Five years ago; my sister died

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Five years ago today someone who was always there for so many, my sister Lura, died. I have been thinking of her all day. I have so many memories it is hard to know where to start. Lura was a fountain of love and a rock of stability for so many people. She had a wonderful heart and she really enjoyed life. Cancer killed her, ending her life far, far too soon.

Her passing left a hole in so many lives that will never be filled.

I made this movie about her that was shown at her memorial. I hope you take a moment to look at it.

SJSU Education Cuts Protest

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Mitchell Colbert, an SJSU senior political science major and active member of Students for Quality Education, burns his transcripts on March 4, 2010 in symbolic protest against the state's budget cuts on education.

[More Photos]

I love the way...

I love the way on a rainy day, looking down is looking up.

Valentines Day Train Chase on Donner

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These photos provide an overview of the trip I made with Ken Compton and his son Zach to Donner Pass to photograph trains on Feb. 13-15, 2010. It was a great trip!

More Photos Are Here:

A dedicated Web Site for the trip

This is a Web site I created with lots of information including links to the photos.

Flickr Web Photos

This is an expanded Web set of photos.

Trip photos in Facebook

This is a collection of related photos in Facebook.

My hamburger on a roller skate

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In 1974 I was a student at Diablo Valley Junior college in Pleasant Hill, CA. I was a very shy person and I started taking photography classes because I was interested in photography from taking pictures of trains. It was a great program with some wonderful photography professors and students, a great darkroom, studio, large format cameras; etc. (I am sure the lab has since been ripped out and replaced with rows of computers equipped with Photoshop.)

One of the assignments was to do a photo about fast food, which in 1974 meant the great American hamburger. So, I bought a basic McDonald's hamburger, put it on a rollerskate and drove out to highway J4 on the way to Tracy, CA.

This arrow straight country highway saw light traffic, so I put the burger on the center line and shot away. Yes, I got an A, not to mention some funny looks from drivers of passing cars.

It was in this class that I saw a flyer that said the college paper was looking for photographers. Since I was shy I thought being on the college newspaper would give me an excuse to talk to girls. It did.

This led to my attending a junior college journalism (Journalism Association of Community Colleges, JACC) conference in Anaheim (where I met my first wife.) The rest is history.

Where we are

Ken on cliff at American River Canyon

Excellent lunch with Jeff

Click on photo to enlarge

Last Tuesday middle son Jeff and I met in Japantown not far from where I work and had lunch. We had some yummy Sushi at Sushi Maru. After lunch we went to Roy's Station for some excellent coffee. It was great spending time with Jeff. We had a very pleasant conversation. He is doing very well since his recent graduation. I do miss him at SJSU though.

PS - This picture was taken with my $5 Nikon L35AF by a person working at the coffee shop.

Thoughts on Marie's Birthday

Today is Marie's birthday, the first since she died last year of an untimely heart attack. She was 55-years-old.

This last year has had the death of several friends including Kathy Arena and Marie Roby. Perhaps that is the natural order of life. We go decades with our friends around us, few if any of them die (except to accidents,) then people start dying until it is our turn.

Well, Marie's turn to leave came far too soon. She was a wonderful friend. She was my first wife's best friend. She was loved by many, including me, and we will not forget her. Today was her birthday. I almost always sent her a card. If heaven has an Internet connection; this will have to do.

As well as my first wife; Marie was preceded to heaven by her sister Martha. You know Marie was welcomed with open arms! Heaven is a better place for having her and this world is emptier for loosing her.

Last year I made this movie about Marie, that was shown at her funeral. I am sorry but it is heavy on photos from the 70's and the 90's because those are the only pictures in my vast collection that I had organized at the time.

[More Photos of Marie on Flickr]

Technorati Tags: Marie Roby, Steve Sloan, ssloansjca

Visit with family in Washington

Son Steve holding grandson Solomon; Click on photo to enlarge

In January 2010 we had a nice visit with Son Steve and his family in Washington state. We spent some time in Snohomish, went to Everett (where the bikini baristas are), went to my favorite wine store, saw some trains and visited the Boeing Museum. It was a lot of fun.

[More photos here on Flickr]

Our Ireland Tour Buddies Reunion

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Last weekend we had a great reunion in Edmonds, Washington, the home of Rick Steves Europe Through the Back Door tours, with some of our tour buddies from our 2009 tour to Ireland. About 12 folks who were on the tour were there. It was great seeing everybody and sharing memories.

