HDR and Panoramic Trip Photos

I finally got around to processing trip photos and some of them turned out pretty good. Check em out!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klebphotos/

Vegas/San Diego/Phoenix Biz Trip

I took a nine day business trip around the west that included Las Vegas for a trade show, San Diego for the weekend and then I did some training for a customer in Phoenix. It was a great trip overall, but I sure missed the family after being gone for over a week already for the cruise.

In Vegas, I stayed at the Trump Towers - Las Vegas (thanks, Hotwire.com) and their pool area was very nice. The trade show was good and I saw some new stuff that's very cool. IP CCTV cameras and software is getting better and better. We ate some good food (Firefly, Texas de Brazil and Cafe Ba Ba Reeba) and got some sun.

Friday morning I jetted over to San Diego and met up with a buddy of mine. After checking into the Hilton Gaslamp Quarter, we hung out in San Diego all weekend and I saw a lot of the city in only two days: eat and shop at Seaport Village, Balboa Park (SD Air and Space Museum), Cabrillo National Monument and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, Padres game at Petco Park, walked around Hotel Del Coronado and watched the sunset from the 40th floor bar of the Hyatt. We had some great food around town including Phil's BBQ, In-N-Out Burger and Buster's Beach House.

On Sunday I headed to Phoenix and got in late to the Scottsdale Plaza Resort. Monday and Tuesday were the training meetings and all went very well. After we were done, it was time to hit the pool and then grabbed some food somewhere; usually at a local brewery restaurant. Very good places. I'd have to say Four Peaks was the best, but Oggi's and Rock Bottom were great too - food and drinks.

Anyway, it was a good trip, but it's good to get home and back to the kids.

Check out all the photos by CLICKING HERE.

Southern Caribbean Cruise 2009

Fort James, Antigua

Laura and I took a week away from everything and spent it on a huge boat in the middle of the Caribbean (and at port) and had loads of fun. We sailed on the Serenade of the Seas of Royal Caribbean out of San Juan, PR and visited the ports of St Thomas, St Maarten, Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados. We had done a southern Caribbean cruise back in 2004 but visited different ports, so this was a great itinerary.

We had a great time and even spent an extra night after the cruise in San Juan right on the beach. Unfortunately the flight home from Newark to Detroit was canceled which had us on standby. Laura made it on the next flight, but I had to wait but got booked on the next flight. (I'm currently waiting for said flight in the P Club at Newark.)

Without babbling about the details, we enjoyed a day on the beach with new friends in St Thomas, a day on Orient Beach in St Martin (French side), a day on Fort James Beach in Antigua, zip lining in St Lucia and a catamaran sail/snorkel and wave runner in Barbados. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but the weather was absolutely perfect and we had a wonderful time.

Check out all the pictures by CLICKING HERE.

Labadee Panoramic Shot

I was digging through some old photos, trying to find a shot worthy of printing out to hang from a wall. I was looking for a beach scene, so dug through the photos from our last cruise. I never finished the pano of Labadee, Haiti.

After about ten minutes of Panorama Factory chugging along and a couple freeze-ups, it's done. The final product was about 23,700 pixels wide by 2,000 tall. Yikes!

Here it is in all its glory. Click HERE for the "big one" (5MB - 23,694x1867).

Arizona - Business Trip

I just got back from a few days in Arizona where I went to meet with some clients. The weather was pretty nice and I could certainly get used to that during February. It was Jason and I and we stayed at the Millennium Resort Scottsdale McCormick Ranch for two nights and then two nights at the Scottsdale Indigo Hotel. Both had their pluses and minuses, but I'd prefer the latter as it was much cleaner and newer and closer to the happening places.

We caught the movie "The International" at the theater, ate at a few good joints (Joe's NY Pizza, J. Alexanders, etc), I did some canoeing and we made a day trip to Tucson for a visit to a client. It was a very useful trip.

Check out all the photos by CLICKING HERE.

Orlando Trip / Shuttle Launch - Florida 2008 Part 2

Laura, Kaden and I headed to Florida for a few days to take in some more of the attractions and catch the last NASA Shuttle Launch that will be done at night. I was able to get some VIP tickets to the viewing site on KSC (done through my senator), so we wanted to catch it before the Shuttle gets retired in 2010.

