I survived!

The past 10 days have been some of the busiest in recent times! My schedule was JAM PACKED with photography, band practices and performances, travel for work, etc. The previous weekend I was doing some shooting for a local dance studio's performance of Cinderella. 2 different shows on Saturday and a matinee on Sunday. The average length of the show was in excess of 3 hours so by the time all that was done, I was pretty much wiped out. Mixed in with all that was a morning band practice on Saturday, playing in 2 church services Sunday morning and then playing through our full set list for our youth group Sunday night in preparation for our band's performance at the Alabama Jubilee the next Saturday.

After getting home that night, I spent the remainder of the time packing for my trip to Seattle. Normally when traveling, I prefer not to check baggage if at all possible. That wouldn't work this time because I had to bring my camera gear and laptop as well. My laptop's huge and needs its own bag so I can pack it with my camera. There goes my 2 carry-on limit. My garment bag would have to be checked.

I need a lighter, thinner laptop. There. I said it.

Somehow, everything came together and at 5:45 AM Monday morning, I was sitting in a plane. After a brief stop in Atlanta and an almost 5 hour flight from there, I arrived in Seattle. Checked in at the Hilton there then stopped in to meet with a client before joining them for dinner at Salty's. Dinner there was FANTASTIC! I think I had one of, if not THE BEST dinner I have ever had. I'm a big fan of seafood and just everything was SO fresh! The lobster tails, mussels, oysters, Copper River salmon, scallops, crab legs, wine, chowder... OMG it was glorious! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Tuesday was all business. When the last meeting was over, we headed downtown to look around. Strangely, a lot of the attractions there closed at 5:00. It was after 5:00 so there wasn't too much to do other than walk around and look. Dinner was in the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. The retaurant rotated slowly so as you ate, you saw every direction around the city. It was gorgeous! After eating, I got up on the observation deck and took more photos and just took it all in.

Despite Seattle being know for rain, it's also interesting to note that there was very little humidity. I don't think I ever sweated or got sticky there AT ALL. Granted, lows were in the 50's and highs in the 60's but it was always pleasant.

Wednesday I was up in Everett which is just north of Seattle. There I saw to Boeing assembly plants for their largest planes. WOW. Those plants are the largest structures I recall ever seeing. They are just MASSIVE.

Ate lunch there in town and took some shots of the ferry to Whidby island before coming back to town. The plan was to go back to the Pike Street market which was closing up when we arrived the previous day. This was the place where the fish monger throws the fish around to the guys behind the counter when he makes a sale. I also had a chance to get a mocha latte at the FIRST Starbucks Coffee house. How cool is that? Next, we made it over to the Science Fiction museum to check out some unique things. They had Captain Kirk's chair from the Enterprise, the Death Star they used in the Star Wars movies, the suit Charlton Heston wore in 1968 for the original Planet of the Apes, the arm and skull of The Terminator, the yellow hydraulic loader thing Ripley used to fight the alien queen from the movie "Alien"... just all sorts of stuff. This was the real deal! Kinda geeky, but fun.

Spent the next little bit shooting photos outside the museum and in a neighboring park. The sun came out and made for some nice shots. After a nice quiet dinner, headed back to the hotel to pack for the trip home the next day. Thursday was a travel day. Flew out at 6:30 AM and arrive back home about 5 that afternoon. While I had fun, I looked forward to my own bed.

After work Friday, I came home and started packing up my drums for Saturday's performance. Jack would be over in the mini van the next morning at 10 to pick me and all my gear up. Took it easy that night and rested.

After getting up and taking a shower, I brought some of my drum gear outside to get loaded. It was then I realized that taking a shower was a moot point. I was sweating as soon as I stepped outside. It was blazing hot. When we took to the stage, it was 93! Thankfully, I brought along my BIG fan which kept me cool while I was playing. Kyle took a few photos and some video as well. Maybe I'll have a clip of us playing soon. (thanks dude)

When we finished playing, we packed up again and headed home. Jack and I unloaded all my stuff and got it back in my house. Cleaned up then met up with everyone again for drinks and a snack at a place on the river. Ahhhh... A friend of mine and I continued on to Huntsville for a nice dinner at Macaroni Grill. That was a great way to wrap up a long and busy week.

After church Sunday, I watched some of the Grad Prix of Monaco. The Formula 1 circus was there racing in the principality this weekend. I did venture out in the heat though to get some photos at the Jubilee for work. Soaked with sweat, AGAIN. Joined up with friends in Hartselle to do some shooting on a farm. We all had a good time! Oh, there was this one incident where Matt's .44 made me jump. Some powder or other material came out the side of the revolver and hit me in the neck. That stung for sure. I was definitely glad I had protective glasses on. If that had hit me in the eye, that would have been a bad thing. The rest of the evening was spent eating pizza and just hanging out at Will and Helen's place.

It's good to be home.