Saturday, June 8, 2013
Friday, June 7, 2013
It has begun.....the Packing!
So it is official. V A C A T I O N has officially begun!
Okay, yes it is true I am still here in Phoenix, and today is possibly going to reach 112 degrees out. But who cares! I am packing layers of warm clothes and headed to Alaska in about 8 hours. Short commuter flight to San Francisco then the 4 Hr+ flight to Anchorage, but I have already been upgraded to First Class due to my standing with United Airlines.
So I will arrive in Anchorage at 11:56pm Alaska time (that is 4 hours behind east coast time for you family folk) and the odd thing is that sunset in anchorage is at 11:33pm tonight. Not quite far enough north to be in the land of the midnight sun, but close enough. A quick 2 mile trip to hotel and I will catch some sleep before rising at 5AM ( the sun will have risen at 4:27am) for the 2 hour drive to Seward for a day trip, I will be going out into Resurection Bay for a trip into the Kenai Fjords National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm
It is an all day trip exploring the Fjords, the glaciers, the wildlife etc on the Kenai penninsula. And it will be SUNNY! I hope to see some of the glaciers calving off into the ocean. Once done then it is back to Anchorage for the night. Here is a glimpse of what I hope to see and get my own photographs:
Right now I am focused on packing. I have not started. Okay, I have gotten the camera ready and packed with the cool lenses I rented. And have begun laying out the layers of warmer clothes. Just waiting on laundry to begin the packing process. Can I really haul this much stuff up to Alaska? I should! The weather can be unpredictable and you have to be prepared. It is scheduled to be sunny and warm during day and cool at night but that can change. It can be wet, windy and cold too! Plus on the ship next week it is likely to be chilly and wet. Oh, and have to take poor Maori Haka (my Chocolate Lab) to the doggie DayCare/Kennel. Although she loves going there, she always turns her head looking back at me and gives me a look as they are leading her through the door into the back area.
Wish me luck! Feel free to leave a comment too.
Okay, yes it is true I am still here in Phoenix, and today is possibly going to reach 112 degrees out. But who cares! I am packing layers of warm clothes and headed to Alaska in about 8 hours. Short commuter flight to San Francisco then the 4 Hr+ flight to Anchorage, but I have already been upgraded to First Class due to my standing with United Airlines.
So I will arrive in Anchorage at 11:56pm Alaska time (that is 4 hours behind east coast time for you family folk) and the odd thing is that sunset in anchorage is at 11:33pm tonight. Not quite far enough north to be in the land of the midnight sun, but close enough. A quick 2 mile trip to hotel and I will catch some sleep before rising at 5AM ( the sun will have risen at 4:27am) for the 2 hour drive to Seward for a day trip, I will be going out into Resurection Bay for a trip into the Kenai Fjords National Park:
http://www.nps.gov/kefj/index.htm
It is an all day trip exploring the Fjords, the glaciers, the wildlife etc on the Kenai penninsula. And it will be SUNNY! I hope to see some of the glaciers calving off into the ocean. Once done then it is back to Anchorage for the night. Here is a glimpse of what I hope to see and get my own photographs:
Right now I am focused on packing. I have not started. Okay, I have gotten the camera ready and packed with the cool lenses I rented. And have begun laying out the layers of warmer clothes. Just waiting on laundry to begin the packing process. Can I really haul this much stuff up to Alaska? I should! The weather can be unpredictable and you have to be prepared. It is scheduled to be sunny and warm during day and cool at night but that can change. It can be wet, windy and cold too! Plus on the ship next week it is likely to be chilly and wet. Oh, and have to take poor Maori Haka (my Chocolate Lab) to the doggie DayCare/Kennel. Although she loves going there, she always turns her head looking back at me and gives me a look as they are leading her through the door into the back area.
Wish me luck! Feel free to leave a comment too.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Almost Alaska!
Thursday June 6th of 2013 and it is almost Alaska! Okay, actually it is more like Phoenix Arizona and 100+ degree heat. But, tomorrow I am headed to Alasaka!
