Photography and Birding - What I love about them

I love to take photographs, I love to bird, I love old cemetaries, I love to take photos of birds in old cemetaries.  Today I hit the Trifecta (or is that a quadfecta?) in Alexandria, VA.  I went for a walk in search of the Alexandria National Cemetary founded by Abraham Lincoln as one of several created for the remains and in the memory of Civil War Veterans (eventually expanding to veterans of other wars).  What I found was a warren of cemetaries sited side by side, fence to fence.  Episcopal, Methodist, Jewish, Quaker (I think), presbyterian and then finally the National cemetary.  Gravestones date from the late 1700s to 2008, the interwoven history of the peoples who lived or ended up in Alexandria.

It was a gray, muted day.  Only a few dogs and their owners were out.  Oh dogs and robins and squirrels.  Hundreds of Robins!  So in watching for the "ideal" robin on a gravestone shot, I hear the chatterburr of a belted kingfisher.  What? I say.  That means water somewhere.  Yep, adjacent to the National Cemetary runs Hooff's Run...a small creek with a historic stone bridge.  And next to the bridge on a bush almost under the bridge was a noisy, fluffy adolescent mockingbird nagging its hard working parent for more food!  Quite funny...you could almost see it stamping its little foot! 

So what is it that I love.  Taking photos and looking for birds both make me slow down, stop, listen, watch, take time, breathe. I notice things I would never normally notice as I barrel through life.  I take the time to think and process.  And with photos I have the opprotunity to revisit the experience after the fact sometimes seeing things in the photo I even missed the first time. 

 

Scenes from California Visit

Judy and I at a restaurant in the Ventura Harbor Village getting to know Capt Morgan and his pal Myers!  Oh..they had good fish dinners too.  We are in Ventura "reunioning" with 8 other friends from high school (two we haven't see for 20 years) and we are having a blast.

Mom and Judy outside BJs Grill in Laguna Hills...our favorite place for the three of us to go for lunch...sesame chicken salad, bbq chicken salad, thin crust pizza and let's not forget the chicken tenders dipped in ranch dressing...and excellent margaritas.  Add great conversation and memories and you have the recipe for a perfect meal.

 

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Old Friends, Good Times.

I am in Ventura with Judy getting ready for a reunion weekend with 8 of our friends from high school.  It is so hard to believe that so much time as past (and that we still look so good!!!!).  35 years since graduation.  How have we stayed so young?

Notes from the Left Coast

Visiting Mom in So Cal.  Spending time running errands, visiting doctors, dining with old friends and family.  Weather is particularly fine, especially for August which can be really hot and smoggy.  Getting my fill of really good Mexican food (Casa Blanca last night in Hacienda Heights and Olivia's tonight in Riverside).  Spent a bit of Monday in downtown Laguna Beach (thank heavens for mom's handicapped placard, we would have never had found decent parking for her).  Shopped at chico's...I love Chico's! 

Had dinner with Carol and Jerry and their friend Ellen (who I finally got to meet after hearing of her for years and years and years) overlooking the pacific at The Cliff on Pacific Coast Highway.  A little chilly but worth watching the sun set at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.  Here is Carol with HippieDuck who really enjoyed Laguna Beach.  She wanted to stay!

 

Sunday we had lunch and good talk with Judy.  We ate at BJs grill in Laguna Hills ..our favorite thing to do as a threesome...as always I had the sesame chicken salad and Judy had the barbeque chicken salad with chicken tenders and ranch dressing  (which we always"help" her with). 

  In the afternoon we went with my cousin Bob and went over to see Uncle Bob and Aunt Elena in their new apartment in Leisure World (yes I know it is now Laguna Woods).  My uncle is now 90 and Aunt Elena is almost 87...both are really slowing down...but they seemed happy to be in their new place and closer to my cousins Richard and Bob.  We talked about old times, family, and my cousins Bob, bless him, went out and brought back In and Out Burgers...yeah!!!

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Flying

US Air.  First, charging for luggage.  Second, charging for cokes on the plane. Now.  showing old movies (I don't mean classics like Bogey and BAcall) but Leonard DiCaprio's "Catch me If you CAn".  Must cost them 3 cents to show that one.  At least they aren't charging us for looking at the screen!

Las Mariachis in Phoenixville

Always in search of authentic Mexican food we followed the recommendation of a Chowhound message board entry and drove up to Phoenixville (northwest of Villanova) to search out Las Mariachis.  Located in a primarily residential area of old downtown Phoenixville, the restaurant is located on the ground floor of a corner building at 201 Gay ST. It is a small, high ceilinged space that seats about 30 (but also offers take-out).  The walls are painted pink (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />rosa) and detailed with painted “bricks” around the windows,  stylized roses, and a virgin mary.  Sequined decorated mariachi hats adorn the walls and pinats sit on a shelf in the corner.  Mexican kitsch at its best and most honest.  We had a delightfully helpful and friendly waitress.  We tried the ceviche of the day (with shrimp) which was fresh and refreshing.  Corn chips were homemade and fresh.  Salsa (red and green) spicy (but not too).  I had the carnitas with beans and rice and warm corn tortillas (very good).  Jerry had the carnitas in a salsa verde (green chili sauce)…it was excellent.  I tried one of the pork tamales and was delighted to see it served without sauce…sauce was offered but they didn’t immediately assume you wanted it smothered in sauce past recognition  (which many restaurants do and isn’t what my experience was growing up in a Hispanic neighborhood of Los Angeles county).  The menu is divided up between 3 “spacilties”  Mexcian, Tipica, and Tex-Mex.  So there is something for everyone.  I didn’t ask what region the Tipica food is from because I zeroed in the carnitas immediately…next time I’ll ask.  And there WILL be a next time…soon.

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Tags: Las Mariachis, mexicanrestaurant, phoenxiville PA,

Fire in Conshohocken

There was a massive fire late this afternoon (and burning still...although contained) in Conshohocken (the next town over from us on the other side of the Schuylkill River).  Jerry and I were driving to dinner and saw smoke..HUGE amounts of thick black smoke.  I said "come on, I've got my camera, lets go look".  He rolled his eyes and say "No, I don't want to".  Until we saw the flames...we were at least 1/2 mile away looking across a small valley...the flames were at least 100 to 120 feet high!  They were taller than the Marriott Tower which sits on our side of the River.  So we went to look (from a safe distance).  We had no idea at the time what it was.  Except that I have never seen such huge intense flames. 

Turns out it started in an apartment building under construction (burned it completely to the ground) and then skip over to a newly complete but not occupied apartment building.  Then to parts of at least 3 other apartment buildings in the same complex.  There is massive damage (both fire and smoke) and as of 10 tonight they are still pouring huge amounts of water on it...They were even pumping water out of the Schulykill River.

I drove over tonight to take some picture and to check at the RedCross center as to whether they needed help.  They were amazingly organzied and it appeared that most people were going to be put up with friends/family or in hotel rooms in the area.

 

Tags: Conshohocken Fire,

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