13 September 2008

So we finally, after a year, got a pair of cheapo disposable cameras developed from our vacation last year to California. I've also taken the liberty of reorganizing our "road trip log" into a much more readable order in a single post, which you can read here.

So this is day one at the air museum in Liberal, Kansas. Lots of 50s, 60s era early jets, although there was a rustbucket F-14 falling to pieces out there too!


Nothing like seeing one's wife behind the controls of a AH-1 Cobra to quicken the pulse...


Believe this is New Mexico.


If I recall, this was taken after passing into Arizona.


The first In'N'Out that we found. Not in California, but tasty nonetheless.


From the cockpit of the Neufmobile, traversing AZ.


Same...


Here's Debra on the ship used for the movie "Master and Commander" in San Diego. Upon these very same decks walked the inimitable Russell Crowe, of "Makin Movies, Makin Songs, and Foightin Round the World!" fame!


So comrade, what exactly happens when I turn this crank next to the rear torpedo tub[FWOOSH]...oops I hope that didn't just do something ba[BOOOOOM]...hmmm wasn't the USS Enterprise parked behind this submarine? Maybe we should get going.


Yet another reason the submarine service would have been a bad idea for me.


Saying g'bye to our diesel commie sub friend.


...gestures pointedly at a bird in San Diego.


...gestures pointedly at a seemingly invisible bird in Solvang.


Amidst all the Danish/Disney cuteness of Solvang there is a Subway. What has to be the fanciest, most dressed up Subway in existence.


...smiles knowingly...a flock of birds on the central coast.


The pier at San Simeon, which is a nice walk out over the ocean.
...and a bird.


...gestures pointedly at a group of birds in San Simeon.


The water is quite beautiful there. This is at the base of the hill/mountain upon which Hearst Castle is built.


...gestures pointedly at a bird of a different color.


With charcoal hauled in our car all the way from Missouri, we're going to grill at the beach, gosh darn it. No matter how cruddy and unappetizing the grill looks.


This was a LARGE steak. A bit thicker than we usually like, the center was borderline cool and surprisingly bland. But the scenery was nice.


...gestures pointedly at a mooching bird.


Next day at the beach. Bird.


...gestures pointedly at a bird that got a bit too full of himself and was asking for a lesson in manners.


Debra climbing on the rocks at San Simeon...tide coming I think...


...yep, this is her making a swift egress after coming close to getting drenched.


The traditional "we're too cheap to hire a photographer and too standoffish to bother one of the old rich hippies that come here to paint seascapes to take it" picture.


This is the Californian housefly. Seriously, precious few insects, but tons of lizards. I would take the lizards.


Giant ants...or oil rigs? I defy anyone to tell me, for certain.


In the valley at Zion Nat'l Park in Utah. A crappy disposable camera cannot come close to capturing the beauty of this place.


On the Emerald Pools trail.


The sheer face of the canyon.


The lovely and gracious Mrs. Neufeld posing with what mentally negligible hippies left...stacks of rocks. Someone started it and everyone apparently decided they should do it too, for some reason. Maybe if I left a McDonalds styrofoam coffee cup on top of a rock, I could come back a year later and see a 10 foot high pile of styrofoam coffee cups.


This was from the medium or the upper pools, not certain which. Tellingly there is a faded inscription in the lower left, saying "DANGER BEYOND THIS POINT". Apparently to some people this is not an obvious thing. But if someone is either blind enough or stupid enough to not notice the sheer dropoff of the cliff and associate that with danger, do we expect them to actually read and comprehend the little plaque that warns of "DANGER BEYOND THIS POINT"?


Absolutely beautiful there.


Back at the hotel, this is what we could see from our balcony. There was a friendly llama that amused us for a while.


Went out and took some closeups. Nice animal.

7 comments:

The Unabashed Blogger said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Unabashed Blogger said...
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SQLFunkateer said...

"I'm actually disappointing."

Hey, you said it, not me.

Percussivity said...

lol... you were also pointing gesturally.

Unknown said...

We'll definitely have to go to the air museum in Kansas for a field trip some time. Are most of the planes outside or inside (I'm wondering weatherwise if it will matter much when we go)?

SQLFunkateer said...

Most inside, only a handful of big jets outside. But there are probably hundreds of planes inside the main hangar, which is where you spend most of your time. This is the one in Liberal...if you go to NM again, its right along the way as the crow flies.

The Unabashed Blogger said...

I've never seen a post with so many "birds" that was not in anyway related to flipping someone the bird. I'm actually disappointed.