All posts by Tom Dills

Travel

Good Morning, San Juan!

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Arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation

San Juan, Puerto Rico is our favorite cruise ship destination, and for many reasons. We love walking around Old San Juan and have discovered a number of interesting nooks and crannies, some fun shops with local wares, as well as a few restaurants to get some local cuisine.

Passing Castillo San Felipe del Morro on approach to San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation

But the highlight of any visit to San Juan is sailing past Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Also referred to simply as El Morro (The Promontory), it is a citadel (or fortress) built between 16th and 18th centuries at the entrance of San Juan harbor.

Arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation

Most sailings from Florida arrive in San Juan in the late morning or early afternoon, as it is often the first port and it takes a couple of days to sail there. As it happened on this most recent visit, our 7am arrival coincided with sunrise, and I just happened to be up early enough to hit the outside decks in time. I was rewarded with a fabulous sunrise and wonderful early light on the buildings of the city.

Passing the US Coast Guard Station while arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation

We spent some time off the ship and walking around, and I’ll highlight those photos in another post or two.

Passing Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Regional Airport during our arrival in San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation
Arriving in San Juan, Puerto Rico aboard Celebrity Constellation
Photography

What Are You Taking Pictures Of?

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Dining Room ceiling, Celebrity Constellation

We were sitting at breakfast one morning, waiting for our food. I was looking up at the dining room ceiling and decided to take a few pictures. A really nice man at the table next to me turned and asked, “could I see what you were taking pictures of?” I showed him the screen on my camera, and I can’t remember exactly what he said, but it was something like “fascinating” or “interesting” or “excuse me I need to go now.” Just kidding about the last one. 😉

Dining Room ceiling, Celebrity Constellation
Dining Room ceiling, Celebrity Constellation
Dining Room ceiling, Celebrity Constellation
Travel

In The Middle Of It

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NWS Radar and Approximate Location of Ocala as of 8:00 AM

At first this will sound absurd, but Kathy & I are currently in Ocala, FL watching the wind and rain from Tropical Storm Nicole. Why the heck would we do that? No, we’re not auditioning for a spot on The Weather Channel!

Kathy & I are heading out of Port Tampa this Friday (tomorrow as I write this) for a cruise. Our original plan called for us to drive to Ocala Thursday (today), then on to Tampa – a 1.5 hour drive – tomorrow. Once we saw the forecast for Nicole, we decided to come down a day early, knowing that there wouldn’t be a lot we could do.

Our drive down was uneventful. We didn’t see a drop of rain the whole way, although it did start to get a little breezy. We got out for dinner last evening and even managed a bit of a walk. This morning we got out for breakfast between rain bands and before the wind got too strong, and we are now watching rain blow against our balcony door. But it is supposed to blow through in time for us to get out to dinner later.

Our drive to Tampa in the morning should see the weather improving and the skies beginning to clear.  And away we’ll go!

Travel

Chasing Shadows

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Interior hallway of Biltmore House

Like most of us, I’m always on the lookout for interesting shadows. Here are a few from our recent visit to Biltmore.

Connected or disconnected? Biltmore House

One of the things that fascinates me about photography is that often the best photographs are the ones that require the least “work.” In terms of both effort and of processing.

Exterior lamp. Biltmore House
Lamp. Biltmore House
Grain cradle shadows on the wall of the Village Hotel at Biltmore
Ceiling light fixture in the hallway of the Village Hotel at Biltmore House and Gardens
Trails around Bass Lake on the Biltmore Estate.
Travel

Fall At Biltmore

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Trails around Bass Lake on the Biltmore Estate.

My pictures may not prove it, but we were at Biltmore about a week early for peak fall color. I had to “help” the color a bit in processing to make them look as fallish as they do, but they still give a pretty good idea of what things looked like.

Trails around Bass Lake on the Biltmore Estate.
Trails around Bass Lake on the Biltmore Estate.

Last week’s blast of cold air and accompanying winds discouraged any thoughts I had of getting out early and took care of our bold plans for a picnic or two. But we still managed to find some nice color on a couple of days.

Fields of the Biltmore Estate
View from the verandah of Biltmore House

I’ve got more photos to share and will work on them over the next few days.

Farmyard in Antler Hill Village at Biltmore
Fields of the Biltmore Estate
Travel

Happy Forty Twos-Day!

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Biltmore House from The Lagoon. Biltmore House and Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina

Kathy & I are at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC celebrating our 42nd anniversary. I’ve been joking that this is quite an upgrade from our honeymoon in Gatlinburg, TN. 😉

We did an early morning guided house tour on Monday and have a few days of exploring planned, including taking in their Leonardo Davinci exhibit on Wednesday. I’ve taken a few photos so far, including this one of the Biltmore House from The Lagoon, a spot along the French Broad River.

Patchwork. The Gardens at Biltmore House and Gardens, Asheville, North Carolina
Stonework on the exterior of Biltmore House
Photography

Two Thoughts On A Similar Subject

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The North Davidson (NoDa) area of Charlotte

Sometimes I just read a line that resonates with me. I came across these two over the last day:

From The Online Photographer: It’s one of the cool things about getting older…sooner or later you live in the future.

Directional sign on the Royal Promenade aboard Allure of the Seas

From Douglas Adams (Hitchiker’s Guide) via Terence Eden via Om Malik:

– Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

– Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

– Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the natural order of things.

Johnny Rockets diner on the Boardwalk aboard Allure of the Seas

Its interesting when you think about it. My grandmother, born in 1908, always talked about how her mother would be amazed with the microwave oven, invented, according to the Wikimonster, in 1955. Today we can’t imagine a home without one. Now, I imagine describing to my dad some of the technology we currently use. He was a “shade tree” automotive mechanic, aspiring electronic tinkerer and auto racing fan, among other things, so today’s electronic everything would be his microwave. But it seems like we have a lot more of those things today than we did 50-ish years ago. Maybe it just seems like more magic.

What will ours be?

‘Watch Your Step” signs in Cental Park aboard Allure of the Seas
Sign in front of the Westin Hotel in Charlotte