The first day we got there, we headed to Downtown Disney for some dinner at a small, over-priced pub and then headed over to the circus tent for a Cirque Du Soleil show called "La Nouba". Kaden did very well and only got bored once, but to his credit, I was bored at that point too. It was a slow spot in the show.

The next couple days were spent eating out and swimming in the resort pool. We stayed at the Mike Ditka Runaway Beach Resort as we had such a good experience the last time. It was awesome again and, for the money, you can't beat it. We'll be back.

We ended up making it to the Shuttle Launch at KSC where we met a bus at the mall on Merritt Island, riding that to KSC for a security check and then on to the viewing area which is about 6.6 miles from the launch pad. You see it over the water. The exact spot of that viewing area is 28°30'45.25"N, 80°36'35.82"W. They had stands, the countdown clock, concessions and a souvenir shop. The launch was pretty neat, but the drive back was not.

We ended up spending part of a day at Epcot Center courtesy of a high school classmate of Laura (Thanks, Jason B!) and then we went to Tampa so I could meet with a client of mine while Kaden and Laura went to the zoo. They had a great time. I did get to have lunch with an acquaintance of mine. We did a little miniature golf in town, also. He loves the mini golf.

It was a great trip, but I could have taken it a little warming. The last few days it only got into the 60's. Not cool, Florida!

Check out all the photos by CLICKING HERE and HERE (photos I lost after posting awhile back, somehow).

Boys Weekend in Myrtle Beach

Justin, my dad and I all headed to Myrtle Beach for a few nights to play some golf and hang out. We played three rounds of golf at Lion's Paw, Farmstead and Panther's Run and had some good food at some area restaurants. Unfortunately two of the three days of golf included rain, but it didn't slow us down.

Thanks for going, guys!

Myrtle Beach Trip

We drove down to the Myrtle Beach area with Jason and Lora S and their family. We stayed in Bob S's condo while they stayed in theirs (which is always for rent!), right next door. Nice, it is.


Jason and I golfed 27 holes at Thistle, 18 holes at Oyster Bay and 18 holes at Crow Creek. It was fun and I'd say that Oyster Bay was my favorite as it's a laid back, older course that is just "fun". The girls spent a day shopping at some outlet malls and we took a few trips to the Ocean Isle Beach and a few more trips to the condo swimming hole. With some cooking on the grill and eating at some great restaurants in the area, I'd say the trip was a smashing success and I can't wait to head back!

Check out all the pictures by CLICKING HERE.

Biz Trip to Phoenix

Jason and I went to Phoenix today to visit a customer. We stayed at the Mondrian Scottsdale and hit up a few good joints for food - Los Olivos and Cafe Carumba. We also caught Tropic Thunder at a movie theater. The hotel was pretty nice with two pools and all the free apples you could eat.

Next time we're taking our golf clubs.

Back From Vegas

I headed to Vegas late on Tuesday and got home this morning at 9am (after a six hour delay in Vegas due to weather in Houston). Ugh. I did end up getting First Class Upgrades on the way there and back which made it better. I got a good sleep on both legs.

(notice scheduled time is 431p and actual was 1041p)

Anyway, it was a good business trip with four good meetings (John W, Rick F, Merle H and Frank B with Mike Z in tow). We also did the usual Del Frisco's dinner with thirteen of us and Matt and I took advantage of the Spa at the Mirage. That is the best $25 you can spend in Vegas.

the view of the new Venetan building from our suite

the view of the pool from our suite

me ready for meetings

Flying In Florida - The Video

Here is a short video of flying from Venice Regional Airport in Venice, Florida to the Albert Whitted Field in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Paul T flew his club's Archer after a lunch at Sharky's on the Pier which can be seen on the water after takeoff.

Back From Vacation

After 19 days away from Ohio, we are glad to finally get back to our family and friends in Ohio. We left on the 5th around 330p and arrived in Orlando around 1015a after 1050 miles straight of driving. Fun fun.

After nine nights in Orlando at Mike Ditka's Runaway Beach Club (HIGHLY recommended), we drove to Punta Gorda, FL and spent three nights at Laura's grandparents' house. We then drove up to the Myrtle Beach area (Calabash, NC, specifically) and spent five nights at our friends' condo at Crow Creek Golf Course with them.

Check out all the photos by CLICKING HERE.

