Photon Gathering

Respect

2008-10-09T07:24:00.000-07:00

At our most recent Court of Honor, my Troop retired an American Flag. After many years of service this flag was ready to be retired with respect and Honor.

I was very proud of my scouts that night. They all did a fine job.

After we were done I received many compliments on what a great ceremony it was and how moved people were.

Cake

2008-10-01T07:48:00.001-07:00

My brother from anothertha mutha celebrated his 50th birthday. We all gathered at Mami and Papi's house to wish Javier a happy birthday.

He still had it!

Hunter made sure the cake was ready!

Hunter and Grandma Kelly.

Chris and Tyler visiting with family.

Proud

2008-09-30T08:03:00.001-07:00

Mai and I are very proud of our two Boy Scouts! Tyler has earned his Star Rank.

Austin has earned his Second Class! ( Thank you uncle Eric for your great camera work!)

Eight

2008-09-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Spencer turns eight today! I can't believe it. Time sure flies.

Mai and I took him and some of his friends to John Incredible Pizza yesterday.

A good time was had by all!

Bahamas Birds

2008-09-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Monterey

2008-09-11T07:56:00.000-07:00

After Hearst Castle we drove up to Monterey. I've been here many times and never tire of this area. Great vibe and really nice people.

A great place to walk around......

and window shop.......

and Have a very nice meal.

Come On In

2008-09-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

When you come in the front door you find your self in this room. Nice overstuffed couches and a huge fire place. A nice place to get to know the other guests.

The walls are lined with choir seats.

A close up of the details of the fire place.

On to the dinning room. Every had to eat here. this was the only dinning area. No room service. Mr. Hearst wanted everyone to enjoy each others company during meals.

This is the ceiling in the dinning room.

Drink

2008-09-05T07:56:00.001-07:00

These statues are from Egypt and are 3000 plus years old. Don't they make nice yard ornaments?

Here is the top front view of the main house. The dark area is made of teak wood. I never realized this fact until this visit. The carvings are incredible.

This guy ( or girl) walked right out in front of us and had himself a morning drink.

Here is a closer shot of the front of the castle.

Mai and I got a kick out of these guys holding everything together! Pictures of the inside next week. Have a great weekend.

Sleep Over

2008-09-04T07:08:00.000-07:00

This is one of many sets stairs in the garden area in the front of the main house. I say main house because there are 3 guest house in addition to the "castle" itself. These stairs led to one of those guest houses.

This picture is take to the left of the picture above and shows the side of the guest house.

If you were invited to "sleep over" at the "ranch" as W.R. Hearst called this place, you might sleep here.

This is the ceiling in the guest house.

The door to the guest house.

Can you find Mai? ( all pictures in my blog are click able to make larger )

Everyone in the Pool

2008-09-03T08:11:00.001-07:00

Mai and I took to the open road with some friends this Labor Day weekend. Left the kids with grandma and had some time to ourselves.

One of our destinations was Hearst Castle in San Simeon. I'll let you Google it for all the historic details. These are pictures of the outdoor pool, yes there is more than one pool.

There are so many beautiful things to see. Not only the Castle itself with it's gardens and art but the location it's self is very breath taking.

Mai and I have went to Hearst Castle many times while we were dating, yet it always takes my breath away when I'm there. More pictures on the way!

Mothers Day 2005

2008-08-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

I came across some pictures taken back in 2005. It was Mothers Day and wouldn't you know it the Nugents were camping. Pack 421 made a special place at the camp site just for all the mothers that were there.

They had their own covered area complete with flowers, flavored coffees and magazines. At one point in the day we had the kids make mothers day cards. These pictures are of Spencer enjoying giving his mom the card he just made for her.

Point A Point B

2008-08-21T07:02:00.001-07:00

After I ride the train to Buena Park, I take the bus. When I first started riding the bus I was a bit surprised at how clean the buses are and that a lot of people use the buses.

Using public transportation has had a mellowing effect on me. It forces you to slowdown (waiting for your bus or train) and be alone with your thoughts.

Water + Gravity

2008-08-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

OK Dad I guess the hike was worth it! I know I thought so!

My Troop, outdoors, waterfall, it just doesn't get any better than this!

Here the boys are taking pictures of the falls and each other. The beauty all around us was breathtaking.

These falls are just below the taller falls. They were more that a few fish caught here.

Three Streams Crossing

2008-08-19T06:57:00.000-07:00

We made camp at Three Streams Crossing. This is the spot where two streams merge. Tyler and Austin enjoying their own cooking.

The boys did very well. They did everything on their own. From packing to setting up their camp, cooking and cleaning. Although I don't think they will forget to bring a knife fork and spoon again.

Tomorrow pictures of the falls!

