some R & R after the storm...

Our trip home was pretty uneventful, thank goodness! We helped my mom as much as we could and i know that she appreciated it. in the mean time i tried to see as much as my dad's side of the family as possible but never seems to be possible cause there are sooo many!...anyways, here our what i thought were the highlights:)


As much as i hate little dogs this mini pomeranian was adorable!!!

This was the last night we were in town super unloading after a very hectic and busy week!

my beautiful cousin Casey who made it back safely from Afghanistan last September:)

...clearly my last shot and some more cards...a dime game, where you dont want low cards, instead high cards-specifically the King of HEarts.

...and more shots...Shyam is such a pro ....these last round of shots finished the bottle of tequila and led to the demo of the very elusive mexican pronghorn found only in this house, subspecies: Faustino...really its my cousin acting like what he thinks is a pronghorn:)

We had a nice relaxing lunch with mom the day b4 we left. dont we look just like oneanother? (me freezing my arss off!)

and i will leave you with photos of the bestest critter i have run into yet in the desert..i cannot emphasize how much i love the horned lizard. The stance to the right was my cue to leave him be..even though i wanted to pick him up i didnt want him to start squirting blood out his eyes!!

I am still waiting on a call back from Taj about booking a flight. i will try him again tomorrow. we would probably only be able to do a long weekend and yes i am thinking probably the 19th since Father's day is the previous weekend. We are gonna try and make it to Chicago in mid-August..interested in meeting up? My gramps left me his car and we need to drive it back..thinking about hitting up as many state parks in the midwest as possible:)

take care, ac

Hockey Night!

Hi All, I went to the Norfolk Admirals minor league hockey game last week, it was pretty fun. It was easy to get to the arena, I purchased a ticket when I got there, and the game was fast-paced because there were no commercial interruptions. Except for the $8 per 32 ounces of beer price, it was a lot of fun.Above and to the left is a shot of the architecture of the Scope Arena. Nice for a small city like Norfolk. I wanted to get some more pictures of the building and surrounding views but it was freezing and I just wanted to get inside.















An interior shot of the arena complete with score board and banners. To the right is the opening faceoff. From the beginning the Norfolk Admirals seemed to have faster skill players then the Devils.










I thought this was funny, the faceoff to the left had to be done three times because the ref kept getting hit in the face with the hockey stick of the guy in white. Finally the ref dropped the puck when the guy in white wasn't ready, so he did not get hit in the face. On the right is the beginning of the fighting. The Devils started instigating fights when they were down by 2 in the second period. They couldn't keep up with the Admirals, so they just started fights whenever they could.










And with the fights come the ejections. On the left an Admiral is being escorted off the rink and on the right a Devil. The Admiral was the first to go and he stood on the other side of the glass for 5 minutes trying to wait for the Devil to get escorted off. No fight outside the rink though, that would of been sweet.










The final score was 3-0 in a well played, well fought game. And deserving of the curtain call was the goalie. He only had half the number of shots to block then his counterpart, but he still played a shutout.

I hope everyone is enjoying themselves, don't forget to watch team USA vs. Canada in Mens Hockey this Sunday for the Gold Medal.
Peace Out,
Steve

Virginia Beach Aquarium Pics

About two weeks ago, on my day off, I made it out to the Virginia Beach Aquarium. I took as many pictures as I could. It took a little while to get them resized and put on the computer, but it was worth it. I really like how the pictures came out.











The globe spins and talks about tectonic plate movement and I stood in front of this aquarium for like five peaceful minutes. I could of spent more time but I didn't want to hog it for myself.












Probably one of my best pictures this year, the stingray looks awesome flying through the water with the light over it.


















A lemon shark I think, and of course, Nemo.









Cool little Shipwreck scene with the sharks swimming on the other side of the ship wall.




















A saltwater turtle with an attitude, it kept trying to nip at the fish. On the right, I think it is a fresh water turtle, it is actually massive, probably a couple hundred pounds.









A Tomistomas (or crocodile) from underneath the water, and some seahorses hanging on to seaweed in the flowing water.









Pit viper on the left and an Egyptian King Cobra on the right.









Apparently some local poisonous snakes, rattle snake, cottonmouth and something else. I hate snakes.









A big ass Komodo Dragon that was playing with its food (fish) in its pen. Some stick bugs, there are actually three of them in this shot.









The pic on the left is a hallway with all these mirrors and very clear pictures bouncing around. And of course, no aquarium is complete without playful otters. They were a ball of fur rolling around in the water as they were playing.

I think I took roughly 150 photos while I was there, and I went during a slushy snow storm so I was virtually by myself. I did not get to see the atrium due to the storm, but I think I will become a member so I can go back. Well take care,
sh

updates: this and that:)

Here is our update friend...sorry it's been soo long that i posted! Go Saints! I hope your schedule has not been as grueling as it was for Superbowl!! Paul and Kohl are coming down tomorrow for the weekend and i have Monday off work..so we will be looking for a skype date:) hope all is well, take care

My friend Alicia and i out on the town...reminding me of P-town

...and Shyam's fun

So i don't know if you will be able to see it in panoramic but i have now learned how to use this feature on the camera and have been going crazy in the desert!! (try double-clicking on it to see it in full view)

My boss took me driving around the range to Eagle Tank Mt's where there were a ton of petroglyphs and lizards:)

We stayed at Shyam's friend Clay's house which is very eclectic and i couldnt resist taking pictures in the backyard.. but while editing i erased some:(

...me of course being artsy fartsy in the backyard....

I couldn't resist the cat...go figure:)

Here is a candid shot of Shyama and the Groom. besides being rained out the wedding was awesome! I got to finally meet a bunch of peeps that i had only heard about for years:) Loking forward to more good times