Saw some more interesting bumper stickers in Anchorage. Check em out.

Before Big Brother takes control of your mind.

Love added letters.

I wanna get sucked in my car – I mean sucked out…

Went to a party at my friend Sky’s house down on the Kenai River in Soldatna, AK. Great house on the river and and great place for a party.

Fire ring looking out towards the river.

Had the band under the tarp.

River anyone? Steep stairs down to a fishing dock.

From the dining room.

Drove South to Homer, AK. On the way we drove through the Kenai Peninsula again. It’s a beautiful area and breath taking photos around every turn.

Copper Landing Lake.

The water is really that color. This is glacial melt thus it contains no oxygen.

Another lake

Waiting for the kayakers to come through the shoot.

Another view of the shoot.

Another mountain.

More mountains.

Had enough mountains?

Alright, one more mountain.

Visited a couple of lodges out in the bay off Homer, AK. One lodge was owned by a friend of Janine’s and had a chef from Barcelona, helipad, full-time masseuse, Tai Chi classes, fine wine and about everything high-end you could imagine for being out in the middle no where.

A view of one of the lodges.

Main deck with helipad (they have their own helicopter).

15 – 20 foot tide here.

Dock.

Main lodge with lagoon.

Lodge with main deck.

Neighbor built a Viking house on an old crab boat. He crashed it up on the shore during the year’s highest tide. Neighbors called the troopers to stop him. As you can see it’s still teathered to a tree in case there is a major tide.

Still got the props.

Had a great trip to Homer, AK with Janine and hung with her friends out at a couple of lodges. Here are a few photos of things around Homer.

Down at the small boat harbor.

More small boats.

Our mode of transportation.

One of the weekly cruise liners.

Looking towards Homer and the cruise ship with Mt. Redoubt volcano on the left in the distance.

Crab fleet.

Coming out of Homer harbor, cruised past the king crab fishing vessel “Time Bandit” from the hit television shot “Deadliest Catch.” It’s a cool looking boat but cooler looking on the TV show.

Deadliest Catch show.

Time Bandit.

Another view.

Stolen from the web.

Yea, I really took this one.

Should have seen me get this one.

Who’s that cool guy with that hottie? Well, it was on college choir tour and there I was with an old flame on the bed – unfortunately playing cards. Nancy found this old photo while digging through memorabilia for her high school reunion. She found me on Facebook and there you go. Who would of thunk it that a guy who looked like that would not now be in the custody of the authorities.

Still a hottie after all these years – I mean Nancy.

This year there have been only two seasons in Alaska – Winter and Summer. Spring came and sent one night while we all were sleeping. The trees have finally popped, the sky is that amazing Alaskan blue, and the moose are out. Here are a couple of shots of the first few days of summer.

From the lagoon towards the Chugach mountains.

First moose of the season munching away.

In the yard.

My seven year old niece Layla had a class project called Flat Stanley. It is similar in respect to the traveling gnome in the Travelocity ads. A gnome escapes a person’s lawn to travel the world. Photos are regularly sent back from interesting places. You’ve seen the ads.

Instead of a gnome, each child draws Stanley. Since Stanley is a two-dimensional drawings, he is called Flat Stanley. Each child sends out Flat Stanley to friends and relatives near and far. The person receiving Flat Stanley has to photograph him doing something interesting or at an interesting place. Knowing that Uncle Scott lives on the other side of the world (Layla lives near San Diego) Flat Stanley should visit there. Previously I had sent her photos of animals and other crazy Alaskan stuff, so she had an idea of what she was hoping for. Flat Stanley finally arrives so I carried him around in my car. It took less than a day until what I wanted to see happen, happened. I also had to write a story about Flat Stanley and his encounter with whatever. Here is what I saw along with my best seven-year-old writing ability.

Flat Stanley and the Moose

Flat Stanley went on a trip way up north to Alaska. He wanted to see a real live moose so he hitched a ride in his friend Scott’s car. Flat Stanley and Scott drove all over Anchorage, Alaska in search of a moose. Finally, on the third day, Flat Stanley spotted a moose by the side of the road. Flat Stanley wanted to be in the window right next to the moose but Scott told him that was not very safe. Moose are real big and very dumb. They can easily get scared and may hurt you if you are in the way when they run. Flat Stanley said he wanted to be a safe traveler to he had Scott put him in the window and then had Scott drive about ten feet from the moose. Flat Stanley waved with both hands as Scott took the picture of him and the moose. Flat Stanley said goodbye to Scott and went off to his next adventure.

