This section of my blog is dedicated to random pictures I have taken over
the years and the associated memories. Many of these pictures were pulled
from the media library on my old blog and were part of blog posts long ago deleted.
This area of my blog will be a work in progress as I continue to add more memories.
March 2019: We picked up a fat tire bike for Patty to ride with me while I was out for a run and
not long after we picked up one for me and hit the road together. We are blessed with such a
beautiful view on our rides and the assortment of wildlife is always amazing to see.
March 2019: This is the peaceful view we enjoy on the inland portion of our bike rides through
the Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge. It's just over a seven mile ride from the house
to Shell Point Road and back.
November 2017: I got up early on a cool morning and drove up to Thomasville, Georgia to run the
Encounter-316 5k, sponsored by the First Baptist Church there in Thomasville. I got a real blessing
from the way the event was put together and managed and was grateful to be awarded first place in
my age group (60-64) for only the second time.
October 2017: There's a crazy story that goes with the next several pictures. When we first
moved over here to the forgotten coast in May of 2017, I was still working for IBM. In October,
they sent me to Berlin, Germany for a week to administer certification test sessions. My week
ended around lunch time on Friday and my flight home was not scheduled to leave until Saturday
morning. With some free time, I decided to catch a tour bus and see some of the sights of Berlin.
October 2017: The hotel concierge suggested I head down the street to the old church and jump
on one of the "yellow" tour busses. Sounded easy enough and so I made my way down the street.
What I didn't know was that the city busses were also mostly yellow and, you guessed it,
without blinking an eye I jumped aboard.
October 2017: In addition to an incredibly inexpensive tour bus fare, there was no narration
from the bus driver and no one looking out of the windows. People were reading or staring off
into space. These should have been immediate hints, but it took me a while to add two and two
and realize I had a poblem. I decided to make the best of it and opened the map I had brought
along to see if I could figure out where we were and what I might be able to see on my ride to
who knows where!
October 2017: After six miles of riding, the bus driver stopped the bus and informed us that
this was the end of the line and that we needed to depart the bus. I decided to take a
self-directed walking tour of Berlin back to my hotel, and snapped these pictures along the way.
September 2017: We hadn't been in our new home very long when this guy showed up on our deck. It's
always a real treat when one of the locals decides to drop by for a visit.
February 2016: When we moved to Pensacola, Florida we found an apartment for Patty's mom and introduced
her to Lambert's Cafe - famous for their incredible country home cooking and especially their throwed
rolls. Want a nice hot and fresh roll? Just call out and ask for one and the waiter will throw it to
you from the other side of the restaurant. Hope you make a good catch!
February 2016: The Original Point Restaurant was a very short drive down Innerarity Point Road from
where we lived. We finally made our way over one Saturday night to check out the food and the band.
The food was awesome, and the blue grass style band was even better if that's possible. Those
musicians were incredibly talented and I particularly enjoyed their amazing rendition of Rocky Top!
December 2015: In Pensacola, Florida, we had a tragic fish kill with lots of fish washing up
on the beach there at the townhome. Pictured above is a Kemp's Ridley sea turtle that was
also a victim of the fish kill. This particular species is the world's most endangered sea
turtle due to over harvesting of the eggs in more recent decades. I called Florida Wildlife and
one of the local sea turtle experts picked up the turtle for study.
December 2015: In Pensacola, Florida Patty and I visited the Pinta when it was docked there. For
those who are history-challenged like me, the Pinta was one of the three ships that carried
Christopher Columbus and his crew to America. I couldn't believe how small the ship was!
December 2015: More about the Pinta...
December 2015: More about the Pinta...
October 2015: Patty and I took a weekend trip up to the beautiful North Alabama mountains in
Mentone, Alabama to see the leaves change and to enjoy the annual Mentone Colorfest Festival.
October 2015: Musical instrument makers at the Mentone Colorfest.
October 2015: Patty booked us in a beautiful mountain cabin in Mentone with an incredible
view and we enjoyed one of the chilly evenings soaking in the hot tub under the stars with
a nice glass of wine.
October 2015: Our cozy Mentone cabin...
October 2015: Beautiful view of the valley from the cabin's deck.
September 2015: While in Pensacola, Patty and I enjoyed a morning of great coffee and excellent music
at The Drowsy Poet.
August 2015: When Patty and I lived in Pensacola, Florida we enjoyed taking the top down on her miata
convertible and going to the ball park to watch the Blue Wahoos play. The Blue Wahoos are a Double-A
minor league affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. We were also big fans of the burgers and onion rings
(and a cold brewski for me!)
August 2015: Jonathan and I borrowed a couple of kayaks from our neighbor and took them across the street
from the townhome to Kee's Bayou. It was a breezy day but that didn't stop the specs from going after our
lures. Jonathan put me to shame with this nice catch.
August 2015: Patty and I also introduced Martha to McGuire's Irish Pub there in Pensacola. In true Irish
style, Martha ordered the nachos. I snapped this shot right when they delivered her order. I don't think
she was expecting such a large portion and the look on her face says it all.
July 2015: Patty and I had the kids and the grandkids down to the townhome in Pensacola to celebrate the
fourth of July. The grandsons enjoyed the glow toys and we all enjoyed watching the various fireworks
shows across and around Perdido Bay where we lived at the time.
July 2015: On that same Snow family visit, I jumped in the kayak with older grandson, Noah, and we took
a ride on Perdido Bay. What a great memory that turned out to be!
