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Fall 2009

Here are some of my favorite things about fall. Hope your fall is as enjoyable as mine.

Vail, Colorado

After neglecting my family for the better part of 2 months, we took a much needed, but quick, vacation to Vail, CO. If you've never been there before, you're missing out. As usual, many more pictures are available at my Flickr.

Farewell Good Friend

For those of you who did not have the pleasure of knowing J during his short life, you missed out. He was one of a kind, and I'm proud to have called him my friend. J, thanks for the good times. I'm sorry we didn't see much of each other over the last few years while I was in Ohio, and I'm sorry I couldn't make it to lunch last month. Thanks for your friendship and example. God speed buddy; love you.

Self-Portrait, by Noah

He even signed it.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Noah: hey mom? What do giraffies at the zoo eat in their cages?

Ali: uh, hay and tree leaves

Noah: yeah, and chocolate chip cookies [he always refers to chocolate chips as "chocolate chip cookies"]

Ali: chocolate chip cookies?? No, I don't think so.

Noah: yeah huh, they are all over the floor in their cages, remember?





*photo credit ucumari

More Shots of the City

a few more over at my flickr

Sunset Over the Great Salt Lake

Brilliant sunset on Friday night. In case you missed it, here it is--straight from the camera.

Salt Lake Valley at Dusk

I suppose light pollution isn't always bad





Click the pictures to be taken to a larger version (particularly helpful for the panorama)

Noah

Mischief

We noticed that this boy's:



train set was gradually disappearing. We noticed this started about the same time as our subwoofer began to rattle. Tonight, I took the subwoofer part. Come to found out, this boy:



had been stashing away these parts in the sub's front port, and they were stuck to the magnet (except the wood block):

Noah

hope you are having a nice winter/pre-spring

Time to get on The Online

I watched the whole thing but they didn't teach me how to forward emails about school kids' projects and boycots on gasoline.

Salt Lake City

In case you missed it.......nice sunset this evening.



And, nice night with small crowds at Temple Square.



As always, more pics are available at my Flickr.

Return to Salt Lake City

The time between our announcement of our departure and the date of our departure was short and we therefore missed doing some things we would like to have done and said goodbyes to those whose friendship we have appreciated over the last 5.5 years. The day after Thanksgiving, Ali and the boys flew back to Salt Lake, and after dropping them off at the airport I headed downtown to take a few final pictures. I will miss this sight:



The first day we drove from Columbus to Hays, Kansas. The only nice view of the day was during our stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis--the clouds temporarily broke just as we arrived.



We were fortunate to hit most of Kansas at night, but were unfortunate (after I-25 and I-70 were closed) to hit all of Wyoming during the day. I don't recall seeing a single non-human planted tree between Kansas City, MO and Park City, UT, but Wyoming did have some nice clouds.



The movers dropped off our mountain of junk today--now we just need to find a home in which to put it. You can see five more pictures at my Flickr.

"We've never lost a fireside....."

Ha!

Back to Salt Lake City

Well, for those of you who have not heard, I have received (and accepted) a job offer in Salt Lake City with Holland & Hart to join their real estate group. I have some great friends who work there and look forward to joining them. Over the last 5 & 1/2 years, we have come to love Columbus, and I have enjoyed working for SZD, so the change will be bittersweet for us. We are, however, excited to rejoin our family and the topographic beauty of the Salt Lake Valley. If you are one of our Ohio friends, we expect you to visit soon. If you are one of our Utah friends, we look forward to renewing your acquaintance. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to slurp down some Jell-O before I head off to a protest.

* photo courtesy of cinnamonsheep

Saturday Morning Drive

With Ali and the boys out of town, I used Saturday morning to take a fall drive through the scenic hills of southeastern Ohio. I awoke at 5:00 am--not atypical for such a drive. The nightstand, however, wanted me to stay home.



I cleaned up and looked for a bandaid, but could only find Noah's "Finding Nemo" bandaids, which I figured the country folk would like--a city slicker driving through the country with a bright orange fish bandaid on his forehead.

I headed out and hit the hills at dawn.





I made it all the way to Athens, drove around Ohio U.'s beautiful campus, and headed for Lake Hope. I wish my iPhone would have told me that the path it chose involved 8 miles of dirt road.



