USS Midway

This is the USS Midway at night from Coronado Island. When I was at Seaport Village earlier that day I had no idea how brightly the Midway gets lit up at night. The I arrived at the ferry port on Coronado and there she was in her glory sporting the red, white and blue. The Midway was commissioned at the end of World War II and saw service in Vietnam and Operation Desert Storm. She is now a floating aircraft museum in San Diego harbor. One day I'll get back down to San Diego and take a tour around her and see what photos I can come up with.

Lookout Below

I was working on an old PC last night and found some of my older photographs on it. So I pulled them into some of the newer software I use to see what I could come up with. This was a photo I took with a 3MP camera from the top of the Eiffel Tower in 2006. This was the second time I visited Paris and the second time to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The first time it was all I could do to walk out onto the observation platform at the top. The second time was better, I actually looked over the side  and took some photographs. The view from the top is spectacular at just under 900ft above the ground. The only thing I don't recommend is picking the shortest line to go up the tower. It turns out the shorter line is the one that you have to walk the first two floors and then use the elevator to the top. It's a long walk upstairs and all you get to see going up is the ground below through the open staircase. A little scary if you dislike heights.

Bird Brain

While in San Diego I walked along the harbor area by Seaport Village and there was a lot of seagulls, needless to say huh? But this one just stood there and posed for me as I sneaked up on him or her for a photograph.

A Childhood Dream, Fulfilled

Ok first off an admission, I didn't take this photograph, in fact I have no idea who did but it must have been someone in my family. The other reason I know I didn't take it, cause that's me in it, waving at the train. I'm guess I was maybe 4 years old at best.

Anyway, a question for you. Have you ever have a childhood dream and better yet one that you fulfilled? I did, I was lucky or maybe it was perseverance! This photograph was taken in my grandmothers back garden in Great Bentley. This was the spot and the age when I made a decision, one that affected my life for a long time and that was I wanted to drive trains when I grew up. So after a few knock backs and lots of perseverance I got my wish and became a train driver. In fact 16 years after this photo was taken I was driving those types of train on the same line as you see in the photo here. The relevance of this photo is that today is a special date for me. Today would have been my 22nd anniversary year in the footplate line of promotion on the railway. 16th November 1987 was my seniority date. Yep that would have been over 20 years driving trains and I'm not even 40 yet. Here's the irony to the 16th November. It's also my 9th anniversary date for working here at the County of Riverside. So I guess I'd better buy a lottery ticket today too.

The Mission Inn

This is one side of the Mission Inn in Riverside, the side that I found the architecture to be the most interesting. The Mission Inn began life in 1876 as a 12 room adobe boarding house. Today it is a luxury hotel with 239 rooms and some amazing fine dining restaurants. There is a lot of history surrounding the Mission Inn and some say it is even haunted. The building is spectacular and tours are offered of the hotel and it even has a museum.

A San Diegan Sunset

Sunday was a beautiful day to be in San Diego and for anyone that's ever been there it's a wonderfully unique place. For those of you that have never been there, make sure you make time to visit there, you won't regret it. San Diego has the best possible climate you can imagine, a nice constant temperature and lots of sunshine. As cities go it also appears to be pretty laid back and small compared with the other major cities in California. The area around Seaport Village is pretty amazing. Seaport Village can really be best described as a tourist trap, but right by it there is the fishing port, the USS Midway (an aircraft carrier used as an air museum). There are lots and lots of restaurants and of course the amazing view looking across to Coranado Island and it's large navel base that takes care of the Pacific Fleet. I don't think there is one time that I have been there and not been amazed to see a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the US Navy berthed at Coronado and until you see one you won't believe how big they are.

This photo was taken from Seaport Village as  the sun was setting and by chance a sail boat happened to pass by.

Pier Cafe

This is the Pier Cafe at Seaport Village in San Diego. I want to be able to tell you something about this place but I couldn't find any information on it, except that the cafe was established in 1980. It does make for a pretty picture though. Enjoy.

The Chinese Pavilion

This Chinese Pavilion is located in Downtown Riverside outside the Main Library. It was build in 1985 to honor the Chinese settlers that came to Riverside in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The night I took this photo a very good friend of mine and his other half had invited us out to dinner in Downtown Riverside. Me being the procrastinator that I am I kept meaning to go downtown and take some evening photographs and just never did it, so that evening was the perfect opportunity.

A City By Night

The second time that I went to San Diego in 1997 I stayed at the house of a friend of my now ex-wife's on Coronado Island. I remember her friend, Katie, picking us up at about 11pm at the San Diego Rail Depot as we had taken the train from Los Angeles to San Diego to go and spend time with her. Katie picked us up and then drove us to her house on Coronado via the San Diego - Coronado Bridge and as we rounded the curve of the bridge I looked across the water and saw the most amazing skyline lit up late at night. Well it's been 12 years in the making, but I always wanted to get back there and take a photograph of that skyline at night and yesterday I finally did. This had been a photograph I had had in my mind since the first time I saw it and it came out way better than I imagined it to. I found the ideal spot at the ferry landing on Coronado and spent the next hour or so just taking photos of the the sight before me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Whitney Sunrise

This photograph was taken at about 7am as the Sun rose above the mountains to the east of us and lit up Mount Whitney into this brilliant orange color. Mount Whitney is 14,505ft high and is the highest peak in the contiguous United States. I've met various people that have climbed Mount Whitney, but I've never felt the urge to do it myself. All that being said, first thing in the morning as the sun lights it up Mount Whitney is pretty spectacular.