[Click here to see more photos of reunion] | [Click here to see photos of Europe Vacation]

Today we went to the Boeing museum

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It is an amazing museum. I could have spent a lot more time there. I think Sue, Steve and Luci were getting bored.

Grandson Sol at Daycare

This morning eldest son Steve and I dropped Solly off at his daycare.

Steve, Rick and Ned Kelly

At the reunion Rick Steves holds a puppet of Ned Kelly while uber tour guide Stephen McPhilemy talks and entertains the crowd at Saturday's Rick Steves tour reunion.

Steve our great tour guide

Stephen McPhilemy at Saturday's Rick Steves tour reunion.

On our way

My life's work; train photography

If anything can be said to be my life's work it is my train photography. My father took the photo to the left (click on that photo to enlarge) when I was 14. My father was a railroad man, the best kind, an engineer; and I totally was enthralled by his magic carpet made of steel. Both he and the train seemed bigger than life to me. He didn't just drive the train. He was the train.

I used to go to work with him and ride around at night on the diesel locomotives. I can still remember the sights, the sounds, the smells of those rides.

Photography for me started as a quest to capture those times. I became a photographer to take pictures of trains. Everything else came as an add on to that. It has been a hell of a ride. The Southern Pacific Railroad and the many images I have made of it are a small drop compared to the memories I have, for example; oil trains grinding through Tehachapi Loop at 5 miles an hour with the locomotives sounding like they're going to explode. To me, to this day, it all still seems bigger than life; like my dad.

Telling the stories of our lives

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In his book, Gone the Sun, Winston Groom wrote about how we lack a way to tell the real stories of our lives, he calls it a life certificate, that remains behind to tell more than the things like when we died, and the "Devoted Wife and Mother" we often see on grave markers.

Our past is more than a series of begats. Where we are here and now is the result of untold generations of people who lived lives, felt emotions, took great risks, did heroic things and even made tragic mistakes; mistakes that sometimes cost them their lives.

My first wife fell asleep at the wheel, apparently, while driving home late at night. Her life ended and the course of so many lives besides her own changed in a moment. The picture above is the only known photo of the day we eloped in 1975, the day after her 18th birthday. I was 19. I discovered the negative to this photo Friday night while going through my old negatives from 1975. I did not know it existed.

I am remarried to a wonderful woman, Susie is the best thing to ever happen to me. Still, we all lived very different lives before and it has passed to me to tell my children and their children the story of both my life and their grandma Candy's life. If not me, then who?

I want that story to be more than dates, names and facts. I want it to be a living thing. I am trying to tell it the way I know best; with pictures. I have a little album here on flickr. As I find more photos I am going to add to it:

To see more click here: this is the start of a story of another time and another place, not that different than our own.

Riverdance

On New Years Day Sue and I went to see Riverdance in San Jose. It was our Christmas gifts to each other. We had fourth row seats and loved the show. This video was from a similar performance a few years ago. The river dance number was performed right before intermission.

Not hardly handicapped

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I had an argument with the driver of this car. He pulled right into the Starbucks Parking Lot in Saratoga Old Town, parked in a handicapped space, and went into the Starbucks to order a drink. No, he wasn't handicapped. He swore at me and called me a jerk for complaining about HIS parking in a handicapped space. Yes, there were vacant street spots 50 feet away. Then he sped off out of the parking lot. I guess if you are young, rude and have the California License Plate 4HPK997 (with expired tags) the world is your oyster.

Rain Drops on Calla Lilly

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On the morning of December 27, 2009, the day that we would have celebrated my mom's 90th birthday had she been alive, I was out in front of our house thinking of my mom. The morning was wet with rain the night before and the air was crisp with morning sunshine. It was then I saw the raindrops on the Calla Lilly leaves and I had to run in and grab my camera.

Happy New Year!

(Click on Picture Above to Enlarge)

Hope everyone is having a great New Year! We had a quiet New Years so far which is about to change, we are going to see Riverdance tonight. Speaking of dancing we were watching two of our grandkids earlier this week while Jeff and Nicole went out. We had a great time. At one point we found a disco station and Sue and the kids did disco dancing while eating bananas. It was silly fun.

