Seattle - Great Hotel Room window

I was at a conference in Seattle. Stayed at the Edgewater Hotel. The right name, it is the waters edge. Right on Puget Sound, Pacific Ocean. There was also a small deck.



With the time lag and late sunrise I saw it every day. This was looking towards the city on my deck.


We went up to the top of the Seattle Space Needle. This shot is looking up from below the tower.


Great view of the Olympic range, which is in the distance behind me. It was a bit windy.

Great America - Fright Fest!

We took our annual trip to Great America for the Halloween celebration at Fright Fest. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a fun group. I like the blood red pool in the sunlight.


Having fun on the Ricochet.


One of the fun things about Fright Fest is the wandering zombies, ghouls, goblins, and creatures of all sorts.


I guess Diane didn't think this zombie cop was scary enough.


This zombie only wanted a taste of Bart's brain.


Then Bart turned into a zombie himself.


The day ended with a storm which cleared out the park. The rain passed through quickly and we got to do a couple rides at the end. I think everyone had a great day!

Hotel room windows 2.

The views out my hotel room window on this trip contrasted with the recent Italian experience. This is rural Maryland. Not beautiful, but not bad.


Then there is New York City. There the function of the window is ventilation. At least I was near the top of this opening. I could actually see the sky. Deluxe.

Happy Birthday Alex

Someone turned 14. Dad was in NYC so we sang over SKYPE. Picture and screen shot from almost the same time.

Iron Chef

As part of his Family and Consumer Science class (home ec.), Alex had to make us dinner. It was excellent!

Go'in fishing

It was fall trout fishing weekend in Illinois. We went at the crack of dawn on Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa. Caught 4 nice trout. Cooked them up for lunch. Now thats fresh fish. Yummy!

Fall at the Morton Arboretum

On Columbus day we went to the Morton Arboretum. First visit. Turned out to be great place. Especially with the fall colors. Definitely plan to come back.



The family with a young bristlecone pine. See ancient bristlecone pines in August 2008 visit to California.


The Maples are always spectacular!


The shadows are great!


Who says you can't have a nice sky in Illinois.

Hotel room windows.

With only a couple exceptions Hotel rooms always have a window. The view out of that window can vary greatly. Sometimes it can be very lovely but most of the time it is not. I have often had good luck with windows in my room in Italy. This trip was no exception. Here is the view out of the window in Sienna.



The famous tower in PIsa.

Back in Italy

I was invited to an Integrase meeting in Siena, Italy. Neat Medieval town. The city hall and tower were built in the 1300. Amazing! The plaza is also known for a horse race called the Palio. Its a big competition between the different neighborhoods in Siena.



This is our friend Cristina having dinner on the piazza in Siena.


This is the domo (or cathredral) in Siena. I like the striped pattern.


After the meeting I went to Pisa and had a chance to go fishing in the mediterranean sea with a new friend Mario. His boat was on the Arno river. Unfortunately, we couldn't get out into the mediterranean because of rough seas. But we were able to fish in the brackish water near the sea.



Mario caught 4 nice little sea bass which he returned to the water to get bigger. I lost two lures. Guess I will have to come back when the seas are calm to try again.



I also visited the piazza in Pisa. This panorama give a nice sense of the area. So beautiful on a sunny day.



This is a nice view of the tower.


This is our friend Andrea with some of his algae cultures. He is working on an exciting new biofuel project.


We went out to two wonderful restaurants in Pisa. This is Mario at IL Granaio (the barn) with a famous tuscan dessert where you dip biscotti into a liquor. Actually very tasty. And you have to drink the liquor after you run out of biscotti. Ciao. Hope I get to return to Italy soon.

Bears WIN!

It was a beautiful fall day at Soldier Field. Chicago Bears vs Carolina Panthers. It was a crazy game and the Bears defense was a bit disappointing. But the Bears won 34-29. This is a picture of Patrick and I after a interception for a TD by the Bears. What fun.