Alaska 2022 - Layover in Seattle

 

It has been a long dang time since Hans and I were up in Alaska!  This summer we made good on plans from back in 2020 and flew up to AK for a couple of weeks.  Hans' sister met us up there and we all stayed with my sister and brother-in-law while we were in Anchorage.

But first we had to get there :)

We had a pretty long layover in Seattle and just like back in 2014 the weather could not have been better.  The light rail brought us over to the LGBTQ-friendly neighborhood of Capitol Hill and we had a pretty good time.  We had a tasty lunch at a ramen place that also served tsukemen noodles and then walked up to Volunteer Park through beautiful neighborhoods.  There is a water tower that was built in 1906 - they truly don't build public structures like they used to - that has an enclosed exterior spiraling staircase that leads up to an observation deck with 360-degree views of the city.  A large cemetery is also part of the park.  Both Bruce and Brandon Lee are buried there.

We were starting to feel the effects of our early morning flight from Baltimore so we headed back to the light rail station area and spent a couple of chill hours at a cozy coffee shop and bar.

When it was time to head back to the airport we were pretty tired and then even more tired when we finally landed in Anchorage.  I can't believe how late we stayed up before finally going to bed but it was so good to catch up with family.

 

    

 

 

There was a gorgeous dahlia garden in the park

 

Fairytale-like glen near the water tower

 

P.S.

I don't have much to report for the next day (August 12th) because we spent the better part of that day relaxing and getting Hans' sister's car attended to.  We had to run some errands and duck into the Dimond Mall (which has changed so much).  We checked out my old stomping grounds.

 

San Diego

I was in San Diego for a work trip that was extended through the weekend.  Below are a series of photos from my time there.  There was an attempt to take advantage of the dark sky area of Anza-Borrego State Park however unfortunately the weather wasn't optimal.  I managed to take some photos of the general area that includes Andromeda, which was exciting.  Hopefully I'll have a better opportunity in the future.

 

Family dynamics of sea lions in La Jolla

 

 

While driving through some side neighborhoods I saw this fence which was
absolutely overflowing with bougainvillea

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Old Town San Diego, 1858

Birria tacos!

In Presidio Park there's a small building that Google Maps has labeled "Witches Tower"

When I went up to look there was a young man sitting in one corner, writing in a journal, with a medium sized knife casually on the ground next to him.  He suggested that visitors were traditionally supposed to walk the star pattern on the tower.  I asked if it had anything to do with witches and he gave a quizzical look.  He said that if watchmen followed the path, they'd be more difficult targets for attack due to the unpredictable appearance.  Makes sense.

The area of interest for stargazing.  What was amazing to me was that even well after midnight the air temperature was still 90 degrees.  Between the residual heat from daytime and near total silence other than some insects and distant thunder, it was a surreal environment.

Andromeda galaxy in the upper left.  

Intermittent cloud cover made it difficult to capture more than a handful of clear images.

I did my best with post-processing.

Hotel del Coronado (1888) at night.  Super haunted.

Lunar Eclipse

Last night (this morning) there was a total lunar eclipse.  The weather barely cooperated while I took photos from a field in the neighborhood.  I had to finally pack in when the air temperature dropped and I found myself suddenly surrounded by fog.  Between that and the intermittent sound of owls calling out in the dark I wished that it was already October.  Even though Halloween is a long ways away the Blood Flower Moon created enough of a spooky atmosphere.  High-res photos for download:

The conditions I was working with.

 

Near maximum totality

Composite image of the eclipse' progress

 

 This photo is from December 2021

Hans got a new mega telephoto lens and I wanted to try it out on the moon - it does not disappoint!