(Note that the photos are somewhat out of order since there are pictures from the Digital SLR, the SD550 and my cell phone. They all use different file names which make them sort like that. Sorry.)

Here is a quick list of the many things we did on our trip. We had a lot of fun, saw a lot of cool stuff, did a lot of neat things and ate a lot of good food (ugh).

• indoor and outdoor swimming pool fun
• watched the Space Shuttle launch (STS-122) from Port Canaveral (Getty Park)
  
• played at the beach in PC and then ate in Cocoa Beach
  
• spent three days (two with kids and one without) at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
• went to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center and Hall of Fame
  
• Brandon went flying with Paul T from Punta Gorda to Venice and St Petersburg
• enjoyed the beach at Ocean Isle, NC
  
• played 18 holes of golf in NC
• walked through Broadway on the Beach in MB

Valentine's Day Update

On Tuesday, Laura and I went to Universal Studios by ourselves while her parents watched Kaden and Emma. It was really nice to ride a bunch of the rides and cruise around at what seemed like warp speed without the kiddies. We ended up eating at Chik-Fil-A with them afterward. Yesterday we just lounged around the pool and it rained a bit too.

Today was spent at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Center. It's about $40 per person which includes basically everything (IMAX, rides, bus tours) you'd want to do there. We watched one IMAX movie, rode the SHuttle Launch Experience, spent some time at the playground and then wandered around a bit too. We plan to head back for the bus tour on the way out of Florida. (The tickets are good for two days within a seven day span.)

2/11 Florida Update

We've had a great trip so far and there is plenty more to come! After a 1050 drive straight through, we relaxed by the pool on the first day after checking in early. We're staying at Mike Ditka's Resorts - Runaway Beach Club. It's awesome - VERY highly recommended.

On Thursday we went to Cape Canaveral and watched STS-122 launch from KSC and then enjoyed some time on the beach at Jetty Park. We topped off the night at Florida Seafood in Cocoa Beach where Kaden fell asleep in the booth.

Friday was a day at Universal Studios where we ended up eating dinner at Miller's Ale House. Yum! Saturday was a lot of swimming after breakfast at IHOP, lunch at NYPD Pizza and then dinner at Chik-Fil-A. Sunday was a day at Island of Adventure (amusement park connected to Universal Studios via the City Walk). We did dinner at Bennigans (the Monte Cristo capital as far as I'm concerned).

Today is a day relaxing at the resort and lots of swimming. We were supposed to check-out today but decided on two more nights. Unfortunately, the prices on our villa went up so we went without the loft option. That means we had to move villas. No biggie as I was able to get one about 50' from the original.

Anyway, here are a few photos of what we've been doing...

Colorado Trip Photos

After a few hours of resizing, processing and captioning online, I finally got most of the photos online. I will work on the panorama photos next. I uploaded 195 photos from four days of travel. Yikes. Did I overdue it? ...nah.

You can view the entire album by CLICKING HERE.

Los Angeles/Las Vegas Photographs

Here are all the photos with descriptions from my Cali/Vegas trip in September. I had most of the good photos online during the trip, but here they are all together.

To view the entire album, just CLICK HERE.

Back From Colorado

Five days in Colorado. Four hundred twenty photos. Lots of fun. Here are a few teaser photos until I can process the others.

California/Las Vegas Trip - Day 8 (Flight/Drive Home)

After a terrible night of sleep (loud music @ 3am and unattended alarm clock @ 6am) I was up at 7am and showered, packed and ready to roll at 745am. Rob drove me over to the Flyaway Shuttle at Van Nuys and I missed the 8am bus by 2 minutes. No biggie. I took the 815am bus and was at Terminal 6 by 855am. Not bad for $4 each way.

I checked my bags and got my boarding pass printed at the kiosk and realized it changed my seat from an exit row. Grrrr!! Oh wait... that is 4E which is First Class. Woohoo!! Free upgrades both ways. Way to go, OnePass Elite! (If you fly a lot, you should pick an airline and use them all the time to gain your miles. They pay off. This is probably my 7th or 8th free upgrade.) After sliding through security (another thanks to OPE), I grabbed some egg sandwich and coffee at Ruby's Dinette and did some work on the laptop via Verizon Wireless. Neato!

