Motown-Philly, PA ...Doin' a Lil East Coast swing

So originally, visiting Pennsylvania wasn't really part of our plan. But because there was a neat exhibit at the Museum there (King Tut Exhibit), my family wanted to go check it out. What can I say, my family is as spontaneous as I am. I was happy because I got to see another new city/state, and that's always fun. We only spent about a day and a half there but I think it was worth it. The thing that struck me most about the city was how beautiful the architecture was and how much history was tied to it. Many of the streets and sidewalks seem like they were original and stood the test of time. Unfortunately, I have no photographs of the King Tut exhibit because there was no photography allowed... and it was strictly enforced by the security there. But here are some cool random photos of the sites I saw strolling downtown Philly.

The tall building in the back was my favorite skyscraper.
It looked so modern and high tech :)

This huge skyscraper was still being built. I love how it's
mirror-like finish reflected the other buildings around it.
It was a cool optical illusion.

So here's my only photo in the museum. It's of Ben Franklin...
but I think he almost looks like a sitting Buddha.

This was the coolest fountain ever! It was so hot that day...

like over 100 degrees. It took all I had in me to
keep from jumpin' in.
The details in these sculptures were amazing!

Oh No! Quick! Someone call security. Someone's trying
to walk away with the liberty bell :)

Hampton Beach, New Hampshire... East Coast Tour Continued

While we were staying in Boston with some family, we heard that they were having a sand sculpture competition at Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect beach weather. Unfortunately the sand sculpture competition takes place over several days because it takes so long to create them, and we were there the first day... so the work had just begun on these amazing works of art. With that being said, what we saw was still pretty impressive. Here's a glimpse at what I saw at the beach. The competition had an underlying theme. I'm guessing that the theme was a 'carnival' or 'circus' related. As you can see in the other photos, there was also a 'pirate' theme at the beach that day.

Pirate Volleyball... this is what happens when
you forget to put on your sunscreen, fall asleep
on the beach, and someone ties you to the net.

Pirate Putt-Putt! "Don't miss the Putt or you'll have
to walk the plank!" Arrrgh!

This is a photo of my 11-month old nephew's feet while he
was napping ...after playing in the sand.

3:10 To Yuma movie trailer

So last winter I had the pleasure of being an extra for a movie called "3:10 to Yuma". Well, it looks like they finally have a trailer out for it. I can't wait to see it when it comes out this October.

Here's the link to the trailer:
http://www.movieweb.com/news/96/20596.php

If you're curious about my adventures on set, here's my post about it back in December.
http://tdraco23.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_archive.html

Boston... Continued. The Museum of Science

While in Boston, I also got to check out the Museum of Science. The museum itself wasn't really that impressive... I guess I was expecting a bit more. But the 3D movie we saw about Bugs was pretty cool. I hope you enjoy these random photos I took while touring the Museum.

This life-sized Star Wars Replica was pretty cool.
Can you spot R2D2?

This giant model of a locust was intended to illustrate how models
are used as special effects in Hollywood.

This piece of artwork was really cool and featured a
mobile of hanging polarized discs. You can see the string
holding up the discs if you look closely. I believe this artist also
has similar work up at the Museum of Natural History in NM.

Here's a nice view of downtown Boston through a window at
the museum. You can see the "Duck Tour" in the water...
or what I like to call the amphibious bus tour.

Boston, Massachusetts ... a stroll in Boston Common

Last week I went to visit some friends and family in the Boston area for a week. We also ended up exploring Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. (see future posts for details)

I love seeing new places and got to spend some time exploring the downtown area with a childhood friend I hadn't seen in over 20 years. This was my first time in Massachusetts... actually my first time in the New England area in general. We really lucked out as far as the weather... it was nice and sunny the whole week we were there. These photos are of our stroll in "Boston Common". Boston Common is a well known city park, and is actually the oldest city park in the United States (dating as far back as 1634).

My friend Dave took this photo of me on the bridge
overlooking the pond. Since it's rare to
see photos of me... especially on my blog, I figured I needed
a change and stepped away from behind the camera.

California Dreaming

So last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting my "home away from home"... California. One of my favorite places in northern California is a small beach town called "Santa Cruz". The drive to Santa Cruz from San Jose is awesome (using hwy 17). I only wish I had taken my Miata with me, but riding with my brother in his BMW was fun too. The trip was short... only a few days, but it was good to smell that salty ocean air and feel the ocean breeze again.

These photos were taken on the beaches of Santa Cruz with my Canon S2. The rocky outcrop near the beach was the most interesting thing to photograph... so that's why there are tons of photos of it. The wind surfers were cool too and seemed to be having so much fun... I need to learn how to wind surf someday. Hope you enjoy the photos!








This last photo was taken in Chinatown, San Francisco. The lady in "traditional Asian" clothing was handing out advertising fliers... how annoying! Oh well, at least it makes for an interesting photograph. I like how everyone is totally ignoring her :)