General Aviation News recognized my wife’s incredible support and posted about it on their blog. They also linked her recent post about flying with me last week. Check out the blog entry here.

General Aviation News’ Main Website is here.

I took my wifey up with me today as I chased VOR beacons and simulated engine failures over gorge farmland. She sat in the back of the plane and took plenty of pictures. She also wrote about it on her blog. Check out her post and pictures here: http://littleredhen.hawkinwinter.com/?p=631

Earlier today I was cruising over the Columbia River Gorge at 2500′ MSL. Clouds were sparse and the winds were blowing out of the west at about 10 knots. Both Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood were well lit by the morning sun and clearly visible. The water sparkled below us and the green fields of the Hood River Valley seemed to glow. What a perfect day for flying. Noticing this, my flight instructor started the following (mildly paraphrased) conversation:

Flight Instructor: Isn’t flying great? What can you think of that’s better?

Me: Flying is incredible, true. In fact, I can think of one thing and one thing only that’s better ;)

Flight Instructor: (laughing out loud) Yeah, you’re right about that!

Me: …and, you know, that says a lot about flying!

Piloting a light aircraft is one of the most amazing, incredible, and memorable things one can do. I highly recommend it!

Flying over the gorge is far more beautiful than driving along it! Here are some photos I took while flying a Cessna 172 over the Columbia River – Mt. Hood is in the distance. Mt. Adams was covered by clouds. Eventually I plan to earn a commercial pilot certificate so I can expand our photography business with an aerial photography service.

We had a really fun day yesterday. Our plan was to go to Seattle because we had some stuff to take care of. We finished our business early and decided to play in the city for a bit. We headed over to the science fiction museum at the Space Needle and then toured the EMP (experience music project). As a science fiction fan I really enjoyed touring the SciFi museum with T. The EMP seemed like a glorified shrine to grunge which was incredibly lame but understandable considering where the building is located. The upper level was fun, however, with sound-proof boxes featuring instruments and computer-based tutorials on how to use them. We took some shots of T’s 5-month pregnant belly outside of the museum. Its reddish-brown riveted paneling made a perfect background to compliment my wife’s beautiful hair. Before heading home we dined at Benihana, and sipped delicious mango piña colada smoothies. It was a good night and we got to check off a few more items on our adventure to-do list.

My uncle’s friend shot a grizzly up in Montana. I just got these photos – look at the size of those claws. These bears can reach weights of up to 1500 pounds and stand eight feet tall. They are also some of the most aggressive bears known to man. If you find yourself hiking in the woods (without a high caliber rifle like a 444 Marlin or 45-70) and run into one of these, you’ll most likely end up being a tasty dinner – like that idiot environmentalist who *starred* in Grizzly Man. Take a look at these pictures and then wonder why defensive carry in national parks is still illegal. Hopefully that will change if the National Parks Service accepts the new rule revision proposed by the Bush Administration.

Theresa and I have been exploring the Pacific Northwest since the day we started dating. We’ve seen much of Washington and Oregon and will probably drive to Idaho and Montana this summer. This particular weekend, we spontaneously decided to explore the Olympic Peninsula and venture into the Olympic National Forest in an effort to photograph some of regions immense beauty. My friend Adam suggested we also spend some time in Port Townsend, a little artsy community on the northeastern tip of the peninsula. I spent Friday planning the trip with Google Maps and the Washington State Parks and Olympic National Forest homepages. We also bought a pair of coolers, important gear missing from our camping supplies. I grabbed my old boy scout dome tent, packed the jeep and headed west.

Our first stop was the Dosewallips State Park, which we found almost empty except for a few hardy campers willing to brave the cold nights of early spring. We arrived after dark and quickly set up our campsite. Our neighbors from a nearby campsite were friendly and came over to introduce themselves. We quickly established that we has some similar hobbies, including photography and they invited us to their campsite to share some home-brewed beer and good conversation. They also had a fire that put ours to shame. In the morning T and I packed up our campsite and headed north to Port Townsend. We would return to Dosewallips State Park that evening to stay in a comfortable platform tent that I reserved on Friday. The drive to Port Townsend was full of breathtaking scenery and we stopped frequently to photograph it. We planned to attend mass in Port Townsend at eleven and so each stop made us feel a little guilty about prolonging our trip.

