I recently took a trip to West Virginia. It was a great visit - the leaves were just turning colors so it was quite beautiful.


When there was free time, we went on a hike in the local state park.


This is a view from the porch of my room at the guest house. The sunset every night was gorgeous.


This is another view of the guesthouse but in the daytime.


This is another shot from our hike.

I had a great trip!

I was on the metro today when two older gentlemen walked in - one white and one Indian (from India). They were both probably late 60s, maybe 70s. All of the seats were taken so they stood. One white gentleman who was sitting down in a disability seat stood and pointed at the older white gentleman and asked if he wanted to sit down. The older white gentleman said, "no thanks" so the younger white gentleman sat back down. The younger white gentleman didn't bother asking the Indian man if he wanted to sit.

Why?

I love my job. I've had the opportunity to do some pretty amazing things. I just returned from a trip to an aircraft carrier while it was at sea. I was flown to and off an aircraft carrier and witnessed carrier operations for several hours. Photos below:

The folks on the USS Harry Truman (CVN-75) hosted us. This is a shot of the tower while we were watching landings on the flight deck.


This is an F-18 waiting for take off.


And there it goes!


We also watched plans land. I forgot what kind of a plane this was - maybe a Hawkeye? It's about to land.


And there it goes! If you look closely you can see that it caught the first arresting gear wire.


This is a shot of the back of the carrier from the Captain's chair.

Overall it was a worthwhile trip. I learned a lot about aircraft carrier operations, especially it's power system. If you ever have a chance to do something like this - DO IT!

Alright! I'm back! Photos from Paris:












My camera died on day 6 of 9 so I don't have pictures of Place de Voges or Versailles but we basically hit up every major tourist destination. Luckily my sister had her camera so the final days in Paris were documented.

Had a great time - thanks to my family for housing us!

I'm in the middle of travel hell and have a two week respite before I head off to Paris. Sadly, I have no pictures from San Diego or Delaware - I fail, sorry!

Stay tuned...

I've got a busy August ahead. I'm headed to San Diego for work in about a week. Right after I return, I head back out to Delaware and then to Maine, Connecticut and finally Paris - all in August and the first week of September! When all my travel is complete I'll be sure to update my blog regularly and, as usual, post some pictures.

My trip home was great! The reunion went well and I managed some quality time with the family. I spent one afternoon in Sacramento and enjoyed Old Town quite a bit. I took a few pictures:

The historical buildings were pretty well preserved. The building obviously evoked a "wild west" theme and I could imagine cowboys wandering from building to building and smoking cigs out on the balcony. The Sports Fan downstairs kinda ruins the imagery.

Another view of some old buildings. I first visited Old Town Sacramento as an elementary school kid on a field trip. It hasn't changed much.

I think it's tacky to take pictures of the "old" and "new" and then claim that somehow the photo is unique...cause everyone does that. I'm going to break my rule - twice. This picture above shows an old schoolhouse in the foreground with the shiny newly painted golden bridge in the background.

This is another "old" vs "new" photo with the modern skyscraper in the background and an old hotel in the foreground.