As I may have mentioned in the past, I’m not a lover of nature. Typically, if it doesn’t involve golf or mowing, I’m not really all that interested in being outside. But sometimes, just sometimes, I really do appreciate the beauty of the world around us.
A recent visit to a nearby state park would have been one of those times, had I not spent the whole time anxious about the possibility of one of my children falling from one of the many bridges or ledges. (And the real kicker? The only one to slip and fall the whole time was me.)
Click to enlarge.*
*That only works for the thumbnail photos. Sorry.
The wife and I took a whirlwind trip to New York City last month so that we could go to a Yankee game. It was our first trip to any Yankee Stadium, and after we regained consciousness from when we fainted due to the awesomeness of it being Yankee Stadium, we had a blast! Except for the part where the Yankees lost. And the part where I got sad looking out over the location of the old Yankee Stadium.
On the plus side, the Yankees have never lost a game in franchise history when played the day after I went to watch them at Yankee Stadium.
I went to NYC a few times per year every year as a kid, because we have a bit of family still living there (my family lived there also, several years ago). But because we were always hanging out with locals, we never did any tourist stuff. So the wife and I went to times square, Rockefeller Center, the WTC site, THE APPLE STORE, and my new favorite business, “Phat Cribs Realty.”
Last week, I went with the family to a hot air balloon festival. For the sake of staying positive, I’ll leave out the part about how it took us 45 minutes to drive the first 50 miles and 45 more minutes to drive the last half mile. And the part about how a 20 ounce soda was spilled in the backseat of my car.
We ended up having a pretty good time. And I learned a few things:
- Hot air balloons are bigger than I thought
- Barn-shaped hot air balloons take longer to inflate
- I kind of want a flamethrower
- I would only go in one of these things if I was given $100 million American dollars, or if I was knocked unconscious
Enjoy the photos.
I got a record number of photos submitted for this week’s photo assignment! And perhaps more shocking, only one of the included photos was submitted after the deadline! Thanks to everyone who participated, and a special thanks to those who sent your possessions and/or your children airborne in the name of art. Here are the conclusions I have drawn from the submitted photos:
- Kids like to jump.
- The moon was recently full.
- Shetland Sheepdogs (or Collies? I can’t tell) have some serious hops.
- Photoshop rules can be bent for comedic value.
Go here to check out the photos! (flash plugin required – sorry, iPhone readers) I know which ones are my favorites, but I don’t want to cloud your judgement.