June 2015: Jonathan came down to Pensacola to visit Patty and I and we took him over to one of
our favorite hangouts - the Sunset Grill. I also have great memories of enjoying the Sunset
Grill with Josh & Allie and the grandsons on one of their visits to the area.
April 2014: Right before we left Douglasville on our trek to become Floridians, I ran the Pi mile race
on the Georgia Tech campus. It's something I had wanted to do and one of my PeopleSoft friends, and a
former Georgia Tech student, brought it to my attention. I hadn't done a lot of training in preparation
and there were more than a few hills, but I still turned in a time with which I was comfortable.
June 2013: Patty and I took a trip to Cherokee, North Carolina and the Smokey Mountains and while we
were there enjoyed Unto These Hills, an outdoor stage play and historical drama of the Native
Americans in that region. One of the special moments in the drama is the performance of the Eagle
Dance. Earlier in the day we visited a smaller outdoor play and spoke with one of the actors after
the show. He was such a nice and humble gentleman and we had no idea we would see him again that
evening performing in the lead role for the main show.
April 2013: This was the view of the 9/11 memorial and the 9/11 museum from my hotel room while I was
teaching a class in New York City. The memorial had been complete by this time and the museum, still
under construction, was about a year away from completion.
April 2013: Road Trip!!! I flew out to Denver to meet Josh and help him drive their cars cross-country
when they moved back to this side of the United States. Josh treated me to a very nice supper and we
pulled out at dark-thirty the next morning. We came very close to making the entire trip in 24 hours,
but our bodies demanded otherwise and we took a four hour rest stop in Nashville, Tennessee. All in
all, it was a lot of fun! Of course, the trip was all serious business as can be seen above!
December 2012: I watched the Medgar Evers story on TV and became very interested in the history of that
Civil Rights Era event. I had to work in the New Orleans area and took Patty with me and we
stopped in Jackson, Mississippi on the way over to visit the home of Medgar Evers and to learn more
about the event and the life of Mr. Evers.
September 2011: Patty and I have had a lot of grateful moments for all that our kids, their spouses, and
our grandsons have accomplished. One thinkg in particular is the great job our son Jonathan has done in
Jasper, Alabama with the Walker County Vikings Marching Band. In a far more recent competition they
earned the title of Alabama 5A State Champion. Quite an accomplishment! This is an old picture I took of
the band entering the stadium for a home game.
June 2011: For a long time, I have been a big fan of capturing pictures of lightening. Whether it's
captured the serious way (with our Nikon DSLR) or via cheating on my cell phone by grabbing a screenshot
out of a video taken of lightning, it's always fun and interesting. We were surrounded by woods at the
house there in Douglasville, Georgia so when lightning storms were on the horizon I made my way to my
favorite grocery store parking lot and went to work with the Nikon. Early on, the workers at Dominos
Pizza came out to see what I was doing. Thereafter, they said they always assumed a storm was on the way
anytime they saw me out front of the store getting my camera all set up for a big event.
April 2011: Patty and I had always wanted to see the Outer Banks of the Carolinas. So, in April of 2011
we made the drive up to see the sights. The drive and the accomodations were amazing and we took our time
making sure we had an opportunity to see and experience everything on our list. On a humorous note, the
bug first bit me for the visit after seeing the beauty portrayed in the movie, Message In A Bottle.
I didn't know at the time it was filmed in Maine. Still, we were not disappointed!
2010: Dell purchased Perot Systems from Ross Perot in September of 2009 and sometime early in 2010 I
traveled to the fomer Perot Systems offices to teach a class for RightNow Technologies. The entire
set of offices looked more like a museum of all that Ross Perot had collected and saved from his
career, including the hallway pictured above which was sort of a dedicated mini-museum within the
office complex. As part of the merger agreement, Mr. Perot remained onsite for a season and it was
a real honor to meet and shake hands in the company's cafeteria.
July 2009: While I worked for RightNow Technologies I traveled up to Boston, MA to teach a
class for New Balance. What an outstanding organization with a great group of people!
When they found out I was an avid runner, they presented me with a pair of the latest and greatest
in their line of men's running shoes. I'm holding one of them in the picture. They also presented me
with a pink pair for my wife and that were not ever released for general availability. That was
quite an honor! In addition to working with great customers in that area, I always looked forward to
a couple of training runs on the paved running and walking track alongside the beautiful Charles
River. On a good afternoon, I might even see one of the Harvard Rowing Teams in action
during my run.
December 2008: I joined PeopleSoft in 1996 and it marked two significant changes in my career. First,
I revereted back to my teaching roots and became a corporate instructor. Second, I became a traveler
and was on the road a lot teaching classes first all over the United States and Canada, and later all
over the world.
December 2008: By December of 2008, when this group of photos was taken, I had just joined RightNow
Technologies and was sent to teach a class for our product in Washington, D.C. 2008 was also a peak
year for me as a runner and I ran often - whether in town or on the road.
December 2008: In this particular instance, I hit the road after teaching a class all day and decided
I would take my camera phone with me to snap a few pictures of some of the historical landmarks. I was
so avid about my training runs that it was really difficult to talk myself into a run that would
involve picture taking stops. But, the smarter side of me won the debate and I paused just long enough
for each of these photos.
December 2008: It turned out to be a great run and the pictures have served not only as a memory
for a great visit to the monuments, but a memory of just one of the many places I've visited and
one of many interesting training runs I've taken during my travels.