While driving to Port Townsend, I had two little birds fly out and hit my jeep about twenty minutes apart. Both of them were killed and that almost ruined my day. I have always loved birds and I never expected them to fly toward a moving vehicle. I’ve hit opossums and raccoons before but never birds – it was a bizarre event. We finally arrived in Port Townsend only to find that were late for mass. Our Lady Star of the Sea, the town’s Catholic parish, had scheduled mass fifteen minutes before the time listed on the website, so we sighed and entered the church. We spend the morning and part of the afternoon exploring Port Townsend and browsing the art galleries and shops on Water Street. I highly recommend the Stepping Stone Gallery at 1017 Water St. The artist is incredibly talented and produces oil-on-canvas paintings showcasing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. He takes his art a step further and designs frames to accent each painting by utilizing textured materials such as embedded wood or glass. When we were finished browsing shops, we headed to the northern tip of the town and drove through Fort Worden State Park. The Park takes its name from the commander of the USS Monitor, the first ironclad warship that saw action for the north during the Civil War.

Later in the afternoon we decided to head south toward Dosewallips State Park stopping at Lake Leland and the Rocky Brook Waterfall. While photography was the main motivation for our trip, I also used it to scout out some great fishing spots. Lake Leland was a perfect fishing hole. It has a campground, a beautiful setting at the base of the Olympic Mountains and is apparently full of fish. We spent some time taking in the picturesque scenery, snapped a few photos and headed south again to reach the Rocky Brook Falls before dusk. Fortunately, the falls were just a short drive from our campsite.

Rocky Brook Falls is a hidden gem, which is ironic since its incredibly easy to access. Water cascades from a height of 168 feet in a single 25 foot-wide fan. A little over twenty years ago, a micro hydroelectric plant was installed at the falls to help power the nearby town of Brinnon. The buildings of this plant hide the trail that leads to the base of the waterfall and if we hadn’t had precise directions we would have never found it!

We returned to Dosewallips State Park just before dark and claimed our platform tent. The park has three of these tents, designed to provide visitors with a bit of a historical context. Raised up on a wooden platform, the tent consisted of a set of canvas walls and a triangular canvas roof with a waterproof tarp for rain protection. Early loggers, pioneers and miners in the Hood Canal region traditionally used platform tents as they offered good protection from the elements. As night fell a rainstorm started to dump buckets of water adding to the coziness of our canvas castle as we fell asleep basking in the warmth of our space heater while listening to the melody of a thousand raindrops.

Not wanting to leave our comfortable platform tent, we slept in as long as we could. After packing up our campsite we headed east into the Olympic National Forest – our destination being the Murhut Falls trailhead. While driving on unpaved forest roads we saw plenty of wildlife, including a herd of shy mule deer. As we reached higher elevation, the ground began to show signs of thicker snow cover. We quickly realized that our trek to the falls would involve a lengthy snowshoe hike. The hike itself was a workout but well worth it for the waterfall was a real prize. I have to applaud T’s effort since she is in her first trimester of pregnancy and suffering from intense nausea. We stopped on the trail as necessary for photographs and nausea control, eventually reaching the falls. Before arriving at the Olympic Peninsula, we stopped by a camera shop and picked up a neutral density filter. For some reason, they are incredibly difficult to find, perhaps because they have limited applications. ND filters are used to reduce light intensity entering the camera, allowing longer exposures without overexposing the subject. They are essential for photographing streams and waterfalls and we put ours to good use when we reached Murhut Falls. In fact the picture you see here is a pair of images that I stitched together in Photoshop.

We had an amazing time and I’m already planning another trip to explore the northern and western side of the Peninsula. We also intend to enter the Olympic National Park and possibly backpack into some of the more remote campgrounds. I’ll be bringing my dad here as well for some great fishing. Regardless of what we decide to do, I’ll blog it here.

