Day 14 - The Jackson Family

As you know my family is spread all over the country, my Mom in Florida, my Sister in California with my Dad and I holding down the Northern front (for now at least). This seems to be a theme for our family though. My Mom was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, my Dad in Walnut Grove, Minnesota. While my Dad does not have any Brothers or Sisters, my Mom has 6. My Mom's siblings are spread all over the Eastern half of the country. Because of the separation of the family and the shear size - I have 28+ cousins, ranging from over 40 years old to as young as 8 - we do not get together all that often. We have only ever had one real family reunion - since I was born at least - it was a surprise party for my Grandma's 80th birthday (it might have been 75th, oh well you probably don't care that much...). It was huge success with everybody in the family showing up! The only other time that we had that many family members show up was for my Grandma's funeral several years later.

My Mom's oldest Brother Ron lives in Massachusetts and makes a couple trips a year back to Wisconsin for different events. This past August he decided to try to organize a small gathering of family at my Aunt Vicki and Uncle Roger's house in Eau Claire. I was able to get some time off work (thanks again Sherri!) to attend and represent my portion of the Jackson family. Considering we got together on a weekday afternoon I was impressed we managed to have 20 people show up. It was a good time, I was able to see people that I see about once a year and some that I see maybe every other year. Of course I brought my camera with so here are some more of the dreaded people pictures (I am kidding of course, I actually kind of like taking them now).

This was only second time I had seen my Second Cousin Jennalyn. Not only did she like posing for pictures she really like playing with my camera. The minute I started taking pictures of her she reached out and tried to grab my camera from me.


My Cousin Matt playing with a bubble machine designed for kids 3-7 years old . . . it was actually kind of fun.Uncle Ron was also playing with the bubble machine.
The bubble machine in question being used by my Uncle Jim (who did not want his picture taken).Cousin Amanda and Aunt Sherri were not as interested in the bubble machine as they were with the crochet work being done.
Uncle Roger and Cousin Abbi in one of Roger's Kayaks on the Chippewa River
My Cousin Jesse and his son
My Cousin Adam
It was a very good time and I was glad I made the drive over to be there. Maybe we can try to get an actual reunion organized some time soon, just don't put me in charge . . . there are WAY to many people.

Day 13 - Word Games

I was reading another blog that Bill sent me a while ago. The blog (Sam: Unwritten) is written by another dispatcher from Utah who is also into photography. I have been reading it for the past couple months and I'm kinda hooked. She does not talk much about her dispatch job but when she does it amazes me how every dispatch center is so similar. She is also a good photographer, her and a friend have recently started a photography business. Today she had a link to a game with a purpose.

The Game is called FreeRice, the idea is that for every question you get right the site donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations to fight hunger. While I normally do not support much of anything the United Nations is involved in, it is a fun game. The site gives you a word and then 4 other words, all you have to do is pick the synonym for the first word. If you get the question right it advances you to the next level, if you get it wrong you go down a level. I played on and off for a couple hours tonight and managed to reach vocabulary level 31 and donate 2,000 grains of rice to the hungry. While I don't think 2,000 grains of rice will save all that much it is fun. Give it a try, let me know how you did.

Day 12 - Winter's Coming

OK so Winter is going to come no matter what I think about it. I am not a huge fan of Winter, but I am not one of those people who hate Winter either. Of course I hate driving in the Winter, not because I am afraid of crashing myself but because I am afraid someone will crash in to me!

I actually enjoy the time right after a big snowfall when the trees are still covered in the heavy wet snow. It can really make for some nice photos if I am in the mood to venture outside. Here are some pictures I took after a storm in March of 2006. It was a very heavy wet snow, the kind that even shuts the Twin Cities down. I think I drove around for about 4 or 5 hours that afternoon going all over the South Metro trying to find just the right picture. Not sure if I ever found "the picture" but got a few that I liked.

Hyland Park in Bloomington.

Near Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis.
On East River Road near the University of St Thomas in St Paul.

Day 11 - A Return to Como Zoo

Today a post by request. After posting the photos from Como Zoo on Day 5 I was asked by Krystal where the Polar Bears were. I did not have any pictures of them ready to go then but I do now. If you have ever been to Como you know there are 2 Polar Bears in the enclosure.

The first Polar Bear seems to think he is an Olympic swimmer and does "laps" in his pool, the sad part is the pool is only a few feet long, he seems to enjoy it though.

The other Polar Bear always seems to be stuck at the bottom and walks back and forth looking rather depressed.
Near the exhibit there is also a statue of Polar Bears, some how I think they are having a lot more fun than the real life Bears.
While I was looking for a link to info about the Como Zoo Polar Bears I came across a WCCO story from 2006. Looks like the Polar Bears and the Primates will be getting $9 million worth of new enclosures . . . hopefully a bigger pool is included!

Day 10 - St Paul Skyline

Sticking with yesterday's St Paul theme, today I have posted some photos of the St Paul skyline. I have tried taking photos of Downtown St Paul from about 8,000 different spots (OK . . . more like 18 but you get the point), it is a hard spot to get a good photo. The problem as I see it is the Mississippi River, while it makes for a good photo it also means the shooting spots are either at river level (too low) or on a bluff on the other side of the river (often too tall). To top it all off I want to be able to take a picture with 3 things in it; Downtown St Paul, the State Capitol and the St Paul Cathedral, that I can tell you have after many years of trying it is not easy!

In the first 2 photos I am on the bluff on the opposite side of the Mississippi upstream about a 1/4 mile.

In this photo I am underneath the Wabasha Street bridge.

This photo was taken from Harriet Island on some steps that lead right into the river.
The next 2 photos were taken on a bluff on the same side of the Mississippi about a 1/4 mile from Downtown.

The last photo is 1 of my favorite Downtown St Paul photos, it was taken from a walkway along the Mississippi on Harriet Island. I really like the reflection of the lights on the river and the steam coming off the building near the center.

Day 9 - Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

Alright I promised photos from the Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Como Park in St Paul. The building itself is very nice but of course the plants are the main reason to visit. Flower photos are not usually my favorite but I am happy with how these turned out.

Day 8 - Lake Pepin

Since we took a trip South of the metro yesterday I thought we would continue the trend.

Here are some pictures I took at the Marina on Lake Pepin in Lake City, Minnesota. I had taken photos at Lake Pepin several years ago while on my way down to Winona to take pictures with a friend. I had some days off and wanted to go some place I had not been for a while. Thankfully my days off fell during the week and I was able to get down to Lake Pepin again. I really like how the marina looks with all of the boats still in the slips.




If you have never been down to Lake City I would recommend making the trip. It is a neat little town that is right on Hwy 61 which is a really nice drive, especially in the Fall.