Being Watched


Some time ago we had rented a small boat near Little Hickory Island, south of Fort Myers, Florida. These two Pelicans remained perched, even though we were slowly approaching, giving me an opportunity for this image. I particularly like the sharpness of the nearer bird’s head, as he peacefully scrutinized our passing.

Thanks for viewing and as usual, comments are always welcome M 🙂

 

The Smith Tower – Seattle, Washington

At forty-two stories, 462′ (141 m,) the Smith Tower was the tallest building in Seattle for fifty-five years, 1914 to 1969. On a vacation some years ago, we enjoyed the history of that building and climbing to the observation level near the top.

From the NW corner,  eleven-year old Steve stands before the Seattle Space Needle seen here to the north.

                      Eastern Elliot Bay forms the waterfront of Seattle.

And the view south is the old King Dome, which we thoroughly toured earlier, with the King Street Train Station (with tower) and I-5 in the distance to the left, here looking south

         Thanks for viewing, zoom in for a closer look and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

Walking in Annapolis, Maryland

 

While in town for a wedding some time ago, we walked past the impressive Maryland State House, still in use, and dating back to 1772.Above is the upper portion of the building including its lightning rod, designed by Benjamin Franklin.

Thanks for viewing, …zoom in for a closer look, and comments are always welcomed.  M 🙂

Tokyo, Pan Am, the SST and Hawaii

          As a follow-up to my previous post here back in the 1980’s, I departed from Narita Airport in Tokyo on an overnight and almost empty PAN AM 747 to Hawaii. I would meet my wife, Jeanne, as she arrived from New York, where there was a glimpse of the British Airways Concorde Super Sonic Transport, at that time providing regular transatlantic service at over 1300 MPH (~ 2100 kph.) 

Above: British Airways SST as seen landing at JFK, NY, March, 1981
Above: From the waiting room at Narita Airport, …my overnight ride to Hawaii.
Sleep, stretched out on empty seats, was easy on the overnight, above  …and  approaching Honolulu, below.

39.120 3-7-81 Hawaii Approaching Oahu_edited-1

Above: Jeanne arriving from the mainland, later that afternoon.
Above: From our balcony in Waikiki. Rainbow courtesy of “Pineapple Showers.”

Thanks for viewing, …and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

Yosemite Falls – Silhouette

Offering a break from winter blues, below is a late summer image of the top of one of the world’s most photographed waterfalls – during the dry season.

August, 16, 1972
Cascading 2,425 feet (739m) into Yosemite Valley, California, water flow reaches maximum volumn during late spring snow melts.

EXA SLR 35mm film camera, 200mm Vivitar, f 3.5 lens

          Thanks for viewing, and comments are always welcome. M 🙂

Swiss Army Knife meets Mt. St. Helens

         Lately, I seem to be hung up on Swiss Army Knives. See here.  Originally, in that post, I wanted to compare the enormous display with my real knife. Unfortunately,  I couldn’t find the knife. But …here it is. I had used it as contrast to the ash from the Mt. St. Helens explosion, nine years earlier.  The two pictures below, from our vacation in August, 1989, were taken on the banks of the Toutle River some 30 miles downstream from the catastrophic event which literally blew the top off the mountain.

ABOVE: A few miles east of the Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center in Washington State, Rt. 504 crosses the Toutle River, (located near “Toutle” on the satellite image below.)  BELOW: Topless Mt. St. Helens is visible from Interstate 5, about 35 miles away.


                    The Visitor Center is between “Castle Rock,” and “Toutle.

                     Thanks for viewing, and zoom in for a closer look. M 🙂