Photo #334

Humpback whales! A mother and calf in Banderas Bay (Bahia de Banderas). I've never been this close before! Shortly after this photo was taken, the whales started jumping out of the water, or "breaching", but our camera wasn't fast enough to capture it. Still, it was an incredible sight and we will always have the memories...

W.O 365

Photo #333

Walking around Downtown Puerto Vallarta on a rainy day...

W.O 365

Photo #332

Megan and I couldn't get enough of all the different birds in Mexico, birds we never get to see at home. For example, the brown pelicans...

And the majestic frigate bird...

W.O 365

Photo #331

Hey hey!

A vacation in Mexico was just what the doctor ordered, and now I'm ready to make that last push to my goal of reaching Photo Number 365. I have less than a month to go!

While I may have taken SO many photos on our trip, I still took the time to live the life and see the sights with my own eyes and not just through the camera's lens. So, since I'm a week behind here, I'm going to back date my next several posts until I've caught up. One or two photos from each day I was gone will be presented here, and of course many more (but not all) will end up on my Facebook page over the next few days. Okay? Okay.

I'll start with our home away from home in Puerto Vallarta, our 10th floor room at the Friendly Hola Vallarta Resort...

And part of the view...

W.O 365

Photo # 330

Puffed up robin trying to stay warm. I took this photo yesterday during the snow storm...

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Photo #329

It snowed on Southern Vancouver Island today, and I didn't have to work. I went out and took some photos instead. Most have ended up on my Facebook page for my friends to see, but I saved this one for everyone to enjoy...

W.O 365

Photo #328

I spent my afternoon composing and recording some rough takes of a new piece of music in my "home studio". It's for a little video I made chronicling the construction of my now complete Titanic model. Yes, I'm a nerd. So what?
Anyway, as you can see, I have a pretty modest set up that's easy to bundle up and put away when I'm not using it. I plug my guitars and microphone into that red & black unit on my desk, and that then connects to my computer via USB. The software I use to edit my recordings is pretty old, and not all that easy to use, but I make do with what I have. And, as usual, my little roadie Merlin is always on hand to help out...

W.O 365

Photo #327

Mmmm, chocolate chip muffins...

W.O 365

Photo #326

I love watching bald eagles in flight...

W.O 365

Photo #325

Today is my Mother-in-Law's birthday! Many people make jokes about their in-laws, but not me. I like mine. We get along great! Anyway, here's one of my favorite photos of her with her husband that I took in 2008 on our last night in Hawaii. Happy Birthday, Camille!!!

W.O 365

Photo #324

Graveyard shifts and messed up sleeping patterns are really catching up to me today, so I'm going to be a little lazy and post a photo I took earlier this week of a popular statue in downtown Victoria...

W.O 365

Photo #323

Weird weather this morning. First it was bright and sunny, then out of nowhere a dark cloud rolled over and pelted Victoria and Saanich with pea-sized hail stones! Here's one that bounced off the rail and landed on my balcony...

For about 15-20 minutes it was coming down pretty hard, but notice it was still very bright out. I believe the phrase for that is "liquid sunshine", or in this case "sunny with ice pellets"...

W.O 365

Photo #322

I've always had a thing for old architecture, and Victoria is full of many great examples. Too bad so many of these once beautiful buildings ended up abandoned like this one from 1891. I can only imagine what it looked like when it was new...

W.O 365

Photo #321

I didn't take any new photos today, so you get another one of my old favorites. I took this one a little over a year ago when I last visited my home town of Campbell River, BC. It's from around the Willow Point area looking roughly eastward over Discovery Passage. The southern tip of Quadra Island is on the left and those are the Coastal mountains in the background. Look close and you can see a few cormorants hanging out on a piece of driftwood...

W.O 365

Photo # 320

I suppose no Valentine's Day is complete without chocolate and roses. Megan said she didn't want a big box of chocolates, and I couldn't get a fresh rose, so I found this. It's the best of both worlds, and best of all, she really liked it! (Note: only the actual flower part is edible, the stem and leaves are plastic)...

W.O 365

Photo #319

Today was Valentine's Day. I bought Megan a dragon. It's a little "non-traditional Valentine's tradition" I started years ago. I don't get her one every year, but I've gotten her many. Since this is our first Valentine's in our own home, I figured the place could use a new dragon...


And here's the front of the card that went with it. Since we've been together for more than 16 years as a couple, it works and she loved it...

W.O 365

Photo #318

I really like Megan's new hair colour!

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Photo #317

It was my lucky day. Three different species of bird in one photo. There are 6 birds in total here. Can you see them?

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Photo #316

One of my favorite things about having a South by Southeast facing kitchen is that on a clear day like today the sunlight just pours in! By mid morning everything has a nice warm glow, including lazy cats that flop down anywhere they want to...

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Photo #315

I took a walk around Swan Lake a couple of days ago and I always pause here at the ancient Willow tree. I like this tree...

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Photo #314

So today I celebrate my 34th birthday. I'd say I've come a long way from being that little man in diapers. Where has the time gone? Thanks to my mom for my baby photo...

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Photo #313

Now that I've almost completed my Titanic model (only decals and flags are left to add once the paint and glue have fully set), I've started work on a little documentary video on the building of said model. Once I get all the images arranged then I'm going to record myself playing a little guitar piece for the soundtrack...

W.O 365

Photo #312

Today is my mother's birthday. For the occasion, I'm posting one of my favorite photos that I took in 2005. We were laughing about something, but we don't remember what it was. Good times! Happy Birthday, Mom!

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Photo #311

In less than 3 weeks Megan and I will be in Mexico, so we figured this little book might come in handy. I had to turn the book away from the camera a bit so the flash wouldn't wash out the shiny cover...

W.O 365

Photo # 310

This is my little model of the USS Missouri. No, I didn't build it. It's actually just a little die cast souvenir I bought when I visited Pearl Harbor in 2008. Now that I have a proper place to display the model, I finally removed it from it's packaging...

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Photo #309

I had no subjects to photograph today, so I'm going to share an old photo I took about two years ago. It's one of my favorites of a robin that landed in an oak tree I was sitting under on a very gray afternoon...

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Photo #308

While the rest of North America is slogging through winter, there are signs of an early spring here in Victoria. Megan picked these snow drops on her way home from work today...

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Photo #307

Someone got new strings today...

W.O 365