Our Maine-ward journey began with a familiar trip across the mountains
to Walla Walla. The only difference this time around was the addition of the
Jeep, which I brought across to deliver to Skye in Palouse. We made our usual
stop at the Ellensburg Starbucks (the best Starbucks that I have yet visited,
by the way—somehow they just do coffee better). On the way out, we stopped at the neighboring gas station. Ashli paid in cash, and
received the following back as change:
A newly minted Maine quarter, complete with engraved image of Acadia
National Park! We took this as a good omen. Pirt Daor—patron god of automotive
travel and inverted text—was watching over us.
We spent the next few days catching up with the Walla Walla
crowd—playing games, delivering birthday and Christmas gifts (it had been a
while), sharing favorite bottles of wine, and making pregnancy jokes at
Erica’s—or more often Nick’s—expense.
Nick and I took Doppler to the park, where the Dop had a great time. We
got a few good drives in with the new golf-driver/tennis ball thrower (a
parting gift from Scott, Steph, Juliet, and Goose). Not only did Doppler manage
to lose both a tennis ball and a baseball in the local creek, he pulled his
now-tired act and sprained his tail again. Not sure how he did it this time,
but he remained without his usual standard for a few days thereafter.
Still, he did not want to leave the park, as usual.
During our stay in Walla Walla, most of Eastern Washington and Idaho
caught fire (not us this time, we swear!). We walked into a store in Richland
with clear skies, and walked out to a heavy haze from horizon to horizon.
For those of you primarily reading to get your fix of the rapidly
departing Doppler, we are including a new segment: here is your Dop-of-the-Day!
A) Looks like you three are having (had) a wonderful time in Walla Walla.
ReplyDeleteB) That shot of George & Dop is fantastic!
C) Love that shot of Nick "Tiger Woods" golfing!
D) Seriously, how does Dop sprain his tail all the time? Does that thing come with a warranty? Lemon laws should come into effect at some point. Lets pray there are no recalls in order!
E) The final shot of Dop in the grass is fantastic as well. I love the depth of field here where he is crisply in focus yet the field in the background is out of focus. Nicely done :)
Thanks for the update! Sincerely,
Your Seattle Crew who misses you
The trip has been good so far. Getting to see a lot of the northern US as an adult!
ReplyDeleteWe have been thoroughly enjoying the camera. I have also started post-processing just about everything. With the exception of the game table, just about every shot in this post benefited from a fair amount of lighting and contrast adjustment. I haven't even started playing with Photoshop or Gimp. You can make vast improvements using some of the basic features in Picasa.
I find that none of my base shots are bright enough. Perhaps I need to start playing with some of the lighting more when I take the shots? In any case, a bit of cropping and adjustment can turn mediocre shots into fantastic shots!