NorCal Eskie Fest

On Saturday morning, I woke up early, ran to the farmer's market, then came home and made this salad. I then hopped on a plane to Pacifica CA for the NorCal Eskie Fest

Here are some of the friends I met at Jenny's house, including two of their dogs, Jackson and Luna.

Everyone brought delicious food to the potluck!

Elise cuts the carrot cake.

Luna tried her best to get some treats.

But then Jenny put her on a leash so she couldn't steal any food.

Look at these delicious looking dog treats.

Elise and Soraya inspect the delicious looking dog treats.

and then taste them....

And then they recruit Kenzie to taste them too!

Looking at all the pictures they took.

California was so cold. I needed to borrow a coat, wear gloves, and drink hot tea to warm up.

Jackson and Luna enjoyed the breeze and the view from Eskie Rock.

Philadelphia

I had a quick trip to Philly for work. For the first couple of days, it was raining, cold, and windy. One evening, we had a reception and tour at the Mutter Museum. Photos weren't allowed inside, and it was dark and raining outside, so I didn't bring my camera. The conference ended around 1:30 and my flight wasn't until almost 6:00, which meant that I had a little bit of time to explore the city before I had to head to the airport. I've seen the Liberty Bell before and didn't feel like standing in line, but here are a couple of picture of Independence Hall.

You could ride around the area in a carriage if you were so inclined.
I also briefly wandered through Chinatown. The conference had provided lunch, so I wasn't hungry and didn't try any restaurants there.
I don't remember what this building was, but it was pretty interesting looking and right near City Hall.

City Hall building

San Diego - Coronado Island

I went to Coronado Island off of San Diego for a work meeting. As has been my luck lately, it was cold, windy, and rainy when I arrived. Here is the view from my hotel room in between rain showers. You can see a faint trace of a rainbow on the coast of San Diego.

The rain let up long enough during a lunch break to be able to take a short walk around the hotel grounds. Here's a view of the bridge and San Diego coastline.

Here's a shot of the beach on Coronado Island. It was really cold and windy towards the beach, so I didn't head over there.

I tended to stay on the harbor side, since it was sheltered from the wind.

At least there were some pretty flowers to see.

Letchworth State Park, NY

While in Rochester, we took the short drive to Letchworth State Park to see waterfalls, instead of fighting the crowds at Niagra Falls. The park bills itself as the Grand Canyon of the East, and I was mightily disappointed when I saw this view. My first question was "where's the canyon?"

We watched a couple rafters head down the river (tiny blue spot coming around the bend) but they got out right before they hit a small set of rapids.

cicada

I was not disappointed with this waterfall!

Middle falls

One rainbow

Double rainbow

Middle and lower falls

Rochester, NY

I just got back from a short visit to Rochester, NY. Most of the following pictures were taken in the butterfly garded at the Strong Museum of Play. Atlas moth

Blue morpho butterfly. Unfortunately, I couldn't capture a good shot of the wings open.

However, I did capture two of them in the act.

My interview with the Count.

Standing at the front door of an art gallery. I wasn't able to go in because they were closed the day we visited.

You can't take me anywhere! Pulling an elephant's tusk at the George Eastman House.