I love the continued Sarah bashing that is going up here in her own home state.

“But I’m a victim of the evil liberal press.” No, this is on a person’s car at the Home Depot.

I sat in a restaurant across the street from the Pony Wheel Ranch one Saturday afternoon and couldn’t stop watching the human drama being played out in a tight circle. It broke my heart to see these tethered ponies walk endlessly in a small circle carrying on their backs the children of a now single parent. Apparently, this five minute ride was the one sure way each kid would know that they were with the best parent – the one who really loved them. Save us from our domestic bliss.

It’s custody day at the Pony Wheel Ranch.

I don’t know what this was about, but I didn’t want my car anywhere near it.

Do the authorities know about this?

Went to a house party this last week. And typical with the sloppy and often wet and muddy external world, the common courtesy is to remove your shoes before entering a home. I saw this conglomeration of zapatos in the foyer and couldn’t resist the photo op.

This would make a great commercial for oder eaters insoles. The room was ripe.

Saw this in SoCal and could resist taking the photo. Huge paint spill directly out the driveway of the paint store. This was at least a 5 gallon bucket. It went down the street forever.

He sure ain’t no Picasso.

Let’s not mince words

Oh, and by the way – Fuck you too!!

I have been jonesin’ for Jazz Fest for the past three years. Finally made it so I wanted to share some of the sights and sounds of the 2010 New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Musical montage.

There ain’t nothing better then the snacks at the New Orleans Jazz Fest. For three days my friend Janine and I listened to music and ate our way across the fair grounds. Here are a few of the tasty treats we sampled.

Mardi Gras Indians have a tradition of showing off their costumes during Mardi Gras. The tribes have been around for over a hundred years and are the result of the reverence the Black slaves in the New Orleans area had for the Native Americans. The Native Americans often aided the slaves in the quest for freedom. The tribes parade to show their respect. In the 1930s, 40s, the gangs often killed each other over perceived wrongs. The costume contests began in the 1960s when the gangs (tribes) figured out that killing wasn’t a healthy choice. Now days, the tribes parade during Mardi Gras and at Jazz Fest.

A couple of shots of a few of the great eating that we had in New Orleans:

Can you get any closer to the street car while dining?

The best cochon de lait sandwich I’ve ever had.

The best oyster sheller int he world.

Saw a couple of interesting modes of transportation while in New Orleans. One will get you killed while the other is way beyond that.

Six cylinder engine, yet no ape hangers.

Buckle your helmut! You could have an accident and die!

Spent a few days in Phoenix. Left Alaska at 38 degrees and loved 92 in Arizona. Here are a few cool shots.

Janine scored this villa on the golf course.

Click to see larger image

Check out the birds we heard singing one night in a tree.

Okay, Okay! It’s an eagle flying and black birds singing. I had to trick YouTube into taking this audio file.

Great juxtaposition of architectural styles and nature.

Great shaped buildings on clean broad streets.

How many stinkin’ traffic lights do you need???

Stayed with some friends on the La Quinta golf course near Palm Springs, CA. Quite the beautiful irrigated section of the desert. All around this area is dry and arid, but irrigation can make any patch of sand lush for the PGA championships.

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How many palm trees do you really need???

Views of the PGA golf courses.

Sliver moon that night.

More courses.

Well groomed.

What a concept, a lake in the middle of the desert.

While staying in Fullerton, CA for a few days, I spotted a couple of really cool cars.

Smooooooooth ride for a land yacht.

The meanest, baddest, toughest cop car in town. Mad Max of Thunder Cop.

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Visited my friends Gary and Diane and we went to Balboa Island (Southern California – next to New Port Beach) for lunch. Here are a few shots of Balboa and the Fun Zone.

Balboa Island from the land side.

Boats.

Don’t forget to stop your engine.

Welcome to Balboa.

Mural on side of store.

The rich get richer.

Fun Zone.

Carousel.

Nice colors surrounding the warning sign.

Can’t wait to party on the Tiki.

More fun zone.

The flowers were out.

Let me see here. Are they trying some form of entendre humor? If not, I want to participate! I’ll join any fun that has three gears in the front and six in the rear.

I’m tired. Can you pump for a while?