Looking Back on Christmas

We had a GREAT Christmas! We had Jeff and Nicole over on Christmas Eve with their kids; as well as Kenneth and Sue's mom Frances over for dinner. On Christmas Day we had Kenneth and Sue's mom Frances over for dinner. It was great fun!

(Click on photo above to enlarge it. More photos here on Flickr!)

Home Improvement Sloan Style

Dave Kelly, our contractor dude, and us spent most of the day looking at toilets, plumbing fixtures and other similar home improvement things for our bathroom remodel project. Today we went out again and looked at more tile, sheet vinyl and other stuff.

Dave is a great guy and is very entertaining. He also is very laid back and patient with us non handyman types. This is how we are spending our vacation...

(Click on image to enlarge.)

Last run to Santa Cruz for the Union Pacific

On Monday, December 28, 2009 the Union Pacific (UP) ran what is likely the last UP Santa Cruz Local. I knew the train normally ran on Mondays. I was off work so I went and chased the train. There was not a lot of advance publicity about the last trip. Still, I was surprised to see I was the only person documenting the train leaving Watsonville.

In January 2010 the Sierra Railroad is going to start leasing and operating the line. I posted information about the train running to the Coast and Heads Up lists, I don't know if that is why several other railfans showed up later in the day, especially for the return trip. Maybe they were planning to come anyway.

Steam powered narrow gauge trains once pounded the Santa Cruz mountains over the hill between San Jose and Santa Cruz. The South Pacific Coast Railroad was probably the most successful narrow gauge railroad in California history. Built by Comstock Lode millionaire James Fair (known variously as either “Slippery Jim” or “Sunny Jim”) and his front man, Alfred “Hog” Davis, it ran from Alameda to Santa Cruz, a distance of 80 miles. This old narrow-gauge line, the South Pacific Coast, was bought by the Southern Pacific (SP) and converted to standard-gauge. SP ran trains with names like the Suntan Special to Santa Cruz. The line over the Santa Cruz mountains was abandoned in 1940 as cars replaced steam powered passenger trains.

The passenger business gone, freight continued to roll into and out of Santa Cruz. The Southern Pacific operated trains into Santa Cruz on another rail line north from Watsonville that extended through Santa Cruz and continued north to the Cemex cement plant in Davenport. The Southern Pacific was taken over by the UP in 1996 following years of financial problems.

UP continued freight trains to Santa Cruz. The Cemex plant in Davenport was by far the largest business on the line getting it's own five day a week train of cement hoppers. The closure of that plant in March 2009 left the Union Pacific with only a handful of carloads a week coming off the long line extending from Watsonville to Davenport. There clearly was not enough business for this line to survive profitably even with service cut down to one train a week. Frankly, it is hard to see how Sierra can make a go of it. So, going into 2010 this little railroad line will be a priority for me.

December 28, 2009 was a rainy overcast day. That seemed fitting really, the run marked the end of class one railroads going to Santa Cruz on a sad rainy day. No loaded revenue cars came back on the train; only empties. No money was made on this trip. Yup, that's the problem in a nutshell.

Want More?
Please click on the photo above to enlarge it.

Or, if you would like to see more photos on Flickr, click here.

Or, if you want to see a special Web page I created on this topic, click here.

Today is my mom's birthday

Today I have been thinking a lot about my mom. This is her birthday. She died on October 18, 1984. She was a good mom. Sadly, both of my parents died young; before I was thirty. So many memories, so long ago. She would be 90 today.

(If you want to see a larger version of this photo, just click on it.)

Winter in San Jose

Winter came to San Jose yesterday. The days are getting longer once again.

About the photo: This photo is shot on film, with a Nikon 105mm 2.5 lens (Ken Compton's old lens) on a N90S on Fuji 400 film exposed at 200. Click on photo to see a larger version.

End of Fall at San Jose State

Fall is finished at SJSU. This photo was taken between Clark Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall on November 29, 2009. Two guys were tossing a football in the late afternoon that day. Just click on the photo to see a larger version of the image.

Jeff got his bachelor's degree

We are very proud of son Jeff who graduated from San Jose State University yesterday with his degree in accounting, Jeff is a fine young man and an excellent father and husband. It is not easy juggling family, work and college; but Jeff did it! And, he graduated with honors. What an achievement!

I will miss him being an SJSU student. That was a real treat having him go to school where I work.

