We spent an overcast day wandering through the Left Bank, making our way to Petit Pont and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The sky opened up just as we approached, showering us with rain. Getting wet wasn't so cool but it was worth it as it cast a very ominous light across the façade of the great cathedral, bringing the famous gargoyles and sentinels to life.
This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.
We took the dual-hulled Delphinus out to Capers Island on a typically beautiful Charleston summer evening to explore Boneyard Beach and chase the dolphins. We saw the Delphinus coming home to port at sunset a few nights later just as we were finishing dinner so I fired up the drone and took some photos of the crew who graciously hosted us earlier in the week. Big props to the ship and crew for making so many special memories for families every single night of the week!
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
With the vote yesterday by the Catalonia Regional Assembly in favor of a resolution to split from Spain I was reminded of this photograph that I took more than a decade ago in Barcelona. This screen-printed sign was posted above the stairs going down to the Metro at the appropriately named Plaça de Catalunya. I found it fitting that a moth was perched on top of the "A" waiting to take flight.
Catalan nationalism was codified in 1892 but traces its roots back to the 1600s. The modern day struggle for independence began to gain steam with the fall of the Franco regime in 1975.
Whether you consider this a movement of independence or one of separatism — or both — I hope you keep the people of Catalunya and Spain in your mind and prayers. Economically, Southern Europe doesn't need any more strain as it recovers from the last downturn. Unfortunately, this movement — or at least the reaction to it — is likely to be seen through an economic lens rather than a cultural one. Let's hope it comes to a peaceful resolution, regardless of the outcome.
If you haven't heard of this movement before or would like to learn more, check out these articles:
This one is dedicated to those of you who wanted to sleep in this morning.
This photograph was captured with a Nikon D90.
Keeping with the trend of Sunday Carday (is that a thing?), here's another photograph from the Charlotte pit stop of the 2014 Gumball 3000 race from Miami to Ibiza.
The Nissan GTR was piloted by internet-famous Shmee and the blue "Purrari" was piloted by world-famous Deadmau5!
This photograph was captured with a Sony NEX-7.
Skiloft Road — and later Beechtop Road — winds its way up to the summit of Beech Mountain, North Carolina. At 5506' in altitude, Beech mountain is the highest inhabited point in the United States east of the Rockies. It's also home to one of the best ski resorts on the East Coast.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional Drone.
I've been visiting Wild Dunes ever since I was a kid. We used to drive all the way from Chicago every summer. Now we live just three hours away and we bring our kids every summer. Things are trending in the right direction.
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo, made landfall right where this photo was taken. It wiped out the old open-air pavilion and much of everything around it. Isle of Palms (the island that is home to Wild Dunes) and neighboring Sullivans Island were essentially cast off to sea when their only connection to the mainland, the Ben Sawyer Bridge, was destroyed.
Wild Dunes rebuilt the pavilion in a big way. Now, the Wild Dunes Boardwalk Inn is the gateway to the new Grand Pavilion. No fewer than five pools are located within a 5 minute stroll from one-another, each catering to a different crowd. It's a great place to be.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional Drone.
These are the mountaintop meadows of Julian Price Memorial Park in North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway snakes right around the lake in the center of the photograph. It's beautiful, untouched land.
This photograph was captured with a DJI Phantom 3 Professional drone.
One of my favorite street artists, Invader, cut his teeth in Paris. It seems that everywhere you look, there's a little tile space invader — or other 8-bit friend — watching over you. This is one of the larger, more colorful examples. I wonder if the café keeps it clean for him.
We headed out to Lake Tahoe mid-January two years ago in the height of the drought. Snow had not fallen in weeks and the reported conditions were looking bleak. It looks like somebody finally remembered to pay the weather bill, though.
As we were rounding the lake, we could see storms off in the distance and just as we rolled into town, the sky opened up with snow. By the time we left later that week, another four feet had piled up.