Seattle Waterfront:

Rather than leave for the honeymoon right away, we stayed in downtown Seattle on the first night at the Inn at Harbor Steps. The room was spacious and luxurious, complete with a teddy bear on the bed! The bathroom was also well decorated and featured a 2-person Jacuzzi jet tub. The building that housed the inn joined a few other high rises in surrounding a lush garden courtyard area. Just below our window was a bench, designed to look like a toppled Roman arch. We ordered pizza for dinner because our caterers failed to follow through with their promise to send us off with some food from the reception. That night we also jacked into the hotel wired Internet so we could update Myspace and Facebook accounts to list us each as “married” :)

The next day we explored the Harbor Steps and had lunch at a Brazilian place named Ipanema. Their serving style was unique in that they cooked a variety of steak, chicken and pork and would keep bringing us samples until we turned over a paper coaster on our table, signaling that we have had enough. Delicious lunch though!

Seattle Aquarium and Moving in Together

After lunch we visited the Seattle Aquarium, conveniently located within walking distance from our hotel. I’ve always enjoyed aquariums so this was quite a treat. My favorite exhibit was the Lionfish, which I prefer to call the “pimpfish” for obvious reasons. The aquarium also featured a walkway with an acrylic ceiling and hundreds of fish swimming above. Theresa and I often look for photographic opportunities that feature “hearts in nature,” such as a heart-shaped knot in a tree or a heart-shaped stone, for example. We found heart shaped sea anemones here!

That evening, we headed back to our condo and spent the next three days opening wedding presents, putting up shelves, and hanging pictures frames that we’ll soon fill with our photography. Both Theresa and I decided that the most important married advice we can give an engaged couple is: don’t rent a Uhaul truck and move just days before your wedding date. Granted, it’s possible — just not very fun. Before we left for our honeymoon, we finished our bathroom, hanging a medicine cabinet (see the picture), two shelves for towels, and a series of glass shelves next to the sink. I replaced the pull-knob on the cabinet with one of our wedding presents, an Italian ceramic “Vario” from Deruta, Italy.

Seaside, Oregon – Flower Photography

The first stop on our honeymoon was Seaside, Oregon where Theresa’s family has a beach house. I remember this little town when I visited as a boy but didn’t realize it until we came upon the statue of Lewis and Clark after strolling the promenade. What I don’t remember was how nice the Seaside beach was! (Perfect for kite flying, which we did later). We will definitely be coming back here in the near future. Tourist towns are always picturesque and feature homes with neatly groomed flower gardens. This town was no exception and I had some great subject matter for my new lens. We used wedding money to finally buy a 50mm f1.4 prime lens since the picture quality is unbeatable. After borrowing one from my buddy Adam, I’ve been waiting until I could buy my own. My first run with the lens: flower photography in Seaside.

Seaside, Oregon – Strolling the Prom

The beach was amazing… and crowded, unfortunately. There was a big beach volleyball tournament going on the week we were there so the beaches and town were unusually full. After the weekend, the herds moved on and the beaches returned to what Theresa remembered from her childhood. Take a look at this amazing vista. The beach (upper left picture), and the beach & promenade (lower left picture). We also had waves of pelicans flying by in formation. They fly in a wedge shape so that the birds in the back need only exert half the effort of those leading in the front. Even in nature, teamwork results in collective laziness.

Seaside, Oregon – Posing by the Beach

The stunning setting of Seaside’s beach and my beautiful wife made me want to take some posed photographs of her. She wanted a few of me too.

Seaside, Oregon – Flying Kites

We played on the beach most of our first day there. Seaside is all about the beach and we were also a short drive from Astoria and Cannon Beach so we had plenty to see and explore. Theresa’s father loaned us a box full of kites and we put them all to good use. The beach had ample wind and plenty of space for maneuvering 2-string directional kites. We bought our own acrobatic kite from the local kite shop and took it out to the beach on our second day there. Here are some shots from both days:

Our Wedding Rings

We both love our rings. My wife’s ring was made in Italy and sold to my grandfather at the Rialto Bridge in Venice. It was a birthday present for my grandmother who wore it proudly for many years. Theresa loves the history of her ring and the fact that it is a family heirloom. Mine, on the other hand, was made more recently by a metal smith and artist in Bellingham, Washington. James Binnion is a master of the ancient art form called mokume-gane. The mokume technique was a natural evolution of the sword making process used by Japanese blade smiths. Katanas (samurai swords) were forged by layering steel, often called pattern welding, creating blades that were both strong and flexible. Mokume-gane rings feature layers as well, with striking wood-grain patterns of precious metal. We had James make my ring out of sterling silver and palladium white gold. The silver was necessary to have my ring etched, bringing out the texture in interwoven metal. Mokume-gane rings can be made with many different metal combinations, but I specifically chose a two-tone ring because of the symbolism of two lives being woven into one. The sun started to set as we took pictures of our rings. Just after we finished I was fortunate to get a nice shot of the sun beginning its descent behind the ocean grass.