Click on the above photo to see it larger!

[Click here to see more photos on Flickr.]

Ram's Last Day

Today is a day of many celebrations at the help desk. It is both happy and sad as today is Ram Kumar Rama Roo's last day. Ram has been at the help desk for three years and is our senior student lead. He will be missed!

We had a help desk celebration to celebrate that, several staff birthdays and the end of the semester. (Click on the above photo if you would like to see it larger.)

Fall light, leaves and shadows at SJSU

Behind Dwight Bentel Hall at SJSU, Fall 2009. This photo was shot on film (Fuji 400 on a Nikon F3).

[Click on photo to enlarge]

Philz Music Moment

Philz Coffee is one of my favorite hangouts near SJSU. This evening as I walked by there after yoga I couldn't help but notice they now have music. I grabbed a snap with my iPhone. The place has been crowded with students preparing for finals.

Another M&ET train video again

This is a better version of the first video. It's on Youtube!

Another M&ET train video

I edited another train video. This one was done using my old work flow and it came out much better. If you click on the link above you can see it on YouTube.

I think this one is better. (It was done in iMovie HD):

The second in a series of videos on the M&ET. This one was shot near Stanislaus Foods at the Riverside Yard. On November 21, 2008 Modesto and Empire Traction 70 Tonners were hard at work between Modesto and Empire, California. These little General Electric locomotives are over 50-years old. Their days are numbered because their replacements were coming as these videos were shot.

M&ET 70 Tonners at Work

[See Video Here on YouTube]

I made some error when I set up my project and captured this video. I have not yet figured it out, but I will.

On November 21, 2008 Modesto and Empire Traction 70 Tonners are hard at work between Modesto and Empire, California. These little General Electric locomotives are over 50-years old. Their days are numbered because their replacements were coming as these videos were shot.

I had a cat in my lap

I wrote this this morning as I was sitting in the living room unable to move because my cat Pixel was curled up in my lap. I have no idea how something so little (and so dumb) could have so much power over me. When he gets in my lap he looks up at me with huge golden cat eyes and I am totally at his mercy. Oh well, at least he was warm; warm and sound asleep.

I had woke up at 5 a.m. with insomnia and Pixel is great company. Did you know Pixel has his own Web page in Catbook and a page in Catster? Catster and Catbook are like Facebook and MySpace for cats; yes, there is a Dogster, as well as a Fishster. I sometimes wonder if the people who post Web pages for their fish have totally lost it or if they are making fun of those of us who are silly crazy over our pets.

I guess I should have moved my cat and gone and done something more productive, like make coffee. But, it was only 6:00 a.m. and I guess there's no rush. Soon it was 6:20 a.m. Pixel and I had been at this over an hour. Sometimes I get so caught up in this and that (and sleeping cats) and I am late for work.

We can't have that!

Usually, I just sit until my legs start to cramp from sitting so long with a cat in my lap. Then, I get up and Pixel will saunter over and eat some kibble.

It's tough being a cat.

Did I tell you Pixel snorts? Yes, he snorts like a little pig. Around 6:30 a.m. he snorted. He lifted his head and then he looked up at me like I was bothering him by typing on my laptop as he was trying to sleep. Poor Pixel.

Then, my leg started to cramp. Finally, having no choice; I got up. Pixel got up too, stretched, walked over and ate some kibble. I went to work and he began his day.

Remembering a dear friend

Kathy died of cancer October 29, 2009. Kathy died at her daughter Darcey's home. According to Bess Obercoe, a mutual friend, one of the things Kathy lamented shortly before she died was, "why do people have to die over holidays?" She did not want to spoil her family's Halloween celebration.

Kathy died surrounded by family; also in the home was Darcey's husband Mike, Kathy's other daughter Kayla, and Mike and Darcey's children.

I met Kathy in 1991, at Bess's 40th birthday party, not long after my first wife passed away. Kathy and I became good friends shortly after that. It was a friendship that lasted many years. I was transitioning into being single after having been married most of my adult life. Bess and Kathy were the first people to teach me what it was like to be single and to have single friends of both genders.

Kathy taught me how to have fun again. Kathy's daughter Kayla is two years younger than Kenneth. With a two-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, plus my older boys, we all would go on family style adventures in amusement parks or go to the beach. Sometimes at night, after finding sitters, she and I would go to dinner, maybe movies or out for drinks; sometimes with other singles.

