Day 249 - Vineyard Pano

This is only a portion of the Hall Ranch vineyards.

Day 240 - Nooksack River Pano

This is the Nooksack River at the base of Mt. Baker in the Snoqualmie National Forest, located in Whatcom, Washington.

Gotta love those names.

Day 233 - Sunrise Pano

The sunrise over the marina in downtown Tacoma was absolutely stunning.

Day 228 - Poker Pano

Three generations of a family playing poker outside on a summer afternoon . . . awesome.

Day 223 - Downtown Baseball Panorama

One of the baseball fields we play at in the Los Angeles Baseball League is the Roybal Learning Center downtown.

Day 220 - Catalina Sunset

And with this lovely sunset pano from Parson's Landing, we bid adieu to Catalina Island, at least for this trip. I've finally caught up to my picture a day quota too, so with only 145 days left in 2011, let's see what else comes my way . . .

Day 214 - Beach / Canyon Pano

The far end of Parson's Landing went from the water back up into the hills that we had hiked along on our way in.

Day 206 - Catalina Harbor

Across the isthmus from Two Harbors is the actual Catalina Harbor.

Day 205 - Isthmus Pano

A narrow isthmus connects the small northern part of the island to the larger southern part.

Day 200 - PETCO Park Panos

PETCO Park by itself doesn't have the charm of other ballparks, but then again, it's reflective of San Diego's very nature: low-key, relaxing, and thoroughly enjoyable.


The Gaslamp Quarter just north of the park is a perfect example of the successful urban revitalization that sports franchises always tout when arguing for a new ballpark, and in this case, is a perfect pre- and post-game complement for the Padres. As for the on-field product, well, let's just say the Padres are in a state of perpetual rebuilding.

Day 195 - Grand Canyon National Park

These are the last of my Grand Canyon panoramas; it's been hard to choose which ones are my favorites.


One of the park rangers said that the canyon changes minute-to-minute because of the way the light and shadows strike the surfaces . . . and I'm inclined to agree.

Day 193 - Grand Canyon National Park

While traversing the eastern side of the South Rim, it became almost a game avoiding all the buses that disgorged tourists like ants at a picnic. It became harder and harder to get pristine panos like this one, without clumps of people in the shot.

Day 192 - Grand Canyon National Park

After exploring the middle and western portions of the South Rim, the last day was reserved for the eastern side, also known as the Desert View. You can see the Colorado River in the center of the picture winding its way through the canyon it made...

Day 189 - Grand Canyon National Park

The full hike on the Bright Angel Trail from the rim to the canyon bottom is 4.9 miles, but given that it was late June and well over 90 degrees, getting just two miles into the canyon was a remarkable feat. And hiking down was the easy part . . . hiking back up and out, well, that was a little harder.

But with that said, the canyon takes on a completely different perspective, and has a completely different beauty, from the inside looking up and out than it does from the top down.

Day 188 - Grand Canyon National Park

After arriving at the Grand Canyon in the late afternoon on Sunday, Monday was the "tough" day, hiking down into the canyon as far as stamina, heat, and water would allow. Although in hindsight, walking west 2 ½ miles along the Rim Trail from the Visitors' Center to the trail head may not have been the best thing to do first, despite a view like this from the top.

Day 187 - Grand Canyon National Park

The last time I had been to the Grand Canyon was in 1981; my family rented a pop-up trailer and we drove all over the West visiting National Parks. So visiting again as an adult 30 years later was like seeing the canyon for the very first time, especially with an appreciation for sunsets like this one.

Day 186 - Arizona Desert

Driving through the Arizona desert on my way to the Grand Canyon, this was the vista on a scenic overlook about an hour east of Hoover Dam.

Day 184 - Grand Canyon National Park

I just returned yesterday from a wonderful three-day visit to the Grand Canyon . . . here's a teaser pano.

Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Field

I suppose the recent calls to replace Wrigley Field are to be expected; today's society always wants what's new, improved, and modern. But there's something that's just so . . . historic when you step off the El at the Addison Street exit and there it is. The oldest stadium in the National League, the second oldest in baseball. It was built in 1914, which is why you'll never see a stadium built like it (or Fenway Park in Boston) ever again. It's shoehorned into an actual neighborhood, bordered on all four sides by Addison and Clark Streets in the front, and Waveland and Sheffield Avenues in the back. At the corner of Waveland and Sheffield is a statue of the Cubs' late broadcaster Harry Carey, fittingly underneath the "Bud Light Bleachers" sign, as Carey had the tendency to drink heavily before and during games.

There's also a statue of Cubs' legend Ernie Banks along the Clark side; sadly his mantra of "Let's play two!" has become as obsolete as Wrigley surely will.

Inside, Wrigley lives up to its nickname of the "Friendly Confines," as it certainly isn't a big park. But what a park it is. Those ivy covered brick outfield walls, that magnificent hand-operated scoreboard, the lack of advertising, ribbon boards, and video replay give Wrigley such character, that, when coupled with the intimate seating, we could have been watching a game from the 1940's or 50's.

The food was good, although the lack of a pickle spear on the Chicago dog was a glaring omission, but then again, I was there to see the Cubs in their home environment, and wasn't that concerned with my meal - an overindulgence of fried Wisconsin cheese curds can do that to a person.

It was a fitting end to a whirlwind trip - four baseball games in four days in four different stadiums. I do miss my "brother" Thom; he truly is like family to me, and our shared love of baseball makes our strong friendship even stronger. It was also good to see Margie and Dave again, and to quote The Turtles, I'm glad they're so happy together. So thanks, Wrigley, and thanks to all of Chicago. It's a great city, but the weather precludes me from saying I'd like to live there. Cubs fans are a special lot, and to be a part of it, even for just one night, is something every baseball fan should experience.

It's baseball. Pure. Perfect.

Milwaukee Brewers - Miller Park

The morning after seeing the White Sox in Chicago, Thom, Dave and I drove 90 minutes north up I-94 to Milwaukee to see the Brewers host Thom's hometown St. Louis Cardinals.

Miller Park, with its unique retractable roof, looks nothing like any other ballpark I've ever seen; my boss said it looked like an observatory. Out front is a statue of Henry Aaron, who played for many years with the Milwaukee Braves, then finished his career as a Brewer.

The scoreboard is well-designed, well laid out, and easy to read, especially with the roof partially open (or closed) so that the mound and home plate were both in the shade. Good for the hitters and pitchers, not so good for a photographer.

The iconic sausage race (Polish, Italian, Brat, Hot Dog, and Chorizo) was fun to look at, but the Presidents' Race at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. is basically the same thing.

But the food . . . my goodness. In addition to all five sausages in the sausage race (I tried the brat and chorizo), Dave had the barbecue sliders (brisket and pulled pork) and I had to have the authentic Wisconsin fried cheese curds (and yes, they really do squeak when you eat them, and yes, they're served in a paper canoe.)

And when Prince Fielder hit the eventual game-winning homer in the bottom of the eighth, I even got to see Bernie Brewer go down his slide and wave the flag. Granted, it's not into a giant beer stein, like it was in old Milwaukee County Stadium, but it's fun nonetheless.

And in the end, in a tribute to my dad, I raised a glass of his favorite beer, Miller Genuine Draft to Miller Park. And the clouds even masked the roof's shadow, even for just a bit.

Unique stadium, great food, awesome environment, overall, we had a blast.