The local rugby season is now over. I traveled to Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend to assist a few of my players that had traveled up to Seattle for the Magnitude 15s rugby tournament held by the Seattle Quake Rugby Football Club. For the first time in several Magnitude events our club did not take a whole side up to compete and defend our Bowl Championship from the last event. But a few of the guys did not want to miss out on an exceptional tourney, so they went up as 'rugby whores' and played with a barbarian team composed of the San Diego Armada, the San Francisco Fog (B side), and our guys from the Phoenix Storm. The barbarian team was nicknamed, Stogmada! (it should be noted that the Storm won the Bowl Championship by defeating 'Fogmada' in sudden death overtime in the trophy match at the previous tourney. This time we joined our rivals, Fogmada to form Stogmada)
While we did not win any hardware, the Fog A side did win the Cup at the tournament, and wrestled control of this perenial trophy from the host club the Seattle Quake who were attempting to defend it from their biggest rivals.. The Stogmada guys, while not victorius themselves, shared in the victory with their teammates from Fog A Side and drank from the Cup at the tournament party Sunday evening. A Phoenix rugger, Tony, was named Man of the Tournament for Stogmada by the captains. He played a hell of a tournament! But Gabe from the Armada played an awesome tourney too. Either guy could just have easily been named Man of the Tournament. But, I am partial to my team captain here in Phoenix, Tony, who played his best rugby of the season. Our second year player from Phoenix, Sheldon, also tore it up in Seattle, his first tournament away from Arizona. Sheldon played out of this world. I joked with him that he he never played that way for us! He did get a little beat up, not from the other team, but from the artificial turf in Seattle. He lost a ton of skin, mostly on his face! Battle scars we tell him! Andy from the Storm also played exceptional, and played injured most of the tournament, with a strained shoulder from a hard tackle. Also former Storm players Steven (Portland Pigs) and Kenny (ORSU Rugby) also joined us from Oregon to reunite with their former Storm teammates on Stogmada. Finally, Storm alumni Kyle played with his new team Fog A and won the Cup! Former Storm Ruggers, CJ, Sky, Scott and Jeremy played with their new team, the Colorado Rush and came in fourth place.
But I digress from the current trip. Back to Alaska! This trip will complete the list. What list? After this trip, I will now have been to all 50 states of The United States. I have been to 1 state in Mexico and 2 provinces of Canada. I have had the other 49 US States on the DONE THAT list for well over 10 years, but Alaska has alluded me.
Friday afternoon I fly to Anchorage, via San Francisco, and as of 11:30PM will have set foot in all 50 states. Cannot wait. I also may just luck out. As of today, the weather the next 5 days or so is looking to be sunny or mostly sunny, highs in low 70s. So I am hoping that translates into stunning photos and tons of wildlife opportunities.
A few days spent in Anchorage, with 2 days of activities and tours arranged. Then next Monday it is time to board the Norwegian Sun for a 7 day cruise southbound with the end stop being Vancouver and my Candaian province count goes to 3.
Am taking along a new camera, and have rented some high quality lenses to capture what I hope will be stunning views, wildlife and vistas. Hopefully I can get some posted for all to see during the trip here and there. I will try to share a little bit of each stop along the way.
For now, some pictures from Seattle's Magnitude Tourney, including:
The local rugby season is now over. I traveled to Seattle over Memorial Day Weekend to assist a few of my players that had traveled up to Seattle for the Magnitude 15s rugby tournament held by the Seattle Quake Rugby Football Club. For the first time in several Magnitude events our club did not take a whole side up to compete and defend our Bowl Championship from the last event. But a few of the guys did not want to miss out on an exceptional tourney, so they went up as 'rugby whores' and played with a barbarian team composed of the San Diego Armada, the San Francisco Fog (B side), and our guys from the Phoenix Storm. The barbarian team was nicknamed, Stogmada! (it should be noted that the Storm won the Bowl Championship by defeating 'Fogmada' in sudden death overtime in the trophy match at the previous tourney. This time we joined our rivals, Fogmada to form Stogmada)
While we did not win any hardware, the Fog A side did win the Cup at the tournament, and wrestled control of this perenial trophy from the host club the Seattle Quake who were attempting to defend it from their biggest rivals.. The Stogmada guys, while not victorius themselves, shared in the victory with their teammates from Fog A Side and drank from the Cup at the tournament party Sunday evening. A Phoenix rugger, Tony, was named Man of the Tournament for Stogmada by the captains. He played a hell of a tournament! But Gabe from the Armada played an awesome tourney too. Either guy could just have easily been named Man of the Tournament. But, I am partial to my team captain here in Phoenix, Tony, who played his best rugby of the season. Our second year player from Phoenix, Sheldon, also tore it up in Seattle, his first tournament away from Arizona. Sheldon played out of this world. I joked with him that he he never played that way for us! He did get a little beat up, not from the other team, but from the artificial turf in Seattle. He lost a ton of skin, mostly on his face! Battle scars we tell him! Andy from the Storm also played exceptional, and played injured most of the tournament, with a strained shoulder from a hard tackle. Also former Storm players Steven (Portland Pigs) and Kenny (ORSU Rugby) also joined us from Oregon to reunite with their former Storm teammates on Stogmada. Finally, Storm alumni Kyle played with his new team Fog A and won the Cup! Former Storm Ruggers, CJ, Sky, Scott and Jeremy played with their new team, the Colorado Rush and came in fourth place.
But I digress from the current trip. Back to Alaska! This trip will complete the list. What list? After this trip, I will now have been to all 50 states of The United States. I have been to 1 state in Mexico and 2 provinces of Canada. I have had the other 49 US States on the DONE THAT list for well over 10 years, but Alaska has alluded me.
