Category Archives: travel

A Tale of Two Trips


The temperatures are moderating (finally!).  The breeze has just a hint of chill contained within it.  The Mesilla Valley remains in full bloom with green in evidence everywhere.

It must be roadster time.  And indeed it is.  A couple of weeks ago I put the roadster into the shop for some long overdo maintenance, and a couple of Fridays ago I was informed that it was roadworthy once again.  Thus, that Sunday, we washed off the grime and dust and jumped into the cockpit for one of our favorite drives — the back roads from El Paso to Old Mesilla just south of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

And what an exhilarating drive it was through fields of cotton and corn, vineyards, and beneath the outstretched shading canopies of countless pecan orchards.

Having reached our destination, we were disappointed to learn that one of our favorite eating establishments had closed.  Fortunately, there are some very delicious alternatives in and around Old Mesilla, so our backup plan became Andele’s for some pork tacos (a plate for two that would easily feed four if stretched with just one appetizer).  We were not disappointed, and that one plate served us well with leftovers a couple of days later.  The guacamole was made with rich, well-ripened avocado, and the salsa bar offered myriad choices to accompany our tacos.  And then there are those great, freshly made corn tortillas served up in a hot, foil-wrapped stack that will singe your fingers if you’re not careful.

On the way back to El Paso we dropped by the Sierra Vista Growers to peruse the flowers on hand.

All in all it was quite a day and quite a drive.  But one good roadster trip calls for yet another, which we’ll see later this week and next.  Meanwhile:

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Filed under Automobiles and Driving, Photography, travel

Fun Photo Friday


This Friday the pictures will have to speak for themselves:

Yachts at Sunset

Hit the Showers

The Lone Beaver

Seattle Reflections

Victoria Twilight

 

 

 

 

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Filed under Photography, travel

Fun Photo Friday


These shots were taken shortly after the dawn of the digital photography age with a 5mp camera.  Looking at them today, you can see why I tell people it’s not the megapixels that count.  It’s what you can do with them.

Unfortunately, the interior shots of Ely Cathedral (taken in the Cambridgeshire town of Ely, northeast of London) still show the poor ISO noise sensitivity inherent in cameras of the time, but the outdoor shots look good even by today’s standards.

One of the London buildings I photographed is the SIS Building made famous in a long-running movie series, and a series of novels that date back even further (1953).  How long running?  October 5 will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of the very first film in this series, and November 9 of this year is the U.S. release date of the 23rd film.  And if you haven’t guessed yet what the SIS Building is, or the series that made it famous, it’s more commonly known as the MI6 (or the Secret Intelligence Service) Building.  It’s most famous fictional residents are a certain English MI6 agent (whose service number bears a Double-O prefix) and his boss, a person who goes by the code name of “M.”

Also featured are London landmarks such as the London Eye, Big Ben (officially renamed this year Elizabeth Tower after Diamond Jubilee for the current monarch, Elizabeth II), the Palace of Westminster (i.e., the Parliament building), and Vauxhall Bridge.

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Filed under Photography, travel