Oh, Christmas Tree

New wood shed

I recently completed building a wood shed on the west side of the house.

DC Trip

Earlier this month Charles, Peter and I visited Washington DC. The primary purpose of our trip was to attend the "Equality March" on Sunday the 11th. But we also did a lot of sight-seeing. Our hotel was on the campus of George Washington University, only a ten minute walk from the White House. This is the north side of the WH.

Protesters are always present at the White House. Here's a sample.

Charles and Peter in Lafayette Square across from the White House.

Peter has a chat with a protester near the White House.

This woman was pretty feisty and called Peter a coward for not being active in her particular cause.

Some interesting folks in Lafayette Square.

This guy was getting lots of attention.

Friday, our first full day in DC, was sunny, warm and humid. The sky was a bright blue, a perfect backdrop for one of the many sculptures along our walk.

View of the south side of the White House.

At the center of the mall - Washington Monument.

Peter and the Washington Monument.

Here I am at the World War II memorial.

Each column section of the WWII memorial is represented by a state. Here's my home state!

...and Charles with his home state.

The DC War Memorial.

From the steps of Lincoln Memorial, looking east across the reflecting pool at Washington Monument and the Capitol.

The lighting always seems ideal in the Lincoln Memorial.

Peter taking a picture of the Gettysburg Address. Around this time he commented, "Wow, your country is all about war!"

Me and Abe.

Peter and a mounted park police officer. Unfortunately, this photo and a few that follow are marred by a blurry spot (left side of photo) - a consequence of a smudge on my camera lens.

Peter and Charles in the Jefferson Memorial, probably my favorite DC memorial.

The Jefferson Memorial, across the tidal basin.

On the wall in the Jefferson Memorial. Jefferson was a smart dude!

Peter and Thomas

Cool sculpture at the Smithsonian Institution.

Another side of the same building - beautiful architecture!

Before heading up to Union Station to catch a train for Rockville (to have dinner with Dave and Nora Soroka), we walked past the U.S. Capitol.

Security on the roof of the Capitol.

While looking for a place to eat brunch on Saturday morning, we walked past this homeless guy. Not all of the sites in DC are nice to look at...

Cool lion head near the Treasury Building.

Peter with Sarah.

Near Lafayette Park. Not sure if this truck is a permanent fixture in DC, or was in town specifically for the Equality March.

Late in the afternoon we checked out an exhibit on the mall. The exibit was a collection of solar powered homes, built as part of a contest for the best energy independent home design.

The Alberta, Canada entry was one of the nicest.

From the mall - the capitol building in the early evening light.

After a long day of walking - at the Smithsonian late in the afternoon.

At noon on Sunday we arrived at the starting point of the "Equality March."

We agreed that this was one of the best signs at the march.

Last minute sign-making.

Great homemade signs.

Along the march route - this is favorite photo from the march - and of the entire trip.

Me and Charles outside the White House.

An Indiana contingent shows its support.

Marching past the White House.

Video of march past WH

Secret service on the White House roof, checking out the march.

Charles and Peter along the parade route.

I'm Fred!

Beginning the march up Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Newspaper Museum on Pennsylvania Avenue. The first amendment to the constitution is engraved across the front of the building. "Congress shall make no law...prohibiting...the right of the people peaceably to assemble..."

...approaching the capitol building.

Marchers arriving at the capitol.

This sign says a lot about the 2008 election and the California propositions.

Crowd getting fired up during one of the more rousing speeches.

After a couple of hours of speeches that were beginning to sound too much alike, we decided we'd had enough and were ready to find something to drink. Before leaving, I snapped this photo of an Uncle Sam drag queen.

We did a quick tour of the National Gallery of Art late in the afternoon. I especially enjoyed an exhibition by the American artist Philip Guston. Here is his drawing entitled Rain (1975).

Video of a cool fountain at the National Gallery of Art

Video of the "LED Tube" at the National Gallery of Art

Some nice architecture along Pennsylvania Avenue

We had dinner at the Brazilian restaurant Fogo de Chao where we feasted on an endless supply of roasted meats.

On our walk back to the hotel on the final night of our stay, we stopped to take some photos of the White House.

Charles' 35th birthday

On Carmel Beach: Ern holding the cake, as Charles gets ready to blow out the candles.

Dad's visit

My Dad came to visit Sept 22-26. This was his first visit to California and his first trip on a plane. He's 75 years old! After I picked him up at San Jose Airport (his flight was from Minneapolis) we drove into the Santa Cruz Mountains and checked out the towering redwood trees at Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

On the first full day of Dad's visit, we headed for Yosemite, stopping along the way at Mission San Juan Bautista.

In the garden at Mission San Juan Bautista.

Me with a praying dude statue in the mission garden.

After checking into our hotel in Oakhurst (south of Yosemite), there was still enough time to drive into the park and up to Glacier Point late in the day. This was Dad's first view of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Looking over the edge at the valley floor.

From Glacier Point, looking down at Yosemite Valley 3000 feet below.

Overhanging rock from Glacier Point.

Half dome in the evening light.

On our drive into Yosemite the next morning, we stopped to check out the giant sequoias in the Mariposa Grove.

A giant sequoia in the morning light.

At the "tunnel overlook" above Yosemite Valley.

In Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Falls typically flows in the background behind us, but it's dry now.

Back on the Monterey Peninsula. After a foggy drive through Pacific Grove on Friday morning, we arrived at a sunny Carmel Beach. The fog over Pacific Grove can be seen lurking in the background. That's Pebble Beach golf course at the end of Carmel Beach.

Shoes off, touching ocean water for the first time.

Before leaving Carmel, we stopped at Carmel Mission.

We headed south down the Big Sur coast. The fog obscured our ocean views much of the time, but the Bixby Bridge was mostly in the clear.

We ate lunch at Nepenthe, with great views south along the Big Sur coast.

Before taking Dad to San Francisco Airport, I drove us up into the Marin Headlands for a mid-morning view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco beyond. The marine layer was very shallow and the fog was moving just under the bridge.

From the San Francisco side of the bridge.

The bridge with a fog-shrouded Fort Point below.

The bridge "floating" on the fog