While we were in Avalon, I snapped this panoramic view from our hotel room balcony. Click the image below for the full-sized panorama.
Camera: Canon A710s. Software: ZoomBrowser Stitch.
Clear and Pleasant Weather
During our entire visit to Catalina Island this week, we enjoyed some of the most perfect weather we’ve ever seen while visiting one of our favorite places. This photo of the famous Casino in Avalon was taken at sunset; the mainland California San Gabriel mountain range can clearly be seen in the distance. That mountain range is about a hundred miles beyond Avalon.
On Catalina Island
Today is our anniversary. We were married in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island. We would be blogging more about our excursion, but unfortunately, the laptop is malfunctioning and we’re unable to download our photos. That will happen later this week when we are home again.
Meanwhile, we will be going out to seal rocks today to visit our piniped pals. Enjoy this picture Damsel took last year from the boat.
Remembering Zep Again
Damsel and I are again very proud to be able to honor Marc Scott Zeplin on the sixth anniversary of 9/11/2001. Last year, as a part of the 2996 Project, we honored Mark Scott Zeplin, who was killed at the World Trade center in New York on September 11, 2001.
“Zep” is what his friends called him. Zep was age 33 when he died. He hailed from Harrison, N.Y. (USA). Marc worked in the World Trade Center offices of Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services company. Reading what Marc’s friends and family have written about him, Marc was well-liked and respected by peers, friends and others who wrote words about him following his death.
Please see our post from last year where we included a tribute to Zep written by his wife and mother.
We wanted to post more about Zep, but this week we are on travel. So, as a result we have to use a borrowed computer and have limited time and resources. But our best wishes go out to Marc’s family and friends on this day.
Off to Catalina Again
It’s our anniversary week and later today, in our tradition, we’re off on a pilgrimage to the place we got married – the city of Avalon on Catalina Island. We will be crossing the Catalina Channel on the Island Express helicopter, which takes about fifteen minutes. I shot this video last year on the helicopter trip over to the Avalon Heliport.
Our plans are to visit some of our favorite places like the shops on Crescent Avenue and the botanic gardens in the hills behind the town. We plan to do a bit more hiking this time, and will probably climb the hill up to the Chime Tower. We’re looking forward to this trip. We will try and update the blog from the island with some photos and posts about the island.
Solar Sparkler
NASA’s SOHO website has a weekly feature that highlights selected solar events. This week’s SOHO Pick of the Week is about a video taken by one of the STEREO Spacecraft pair. STEREO consists of two space-based observatories – one ahead of Earth in its orbit, the other trailing behind. The video reveals a recent “shower of sparks” event on the sun’s surface. The circled region in the inset is where to look when playing the 36-second video embedded below:
Lean Cuisine
We had a busy day today. We visited the recycle center, did our weekly shopping, maintained the lawn and garden and, finally, grilled some chicken breasts up on the barbecue to go with steamed broccoli and orzo/veggie salad. Served in reasonable portions, it was a waistline-friendly meal – and delicious too!
