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Camping in Texas – April 2010

James — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:08:42 +0000

Hiking at Lost Maples

Camping in Texas – April 2010

Sarah, Henry, and I have gone camping twice this month – our last chance before it gets REALLY hot. Our first camping trip w/ Henry here in TX was to Sam Houston national forest – because it’s close. But this past weekend we made the long drive to Lost Maples and camped a couple of nights out there. We were lucky and had awesome weather. It rained like he** both nights but was beautiful during the day.

St Croix Trip

James — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 02:40:07 +0000

We’ve just returned from a trip to St Croix to visit our friend Cor Bosman and Julie Edwards. Sarah and I took Henry to the beach A LOT – and we also got to dive together – after over 2 years!

At the Beach - Cane Bay

More to come soon (underwater photos, etc) but in the meantime, here are some topside pix:

St Croix 2010

US Air Force Museum – Dayton Ohio

James — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 19:49:37 +0000

I recently read Chuck Yaeger’s autobiography – in which he tells about flying the Bell X-1 through the sound barrier, and other interesting aircraft of the period. So it was a special treat to actually SEE some of these aircraft in person at Wright Patterson airfield in Dayton Ohio – home of the United States Air Force museum. I was able to make the special tour of the Experimental and Presidential aircraft hangars with Sarah’s grandpa (USAF retired) and brother.

Here’s a panorama of the inside of the Experimental hangar:

Experimental Hangar

US Air Force Museum Dec 2009

View photos at SmugMug

Back from Vacation in Norway

James — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:27:49 +0000

Sarah, Henry, and I are back from a few weeks vacation in Norway. While we were there we spent time with friends, and went either hiking or biking almost every day. The weather was of course a great break from Houston’s 90+ muggy days…

I’ll be uploading some new photos soon, but in the meantime, here is a panorama of the Geirangerfjord in central Norway.

The head of the geriangerfjord in central Norway

James — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 16:01:01 +0000

I never tire of a beautiful sunrise

Blind Faith

San Diego Visit w/ Grandma and Grandpa Cookie

James — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:43:44 +0000

We were in San Diego last week for vacation and took Henry to meet his great grandma and grandpa “Cookie.” What a cool experience – we are lucky to have so many generations! I only got to meet my great grandfather once before he died and all of the other great grandparents were already gone.

As usual, click the photo to see the rest.

James — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 02:19:26 +0000

We took Henry to the Caymans last week for his first of hopefully many trips to the beach. 7-Mile Beach is the best place on earth for baby’s first swim – it’s shallow, clear, and with teenie tiny waves.

Grand Cayman – Henry Swims!

Offshore Construction – Boa Sub C

James — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 03:52:23 +0000

I was offshore last week for the installation of the 16″ jumper connecting the Shenzi gas pipeline to the Mardi Gras system. The work was performed by the folks on the Boa Sub C – a fantastic multi-purpose subsea installation vessel. And I’m not just saying that because they have an espresso maker on the bridge

Click the photo for the full gallery.

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – Whooping Cranes

James — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 13:42:50 +0000

Sarah and I got to visit the Whooping Cranes at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge – something we have wanted to do our entire lives. Just about the best way to see the cranes is aboard a shallow draft birdwatching boat called the Skimmer – operated by Rockport Birding and Kayak Adventures. The boat makes a three hour circuit through part of the refuge and has a viewing platform on the roof for photographers and birdwatchers. On the day we visited the weather was against us – with thick fog limiting visibility to about 200 yards for most of the trip, however we still had a great trip. We did see 8 or 10 individual whooping cranes, which was awesome – watching them picking fiddler crabs left right and center to eat. Other cool stuff: an osprey with a huge mullet, nesting great blue herons, various merganser ducks, buffle head ducks, and lots of different shore birds.

For those interested, there are now 266 whooping cranes in the Canada-to-Aransas flocks, up from about 100 in the 70′s. The cranes come to Texas in the winter to eat blue crabs and breed – and they can bee seen through about April 1 most years.

New Years at Big Bend National Park

Sarah — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 23:09:15 +0000

We spent five nights camping and hiking over New Years with friends. We started with one night at Seminole Canyon State Park followed by four nights camping in Big Bend National Park. The weather was pretty cold, but we didn’t have rain or snow, so the hiking was excellent. We had a great trip and took some cool photos.