I made it on the plane and ended up sitting next to Luke Perry and his son. (I saw on the IMDB that he's from Mansfield, OH.) The flight was fine and the drive was still long to get home. I pulled in at 905pm. It was so great to see Laura and Kaden!

California/Las Vegas Trip - Day 7 (Tonight Show Tickets, Denny's, Apple Store, Jay Leno Filming, El Torito)

Awake: 7am - bright and early again! Today we had a goal: tickets to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. We made it over to the Customer Relations office (which is actually on S California St) with only about 10 people in front of us at 10 until 8 (they open at 8). There was a girl there talking about all the in's and out's. You'd think she worked there, but really, she has been to 259 tapings and tonight should be 260. Wow. We got our two tickets (which don't guarantee you get in) and headed off to Denny's for some Moons Over My Hammy breakfast and coffee. Yum.


After hanging out at the apartment for awhile, catching up on some e-mails and so forth, we headed to the Westfield Fashion Square for a little lunch (Sbarros) and another quick peek at the Apple iMacs. Niiiiiiice. We headed from there over to the NBC Studios in Burbank for our Tonight Show audience fun. We arrived there around 1:15pm and were about #52 in line. They sent out some people to start checking tickets, counting people and answering questions around 2:45pm and we headed in around 3:30pm and filming was to start at 4:30pm. They mentioned that 86 people did not get in and 381 did. Wow!

Watching them film the Tonight Show was pretty neat. You'll just have to see it yourself. You can't use a camera/cell phone for obvious reasons and the temperature is held at 55F. Bring something warm. Once they start filming, they do the full show in one hour like you'd see it -- no cuts. You should do it at least once. (Hey, and it's free.) You're leaving a little after 5:30pm.

After a little R&R, we headed to the Sherman Oaks Galleria for some dinner at El Torito Grill. I had the Santa Fe Torte which was pretty tasty. We came back to the house and pretty much crashed for the night. It's been a long week and I was beat.

California/Las Vegas Trip - Day 6 (Run, Jinky's, WB VIP Tour, Italian Food, Wilacre Park Run, The Amateurs movie)

Today started at 7am to Rob's roommate leaving for work. Since I had slept for a solid 6.5 hours, I figured I'd stay up and get my run done. I did a big loop around the neighborhood area and covered about 4.2 miles. Blech. It wasn't fun with loads of traffic, lots of road crossings and LA morning drivers. After a quick shower, I headed back to Jinky's for some coffee and breakfast.

After Jinky's, Rob took me over to the WB lot and I took the WB VIP Tour for $45. It was about 2h 15m and saw some sights such as the "ER" hospital exterior (and a small peek at the interior in a separate sound stage at the other end of the lot), NYC set, western set, props, the "Friends" set and "Central Perk" set-up. It was neat to see all the stuff for it, but it's not nearly as cool as seeing it happen live (a la "Scrubs" yesterday).

The entrance to the tour lobby (WB paraphernalia and pre-tour theaters with Starbucks):

In front of the exterior set of the "ER" hospital:

Room filled with cars from various movies:

In a room with the full "Central Perk" set from "Friends":

Rob picked me back up at WB and we headed to Mongolia Blvd to eat some Italian food at Pinocchio's Restaurant in Burbank. It is a select your food, get it on a tray, pay and then eat joint. I got baked penne and a meatball. It was pretty good. The price was certainly right (~$10). The small serving of gelato rounded it all out just right.

After dinner, we came back, had a change of clothes and then (eventually) headed to Wilacre Park in Fryman Canyon. By the time we got there, the sun had gone down and the park was officially closed. The rebel runner in me didn't care and started my way up the hill. And up it was. That was the steepest thing I've ever ran up for exercise and the bumps didn't help. Over two miles later, I ended up in a cul-de-sac of a neighborhood with a 1 mile walk ahead of me (which I managed to turn into 1.5 by getting lost). Apparently I missed the point of the trail which was a beautiful view of the valley since I was too busy running and looking for a marked vantage point. (There was none.) Oh well.

A terrible shot from the trail at night. Blah.

Post-run waiting for the rest of the group:

We came back to the apartment and watched a movie (screening copy) called "The Amateurs" which had a DP whom is one of Rob's friends. It's due on DVD soon. It's 11:45p -- time for bed.