That road was a great choice for a Bimmer/Beamer, and I'm sure the gun-rack laden F150s and spoiler-sporting, off-road Camaros didn't think twice about it.



I didn't take that picture, but I wouldn't be too surprised to see something like that deep in southeastern Ohio.


I made it to Lake Hope, enjoyed the scenery, and headed home.

Election Notes

For the most part, I was pleased with Ohio's election results last night. More than anything, I am glad that I don't have to watch any more ads from the following: Obama, the DNC, McCain, the RNC, Steve Stivers, Mary Jo Kilroy, Issue 5, Issue 6, Eric Brown, John Connor (did this guy really win?) and et cetera.

As for President-Elect Obama, whether you voted for him or not, I think we can all agree that we should be grateful that Gov. Palin will not be president for at least four years. Here's hoping Obama is up for the job. I don't envy him a bit--especially with expectations like these:



Free gas and no mortgage payments--how could you go wrong?!

Weekend in Granville

With the nice weather we were anxious to see the sights of fall, so we decided to head to Granville, an iconic small Ohio town nestled in the hills of eastern Ohio. We rode the rails-to-trails trail from Alexandria to Granville, had lunch at Del Mar (owned by the owners of Club 185 and the fantastic Rossi), and rode back. Nice ride in a beautiful area.

This is a tree at Denison University (can you believe these colors are straight from the camera?)


This is a church at Denison--amazing sky.


This is the trail--very nice in the fall


And this is a barn along the way.

Me

According to my three year old

Fall

Hope you are enjoying fall as much as we are.

Sisters?

Cindy McCain on Sarah Palin's National Security Experience


Miss South Carolina on Who Knows What

My Boys

Can't get enough of these little guys.

Bittersweet

We have finally put our home up for sale, 5 years and 1 day after we moved in. It is definitely a bittersweet moment. Have a look at ClintonvilleCapeCod.com.

Thanks to Brett for the killer web design.

Bokeh at Innis Woods

The Ohio State Fair - 2008 Edition

Ever since our first visit in August 2004, I have begged Ali to accompany me to the state fair. People watching, among my favorite pastimes, is as good at the state fair (any state fair) as you will find anywhere, perhaps second only to those events in which people, wearing shirts with numbers and brandishing the Confederate flag, watch people driving cars capable only of left-hand turns. A nice day in the mid-80's, and a promise to Noah the night before that we would ride on a large slide and pet goats, helped coax Ali back to the state fair--her first in four years. Below are some of the highlights (some from this year, some from years past). Be warned that the following photos are snapshots without artistic merit, except for the varied stories they tell. A couple of more photos are available at my flickr.


Let's start off with a personal, normal photo. Noah enjoyed the rides and petting the animals.



I of course took time to enjoy some fine fair food (here, chips from a single potato, shredded with the aid of a power drill).



I couldn't resist this sign (and the potential damage the items listed on it could wreak on my cardiovascular system). Note the sign above the lady's head which pronounced this year's new deep fried item--a deep-fried PB&J.



A deep fried Snickers, covered in powdered sugar, is as much a kick in the chest as it sounds. I had to sit down after finishing it. Never again....



The fair demonstrates to the youngsters all of the elements of success--a carney who is smoking who is pregnant.



This is a motley crew. I love the hand-knit black tanktop, the black "fanny-pack" underneath the translucent cut-off, and of course the motorized scooter--a staple at any state fair and everywhere in Florida I've ever been.



The amount of dreck/kitsch for sale at a state fair always amazes. I could use the mummy coffin just like I need a laundry ball.



I always enjoy celebrity sightings. I'm quite positive this guy is Doc Brown from Back to the Future. I was too slow on the camera to get a picture of him from the front, but the black socks really tie together an otherwise drab outfit.



This is some fair food I just couldn't bear to try. I love the ingredients (mashed potatoes and roast beef, mmmmmmmmm), but the name and the sign ruined it. Not sure if that is a tomato or cherry on top, but neither have a place with the aforementioned ingredients.



And of course, as previously mentioned, the best thing about the fair, is the people-watching. Not sure who told her this outfit was acceptable in public. People who have just eaten deep-fried candy bars and "roast beef sundaes" are watching--please don't increase the likelihood of upset stomach--it's already far too high.



Looking forward to the fair again next year. Thanks for reading, and if you recognize yourself in any of the above photos--know that your mom is probably proud of you.