Leaving Seaside

We had a wonderful three days in Seaside, but eventually moved on. We spent Monday driving along the Columbia River Gorge, stopping occasionally for photographs at vista points and waterfalls as we traveled from beach to mountains.

The Mountain Cabin

Our destination was the mountain cabin, mostly built by Theresa’s grandfather. The A-frame cabin is nestled at the base of Mt. Hood, just a two-minute walk from the Sandy River. I told my Dad about this place and we both have plans to fly fish the river — probably full of steelhead and salmon. The pine forest is thick and full of narrow trails leading along the river. This would have been a great place to photograph wildlife but we didn’t have that much time. Arriving after dark, we only had that night and the following morning.
The sky was clear that evening and the Perseid Meteor Shower turned the night sky into a van Gogh canvas. We took a warm blanket down to the river and star gazed for at least an hour while shooting stars streaked above the treetops. The warm cabin provided a cozy welcome as we returned from the riverbank. The furniture is all wood and the top part of the A-frame structure features a loft. There is even a cozy wood-burning stove – perfect for warming our feet! The next day, before we left, we set up the tripod and remote and took these shots in front of the cabin.

Washington’s Stonehenge

Leaving the cabin, we headed north into Washington toward our next waypoint, the Stonehenge Monument. The trip was full of irresistibly breathtaking views, and because of this we slowly worked our way toward our destination after countless stops for photography. In fact we took so much time to reach the monument that it was well after dark when we arrived! It was a beautiful night and the monument was empty until a gothic-looking Wiccan couple arrived, not too excited about our presence. Our guess is they were waiting for us to leave so they could “pray” to the goddess… so we took our time.
The Washington Stonehenge was not, in fact, built for Wiccan fornication. The design originated with Sam Hill, a local road builder who mistakenly associated the original Stonehenge with human sacrifice. He designed this monument to memorialize local fallen soldiers from Klickitat County, Washington who died in the trenches of World War I. The monument was supposed to draw a parallel between the human sacrifice of the past and modern warfare as a form of recurring human sacrifice to the god of war.

We knew our camera flash wouldn’t do much to light up the monument, so Theresa reminded me that the word “photography” comes from two Greek words meaning to “write with light” and suggested we do exactly that. Using the flashlight in my jeep, Theresa moved the beam back and forth across the structure to paint it with light while I held the camera shutter open for a minute or two at a time, experimenting with different exposures. As you can see from the final product, the monument is clearly visible and the stars and background are not washed out. (as they would’ve been if we’d simply used a very long exposure). Pleased with our long day full of photography, we promised ourselves one last time that we’d made our final photo stop before our destination. This time, we didn’t break our promise and drove a couple more uninterrupted hours until we arrived in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth – Washington’s Bavarian Village

The biggest different between Leavenworth in the winter (when we got engaged) and the summer (when we honeymooned) is the abundance of flowers instead of snow. The shops were all the same, so we didn’t do much shopping. We did return to a rock and gem shop we’d both enjoyed previously, and chose another ornament from the Christmas shop. We stopped in at a goldsmith and had Theresa’s ring cleaned. As the technician looked at it through the loupe, she could tell right away it was handcrafted in an antique style of workmanship. We bought several Christmas presents for family members, and strolled through some galleries and shops admiring hand carved wood and other handiwork. We also spent some time in the Cheesemonger’s Shop tasting cheeses and summer sausages, selecting bread, crackers, and spreads to prepare ourselves a summer feast. We intended to find a nice scenic place to stroll hand in hand and then have a picnic as we watched the sun set, but we changed our plans when we saw the mead…

