I just wanted to drop a quick note to let everyone know that I just got back from a trip to the Grand Canyon with all my brothers and my father. The experience was epic! I’ll be posting more about the trip in future posts, but I wanted to drop a short note to show some signs of life.

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Yesterday I woke up with the farmers to catch a 6:00AM flight to New York. I was there for a short meeting, and flew back later that day. But, the day was jammed packed with cool little nuggets.

First, I flew on JetBlue. They just opened up in Charlotte, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. This was my first time on a JetBlue flight and I was overly impressed. Free Wifi in the terminals. All seats are made of plush leather. (I said ALL seats). Each seat has their own personal TV monitor and headphones are provided for free. Each TV comes equipped with 36 stations of DirecTV and XM Radio. And when it came time for snacks, the attendents didn’t roll out the drink cart, they personally went to each seat and took your order. I thought this was a nice touch to eliminate the drink cart, but it did lengthen the time to receive your order (my only complaint).

Second, and the downside of the trip, is that I flew into JFK. OMG! What a small, outdated airport. It’s located way outside the city, and by car it took 90 minutes to get from the airport to Manhattan. The flight from Charlotte was only 75 minutes. So, this was a bit unexpected. Ontop of rush hour traffic and being crammed in the back of a shared shuttle, this transit into Manhattan left much to be desired.

Then the good stuff. On the way into town, we passed all the goodies. Grand Central Terminal, Park Avenue, NBC Studios, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, Carnegie Hall, and I swear I saw Mayor Bloomberg walking on the sidewalk. I wish I had access to my camera then.

We arrived at the hotel at 10:00. Walking into the Hilton NY, Adtech was booming with activity. People were everywhere. Ontop of all that, the NY Marathon runners were all checking out, so it made for a hectic time. You couldn’t help to feed off of the energy of the room. You could tell everyone was amped. After a few brief meetings and lunch, I was back on my way to JFK to catch my 5:30 flight.

Is it me, or does any photo snapped from a moving taxi cab just look awesome. Out of focus? Who cares! Subject not fully in frame? I meant to do that! Fuzzy images through the back window? It makes the image authentic! I wish I had snapped some images going into the city, but these photos still do the job. Having NY, NY as the backdrop is only a plus!

The cab ride back to JFK sucked. But, after arriving back in Charlotte by 7:15, I realized I still had time to make it to my weekly card game. So, waking up at 3:30, flying to Manhattan for the day, flying back and being able to play a few hours of poker are days when you know you are blessed. Ok…back to work.

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It has been a busy week with visitors and some traveling, but I managed to sneak away for a quick trip to visit my parents for Halloween. It wasn’t as much of a visit as it was an answer to the call for help. Each year my parents’ neighborhood in Beaufort, SC gets well over 500 trick-or-treaters. (This is in contrast to the 3 kids I get at my house each year in Charlotte). It’s a mad rush, and something you wouldn’t believe if you didn’t see it with your own eyes. It’s a true picture of Americana.

This year the kids didn’t start coming to the door until about 6:00. And by 7:30 we had over 300 kids come to our door. We ran out of candy and were forced to turn many kids away who were still circling the block. Even after we turned out the porch lights many kids were still knocking on the doors in hopes that we may have a few pieces left.

To chronicle the event, I took photos of EVERY kid who came to our door. Take a peak, and give it the page a few seconds to load. It’s well worth the look.

Update: My brother took these photos and did a short video. Check it out.

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A few years ago a friend of mine turned me onto Ken Duncan. Ken is probably one of the most talented landscape photographers of our time. Gainer showed me Ken’s free screensaver, and I immediately was hooked.

Ken, a christian, has an uncanny ability to expose all of God’s splendor in each of his photos. Take a peak of his work via his website, or via this little image gallery I put together.

From his site…

As a landscape photographer, I am constantly reminded how wonderful God is, as evidenced by the beauty in His creation. So, if you’re feeling stressed out and disconnected, or you just need a reminder of God’s awesome love for us, then hopefully this multi-media presentation will encourage you. It’s certainly a lot easier for us to bring these stunning locations to you, rather than you trying to travel to them! … Enter the Sanctuary.

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What a weekend! (except for the collapse of the Panthers against the Bengals today. Thanks to bumbling, fumbling Jake Delhomme!) Two of my brothers and I got together for a fun weekend of football and comradarie. We missed having Kari and Grace, but a brother’s weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

Noah and I played a quick game of cards at my buddy’s house. Played some ping pong at my crib. Wesley showed up at 11am after driving from DC starting at 4:30. And we were on the road to Clemson by 12:30. We snapped this photo right before we took off.

A 2-hour car ride later and we arrived in ESPN-crazed Clemson, SC. Before settling in to tailgate, I had to take Wes and Noah on a quick trip to the ever famous rollercoaster road. It was certainly steep, but somehow it wasn’t as fun as I remembered it being. I was driving my low-riding magnum and I was a bit too scared of bottoming out at the bottom of the hill. So, I ended up taking the hills a little too slow for excitement. But, still good fun nonetheless.

After a few hours of tailgating and being harassed by real life yellowjackets (actual bees, not the crazed GT fans), Wesley went and grabbed a ticket with his buddies, and Noah and I went off to scalp tickets of our own. I couldn’t believe it. Tickets were going for $150/seat on the street. There was no way that I was going to pay more than $50 for a ticket. (face value was $48). After battling the fans in downtown Clemson, Noah and I ventured up near the stadium and the ticket prices were still the same. I was getting a bit discouraged because Noah came all the way up from Beaufort to visit and to come to the game. And I was hoping to show him a good time in classic Clemson football fashion.

We were in the middle of all the ticket scalpers and still no economical options were available. Then, a miracle happened. A cadillac pulled up, parked, and I guess the driver saw me holding up my fingers gestering that I needed 2 tickets. He popped out of his car holding 2 tickets. Long story short – I scored two tickets on the 45 yard line for $60/each. I couldn’t believe it. Even though I paid a bit more than I expected, it was so well worth it. These were some of the best seats in the house, and Noah and I were up close and in the middle of Clemson fans for one of the best games we’ve seen in a long while.

Wes & Noah – I can’t tell you how great it was to hang out with the both of you this weekend. I can’t wait for our trip to the Grand Canyon!

Click on any photo above to see all the photos. All the game day videos can be seen at this link.

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A picture can say a thousand words. I found this on deviant art. (have no idea on how i found myself there. whoa! some depressing images. proof that God is still needed in this world.)

Who are you listening to?

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