What I Did On My Autumn Vacation

Posted on November 12, 2006

Now that I’ve finally caught up on sleep and sorted through my photos, I thought I’d give you the scoop on our trip to the island of Kauai. All in all, it was an amazing trip. I had always heard people describe Hawaii as paradise, and Kauai — the Garden Island — definitely lives up to the reputation. There’s just something magical about being able to walk out on the balcony of your hotel room, take a deep breath, and smell the sweet scent in the air of the countless flowers growing all over the island.

I could go on for hours talking about Kauai’s natural beauty, its quaint rural charm, and its friendly locals, but I won’t bore you with all that. Suffice it to say that we had a wonderful (and relaxing) vacation. I’ve posted a few photos from the trip below (more are available on Flickr). Click the thumbnails for a larger view.

A few highlights from the trip:

• Clearest sign that I’m a mega-dork: “Honey, I downloaded a bunch of episodes of NPR’s This American Life to the iPod, so we’ll have plenty to listen to on the flight over. I even got a headphone-splitter so we can listen at the same time!”
   
• Biggest surprise: Thumbing through the airline magazine on the flight over to Hawaii and discovering someone on my blogroll wrote one of the feature articles. Nice work, Nicole!
   
• My favorite thing about our resort: An on-site sushi bar!
   
• Most memorable experience: Taking a doors-off helicopter tour over Kauai the first morning after we arrived. If you ever make it to the island, definitely invest in a helicopter tour; it’s a fun way to see the island, much of which is inaccessible any other way. The “doors-off” experience adds an extra thrill, and it allows you to take photos without any the glare from the windows.
   
• Friendliest local: The hangar guy from Inter-Island Helicopters who insisted on changing the flat tire we discovered on our rental car after returning from the tour. Dude wouldn’t even accept a tip for his trouble.
   
• Official inside joke of the trip: As Strong Bad says, every good trip needs an inside joke that only the people that went on the trip will get. Ours was replacing the phrase “Good idea!” with “Now that’s what I call a Pro-Positive Teen Life Decision Point Choice!” Don’t ask.
   
• Best snorkeling: Poi’pu Beach. It doesn’t get much better than parking the car, walking across a short stretch of beach, swimming ten feet out into the water, and seeing so many tropical fish that you feel like you’re in an aquarium.
   
• Most painful moment: Somehow getting my pinky toenail caught on my sandal strap and ripping it off. The toenail, that is. Gross.
   
• Best meal: I’m on a never-ending quest to find good Thai food (since there doesn’t seem to be any in Georgia), and Toi’s Thai Kitchen fit the bill. Yum!
   
• Best dessert: Hawaiian “shave ice.” It’s like the best snow cone you’ve ever had times a million.
   
• Most confusing moment: Hmm…it’s either the preschool-age girl I saw at the pool one afternoon dancing around and singing the “I like to move it, move it!” song or the car we spotted on the road with Alaska tags. How does that happen?
   
• Favorite souvenir: The tiki idol I brought home to fill the space on my desk once occupied by my dearly departed Guy Noir bobblehead. Here’s hoping it’s not a cursed tiki idol like the one Bobby Brady found that time.

Thanks again to the guest bloggers who covered the site while I was gone! We had an awesome vacation, but it feels good to be back home and back in my usual groove.

Das Kapital

Posted on September 26, 2006

This photo, taken in Berlin, Germany, may be the funniest thing I’ve seen all day. Via Phillyist (photo by Flickr user L’Hibou).

Dog blogging (because I can)

Posted on August 16, 2006

Only a couple of nutjobs would buy a birthday cake for their dog, right? Feel free to call us Mr. and Mrs. Nutjob.

Ain’t he cute?

Conch fritters!

Posted on July 9, 2006

Just a few photos from Key West. Click the images for larger versions or check out the entire album from our trip on Flickr.

Aside from the Sunburn o’Death, the K-Girl and I had a wonderful vacation. Key West is a fun little town to explore, and we took a day trip to the Dry Tortugas that was just amazing. The sixteen-hour drive to get to the Keys was a little tough, and July isn’t exactly the ideal time to visit (so very hot), but it was a great trip nevertheless.