Leavenworth – Our Room at the Pension Anna

The Cheesemonger’s shop also sold wine, including an uncommon type of wine called mead, which is made with honey. From my travels in Europe I learned about the ancient tradition of newly married couples consuming honey wine together (part of the origins of the term “honeymoon”) so I figured we should continue the tradition. Rather than watch the sun set over the beautiful alpine scenery, we returned to the Hotel Pension Anna to drink our mead, feast upon delectable crackers and chese and soak in our soothing Jacuzzi tub.
Each night we were in Leavenworth, we stayed in a building that had previously been a Catholic church. The town had outgrown their church and instead of remodeling, they chose to construct a whole new building. The old building was moved next to the Pension Anna, and converted into two guest suites. We stayed in the smaller of the two, the Pfaffenwinkl (Parish Nook) for the first three nights, and spent two nights in the larger one, called the Alte Kapelle (Old Chapel Suite). We were impressed with the Pfaffenwinkl, a large room with beautiful arched windows. But we were AMAZED at the Alte Kapelle. The first level of the suite featured a bedroom, bathroom, entrance area, and living room plus a wood burning stove and Jacuzzi. The second level housed a spacious choir loft with two twin beds and a sink.
While staying in the Alte Kapelle Suite over the weekend, we had “visitors” looking for Mass times, surprised to find a newlywed couple on their honeymoon trying to explain that the church had moved. We sent them to the office to get directions to the new Catholic parish, laughing at the fact that this must be a frequent event!

Leavenworth – The Sound of Music

Theresa had won a pair of Leavenworth Summer Theater tickets in an auction, and we were pleased to be able to use them while they were running The Sound of Music. After visiting Salzburg, the home of the original story, I was excited to share the experience with T in an authentic outdoor setting. In the opening scene, the audience turns around to see Maria frolicking and singing on the grassy hill above the amphitheater. Much of the story took place on the stage, with some clever set design, and in the wedding scene the audience played the part of wedding guests at the church, with Maria and the Captain walking up the aisle together as we clapped for the newlyweds. We were also the audience toward the end when the Von Trapp Family Singers had their farewell performance, and we were invited to sing along to “Edelweiss” when the Captain’s voice broke with emotion. Just as in the movie, the Von Trapp family escaped at nighttime. The stars were out and crickets were chirping as we watched them fleeing to the Bavarian Alps to escape the Nazis in the final scene.
The stars were shining during intermission too. Just before the sun had fully set, we noticed a bright light zooming across the sky. I immediately realized it must have been the International Space Station, but Theresa remained skeptical until we returned to our hotel room so I could log in to the NASA website to confirm my theory. NASA’s tracking data confirmed my guess when it showed the ISS trajectory passing right over us during the time of the intermission. My wife says I never cease to amaze her ;-)

Our Trip Home

Just like the first couple legs of our honeymoon roadtrip, the final leg was full of stops for photography. We spent some time climbing on boulders, passing the tripod back and forth as we found our footing, and grabbing some shots of each other and of the scenery. Our longest stop involved me wading into the middle of a stream to get a good angle, and experiment with different exposures and time lapse settings. It was freezing cold, but I’m so pleased with the images that I’d do it again in a heartbeat. While I was shooting the stream Theresa entertained herself by singing songs, skipping rocks, and watching frogs jump along the shore. When we got back in the car, she soon noticed the “odd pattern” on the odometer and took the picture you see here. It was a great honeymoon and we’ll be heading back to Leavenworth next winter.

As promised I’m now going to share some photos from the weekend Theresa and I promised to spend the rest of our lives together. I had planned a romantic weekend in Leavenworth for some time before we went, but a nasty windstorm threatened to derail my plans. This storm left Seattle and the entire Puget Sound region without power for up to seven days. The island was also hit hard, leaving homes without power for four days, including my own. To further complicate matters, I had to finish grading my students’ final lab report the day the storm hit. I ended up taking Theresa with me to UW so I could finish it in the computer lab there. UW was unaffected by the storm – at least until I arrived. Soon after I started work the EE servers went down and Theresa and I were left wondering if we’d make it to Leavenworth that weekend at all.

Eventually I just gave up on the grading and the professor was very forgiving. Rather than wait for the servers to come back online, we returned to my dark studio on the island where my landlords had set up a temporary campsite with an indoor wood burning stove, gas-powered lantern and battery-operated radio. We used the time to warm up and finish packing with the intent to leave in the morning. Actually, Theresa had to work hard to talk me out of leaving that night since both mountain passes were closed.

