Post Irene

Once the skies cleared & the sun came out, I took a little stroll in my neighborhood to survey the post Irene remnants. Most of the day had passed before I took my walk so I'm sure the damage was worse earlier in the day but I was pleasantly surprised to not see too much damage in my little bubble in NW DC. I know other parts of the city received worse damage but in the 2 miles I walked, I didn't see too much. A couple of streets were blocked because some trees and/or power lines were down or about to come down. Branches, leaves, etc all over the street & sidewalks but I didn't see any trees in houses or on cars... again, in my little bubble. Here are some photos from my walk. The map shows where I walked.

In one yard, there was a herd of dinosaurs set up and they had all been knocked over.

Charging Station

I was lucky enough to keep all power during Hurricane Irene. Everyone wasn't so lucky. My friend Janice lost power at 2am. It's been out for 13 hours now and she came over to dry her hair & charge all of her electronics! Here's the charging station & hair salon... calling it Salon 821

Sunshine!

Hurricane Irene swept through DC yesterday, last night, & this morning. But now.... Here comes the sun! And it's beautiful outside!

Quickly Approaching!

Next weekend commences the 2011 Clemson football season!! To raise my excitement even more than it already is, my ringtone on my phone has changed to this annual tradition!

Sushi

After work tonight, Janice & I went out for sushi. That's our thing. Sushi at night or coffee early in the morning on weekends. We always go to Kotobuki. Yumminess all around!! 

Farmer's Market Freshness

These photos are from a visit to the Dupont Circle Farmer's Market. 

Sunset

My last night in Florida, we made a point to go on the beach at sunset. When we were walking the short path to the beach the sun was already almost completely set. It very quickly continued to set, so I sprinted the best I could through the thick sand to try to snap a photo before the sun disappeared. When I got to a stopping point, the first photo below is what I got at 'sunset.' The sunset was still beautiful even though I missed the actual sun... Once that drama was over, we took a nice walk down the beach. It felt wonderful on the beach! Nice breeze, cooler temps & the water was so calm. It looked like glass. Such a vast difference than during the day. I'm glad I was able to end my fabulous trip with a sunset walk.

Gulf of Mexico

Captiva Island is on the beautiful Gulf of Mexico. Everyday the water was different. Some days were calmer than others; more sea grass than others; clearer than others.
The beach is full of shells. It's known as the seashell capital.

Florida Wildlife

I just got back from Captiva Island, FL. It is a beautiful place near Ft. Myers on the Gulf of Mexico. Even in the hot August weather, there was a lot of wildlife. These pictures are of some of the wildlife I was able to capture.

This little guy was on the pool patio one evening.

There were still some brown pelicans around even at this point in the summer. They're magnificent birds!

This little guy got chased into the water then rescued out of the water. He was a bit stunned I think.

Baby lizards were everywhere...along with big 'uns too. 

Lubber grasshopper.

Sidenote: One evening, there were 2 amorous lubber grasshoppers on the pool gate. For their privacy, I did not post those photos!

Walk

This evening I took a walk down by the Potomac River. We've had a break in the miserable hot, humid weather & it felt wonderful outside! The map is a wonder of technology to show where I was and the photos are as I was finishing my walk and was strolling. 

1.4ish miles

Rosslyn, VA from across the Potomac

Lincoln Memorial

Memorial Bridge

Another shot of Rosslyn

Life

I love this poster. 

Many of these statements are easier said than done but all good to keep in mind. 

Mad Science

Mad Science is a fabulous resource in our area. They come to schools & entertain students (& teachers) with science experiments. On the last afternoon of summer school, Mad Science came to our school and we all "oooohed & ahhhhed" for 45 minutes. The "mad scientist" turned liquid to ice in a flash, burned paper in an instant, made mini-fireworks, used dry ice to make colored water smoke, and other phenomena of science!

Close-up

New climbing wall on the playground at school

WUSA

Another field trip we took this summer was to the WUSA-9 TV station. We got a tour of the station & then watched some of the 12pm newscast. It was a great opportunity!

*** This blog isn't intended to be a "field trip blog"... it just happens to appear that way these days! ***

Photography at the Zoo

A few weeks ago, I took my afternoon digital photography class to the zoo to take pictures of the animals. My students were very excited.... until we actually got there.... at it was HOT outside. Imagine that! But we are so lucky to live in an area where we can just hop in our school van, drive 5-7 minutes to the zoo, stay a little while, then get back in our van and drive back to school. It was a fun afternoon. The pictures below are some that I took.