Here is a view from spring 2019, back when it was safe to be around other people…. We had a nice photo walk that evening and captured some great photos. This specific photo is looking down on the U.S. Steel Building in Pittsburgh.
P&O Cruises
Here is a minimalist photo I took that includes a P&O Cruise ship off Bonaire last year. Love that Caribbean Sky!!
Carnival Glory in Jamaica
Here is a video of the Carnival Glory docked in Jamaica captured via my drone. I captured this footage in early 2020 just before COVID hit the United States…. We probably got lucky we were not trapped on the ship when we returned to New Orleans.
Fisher Body Plant Graffit
I’ve been to this facility two or three times in the past. It is truly a wonderful explore. This is one of my favorite all time graffiti art works. Maybe not the best done of all time, but I loved the use of the wall and floor.
Cross Village Beach
I love this photo. I love the sky, Lake Michigan water, the beach with the fallen trees, and just the mood of the photo. MJ and I explored this beach following lunch at the Old World Café (by the way, it’s a great restaurant) in Cross Village Michigan. This was our second visit to Cross Village this year. On our first visit, we didn’t drive down to the beach. I’m so glad we did on this 2nd visit.
NFC Super Bowl Selection
Yesterday I posted who I wanted from the AFC to make it to the Super Bowl. Today I’m going to share who I’d like to see, but not most likely to make it (it pains me to say the most likely NFC Super Bowl team will probably be the Packers). The team I’d like to see come out of the NFC and play in the Super Bowl against the Bills (assuming I get my way) would be the Buccaneers.
Why would I select the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?
· I’ve cheered for Tom Brady ever since he played at the University of Michigan. Yes, I cheered for the Patriots when he played there. I even have a New England Tom Brady jersey in my closet and let’s face it my Detroit Lions are never going to play in a Super Bowl. So, the Patriots became my back up team with Brady over the years.
· Let’s face it, Brady is THE one and only GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)
· I’d like Tom to win a Super Bowl without Bill Belichick.
· It seems like most Steelers’ fans dislike the Buccaneers coach (Bruce Arians) from his time in Pittsburgh. Therefore, I have to wish good things for him.
· Lastly, I just don’t want to see the Packers, Rams or Saints to win…. No reason why, just an emotional response.
I don’t have a photo of Tom in Buccaneers gear, so you’re getting a photo of Brady that I took of him in New England Patriots clothing….
AFC Super Bowl Selection
This isn’t my prediction about who will most likely play in the Super Bowl (that would probably be the Chiefs) from the AFC, but the team I’d like to see make it to the big game.
My selection is the Buffalo Bills. Why? Because:
· They have a nice group of young talented players and I like the modest attitudes
· I liked their old-style stadium which sits surrounded by residential houses
· They’ve played in four Super Bowls, but have never won the game….
Moss leaps over Steelers’ defenders at Bills Stadium (2020)
Cincinnati Suspension Bridge
Gosh, I hope you have a great weekend. I know I needed the break this weekend.…
I had an entire COVID vaccine blog post typed tonight in regard to how people are acting. I shared it with MJ and she immediately said, “I’m sure that felt good to write, but delete it immediately!!”
Burt Lake Sunset
Nice little time-lapse sunset video from Burt Lake Michigan…. I captured this in 2020, during a time when we all need a little sunshine.
Lighthouse Point Betsie
Here is another photo from Point Betsie Lighthouse near Frankfort Michigan. This is a great spot for a quick visit.
Pripyat Overgrown
This is a photo looking down, via my drone, at the City of Pripyat, which sits next to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It has been abandoned since April 1986 following the nuclear disaster at this site. As you can see, mother nature is taking over. These buildings are high rise apartment buildings.
Ward Family Annual Christmas Lego Build
As many of you know, going back a long time, we get a big Lego kit every year for our little family to assemble on or around Christmas day. When Blair was a kid, they would stay assembled about one day (if that long) and then he’d take them apart to play with the Lego parts the rest of the year. As he got into middle and high school, they stayed assembled. Fast forward, he is now into his 30s and we’re still completing this annual family tradition. So, you can probably imagine how many of these kits we have built sitting around the house. We have our own mini-Lego museum in the house.
As a side note, during the early stages of COVID, I reassembled a Lego kit I got as a Christmas gift back in the late 1970s.
As part of our family tradition, we take turns selecting which kit we get. This was Blair’s turn, and he selected the Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon, which was the largest build we’ve ever completed. Because it was so big, we actually started it around Halloween, did some more around Thanksgiving and Christmas weekends, and finished it up in early January. We didn’t track it, but I’d guess it took over 30 hours…maybe longer.
Every year, people ask me which kit we’re going to build? Did we get it done? How long did it take? And the questions go on…. So, this year, we recorded the entire build via time lapse photography. You can watch the entire build below. Warning, it is a little over 13 minutes long…. But it gives you a look behind the scenes. You’ll see we spend some time organizing the parts prior to building each step vs. dumping all the parts on the table. Anyway, enjoy…..
Next year is MJ’s turn to select a kit…. Until then, have a great 2021!!
Wild Card Weekend Face Off
There are three more Wild Card Playoff games today. I won’t be covering the Steelers vs. Browns tonight (real bummer) due to the NFL’s COVID restrictions they allow a limited number of media into the stadium and my name wasn’t selected via their process. So, I’ll be at home watching games.
Here is a photo I took in Cleveland during Week 17 this season.
This is how it should look
I’m still sickened by the actions of a few thousand individuals in our nation’s capital this week. Not only did they harm individuals, but they harmed “the people’s house”. This is how it should look when people behave.
By the way, I took this photo in 2019.
Fort Pitt On A Cloudy Day
I don’t think I’ve ever done a selective color photo before….if I have, I just blanked it from my memory. Anyway, here is a photo of the Fort Pitt Bridge in downtown Pittsburgh. This was a very gray cloudy day, so I had to do something unique with the photo to make it interesting…. Enjoy your weekend.
Sad day....
Therefore, no photo from me tonight. I’m disappointed with the actions of a few Americans (in government roles and general public members) in our capital today. This isn’t how our democracy works and this isn’t the model of democracy we’ve been known for over the last couple centuries. So sad that few (when compared to the vast majority of us) have destroyed law and order, interrupted our democratic traditions and embarrassed us throughout the world.
Oculus World Trade Center Station
I enjoyed my last trip to NYC back in 2019. MJ and I explored Manhattan, per our normal process. This was the first time we explored the Oculus building. This unique building is a terminal station on the PATH subway system. It also has an underground mall within it. I loved the architecture of this building.
Steelers at Browns
Here are some photos from today’s game. Steelers against the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland Ohio.
Chase Claypool diving for a catch
Danube and Parliament
I missed traveling to Europe in 2020. We actually had a couple of trips there that got canceled with everything else. Right now, those are rescheduled for 2021…we’ll see if they really happens.
This photo of the Danube River and the Hungarian Parliament building is from early 2019.
John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge
I took this photo during my sprint down to (and back) Cincinnati for the Bengals vs. Steelers game. The following morning before leaving town, I captured this photo of the top of the bridge looking back at downtown Cincinnati. Scroll down to see a video driving over the same bridge.
