Oh Niners…
Happy ’09 to all! We’re just chillin’, chippin’ and dippin’ here on Lake Park (that’s Palin-speak for “it’s cold outside and we’re munching Rose Bowl snacks”)…it’s warmed up to a toasty one below, and we’re HOPING Penn State can muster something here in the second half…they’re as cold as the weather so far. Wanted to share a few more trip pics including a few still grabs from the Flip Video…you sure can pick the “sweet spot” that way. Also, wanted to thank the Gillians, Grays, Hubbards and Wedin-Burpees for making the long trip to Sonoma despite tough weather and jammed flights. It was a fun and memorable Christmas and felt like 2 or 3 holidays in one before it was over. So, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all…2008 was a year for family, and I hope it becomes the first of many more in the years to come. Love, J/D/GP
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Pete said:
Hey Jack:
Nice post….really captured some spirit there. You all look like you had a good time. Rose Bowl….shoot, did I forget to watch the Rose Bowl? I did get one engine thawed out today and the other close to being so. Debra and I cooked a New Year’s meal of crab/artichoke dip, venison shanks (slow-braised five hours), baked king salmon bellies, mashed tater and gravy, broccoli, and a bunch of appetizers. We put all three leaves in the new table and set eight places. Was a nice dinner with Luke and his family and Henry and Janet attending. Stacie has the cutest new puppy that Alpha did not cotton to. Sounds like things are back to normal there on the circle and I’ll bet it is nice to have a weekend to relax before hitting the bricks running. For me, I am hoping to salvage a trip or two before the next big cold snap….I hear it is just around the corner and the reprieve will be short. Oh well, at least we are gaining a minute or so of light to enjoy the cold in! Love, Pete
wedin54 said:
pete…wow…sounds like quite the spread there for new years! we kept it simple here and mostly snacked during the bowl games, then salmon and rice for dinner.
the trip went really well, especially considering the travel involved for everyone who came. tom, anne, doug and teresa came across country…jon, lisa and the kids had a somewhat harrowing flight in and out of seattle…david and rebecca had quite the adventure driving to sonoma from seattle (including a snowstorm in astoria) and…well, we probably had the easiest time of all since we missed the worst of the seattle weather by coming down a couple days early. but…once everyone arrived, the weather was mostly good, and everyone had a great time. we could have used a couple more days in SF, but we’ll definitely head back down there again…as you know, it’s a fun place to visit! hope the other engine in the boat thaws out soon…imagine you have some ice in the harbor, eh? as for work, cheri and i are back at it tomorrow, but it’s aces tomorrow night and we’re really looking forward to the weekend. more soon…love, jack
isaac said:
Wow dad – sounds like a real feast! We decided to fry up a bunch of chicken wings since we hadn’t used the fryer in a while.
Jack, I wouldn’t mind an extra YEAR or two in SF…
Lisa said:
Cool pictures. The still grabs from the flip camera work well. Those flip camera sure are fun and easy. We had a great time. I feel recharged from the light in CA.
wedin54 said:
isaac…yeah, our SF chapter of the trip was much too short. the 49er game pretty much took up a whole day and chinatown sucked us in for the better part of the next day. both were big fun (and we tackled them with gusto), but…that left only time for a whistle stop at fishermen’s wharf, and we never made it over to sausalito (which i still remember fondly from 1967) nor a half dozen other possible excursions that looked good to us. we DID manage to squeeze onto a trolley car, and cheri, sam, nathan and i rode the starboard running board for the downhill leg of the ride. so…next time we’ll plan on MORE time in SF…it’s a remarkable city!
lisa…yes, the flip camera is a trip! the still grabs aren’t great quality, but you can sure pick the sweet spot in the video and the images are decent, especially for org purposes. for example, i got a series of stills of your beret…they were all good, but i really liked the one i posted here.
pete…we’re figuring out jake’s Samsung Xacti…it’s a pretty nifty unit, and might be the ticket for the boat…or at least one like it. at only 199, it’s waterproof (good underwater to 5′), and takes excellent stills and fairly high resolution video. also, it’s single hand operation for quick shots when you only have one hand available, and also accepts a tripod for time delay shots, etc. it also has a “normal” and “simple” operation modes…the “simple” is pretty easy point and shoot…we’re working on mastering the “normal” mode which is a little more complicated, but has a LOT of capabilities and choices. anyhow, for wet conditions on the boat, this has a lot going for it, and the price is amazing for what you get. 8 megapixel stills are pretty robust, and the digital video – though not great – is a nice option when you want to capture some moving footage. l,j
http://us.sanyo.com/Digital-Camcorders/VPC-E2-Waterproof-Camcorder
isaac said:
The Xacti looks sorta like a Star Trek phaser. I’m curious to hear how it works out. I had a waterproof film camera a while ago that was fun to take hiking and skiing so I’ve been tempted by the Olympus Stylus and other waterproof/resistant cameras.
wedin54 said:
it DOES look like a phaser! in fact, the marketing people should have made it so: The Phaser. for us, there IS a bit of a learning curve, but that’s inherent to the design and one-hand operation…it’s amazingly full-featured, but quite unlike any camera i’ve used before. it can be pretty simple to use (in “simple” mode), but we’re working in “normal” mode for now (which should be called “full function” or “advanced” mode). anyhow, we’ll keep you posted…in fact, we’ll POST some shots from it in the next week or two so you can have a look. there are a lot of good on-line demos of the camera, including underwater samples…a fairly good (but sales-oriented) demo is at:
http://www.findinternettv.com/Video,item,410907254.aspx
Jessica said:
Thanks for the photos update on your trip. Looks like you guys had a great time. What fun to all meet up in one place, where it was a vacation for all. Looks like many great memories were created.
We also had salmon and rice for dinner last night. We mostly took it easy as Ben, Alexa and I are recovering from some sort of cold/flu/cough.
Happy New Year to all. Stay warm.
Love, Jessica
wedin54 said:
jess…i hear a rumor that there’s some fresh-frozen king over at lisa’s for us…that will be a LOT better than the frozen red salmon we had last night (but salmon is salmon, eh?). and yes, it was a great trip…a real adventure for everyone to get there, but really worth it once we all connected at the vineyard. as for that cold/flu/cough, it got me, too. i felt like i was just about over it when we left on the 19th, but then it settled in for another round. it was a minor irritation during our stay and still hadn’t cleared by the time we got back. SO…i went in and got antibiotics…from what they could tell, i had bacterial infections in both chest and sinuses. am just about clear now…chest is GOOD and i can almost hear again
hope you guys beat it in one round. this weather isn’t helping much, eh? have a great weekend! l,j