Great Moments : 2023-03

I enjoy doing things with Kimberly - she makes me smile. You can see the smiles! We had a great flight a few days ago and the weather / day / clouds were amazing, too.

Epic mixture of sunset and shade.  

First time eating at the Rabbit Hole and first time seeing friends in a decade. It was excellent conversation and food - would definitely recommend the restaurant.  What a great evening!

Kimberly also took me to the Cave of the Winds! It's one of those places you live near but don't visit... but we did, and it was cool. If you can visit, you should. Even if you don't go into the cave, the surrounds are beautiful. We had a great day both inside and out. I imagine the cave weather remains pretty consistent.

These two shots are somewhat famous in the cave world. The "bacon" as it's called on the left and the "bleeding heart" on the right. It might've been "Giant's bleeding heart", but the point was it's redness created essentially by rust. Thank you, Kimberly, for giving me wonderful memories!

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Telluride : 2021-07

Thanks to the power of word-of-mouth, I've met a pilot with a C182R (retract) and we get to fly wherever he wants. One of the destinations is Telluride, CO (KTEX). Side note, no one should name themselves "KTEX" if they have nothing to do with Texas. He has property there and wants to get familiar with the ins and outs. It is a fantastic airfield but the arrival/departure can be a bit sketchy. Once you get there, the town is epic.

Here's an aerial shot of the runway.

This is what it looks like on final. It's basically picture perfect.

Incredible lunch and great moss scenes.

 

Even the buildings add to the ambiance.

This was a great trip (long, but great) and I look forward to doing it again.

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Hartford CT : 2021-06

To my recollection, I've never been in Connecticut, so making the capital the first stop seemed fitting. I had to look up the airport since KBDL didn't make much sense (unless you know its Bradley International). We had a nice layover which gave me time to do some exploring. It was a beautiful day and conveniently, the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art was just a few blocks away. It's always cool to get a nice surprise and the Wadsworth certainly surprised me with a very nice and large collection.  Here are some items of interest...

Albert Bloch, Cityscape, 1911 // Edvard Munch, Aasgaardstrand, 1904.

There is nothing particularly impressive about Cityscape, but I have grown to appreciate boldness and lack of detail in paintings. For me, the cool thing about Munch's Aasgaardstrand, is that it's the smae place where he painted The Scream.

Max Ernst, Europe after the Rain II, 1940-42. This is a painting you have to see in person because of the detail and technique. Ernst used decalcomania which is pressing paint into the canvas with glass or another smooth service.

Orazio Andreoni, Pereat (Let him Perish), 1892 // Henri-Paul Motte, The Trojan Horse, 1874. The two ladies giving the 'thumbs down' is classic. You can't really see their faces, but they're full of distain. Although painted almost 150 years ago, The Trojan Horse (to me) is perfect. The lighting, the contrast, and the story behind the painting are captured so well.

Hedda Sterne, New York No 1, 1957 // Franz Kline, Painting, 1952

New York No 1 was a hard painting to grasp because it's fuzzy - on purpose of course - and actually a great technique. Your eyes want to focus, but they can't. It's painted fuzzy. Painting was unique in that Kline painted it out of a gallon can of paint house using a normal (house) painting brush.

Morris Louis, Impending, 1959 // Duane Hanson, Sunbather, 1971

Louis stumbled across this technique after spilling thinned paint on a canvas. On the other hand, Hanson knew he created incredibly life-like works, but that wasn't really his goal. Rather, he wanted to focus on aimless workers, bloated consumers and neglected senior citizens.

Francisco de Goya, Gossiping Women, c 1792-96

Goya has done some amazing work. This painting shows his great use of contrast and also displays his brilliance in capturing humans in their normal environment - that of life. Women gossiping...might be real.

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, The Last Supper, 1750s // Salvator Rosa, Lucrezia as Poetry, 1641

Other than Da Vinci's Last Supper, this is the best Last Supper I've seen. In fact, if it wasn't for Da Vinci, it might be the best. Rosa's paintings are great. Aside from being 380 years old, it captures human emotions as well as any painting can.

 William Merritt Chase, Boy Smoking, 1875 // John Singer Sargent, Ruth Sears Bacon, 1887

The building itself and me in front of it.

This was the incredible jet we took to Hartford.  Amazing airpower.

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Why I Love Airfields 20 : 2021-04

I know I've said it before, but one of the greatest things of general aviation is the variety of FBOs you'll encounter.  Or the people you may or may not meet.

This is Trinidad (KTAD).  Great building zero people, but not really accessible.  My copilot made me a breakfast burrito and we ate them on one of their picnic benches. Great moment. The right-center window reads "AIRPORT".  Classic.

This white-brick building is Raton's (KRTN) FBO. On the topic of "what do I call this place", I use the 'public knowledge' answer.  This is Raton but technically, Raton Municipal Airport/Crews Field. I will never say "Crews Field".  Never.  It's "Raton traffic"... Let's use Leadville as another example.  It's the highest field in North America, and known as Leadville.  If anyone thinks I'll say "Lake County", they will be surprised.  Regardless, this was an excellent FBO with a cool building and great views. Beyond all of that, they will make you a hamburger.  And it is NOT a 'take from the warmer burger', it is a burger made by someone who cares.  It was fantastic!

