We had dinner at Kincaid's which is nice but a bit pricey. It's at one end of the pier and the atmosphere is pleasant.Tourist Info: Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce
August 31, 2009
Frank at Redondo Beach
We had dinner at Kincaid's which is nice but a bit pricey. It's at one end of the pier and the atmosphere is pleasant.
Two Chandeliers
These chandeliers are in the Huntington Art Gallery. The above photo is sharp because the window provided plenty of light. Flash and tripods are not allowed so one of our shots of the another chandelier came out blurry. I liked the image anyway so I increased the saturation and cropped it. Now it looks like a holiday decoration.
August 30, 2009
A Fancy Dining Room
(Click the arrow to view.)
The Huntington Art Gallery is in the San Marino mansion that was the home of millionaire Henry E. Huntington (1850–1927) and his second wife, Arabella (1850–1924). In addition to displaying a renowned art collection, the building shows visitors a gilded-age luxury home, with some rooms (like this one) furnished as they would have been during the period 1911-1927.Photography is allowed as long as you do not use flash or tripod. In fact, the mansion and gardens have been used in many films (see list).
Huntington's Chinese Garden
When we visited the Huntington Gardens last year, the Chinese Garden was not open to the public quite yet. Frank vowed to see it on our next trip to California.These gardens are in San Marino, which is near Pasadena.
Official site: Garden of Flowing Fragrance
A Hot Day at Huntington Gardens
When we last visited Huntington Gardens, the month was February and the weather delightful. August is a different story, and the day turned out to be one of the year's hottest. As temperatures approached 100 degrees F., we cut short our visit a bit.
Squirrel with a Thin Tail
Seen in California
I'm posting this picture for fans of squirrels, including ILĀRIJS from Latvia who has a blog featuring a toy squirrel, and who showed up as a follower of this blog.
August 29, 2009
Art Fair, Laguna Beach
We visited two of the arts and crafts venues at Laguna Beach. We had to pay for parking and admission, but many of the vendors had high quality exhibits, although nothing I really wanted to buy. In the right-hand picture, a girl checks out some nice landscaping.
Linda and Frank in California
We had lunch at the Cottage Restaurant in the town of Laguna Beach and went to look at arts and crafts.
August 28, 2009
August 27, 2009
Somewhere Near Dulles
Northern Virginia
Pictures from an airplane look so hazy! I cut back the washed-out look a little bit in Photoshop using a method similar to the one I described in my fixing haze post, except that this time I used "Soft light" as the layer blending mode this time, pulling the slider back until the dark areas weren't too dark. Not perfect, but the actual view out the plane window looks like this anyway.
August 26, 2009
General Grant's Quarters at City Point
I'm trying to finish my Petersburg to Appomattox field trip photos. This shows Grant's modest quarters at City Point.
August 25, 2009
August 24, 2009
No Longer There
At North Mountain Road and Senedo Road (Route 42)
I came across this picture from February 2008. This old building had suffered roof damage in a windstorm. The metal roof had been ripped part-way off. Since then the building has been torn down.I was sad to see it go. It proudly stood on top of a hill between Macanie and Forestville. It was unoccupied but looked like it may have been a school at one time.
Caroline's Garden
 | Yesterday I drove over to Conicville where a member of the garden club was hosting an open house, or rather an open garden. Recent rains had left us with high humidity and plenty of blooms. |
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August 23, 2009
Fuchsia Blooms and Sky
This is the second year I've had a fuchsia in a hanging basket. Just realized I've been spelling it wrong (as fuschia); it's actually named after Leonhart Fuchs, a 16th century botanist and doctor.Source: Wikipedia article on Fuchsia
Another View of Our Local Covered Bridge
Meems Bottom Covered Bridge is on Wissler Road just off Route 11, the Valley Pike. Some sources claim that it was burnt during the Civil War but others say that no, that was another bridge a little way downstream where the Valley Pike crossed the North Fork.My mother was a fan of covered bridges and old mills, so that's one reason that I go out of my way to photograph them. Which reminds me that some years ago my photojournalism teacher remarked that I took a lot of pictures showing human interaction with the natural world. That became my homework assignment for a portfolio of slides.
August 22, 2009
Sounds of the North Fork
Click the start arrow to hear and see the North Fork of the Shenandoah River at Meems Bottom, named after the Meem Family and their bottomland (low-lying alluvial land near a river).
Gnarled Tree
Above: This gnarl looks like an animal's face.Right: A different view of the tree which stands beside the North Fork of the Shenandoah at Meems Bottom Covered Bridge, Mt. Jackson, VA.
August 21, 2009
The Mill in Thomas House
I've seen restaurants inside mills (like one in Strasburg) -- here's a mill inside a restaurant.
Today we had lunch at the Thomas House Restaurant in Dayton (Virginia). They feature down-home cooking - the fried chicken is tasty!
Today we had lunch at the Thomas House Restaurant in Dayton (Virginia). They feature down-home cooking - the fried chicken is tasty!In their lobby is a model of the Silver Lake Mill, which stands on another side of town.
August 20, 2009
August 19, 2009
August 17, 2009
A Field Near Mount Jackson, VA
Beans growing at "Meems Bottom." That's the Massanutten Range in the distance.
August 16, 2009
Under Contract!
After eight days on the market, my investment house is under contract. It took a lot of work to get it ready to show though.
Here are some before and after photos. I did not shoot them at the same angles because I was recording the scenes for different purposes. The first time I was documenting the fact that the tenant did not leave the house in good condition, to say the least. The second time I was taking pictures for advertising the house on Postlets and other websites.
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| Living Room as we found it | Same LR window and wall |
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| Hall closet door | Hall Closet is at the left |
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| Door from kitchen to porch | Same Door is on the right |
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| Middle Bedroom | Same Bedroom Now |