Kathy worked at a travel agency when I met her. I sometimes accompanied Kathy to events for travel agents. Kathy planned an airplane trip to Disneyland for my sons and I. She worked out all the details for us. It was my sons' first flight.

Kathy was widowed. We could talk about our experiences of having a spouse die in a way you can not talk to a friend who has never been married or who may be bitterly divorced with a living ex-spouse. We had both lost our parents as well. We had a lot in common. I think the friendship was good for both of us.

Kathy and her Italian-American family adopted my family and I. We had great experiences at their big parties. The friendship continued after I met Sue. Sue and I still went to some of their family parties. Sue fit right in, she's Italian-American herself. Kathy came to our wedding. When Darcey married Mike, Sue and I were there; we photographed their big beautiful wedding.

Darcey went into real estate. She is very successful at it. Darcey sold Sue and I the home we live in now. One of her associates even sold Sue's mom her home. When we needed a new roof for our home, the roofing company Kathy was then working for did the job. Kathy came by our house and put a big sign in front of it saying, "Roof by Los Gatos Roofing."

Meeting Kathy at Bess's party changed the course of my life and the lives of the members of my family, in so many ways. She, and members of her family, remained connected to my family for many years. As Kathy declined she became very private, she did not want to be seen, that's not the way she wanted to be remembered.

I remember Kathy's green eyes, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she engaged life and most of all; the way she could tell a story. She could take a story and make it her own. After she told you a story you felt like you had been there and had experienced it. Thinking back on her passing has brought back so many memories. I am very thankful that we knew Kathy and that she was a part of the lives the members of my family and I.

A great weekend with old friends and trains

The weekend of October 24, 25, 2009 I went to the Feather River Canyon with Ken and Zach Compton. The Fall Colors were spectacular and the train action was great.

At Portola I ran into my high school buddy Paul Burmeister and his wife Judy whom I had not seen for many, many years.

It was a great weekend!

[More Photos on Flickr]

Technorati Tags: trains, railroads, Railroading, Union Pacific, ssloansjca

Tender Mercies

Today I learned an old friend who has cancer does not have long left. Barring a miracle; this will be the second friend I have lost this year. To me, each friend I lose is a reminder of our need to let friends know how much we love them and how important they are to us. We can either tell them so directly or just be sure we make time for our friends and through our actions let them know we care.

Accidental tourist trip to London

On Saturday July 25, 2009 our flight from Dublin to London was late we ended up getting an unexpected layover. An afternoon in London!

We flew Aer Lingus from Dublin to London and the flight left Dublin about an hour late. This caused us to miss our connection.

We had hardly slept the night before due to music from a pub next to our hotel (we would have been much better off just joining the party!)

Aer Lingus got us overnight accommodations and meal tickets at the Park Inn near the airport. We could have just slept in the hotel; but didn't. Our luggage stayed at the airport. We took the Hoppa Bus from Heathrow to the hotel, freshened up and took a bus to the Underground station and went off on an unexpected adventure!

[Click here to see more photos on Flikr]

[Click here to see a smaller set on Facebook]

I got my flu shot!

Did you?

Grandkids birthday party was grand

Last Saturday we celebrated the birthdays of grandkids Jacob and Madison. It was a good party with parents, grandparents and great grandparents as well as friends and other family in attendance.

[More photos here]

Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca

Son Jeff at SJSU

Window Washer

I am in LA

I met with Russell. I have my first photo assignments and am about to go shoot them. The fires were up to the freeway. I saw this along the 14 on the way down here.

In Mojave

I am in Mojave on my way to a SoCal union meeting. It was a good trip down the valley and I got a room near the tracks, score! I will get to listen to trains all night. The Motel clerk was suprised when I asked for room 222.

Status of Ireland photos so far

I have finished another small set of photos from Ireland. This set is from our time going to Galway and the Aaron Islands and it is now here on Facebook.

These join the other sets:

• This small set is from our time in and around Dingle.
• This small set covers our 2 days going to and staying in Kinsale.
• Here is the small set of the photos in Dublin.
• The big collection of all the photos is here in Flickr, of course.

So, Westport is next. Sue and I have watched the movie Michael Collins and would recommend it! I also read the book 50 Dead Men Walking, Stephen (our tour guide) mentioned and am reading Easter 1916.

