I’ve been a little slack on doing anything with the web site in the past half year or so. So, I figured this weekend that I could escape my real duty — doing our taxes — and play around with something I’ve been meaning to do for some time now. Over the last 10 months, I slowly worked on the 1200+ images I took while in Paris with Meg last July. I had every intention of editing most out of what was posted to the site, only leaving the best. I managed to get rid of many of them — so to make going through them not as painful and, well, let’s face it, as boring. I really wanted to try and get the collection down to around 200 or so images, but found it impossible. There were just too many photos that were great to look at and that brought back the good times had while there… So, the gallery gets 621 photographs. What?! I cut it in half! That’s got to say something?! Doesn’t it?!

Anyway, all the pictures are in the Paris Album. I hope you enjoy some of them. Drop a comment or rate one if you dig an image.

I have to say… Paris is without doubt one of the most romantic and beautiful cities on the planet. The fact that most of what you see hasn’t changed in centuries is amazing. It’s a great contrast to the ever evolving landscape and architecture we’re used to here in America. I heard this story once — about when the Germans were occupying Paris and they had to retreat back. They wired Notre Dame to blow, but they had to leave one guy in charge of hitting the switch. And the guy, the soldier, he couldn’t do it. You know, he just sat there, knocked out by how beautiful the place was. And, then when the allied troops came in, they found all the explosives just lying there and the switch unturned. They found the same thing at Sacre Coeur, the Eiffel Tower, and a couple other places I think… I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I always liked the story. Paris is just an incredible place. Each visit — and I’ve been five times now — is just as exciting and eventful as the first. I hope Meg and I can go again soon…

I kept a journal while I was there… I’d get up early every morning (well, almost every morning) and hit the laptop and type the previous day’s experiences while Meg slept. Coffee, an open window in a great little room, a nice breeze, Paris… It was a great place to write and a great way to spend the early hours. (Check out the pictures of the room, desk, and window where I wrote.) It’s so easy to forget your experiences over time. Re-reading this has shown me that much! So, if you really have time to waste, check it out.

Keep on adventurin’!

Peace.

The year was 1996. Location — 3 miles off Harbour Island in the Bahamas. It was a clear day, the sun was shining, the seas were calm, we had a boat, some beer, all the dive gear you could want, and the hangover from the night before was wearing off just fine… A couple of young, adventurous mugs were ready for some drama on the high seas. We persuaded a local Bahamian, Kenny, with a bottle of rum to help us navigate to a shipwreck located not far off the Devil’s Backbone, a huge reef that runs the length of the island.

The ship was The Cienfuegos. On February 5, 1895, The Cienfuegos, an American steamship went aground on the “Backbone.” Thanks to the native Eleutherians, not one passenger or crew member lost their lives. The Cienfuegos did, however. Down she went. Flashing forward a hundred years to 1996, here we were, ready to pillage. A couple of dive masters told us on shore that they’d give us $500 if we could rip off one of her port windows, so we packed the tools before leaving port. We were bound and determined to take something from that wreck — anything. (Yeah, you’re probably not supposed to do this kind of stuff, but it’s the Bahamas; the laws are interpreted loosely if you know what I mean.)

I’d write more of the day and the ensuing adventure, but I finally took the video footage we shot that day, put on my best film maker hat, and made it into something that speaks well enough for itself. I’ll let it do the work for me.

So, in all its Technicolor glory, here it is…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

(It runs about 21 minutes; so, if you get bored, the good stuff happens around the 15 minute mark.)