What’s the buzz?

Posted on February 20, 2005

A little something I noticed in a pharmacy window while strolling around Verona:

Coincidentally enough, I also have “apropos” tattooed across my stomach, only mine is done Tupac-style with arched gothic lettering.

Halloween in Strongbadia

Posted on October 31, 2004

Behold my lovely wife’s latest work of art: a portrait of Strong Bad in the medium of pumpkin.

Another photograph of the Strong Bad o’Lantern follows after the jump, presented in Spook-E-Vision™ (i.e. slightly darker and blurrier).

Moving Tip #48

Posted on June 11, 2004

Parked across the street from my house…

I guess I’m not the only person who thinks that stick figures are funny.

New Orleans, May 2004

Posted on May 14, 2004

As I mentioned a few posts back, my wife and I spent the last few days vacationing in New Orleans. In the past, I had always wondered what people did when they went on vacation and ended up getting rained on for much of their trip. Well, now I know the answer: they make do and try to enjoy themselves anyway.

Yep, we were caught out in the rain more than a few times while in the Big Easy (and enjoyed overcast skies for much of the remainder of our vacation). Nevertheless, we still had an absolute blast. We walked the French Quarter diagonally and then from side to side, toured the Garden District, rode the St. Charles Streetcar, visited an above-ground cemetary, got accosted by street performers, loitered around on Bourbon Street, and ate some delicious cajun cuisine. Sure, the rain forced us indoors a few times, but we made the most of it by catching a 3D IMAX movie and a showing of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (great flick, by the way). All in all, it turned out to be a restful and fun trip — despite the rainy weather.

Several photos from our trip are included in the extended entry. Hover over the images for a description and click to embiggen.

Jackson Square at Night

Posted on May 13, 2004

I was just downloading photos from our camera before hitting the sack and couldn’t resist posting this shot that Kourtney took of Jackson Square during a rain shower last night. For what it’s worth, we didn’t do any Photoshopping whatsoever (click the image for a larger view):

I’ll have a few more tomorrow…

Yoke for a roguish cow

Posted on April 25, 2004

An antiquity spotted while visiting a museum/gift shop at Cade’s Cove this weekend:

When I hear the word “roguish,” names like Rhett Butler and Han Solo typically spring to mind. As it stands, I can’t say that I’ve ever encountered any livestock that I would describe as pleasantly mischievous. Then again, I haven’t spend much time around livestock.

The Bridges of Madison (and Oglethorpe) County (Georgia)

Posted on April 10, 2004

You know, springtime in Georgia almost makes it worth suffering through the unbearably hot summers and bleak winters. Almost. Anyway, here are some shots that my wife and I took while visiting Watson Mill Bridge and Howard’s Bridge this afternoon. Click the thumbnails for a larger view.

While we were out and about, Kourtney and I began to wonder why covered bridges were built in the first place. Surely the builders wouldn’t have gone to all the trouble and expense of covering a bridge unless it served some purpose beyond attracting tourists a century down the road, right? Our best guess was that they were built to protect the bridge from the elements, but that doesn’t seem like too serious of a concern here in Georgia. Fortunately, this page sheds a bit more light on the subject.

Zzzzz…

Posted on March 14, 2004

Naptime at Casa de Jess:

Since you can never have too many…

Posted on March 11, 2004

One of these days, I’ll get around to posting something other than flower photos, but for now, here are a couple of shots from our trip to the state botanical garden on Wednesday (click to enlarge):

Speaking of aesthetics (and awkward segues), I’m finally taking the time to catch up with the rest of the Internet and learn CSS. That could mean a redesign for Apropos of Something at some point in the not-so-distant future. We’ll see…

Spring has sprung

Posted on March 8, 2004

Strolling around campus this afternoon…

Click on the thumbnails for a larger view.

A Day in the Life: Leap Day

Posted on February 29, 2004

After stumbling across it at Mac’s, I’ve decided to participate in the A Day in the Life: Leap Day project. That being said, I’ll be adding new photos to this entry hourly (or thereabouts) throughout the day. You can click on the images for a larger view and hover over them for descriptions.

And that, my friends, was Leap Day 2004.

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