripting.

One of the nice things about having a digital camera with lots of pixels is that zooming in to a frame leaves you with decent resolution when cropping. I’m not sure that this cropped shot would stand up to anything more than 4 x 6 prints, but it’s cool to be able to zoom in and count hairs, know what I mean, Verne?

A local landmark. This place isn’t open in the winter, but during summer they serve burgers, fries, and shakes from a teeny, tiny booth. This serves as a warning to those who salivate easily – there be food porno ahead! Well, just a little. One shot. Hardly worth mentioning, really. *cough* Radar!

More proof that this camera just doesn’t allow bad shots. This is the most mundane composition ever, and, well, it just looks good! I was messing around with aperture priority and different ISO settings while waiting for some pizza. Speaking of which…

Well, would ya look at that! Some wood-fired pizza loaded up with nitrite-free meats and organic cheese. I’m still working on my eye for depth of field, and while this shot is sorta better, it’s still too tight. But I’m getting there. The pizza was awesome, by the way. And the young lady sitting across from me is always excellent company.

Tomorrow: Color Guard Competition in Maryland. And yes, friends, I will be heading back to the islands soon. I promise. Seriously. And have some really great stuff planned…

Posted in cooking, Photography, Virginia
Tags: barns, food, Photography, Virginia

Why I Love Breakfast

•February 7, 2008 • 2 Comments

When I’m home in Washington, DC there is at least one meal that you can count on at my house: breakfast. The reason for this is as simple as it is personal. Breakfast, you see, is the one meal that we flight crewmembers rarely, if ever, get to enjoy while flying. We either finish the day late at night and sleep through the breakfast hour, or our trips start so early that no one is awake but us.

So breakfast has become my occasional lover… always gorgeous, delicious, immersed in pleasure and hinting at great things to come. Oh yes, I love my breakfasts and I have devoted a considerable amount of time to ensuring that my technique is flawless. With a love as deep as this, one can’t afford to make a rookie mistake. Today’s inspiration was french toast with applewood smoked bacon, Vermont cheddar cheese, red berries, and lingonberry juice. I picked up my french toast recipe in Paris while staying at the Hotel Du Louvre, and it is sensational. I go back to the Jardin Tuileries and the smells of spring with every bite!

My daughter provides another reason for taking this meal to heart: kids do better in life when the heavenly rays of breakfast shine upon them. Research done by the Cardiff University School of Psychology, led by Professor Andrew Smith, has shown that eating breakfast helps children function better in school than those who skip the first meal of the day. Dr. Smith says that it is clear that starting the day with cereal enhances mental, cognitive and physical ability. The children are less emotionally distressed, less tired and less anxious. The study examined 213 children from 4 – 11 years old.

The results revealed children who start the day with cereal are:

9 percent more alert
11 percent less emotionally distressed
13 percent less tired
17 percent less anxious
10 percent less likely to suffer memory and attention span difficulties, than those that have no breakfast
33 percent less likely to suffer from stomach complaints.

Perhaps in another post I’ll wax poetic about coffee. Like a lot of folks, I have a particular method of preparation (which I am convinced is best!) The photo above was shot this morning using my D300 at several F stops. I found that 1.8 was too narrow, so I worked my way up until I hit pay dirt at 3.2. The light is ambient – no flash or supplemental lighting used. This camera is seriously a lot of fun, and I haven’t even STARTED to uncover what it can really do. Perhaps, like breakfast, my love affair with the D300 will run long and deep. In the mean time pass the maple syrup, please?

Posted in Airline Flying, breakfast, cooking, Photography, Uncategorized
Tags: Airline Flying, breakfast, cooking, french toast, Paris, Photography

A New Camera Arrives!

•February 4, 2008 • Leave a Comment

Today I picked up my new DSLR, a Nikon D300. This model has been widely acclaimed, being picked as ‘camera of the year’ by a couple of media companies. Having cut my teeth with the Olympus E-500 and Canon A630, I am looking forward to learning more about digital photography and with any luck my pictures will improve.

This is my first experiment with a fast 50mm lens in low light, and man, it was a blast! The camera focuses quickly and sharply, and the lens was perfect for the conditions. This is my cat Casper, doing what he does best – looking pretty and laying around. When he’s not pursuing the perfect cat nap, Casper likes to go outside for short walks, just like a dog.

Posted in Photography
Tags: cat, nikon, Photography

Sunday At Eastern Market

•February 3, 2008 • 1 Comment

Now, I know that this blog is supposed to be about the Caribbean, and it is. I have some sort of bad news, though: due to several commitments in February on the cabin safety side of my life, I am not scheduled to fly in the islands until March. So you’ll just have to make do with a few posts from the northern tier, my friends. All is not lost, however. I’ll be spending a few days with my girlfriend (yes, I know, this is a jaw dropper for some of you) in Puerto Rico in the middle of the month and we have some great plans, which should deepen my cultural understanding of the islands.

Ya know that voice that we all have in our heads, the inner self that always rattles on and on whether we’re listening or not? When I woke up this morning, my inner voice commanded me to visit Eastern Market, a popular open air market which is located just a few blocks from the US Capitol building in Washington, DC. The voice also told me to call my friend Candace because she’d want to come, too. So I made the call and, even though she was packing for a trip out of the country later in the afternoon, Candace joined me, along with her friend Betty.