Lytle Creek

2008-08-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went backpacking with our Troop up the middle fork trail out of Lytle Creek. For some of the boys this was their first backpacking experience.

We hiked 3 miles (6 round trip) and gained 1000 feet in altitude on the way up. This quite an accomplishment when you realize these boys were carrying on average of 25 to 35 pounds.

Tomorrow I'll post more and show you what we saw when we got to our camp.

OLD friends

2008-08-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Austin needed to identify 10 animals to complete a scouting requirement. One animal he picked was our desert tortoise Turbo. Turbo has been part of the family for many years. I remember having him when I was about 7 or 8 years old and lived with my parents. You might not believe this but Turbo follows my wife around when she is out side. Maybe because she is always the one who feeds him?

Nice One!

2008-08-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is another picture from our hike in the Santa Rosa Plateau. My son Austin took this one. I think he did a really good job. Nice one Austin!

Early

2008-08-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

Good morning. This is my jumping-off point for the day. I've been taken the train to work now for a month and a half. I like it. It saves us some money each month. I know I'm less stressed when I get home. Something I didn't expect was the really nice friends I've made on the train and the bus.

Color

2008-08-01T07:59:00.001-07:00

As promised here is a picture from the hike last weekend. I really like the purple from the plant. This is the centaurea melitensis plant, common name tocalote. It is in the anacardiaceae family. More to come.

Bummer

2008-07-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

OK I'm done feeling sorry for myself now. This past weekend I went on a really cool hike with my Boy Scout Troop. It was especially nice because my mom joined us as-well. We had nice weather and there were plenty of photo opportunities all around us. Unfortunately on the hike back I fell. I came through with a bruised knee but otherwise fine. My camera didn't fare as-well. It looks like the lens is a complete loss. The body seems to be OK, I still need to borrow a lens to make sure. I will download the pictures I took before the fall and share them with you very soon.

S.M.

2008-07-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

Super Mom! My wife is incredible. Last year while I was at camp with our oldest she took our other two boys camping and fishing! She makes our life wonderful.

Pay Per View

2008-07-22T09:36:00.001-07:00

I have been experimenting with bouncing my flash at different angles. For this shot I pointed the flash at the ceiling at a 60 degree angle with a white bounce card right behind the flash. We were at a friends home watching Pay Per View wrestling. My son really gets into it!

5 feet

2008-07-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

I went set out Sunday morning looking for a picture to take, I found this five feet from my front door. I seem to have depth of field on the brain lately.

I got the BEST

2008-07-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

This will probably be the poorest quality picture I will ever post, yet it brings back so many memories. My brother and I were and are big KISS fans. Him and I went to see KISS last year and we had such a great time. It was like being 14 again.

About Pink!

2008-07-17T07:21:00.000-07:00

If your ever in the Bahamas, check out the trained flamingos. They follow military commands! Really! At ease bird!

Hit

2008-07-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I love about this picture. The ball showing speed, the expression on his face, how his uniform contrast with the color of the field and wall. Most of all I love how this picture expresses the love my son has for playing baseball.

What a Blast

2008-07-15T07:22:00.001-07:00

Mai and I took the boys to Florida in 2006. This is the business end of a Saturn V rocket. If they would have had one more Apollo mission this would have been the rocket they would have used. (click to enlarged)

Splash

2008-07-14T11:44:00.000-07:00

I started experimenting with the "sports" mode on my camera. (you can click on each pic to enlarge it)

Waiting

2008-07-11T08:02:00.000-07:00

This is Annie, one of our two Golden Retrievers. She fell asleep with her head in her bowl. She takes her meals very serious and wanted to make sure she didn't miss one.

Touch Down

2008-07-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

I visited the Reagan Presidential library a few weeks ago. I would recommend a visit at lest once. They have Air force One on display, well the 707 Boeing jet that served as Air Force One . This is a picture of the landing gear.

Quick H2O

2008-07-09T12:47:00.000-07:00

How lucky am I! I got to spend a whole week with my two older sons at Boy Scout camp last week. One afternoon we went white water rafting. It wasn't as adrenaline pumping as I expected, more like pirates of the Caribbean over and over again.

Double Chappy

2008-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

This was taken inside Barns and Noble. BTW your not allowed to take pictures inside Barns and Noble. I set the shutter to 1 sec. and zoomed as I took the picture.

First Picture

2008-07-08T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, the very first picture I took with my new camera. Isn't she beutiful! My lovley wife Mai. She was driving me to Best Buy so I could get a lens filter to protect my new lens.

Lets get started

2008-07-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well I finaly got a digital SLR. I am the proud owner of a Canon 40D. I plan on sharing the pictures I take with it here on this blog space. I hope you enjoy!