But I Digress...

Old is the New New

2011-07-26T22:02:00.006-04:00

I posted that I found an old Canon film camera at the flea market so I had to shoot off a role of film to see if actually worked. It seemed to be working fine but I needed to be sure before I took a bunch of pictures that I really cared about only to find they were all ruined. I was really pleased with the results! It's tough to get use because it is completely manual. I'll admit that even though most professional photographers are encouraged to shot in manual I rely pretty much on my camera's metering system. The first few photos I took I actually shot with my digital camera at the same settings to be sure I wasn't wasting film. But yeah the camera actually seems to work perfect. Though after spending 7 dollars on one roll of film and 10 to process all so I could have about 10 good pictures out of a 24 roll; I realized that even though I do love the novelty of film I will be eternally grateful for digital photography.

Flea Market Find

2011-07-24T12:40:00.001-04:00

Picked this up at a local flea market for $20. It seems to be in working order I can't wait to try it.

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Power Up

2011-07-17T00:37:00.001-04:00

Just finished a new hat

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Philly

2011-07-06T00:18:00.009-04:00

On our most recent whirlwind vacation we had exactly one day to take in as much as we could of Philadelphia. Personally I love Philly but you do get a lot of mixed reviews from people who have either visited or live there. I guess it's tough to judge a city from a couple short visits, everyplace seems awesome when you're on vacation. There is still just something about the energy of Philadelphia that appeals to me. On this trip I had to miss my two favorite tourist destinations. The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Mutter Museum. The art museum was closed and we just didn't have time for the Mutter. This time around I made it on the Eastern State Penitentiary tour. Though to be honest I only about half listened to my audio tour because I was too distracted taking pictures. Well the official website says it better than I could:

"Eastern State Penitentiary was once the most famous and expensive prison in the world, but stands

today in ruin, a haunting world of crumbling cellblocks and empty guard towers.

Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, this was the world’s first true “penitentiary,” a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret, in the hearts of convicts.

Its vaulted, sky-lit cells once held many of America’s most notorious criminals, including bank robber “Slick Willie” Sutton and Al Capone."

All I know is I'm definitely going back in October so I can go through when they turn it into a haunted prison; that will be so wonderful and terrifying.

We also sampled the worst but most historic cheese steak in Philly (Pat's King of Steaks) with bragging rights of being the first Philly Steak/Cheese Steak. I guess when you are novelty you don't have to try too hard, and they sure don't. We had a much better and some would say the best cheese steak at Carmen's in the Reading Market. Now there are only a couple things to know when ordering a cheese steak in Philly. (1) Don't call it a Philly cheese steak (2) pick your cheese, you have a choice of 3 options: Cheese Whiz (that is the Philly way), me however I'm a

Provolone kind of girl, and I think the 3rd is American but I honestly can't remember. (3) with/without onions. Do these three things and you will be ordering like a pro, mess up your ordering and you will be mocked severely.

Also as far as touristy greatness goes the double decker bus tour is pretty swell. You pay for the day and it goes to most of the popular destinations. You simply ride listening to the tour guide drop fun little bits of history, and if your lucky movie locations. Get off at whatever stop you want and then just catch another bus when you've finished taking a picture of yourself punching the air in front of the Rocky statue.

You really need about 3 days to see all the goodness that this city has to offer, but hey I think we did pretty good for just a day.

Martha's Vineyard

2011-07-04T16:31:00.011-04:00

"The Vineyard" as it's called by locals and seasoned visitors, is a small island off the cost of Massachusetts with a full time population of 15,000 jumping to about 75,000 in the summer (according to Wikipedia for what ever that is worth) This is where I spent my summer vacation. Theisland has several major beaches each with a little something different to offer. My favorite is Aquinnah (Gay Head). It features beautiful multicolored clay cliffs, plenty of rocks both big and small to break up the monotony of the shore, and all the ugly naked people you would never want to see. It's also a Native American reservation for the Wampanoag tribe. I've never swam in the water mainly because all the rocks in the surf kind of freak me out a little. But it a perfect place to walk and my favorite place on the island to take pictures. There is a section of the beach that is reserved for the nudist (aka obese people over 40 who like to take their clothes off). I can scarcely make a stroll along the cliffs without a naked man striking up some casual conversation, while I try to ignore the fact that he isn't wearing pants. Well it is a fantastic place to see and photograph if you don't mind a little "shrinkage."

We stay in Oak Bluffs which is definitely my favorite town on the island. The shopping is great,

maybe a little too great. The beach here is on the inside of the island so the water is very calm. Ordinarily I love to swim on this beach because it is so calm and clear but it was so clear that I was to disturbed by the quantity and size of crabs in the water to stay in for long. Another of my favorite paces is the cottages knows as the Martha's Vineyard Campmeeting Association. It is full of the cutest gingerbread cottages you have ever seen and in the center is the Tabernacle: "Architecturally, the Tabernacle is a unique structure, with wrought iron arche

s and supports,

two clerestories with dozens of colored glass windows, and an octagonal cupola." (from http://www.mvcma.org) You could get lost in the labyrinth of houses decked out with porch

ornaments and flowers.

Of course the most important part of any vacation is the food and this place is full of great places to eat. There's the Black Dog, Sharky's Cantina, The News in Edgartown, The Ale House and Chilmark Chocolates just name a few. I have to say Sharky's is my favorite I had the Steak Quesadilla and killa salsa two days in row.

It's great place to visit, oh and did I mention that Jaws was filmed there.

"So, eleven hundred men went in the water; 316 men come out and the sharks took the rest"

Shameless Product Placement

2011-03-19T23:37:00.004-04:00

A good pair of tennis shoes is something I only treat myself to once every 2 or 3 years it seems. Normally I'm very compulsive when it comes to purchases but for some reason a quest for the perfect shoe became a two day process. I wanted to order from Zappos because they have fast, free shipping. They also have an enormous selection which is both good and bad as it led to my indecisiveness. I did finally go with a new balance which I have been very pleased with. Also impressive was the fact that I ordered them at 10:00pm and they arrived the next day at about 3:00. I don't even know how that is possible. At any rate this is my first pair of New Balance shoes and I am completely satisfied with my choice. I've been walking about 2 miles in the evening and these shoes didn't even need any break in time. They were comfortable and fit perfectly right out of the box. Just felt like passing along a good experience.

Snow Day

2011-01-10T23:09:00.001-05:00