Here’s an example of a botched attempt at an interesting picture. I meant to narrow the camera’s aperture down a bit so that the foreground subject, my friend Candace, would be in focus and the Market’s lunch time crowd would be a little fuzzy. I got the aperture right but missed the focus, so Candace is a little fuzzy and the market is clear. Blar. The good news is, I’m learning from my mistakes.

This shot wasn’t about artistic effect so much as it was about me drooling over the pastries. There are two kinds of galley slaves, as I see it: cooks and bakers. I am a cook, and I have no patience for baking, so my appreciation for the baker’s ranks is vast. I wish that I had a baker in my family… together we could rule the universe.

With this shot, I had some great subject matter – colorful, ripe fruits and vegetables. I just couldn’t compose the frame in a way that really brought the feeling of the Market together. It’s a nice colorful picture, but the composition is clearly uninspired. I think that maybe shooting the veggies in the foreground and capturing the crowd out of focus in the background would have been a better approach. Any ideas out there?

This is just a snapshot of one of the outside vendors whose goods I really enjoyed. These are all African goods, hand carved, along with bead work and a few woven textiles. Pricey stuff: the statues stand 2-3 feet tall and sell for $750 to $3000 US. I’d like to go back and look more closely at the beaded goods on my next visit.

This is my attempt to maximize the dynamic range of the Canon A630. By adjusting the sensitivity of the CCD , I had hoped to achieve a high dynamic range effect and I think that I succeeded for the most part. The A630 is a programmable AF point and shoot, so there are some serious limitations to some adjustments. A fully programmable DSLR like my Olympus E-500 would have made a huge difference here, but I left the big camera at home today. The A630 has been a great learning tool for me, and translation from this camera to my DSLR has made it a worthwhile investment.

After Candace and Betty took off for the airport, I was walking back through a part of the market that I hadn’t paid particular attention to the first time by, and I was drawn in by this woman’s kind eyes and warm smile. She makes and sells soaps of all kinds, and we spent a few minutes together talking about her travels in Africa and her wonderful soaps. This set of pictures was taken without much regard for composition or any other consideration – I was totally relaxed and happy to have met such an interesting person, so the photographs made themselves.

Her stand was colorful, aromatic, and very inviting. The soaps themselves were waxy to the touch and deeply infused with aromatic oils.

A better camera and more talented photographer could have done better here, but I like the picture just the same.

Valentine’s Day is coming up. I’m not hawking anyone’s wares or anything, but I bought some of this soap for MY valentine – if you are interested in some artisanal soap for the dirty person in your life, heres a link to the soap maker’s website.

Posted in Eastern Market, Photography, washington dc

Grenada & Urgent Fury

•January 23, 2008 • 6 Comments

A while back a good friend of mine, Radar Masukami, recommended a non-fiction audiobook entitled ‘The Night Stalkers’, which details the formation of a special forces helicopter unit in the 80’s and 90’s. The opening chapters of the book describe the US invasion of Grenada in 1983, which, if you weren’t around then, was a pretty exciting time in US foreign relations. The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was an invasion of Grenada in response to the illegal deposition and execution of Grenadan Prime Minister Maurice Bishop.

Coincidentally, a week after starting the audio book, I learned that I was to spend a few nights in Grenada as a part of my flight schedule.

Since we arrived in the dead of night, my first daylight view of the island was at breakfast, where the resort prepares food in an open air restaurant featuring seaside tables. Sadly, I didn’t have time to relax and enjoy, preferring instead to catch a few extra Z’s.

I really dug this stairway on the resort grounds. from the base of the stair, there’s no way to tell where the stairs lead, so I nicknamed them ‘Stairway to Heaven’.

Welcome to Point Salines! In the audio book, a great deal of the action happens here and at the Governor’s Mansion. Airborne units jumped into the field here and fought for hours in a heavy firefight to secure the airport. The sky was filled with parachute canopies, but today it’s just another morning in paradise.

Another gratuitous airplane shot. Hey, this is an an aviation themed blog, in part, so you’ll just have to put up with my airplane photos. This part of the ramp is right in front of the Point Salines terminal. I scoured the building’s exterior for evidence of warfare, but everything was in top shape as far as I could see.

The Point Salines Control Tower stands tall in the early light. The building in the right of the frame on the hilltop has been abandoned for quite some time. It appears to be off of the airport property, outside of the perimeter fence. When I asked the local station personnel what it used to be, they didn’t know.

Just after takeoff from Point Salines, looking north. Up on the horizon is the Governor’s Mansion, but we never got close enough for a clear shot.

Here’s the bird’s eye view as we make the climbing right hand turn out of Point Salines. Click here for a satellite map of Grenada and the Point Salines runway.

I’ve been back to Grenada a couple of times since this first visit, and I have to say that it is a truly beautiful island. The resort where we stay prepares dinner and breakfast plates for us, which is a simple pleasure beyond description. The island seems to be a world all to it’s own, with an organic and relaxed feel all around. It’s hard to imagine a time when gunfire and heavy artillery rang through the hills.

I look forward to going back.

Posted in Airline Flying, Caribbean, Grenada, Photography
Tags: airline, Caribbean, Grenada, Photography, Urgent Fury

Windward Journey

AA891: My Ride to Paradise

The Poutine Contingency

Colorguard

N 39 W 77

Why I Love Breakfast

A New Camera Arrives!

Sunday At Eastern Market

Grenada & Urgent Fury

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