Friday afternoon I fly to Anchorage, via San Francisco, and as of 11:30PM will have set foot in all 50 states. Cannot wait. I also may just luck out. As of today, the weather the next 5 days or so is looking to be sunny or mostly sunny, highs in low 70s. So I am hoping that translates into stunning photos and tons of wildlife opportunities.
A few days spent in Anchorage, with 2 days of activities and tours arranged. Then next Monday it is time to board the Norwegian Sun for a 7 day cruise southbound with the end stop being Vancouver and my Candaian province count goes to 3.
Am taking along a new camera, and have rented some high quality lenses to capture what I hope will be stunning views, wildlife and vistas. Hopefully I can get some posted for all to see during the trip here and there. I will try to share a little bit of each stop along the way.
For now, some pictures from Seattle's Magnitude Tourney, including:
- Stogmada team photos - in Black Fog jerseys on Day 1 and Gold Armada Jerseys on Day 2
- Action shot and team circle and Fog A in Championship Match
- Man of the Tournament for Stogmada - Tony standing with Gabe {in hat}from SD. Gabe could have been named Man of the Tournament just as easily. that man is a beast of a rugby player
- Fog A side Cup Photo!
- Group shot with all PHX Storm alumni and their teams after Fog A won the Cup: in the photo is Fog A, Stogmada (Fog B, SD Armada and Phx Storm), and the Colorado Rush
- What do you do after 8 games in 2 days? ICE AND ELEVATE!!!
- And watch more rugby!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Rugby World Cup Final
THE FINAL MATCH FOR THE WEBB ELLIS CUP
Well, since I last posted, the remaining Pool play has occurred and the tournament progressed to the knockout stages. Last weekend had the Semi-Finals.
Tonight the Gold and Silver will be decided when New Zealand plays France. NZ beat France in pool play, but the last 2 times these teams have met in an elimination game, France has won. Should be an entertaining game. NBC here in the USA will be televising the match on Sunday at noon Pacific time (3pm Eastern).
Who do you think will win? To get you ready, I took some more video from my trip and made a preview to set the mood. Enjoy!
Well, since I last posted, the remaining Pool play has occurred and the tournament progressed to the knockout stages. Last weekend had the Semi-Finals.
- Semifinal #1 was New Zealand vs Australia - won by New Zealand
- Semifinal #2 was France vs Wales - won by France after Wales captain was ejected from the match for a dangerous tackle and wales played the final 60 minutes shorthanded by 1 player. Wales still had a chance to win the game on the final play.
Tonight the Gold and Silver will be decided when New Zealand plays France. NZ beat France in pool play, but the last 2 times these teams have met in an elimination game, France has won. Should be an entertaining game. NBC here in the USA will be televising the match on Sunday at noon Pacific time (3pm Eastern).
Who do you think will win? To get you ready, I took some more video from my trip and made a preview to set the mood. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Sights and Sounds from The Game
The Match Experience
New Zealand vs France. Sights and Sounds from the stadium. I had great seats and good photos of the crowd, pre-match warm ups and some action shots. It all started with the pregame hype and feel. From the crowd outside the stadium, the pregame hype, the infamous Haka and warm ups from the teams. Then the game was on
The Music
1) The Haka: The first piece is the infamous Haka performed by the All Blacks. The Haka is a Maori challenge dance and song. It is recognizable by rugby fans across the world. Various forms of the Haka are performed by the pacific island nations such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii. The most famous is the Haka of the All Blacks. The Haka originates with the various Polynesian peoples and can be a celebratory Haka or more of a war cry, or challenge. Its characteristics are as follows:
3) O Verona is the last piece of music and actually comes from the movie Romeo and Juliet. Sung in Italian it is often sung by rugby fans in various countries but especially Italy. It just seemed to be an appropriate tune to put on this slide show to convey the atmosphere of the match and the stadium.
Hope you enjoy:
New Zealand vs France. Sights and Sounds from the stadium. I had great seats and good photos of the crowd, pre-match warm ups and some action shots. It all started with the pregame hype and feel. From the crowd outside the stadium, the pregame hype, the infamous Haka and warm ups from the teams. Then the game was on
The Music
1) The Haka: The first piece is the infamous Haka performed by the All Blacks. The Haka is a Maori challenge dance and song. It is recognizable by rugby fans across the world. Various forms of the Haka are performed by the pacific island nations such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii. The most famous is the Haka of the All Blacks. The Haka originates with the various Polynesian peoples and can be a celebratory Haka or more of a war cry, or challenge. Its characteristics are as follows:
- Stomping of the feet;
- Slapping of the chest, thighs or arms
- bulging of the eyes and facial contortions
- Sticking out out of the tongue
3) O Verona is the last piece of music and actually comes from the movie Romeo and Juliet. Sung in Italian it is often sung by rugby fans in various countries but especially Italy. It just seemed to be an appropriate tune to put on this slide show to convey the atmosphere of the match and the stadium.
Hope you enjoy:
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