Cameras never really capture the moment.  This was a shot across from Coppertop's tail trying to show the landscape.  In person, it was very cool. Taken at Trinidad.

This was another shot trying to show the unique landscape at Trinidad.  The mountains, hills, and mesas are much better in person. Point being, go there yourself, take in the landscape, and get a free burger!

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Why I Love Airfields 19 : 2020-11

Why do I love airfields?  Actually countless reasons, but I have a few reasons for not loving them.  Leadville (or Lake County Airport) is a classic example.  Love it and don't.  First, what's up with "Lake County"?  Everyone knows it as Leadville.  Second, super nice people, highest North American airport, gives you a free certificate, but NOT on the weekends (not loving them).

Here's an unrelated picture (aside from the day) of a beautiful sky and the tail of Queen Vic.

This is the certificate Leadville will give you just for showing up - awesome!

But not on the weekends...not awesome. 

And the most epic pic ever.  Two birds from Springs Aviation which will likely never been seen again at Leadville.  Orange Blaze and Queen Vic.  It was a totally random rendezvous and lent itself to a fantastic pic.  It's a photo op that will likely never happen again.

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visit list - air and space

Aircraft / Space, America:

• Air Force Armament Museum, Destin FL : not seen
• Beechcraft Heritage Museum, Tullahoma, TN : not seen
• Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, KS : not seen
• EAA Aviation Museum, Oshkosh, WI : not seen
• Erickson Collection, Madras, Oregon : not seen
• Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, Oregon : not seen
• Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum, Everett, WA : not seen
• Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, New York : not seen
• Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York : not seen
• Kennedy Space Center (visitor complex), FL : not seen
• Military Aviation Museum, Virginia : visited
• Musée de L'Air et de l'Espace (Paris):  visited, December 2013 
• Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB, GA : not seen
• Museum of Flight, Seattle WA : not seen
• National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton OH : visited, October 2019
• Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, New York : not seen
• Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, DC : visited
• Space Center Houston, Houston, TX : not seen
• Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Virginia : not seen
• Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum, Nebraska : visited
• US Army Aviation Museum, Fort Rucker, AL : not seen
• US Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville, AL : visited
• Warhawk Air Museum, Idaho : not seen
• Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum, Oregon : not seen
• Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kitty Hawk, NC : visited

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Estes Park and YMCA : 2015-09

Ashley and I took a great trip up to Estes Park and stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies (based on a friend's recommendation).  It was short, but a fantastic trip!  The Y is very nice and they have several activities right on site.  I certainly recommend staying here unless you want to stay in town - but even the Y isn't very far from town center.

Pre-tennis shots...we have different approaches to tennis.  It was a blast. 

Some shots from downtown Estes Park.  One normal, one kinda freaky. 

My baby challenging (and beating) the flowers in beauty.

Another flower shot (she likes the not-looking-at-the-camera pics)

and the two of us with my Ivy League sweatshirt. 

These candy apples were something else!  This was right next to a salt water taffy

shop with an antique cutting and wrapping machine - cool!

A close up of the apples and a "magic" faucet.  Ashley pretended to know how it works! 

If you get the chance, visit Estes Park!  You will certainly remember it!

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Brunch and d'Orsay : 2013-09

I met a classmate, his wife and their friends for a brunch at Delyan (Paris Madeleine) and stopped by the Musée d'Orsay on the way back. I hadn't been to the musée for awhile and I have the pass so it's too easy to stop in even if it's for an hour.

First stop was a noon-ish brunch at Delyan in the 9e arrondisement. They have a brunch menu which makes it pretty easy and I actually liked the choices (all of them, I think). Their œuf coque was awesome!

This is Delyan's business card

Currently at the d'Orsay there is a great exhibit of Félicie de Fauveau.That's a nice thing about having a pass at the museum. You step in and you come across artists you know nothing about (or at least I do). She did some great work and the detail was most impressive. 

On the left is the exhibit in the Orsay. and right, a wooden carving of Christ on the cross.

Left: the top of a fountain - one of the few nudes by Félicie de Fauveau. Right: this Lamp of St Michel, was really impressive. You can't take pics at Orsay, but I should have.

Two more great pieces on display: (l) Gustave Moreau's Victime (view his museum) and (r) Seule by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. An interesting fact about Henri, he was 1.52 m tall, which is just above the height of whatever is politically correct now. I loved the emotion in Victime and the simplicity in Seule - how the simple lines completely conveyed the feeling of the scene

The Musée d'Orsay itself is an awesome building. It's an old train station and there's something about it that really makes me relax. I guess it's the open space, all the glass, the light, and it never seems to be overly crowded.

 Some more pics of the inside

I'm a fan of the smartphone's ability to take panoramic shots so here are two of d'Orsay's exterior.

If you get to Paris, get to the Musée d'Orsay! It doesn't matter what's on display. And if you're into furniture and design, don't forget to visit the Art Nouveau gallery.