Until later,
Erin Go Bragh!

Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Ireland, Dingle, Galway

Just a fun video

San Francisco SFMoMA adventure

On Saturday August 15, 2009 we went to San Francisco. At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) we saw exhibits featuring Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon and Robert Frank. Photos were only allowed in the Avedon photo exhibit.

Then we toured the other modern art exhibits.

After that we went to North Beach where we walked around, went to O'Reillys Irish Pub and Restaurant and finally went for a canoly at Mara's.

[Click here to see more photos]

Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca

Dingle Days in Ireland

I have finished another small set of photos. This set, from our time in and around Dingle, is now here on Facebook.

These join this small set that covers our 2 days going to and staying in Kinsale.

Here is the Facebook photo set of the photos in Dublin.

If you want to see many, many more photos, the big collection of all the photos is here in Flickr.

Galway is next. As I run each and every photo in the big collection through Photoshop it takes 6-8 hours to put these sets together. One of the photos I am most happy with was the one of the stained glass mural at the Blaskin Islands Centre. This is actually four photos joined together.

Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Ireland, Dingle

Jeff is 31 today

Jeff is thirty-one today
Thirty one years ago today Jeff was born near Sacramento. He is a man and an excellent husband and father and we are very proud of him. Thirty-one will be a big year for him as this is the year he is graduating from SJSU with his accounting degree. This video of him was made when he was a little older than his eldest child, daughter Madison, is now.

This Video is in Quick Time 7 format, download free viewer.

Technorati Tags: Jeff Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca

Getting back in the groove of normal life

It is Wednesday and that means it is time for another bike ride this evening. I am looking forward to it and it is always fun to spend time with friends. I am still thinking about the vacation we recently took. It so far exceeded all my expectations. I am glad we got to do that. I wish I had been able to travel more when I was young. I am sorry my kids were not exposed to that and I hope they don't wait to long to travel more.

Besides going through the thousands of pictures from the trip, I have been riding my bike and doing yoga and spending time with Sue. Life is good. This is great riding weather.

Kinsale Ireland Adventures

On July 14 we left Dublin and went to Kinsale, Ireland. These photos are from that part of our vacation:

• Click here to see photo set on Flickr <------ Tuesday July 14, 2009 was a day on the bus. Our Rick Steve's tour went from Dublin to Kinsale, Ireland. We went to Powerscourt Gardens where it rained buckets. Then, we went to the Rock of Cashel Castle where we had a great lunch. Finally we went that evening to Kinsale where we heard Liam O sing some great Irish Folk songs.
• Click here to see photo set on Flickr <------ We started Wednesday July 15 with a walking tour of Kinsale led by Don Herlihy. He talked all about the town and the historic battle of Kinsale. Then we went to Charles fort for another excellent tour. Sue and I took the afternoon easy, opting to bus back to town. We went for a tour of the wine museum (lame) at Desmond castle. We then walked around Kinsale more before and after having dinner at Fishy Fishy.

These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.

Return to Dublin

I have organized and am posting the photos from our first two days in downtown Dublin, after returning to Dublin for our Ireland tour. I hope you enjoy these:

• July 12, 2009: Return to Dublin <--- Click here to view! July 12, 2009 we started the day in Dublin Ireland for the second time. I got up before Sue and went for a short walk around. Then we went to breakfast. After breakfast we walked around more and ended up at the Guinness storehouse where we did the tour. We met this cute young couple from Missouri there. Then we went back to our hotel where we met the tour group for the first time. Stephen our tour leader took us for a walking tour over to O'Connell Street where we saw the old Post Office where the Easter Uprising of 1916 started the war that led to the liberation of Ireland and the creation of the Irish Republic. Then we went to the Arlington Hotel where we saw some Riverdance style dancing.
  
  
• July 13, 2009, Dublin Day 2 <--- Click here to view! In the morning we met Cliona, our morning tour guide, who took us for a walking tour of historic Dublin. We went to Dublin Castle and to the first Parliament Building of the Irish Republic. We ended up at Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells. Then Sue and I were on our own. We went to Grafton Street and had lunch at Duke's Pub. We then went to St. Patrick's cathedral. On the way back we passed St. Kevin's Cathedral. Dinner that night was at Luigi Malones in Temple Bar.

These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.