As this year is coming to an end, I’m thinking about all the things that has happened this past year and doing my best to catch up on them as a recap as much as sharing some of the photos I’ve been taking.
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Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category
Summertime on the Oregon coast
Tuesday, December 6th, 2011Osprey nest on the Harrison River
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011
More photos of this Harrison River Eco Tour on Flickr.
November trip to Punta Cana
Monday, December 14th, 2009As hoped, I got to head to Punta Cana with the radio day job as a sequel to the very short trip that Rebecca and I had there in July of this year. This one was for a week, and it wasn’t as much relaxation as I had hoped but still provided some great, warm weather and tropical sun.
I just got through all of my photos this past weekend, so here’s a small collection of my favorites from the trip.
Working from a true remote location
Friday, July 31st, 2009Hello from gorgeous, sunny, humid, and beautiful Punta Cana.
The opportunity came up to come down here for the day job and do some preparation for an upcoming, potential broadcast related matter. It’s a short jaunt, but the hard work is over for the most part. Rebecca made the trip with me, so we have about a day and a half to enjoy the Dominican Republic a little bit, starting with a small photowalk we did this morning.
It’ll be tough to leave this place, but we want to come back at some point. A few days can’t do this place justice, so it’s safe to say that we’re not sleeping a lot so we can enjoy as much time here as we can. The beaches are gorgeous, the water is warm, and I basically collapsed and feel asleep in a chair while listening to the waves come in. That’s the way everyday should be after a morning of being on the clock.
Spending a weekend in Victoria, B.C. with Coast Hotels
Thursday, July 9th, 2009A few weeks ago, Coast Hotels graciously took Rebecca and I on a weekend trip to Victoria, B.C. to explore how conveinent a getaway to the island can be.
It helps that they picked us up in the west end and drove us to and from the ferry terminals on each side of the ferry trip, but after a weekend like this, I think we’re more inclined to go the transit route (which we’ve done before on another trip) to make another getaway like this sometime in the future. Hopefully you’ll see why by the end of this post.
I do have to say that one of the extreme highlights of this journey was the ferry ride to Schwartz Bay. I noticed a variety of people suddenly looking out the window to one side of the ship. Looking out to the deck, I saw people crowding next to the rail as well. That’s when I did a mad search to the distance, instantly spotting a pod of killer whales making their way across the Georgia Straight. I just blurted out, “Orcas!”, and everyone in our immediate vacinity craned their necks to catch a glimpse.
I know that this isn’t a big deal to many locals, but nature is something that is always awesome to me. Just the fact that I can go running around Vancouver and spot harbour seals, otters, and bald eagles dive bombing fish out of the water, this was another moment of awe to add to the stack.
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San Francisco and WordCampSF 2009 Slideshow
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009We’re home from San Francisco, and it felt great to get back to the PNW. When you’re traveling like that and staying in a hotel room for a few days, it’s your own bed that you start to miss.
That’s not to say that we were all ready to leave San Francisco. That was my first time being there, and we saw quite a bit for only being there for not that long. This happens when you take an impromptu walk for about five hours. Combine that with getting around for all the WordCampSF events, the trip kinda wiped us out in the very end.
Here’s a slideshow of all the photos that I have posted on Flickr from the weekend.
Hitting the San Francisco ground
Sunday, May 31st, 2009The original plan for today was to take part in the WordCampSF Developer Day down at the Automattic offices, but after a late night at the party and Dale having his return flight home later in the day, we thought it would be a shame to not get out to experience the city some more. Neither Dale or I have been to San Francisco, so it was a easy decision to make, even though I’m sure there was some really great things talked about at today’s developer sessions.
Needless to say, I took my camera along and gathered about 50 shots during our journey. We spent most of that time on foot, and when they say that this city is a tad on the hilly side, we experienced it wholeheartedly.
Tomorrow afternoon we leave this city, and it’s been a really great experience to visit and see as much as we have. San Francisco is an amazing place that could really grow on me if given the chance. I can’t say that I’m a fan of the way the temperature fluctuates almost minute to minute, but no place is perfect (especially if you visit Vancouver for a week during the nearly month long streak of rainy days).
If you would like to see more photos from today, view them here.
In San Francisco for WordCampSF 2009
Friday, May 29th, 2009
I’m in San Francisco this weekend for WordCampSF, the WordPress conference that is organized by the creators of this platform that we use pretty much exclusively with our sixty4media projects. This will be a chance to meet new people and find out new things that I can use in my bag of tricks for future development with my WordPress endeavors. There is also the opportunity to share some of the ideas and concepts I use with others in order to give back to the community.
I’ve been asked to spend some time at the Genius Bar in the afternoon where people will be able to come up and ask WordPress related questions. I’m thrilled to be asked to do this, but my only hope is that I can live up to that “genius” tag as much as possible.
Rebecca is along for the trip as well as our pal Duane. John Biehler is in route today, and Dale Mugford will join us later today to bring the BraveNewCode crew in full attendance.
With hope, I’ll do my best to get some good photos and writing in this trip because of the recent upgrade of a MacBook Pro to our sixty4media arsenal. Many thanks to the guys from Simply Computing in Vancouver for their help with getting me this great piece of hardware. It will come in handy for sure, especially on this trip!
Family and fun in KCMO
Thursday, August 14th, 2008Rebecca and I got back yesterday from a one week stay in Kansas City, MO. My mother grew up there, and it’s where my parents met and got married. The road that took our family to Iowa is a whole other tale, but there is still a large portion of extended family that lives in and around KCMO.
My grandmother turned a young 90 years old this past Wednesday, so that, of course, means one thing for a family with hefty Mexican roots. It’s a party, and I think I’m still recovering.
Otherwise, this trip was a chance to get away from the craziness in Vancouver, enjoy some family, and relax a little bit. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking, and you can see more of them in the Flickr set.
Truly the “City of Fountains”.
I haven’t been able to find Mexican bread as good as this in Vancouver.
My mom and my aunt, but you can’t see the three pitchers of sangria that were absolutely amazing.
And the scene of the crime.
It was a really great week in Kansas City. Hot, but great to see all of my family. Hopefully a trip to Iowa can be the next leg when we go to visit, but now we’re anxious to show them some of the sites here. Pictures can’t do KC or Vancouver justice, both great in their own right.
Hi, my name is John Bollwitt. I'm a broadcast radio engineering/I.T. technician in Vancouver and co-founder of 