Caution Penguin Crossing

Here I am visiting my cousins at the San Francisco Zoo. This was taken in January of 2004. Not bad weather for January. The San Francisco Zoo in just across the street from the Pacific Ocean and is really quite delightful. The Penguins here are in an outdoor habitat. They have nesting holes and plenty of cool water to swim in. This is the place that had the flock that went into migration mode a couple of years ago, swimming laps around and around the island in the middle of the pool for several weeks.

TR

Thinking Cold!

I tend to like things a little on the cool side. It is cool here this morning (23 degrees Fahrenheit) but I was dreaming of someplace even colder, and wetter! I thought of Niagra Falls. It is currently 18* in Buffalo, and down near the falls it will be dripping wet. This is great Penguin weather. It reminds me of my ancestral homelands! We visited Niagra last August; it was a bit warmer then.

TR

Rome 2002

Four years ago I was in Italy for two weeks. It was wonderful! The country is beautiful, the people warm and welcoming, and the food was extraordinary. We were in Rome for the first week and then Florence for the second week. In Rome we stayed very near the Vatican and visited St. Peters a couple of times. We climbed the stairs to the top of the dome and back down. The exit from the dome lets you out on the roof of St. Peters. This picture was taken there, near the gift shop were my traveling companion found an official Pope John-Paul II bottle opener. Here I am on the balcony of our hotel room in Rome.

TR

A Bird Can Dream

Can you imagine flying in this baby? A P-51 Mustang, 1500 horse power, 434 miles per hour. The Mustang ruled the skies over Europe in World War II, and continues to woo the hearts of flying enthusiasts 60 years later. With wings like this I could rule the skies!

An Afternoon At The Beach

Here I am on St. Petersburg Beach last week. It was a balmy 62 degrees, some of the tourists were complaining but what did they expect in the dead of winter, icebergs? We had a nice walk on the beach, lots of tiny shells, light surf, stiff breeze off the gulf. We had dinner at a delightful little restaurant in old Gulfport. I had crab cakes with chucks of crab large enough to identify as being real crab. It was a very pleasant visit.

TR

Fantasy of Flight

I just returned from a few days in Florida. While there we stopped to explore the Fantasy of Flight aircraft collection at Polk City about 30 miles north east of Tampa. It is a very nice collection of classic, primarily military aircraft. The collection includes two Gee Bee Racers (reproductions.) The Gee Bee was one of the fastest and most revolutionary planes of the early 1930’s. Here I am in front of one that was painted is such lovely colors.

Travel

Oxford

In August of 2003 I had the pleasure of accompanying my companions to a history conference at Oxford University, in Oxford England. We stayed at St Edmonds College at the University and spent several days wandering about the city and attending a world-wide conference. This picture was taken as I was preparing to give a lecture on comparative flightless avian history in one of the venerable lecture halls at Oxford.