The morning dawned and we left for the Cascades. Leavenworth can only be described as the most romantic town in Washington – even more so during the Christmas season. Modeled after a German Bavarian village, the town is right at home nestled at the base of several large snow-covered mountains. The Cascade Range really sets the stage and the town capitalizes on its picturesque setting. The architecture is accurate down to the artistic German-themed signs advertising both family-owned and corporate-spawned businesses. We arrived just as the sun started to set while carolers beckoned the crowds over to the gazebo to partake in the lighting ceremony.

While a live band performed Christmas music, the buildings were lit up one by one until we were all bathed in the colorful glow of a thousand holiday lights. Theresa and I did some makeshift polka dancing along with all the other people in the street while the sun finally set behind the rocky peaks. With the day nearing its end, we retreated to the nearest beer garden for some delicious wurst and imported bier. The Germans really know their stuff! While we enjoyed our dinner, we discussed our plans for tomorrow. Theresa was excited to go snowshoeing again as we had planned – she just had no idea I had a ring in my pocket!

We finally returned to our hotel long after the sun had set. The Pension Anna hotel was incredibly warm and inviting, and not just because it had electricity and warm water! Modeled after a European bed and breakfast, the hotel staff was friendly and made us feel welcome and well cared for. Our room had furniture that dated back to 1823! The continental breakfast was also very reminiscent of European breakfasts and gave us all the energy we needed for our trek into the snow-covered wilds of Washington’s Black Forest.

We went to Mass at a picture perfect little white chapel complete with a steeple, for Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent – the Sunday of “joyous anticipation”. I was overflowing with joyous anticipation all through Mass, and as we gathered our gear, packed the Jeep and headed out for our trail. Here we are as we embark on a snowy path toward a lifetime of happy memories. As we made our way across the snow, we came upon this partially frozen mountain stream. It looked like an incredibly romantic spot (maybe good for popping the question) so I asked Theresa what she thought. Of course she agreed with me but I wasn’t ready just yet – I told her that on the romantic scale it ranked at about 8.5 out of 10. We quickly set out to find a perfect 10!

Not long after, I spotted a series of massive boulders perched at the base of the cliff face that enclosed the valley we were traversing. We started to make our way toward the rocks, stopping at the base of them to catch our breath and brush snow off our legs. Since I had the camera I took some pictures of Theresa doing just that. It was here that we spotted another boulder higher up. This one was sure to command an ideal view of the winter landscape so I told my angel to shoot a picture of me when I made it to the top.

It wasn’t until I summited that impressive landmark that I asked her to join me. She said the view had better be worth it and I promised that I’d make the climb worth her while. She guessed out loud that I’d reward her effort with a kiss and I hinted that I might have something better. Following in my footsteps, avoiding the pitfalls of snow-covered bushes, she made her way to the top and received her kiss. At this point I decided to tell her just what she means to me and how blessed I am to have her in my life. Going down on one knee (in snow shoes no less) I savored the endearing look on her face as I produced the ring I kept carefully hidden. Afterward we embraced (after nearly falling off the boulder together as she not-too-gracefully jumped down to her knees too). Once we regained our balance, I explained the history of the ring.

The ring is very special since it is a family heirloom. My grandfather gave it to my grandmother on her 29th birthday in Venice, Italy. She passed it to my mother who gave it to me. I had it restored and resized for Theresa’s finger and presented it to her in the same box my dad used to present my mom’s engagement ring to her. She just loves it. It meant so much to me to have both my grandmother and parent’s blessing as I gave it to Theresa – this way we were all welcoming her into our family. We all agree – I could not have made a better choice than her.

I just got back from a few days up in the Cascades fishing with my dad and my girlfriend. We hit the Snoqualmie river with dry flies and it was loads of fun! Granted we didn’t take anything home – but the joy of fly fishing is that even small fish put up a worthy fight. Yesterday the three of us joined up with my mom to fish the Puget Sound. We were at the Tacoma Narrows where Galloping Gertie was located. As an engineering student I learned about that bridge as an example of what not to do. We had a great time catching little bullheads but didn’t land anything big enough to take home. We’ll definitely be doing this again. I love the northwest!