As Ken and I hiked past the Red Heather outhouse, one of the park guys working on replacing the steps up to it looked at me and asked, "Is your name Keith Rajala?" I replied "Yes", wondering how on earth he knew my name because he certainly didn't look familiar. He said, "Your web site is awesome", or words to that effect. I thought, "My goodness!" After a short conversation Ken and I continued on to the Elfin Lake campground intent of doing some afternoon and evening photography, and if luck would hold out, some sunrise shooting. Even though it did cloud up in the evening and the morning dawn with us thoroughly socked in, it was a memorable overnight trip. What it also did is motivate me to finally get around to working on the Red Lobster Journals for 2012. So with that said, let's take a look at some of the Lobster adventures from my perspective.
One of the significant changes in the winter of 2011 - 2012 was the lack of snow adventures. No skiing. No snow shoeing. There were a number of factors including poor weather, friends whose paths have diverged from mine, and other interests. I hope to do more in the coming winter, but I have many fond memories of past ones to entertain me until the next ones.
Maui - February
Location of the Kahana Outrigger where we stayed
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| Lynn, Ken, Anna, Chuck, Terri |
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| Luau at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort |
It was wonderful to get away from the cold and experience warmth, sun, and surf ( picture ).We did a combination of typical tourist things like a luau at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort. ( sunset at the luau ) ( The grand entrance at the Te Au Moana Luau ) ( a "fire dancer performs )
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| On our "Road to Hana" day trip. |
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| What a whale watching day! |
One of the remarkable things about the west coast of Maui in February is the number of whales that you see. Almost whenever you looked out to the west you could see a whale spouting or breaching. We did a whale watching with the Pacific Whale Foundation on their large catamaran. If only I had taken more motion sickness tablets sooner! It was a little rough but there were a lot of whales and calves breaching. Even though I got sick (no puking though!) it was still worthwhile.
Both Chuck and Ken were interested in photography so we went out for sunset pictures at least once. Napili Bay was a good spot for sunsets. ( Napili Bay Surf ) ( Napili Sunset ) ( Dream Surf )
New York - May
Lynn had made a trip to New York with her sister Karen a number of years before but she was keen to go again and include D.C. as well. We had thought about Boston but we couldn't make our budget stretch that far.
We visited the Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium on the west side of Central Park. I have been a fan of Neil DeGrassy Tyson, the director of the planetarium and so being there was a special treat. Following quite a few hours in the museum, we walked down the street to the Dakota Hotel and paid our respects. Just across the street was a the Strawberry Fields memorial. Even on a rainy day it was a challenge to get a picture without a lot of people in the picture. It was a sad and sobering reminder of how even the "lights of the world" are vulnerable to the crazies out there.
Walking through Central Park was interesting because every once in a while you would be reminded of a movie or tv show that was shot there. Visiting Apple's 5th avenue store was a hoot! I asked a young emplyee if it was ok to take pictures, and then asked him if he realized how lucky he was to work there. He smiled and said , "Yes." :-)
Lynn had made reservations to visit the site of the twin towers collapse. What with all the ramifcations surrounding the 9/11 attack and what it precipitated both domestically and internationally it was a bit unreal. All that is physically left of the buildings are two enormous holes with water pouring over the sides like collective tears mourning the loss of so many people. The United States had never experienced an attack like this. They reacted quickly and we are still seeing the repurcussions of some of their reactions both on the domestic and international front.
( picture of financial area )
We followed our visit to ground zero by walking down to Battery Park and walking east and then north along the water front. We made the walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Now there is an icon!
At my friends Dennis and Kathy's suggestion, Lynn and I made the trip up to the top of the Empire State Building at night. What a sight it was! I took my GorillaPod along and was able to squeeze my way to the edge and take some pictures.
Our hotel was in the middle of a name change that had provided some confusion. It was the Comfort Inn, but was becoming the Broadway at Times Square. From it, we walked through Times Square almost every day we were there. On the Friday night we were there I went out and spent an hour or two taking photographs. It was shoulder to shoulder with other tourists and "regulars" a lot of the times, but was great to be there and soak up the "buzz".It was quite the cross section of "Americana"!
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| Honolua Bay |
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| Lynn at Rockefeller Center |
So in mid May we flew to JFK, took a shuttle close to our hotel, and was greeted to the neighbourhood by a cockroach scurrying on the sidewalk. We got to our hotel quickly and easily, it was half a block east of Times Square and got a good sleep.
We walked. I mean we really walked. Lynn wore a pedometer and it was not unusual for us to walk 10 to 15 kilometers each day. We visited the Rockefeller Center, the Museum of Modern Art, and at my friend Dennis's suggestion, we took a boat tour around the entire island of Manhattan. This was a great way to get a perspective on the size and location of the island sites. Seeing Ellis Island made me think about the untold number of immigrants who passed through it on their way to a new life. Seeing some of the icons of New York like the Statue of Liberty and the Staten Island Ferry reminded me of how fortunate I am being able to travel and learn. Cruising by the financial district brought back memories of some of the articles I have read and documentaries I have seen that dealt with some of its excesses, corruption, and criminal behavior.We visited the Museum of Natural History and the Hayden Planetarium on the west side of Central Park. I have been a fan of Neil DeGrassy Tyson, the director of the planetarium and so being there was a special treat. Following quite a few hours in the museum, we walked down the street to the Dakota Hotel and paid our respects. Just across the street was a the Strawberry Fields memorial. Even on a rainy day it was a challenge to get a picture without a lot of people in the picture. It was a sad and sobering reminder of how even the "lights of the world" are vulnerable to the crazies out there.
Walking through Central Park was interesting because every once in a while you would be reminded of a movie or tv show that was shot there. Visiting Apple's 5th avenue store was a hoot! I asked a young emplyee if it was ok to take pictures, and then asked him if he realized how lucky he was to work there. He smiled and said , "Yes." :-)
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| Ground Zero |
Lynn had made reservations to visit the site of the twin towers collapse. What with all the ramifcations surrounding the 9/11 attack and what it precipitated both domestically and internationally it was a bit unreal. All that is physically left of the buildings are two enormous holes with water pouring over the sides like collective tears mourning the loss of so many people. The United States had never experienced an attack like this. They reacted quickly and we are still seeing the repurcussions of some of their reactions both on the domestic and international front.
( picture of financial area )
At my friends Dennis and Kathy's suggestion, Lynn and I made the trip up to the top of the Empire State Building at night. What a sight it was! I took my GorillaPod along and was able to squeeze my way to the edge and take some pictures.
One day Lynn and I did the "Met". The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a branch called "The Cloisters" , a site devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe so we took the subway out to visit that. It was like stepping back in time and into Europe. We then took the subway back to the west side of Central Park and walked across to the "Met" proper. The place really deserved a lot more time than we had. It is one of the world's major collections of the worlds art and is a must see for anyone interested in it.
On our last day in New York we did another walk through Central Park and visited the Guggenheim Museum before we travelled south to end the day walking the elevated "Highline" linear park and visiting some of the art galleries in Chelsea. We ended the day with dinner at a very enjoyable French restaurant in Chelsea.
New York is worth another visit. There was a lot more to experience and learn.
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