The Vacation Continues_San Simeon to Santa Cruz through Big Sur

Rockinon rocked down Highway 1 today from San Simeon to Santa Cruz. Big Sur was amazing. It was a great Morgan run. For more, see my Digital Journal post.

The Vacation Continues

Stayed at the Hacienda. A ranch home designed for William Randolph Hearst by the same architect that worked with him for decades on his castle-like home near San Simeon.

Drove from the one former Hearst property to the other via a mountain road across the Fort Hunter-Liggett military base. What a road!

Today's picture is a view from this road.

More info is posted at:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7445
http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7446

 

The vacation continues . . .

I'd heard of dust devils but until today I had not encountered them. There were literally dozens of dust devils to be seen out on the Nevada desert Thursday. Driving through that in an old Morgan was quite the buzz.

I posted some of the events of the day at: http://www.digitaljournal.com/blog/7272

Rockinon is on Vacation!

It may be almost summer in London, Ontario, but in the Grand Tetons above Jackson Hole the snow is still six-feet deep beside some of the mountain top walkways. Blogging on trip on Digital Journal.

Rockinon is on vacation!

One of the geyser basins in Yellowstone National Park.

By now you know Rockinon is on vacation. The Morgan has put Yellowstone National Park behind it and is on its way to Providence, Utah. What's in Providence? A wonderful B&B, I hope. But this is just a stop before the next major place to visit: Yosemite!

I'll be back covering London, Ontario, come some time in July.

For more info on the trip see the Digital Journal.


Cheers!

Why this blog is on hiatus

A B&B breakfast!

Why am I not blogging? Because I am traveling!

My wife and I are booting about the United States and Canada in a 42-year-old Morgan. It seems ancient until you realize that I bought it new and I am now 21 years older than the Morgan. We grew old together.

Yes, those are people along the bottom left.

I have been posting daily updates of our travels to the Digital Journal. Just look in the blogs area and you will easily find them. I am starting each blog title with the day and the number. e.g. Day 08_Sheridan, South Dakota.

We left Canada and entered Michigan a week ago. We took a ferry from Michigan to Wisconsin and then we started west. We are now in Wyoming and tomorrow we will be in Yellowstone.

For me, the high-point of the trip may be the two days that we are staying on a military base in a former residence built by William Randolph Hearst. The place is known as the hacienda.

Sometimes even my Morgan needs a break.

Welcome!

Hi! This blog is officially on hiatus until sometime in July. But Saturday The London Free Press published my letter (Restoration story was a facade) on the 'stunning' restoration of the Capitol Theatre and neighbouring Bowles Building. With that publicity I thought I better put out the welcome mat.

As you may know, my name is Ken Wightman and I worked for the past thirty some years as a photographer for The London Free Press. A little more than a year ago I took a buyout and I am now retired.

After decades of running about London taking pictures, I thought it might be fun to do the same thing in retirement. The big difference is there is very little money in blogging. I wouldn't recommend blogging for retirement income.

When I left the paper, they took most of my camera gear. This was fair as they owned it. I now shoot everything with a seven-year-old Canon SD10 digital ELPH. I am rather proud of the quality that I have been able to achieve with such a basic, single lens, no telephoto, slide-in-you-pocket camera. Please check out the images that I have uploaded to artwanted. To get back here:

1. Please click the Alternate Website Link at the bottom left.
2. You'll be at Rockin' On: London Daily Photo. Click Rockin' On: the blog at the top right.
3. You're back.

Now as I was saying, I was a photographer. I was not a reporter. I wrote a photo column some years ago. I also did Celebrate the Thames a few years later. But that does not make me a writer. I used to have some excellent backup in the form of some fine editors: Susan Greer, Gary May, Al Chater and others. At times, if I had a question I had folk like Bill Eluchok, now also retired, to run to.

I'm somewhat on my own now --- a one man band. If you find a grammatical error, no surprise. The same goes for spelling. I can be quite creative or careless depending how you want to look at it. I take criticism well, but don't use naughty words. I'll just delete you, well at least your words. (Oh, I use my commas poorly but there is a bug in this software that makes it a lot of trouble to clean up the comma errors. If I get enough complaints, I'll try and do something.)

Now, if you want to read more of my thoughts on the Capitol Theatre and Bowles Building facade rehabilitation, please check out the following links:

London lost its theatre district to the 'burbs

Irreplaceable Buildings: can't be made today

There are more, but really haven't you read enough on this. At least we have two handsome facades. It is time to move on.

I'm the photographer who had the open heart surgery done robotically by da Vinci. Dr. Alan Menkis was at the controls as he performed the first mitral valve repair done robotically in Canada. Because of this, I think about death now and then and smile. If I had not had the surgery, I do not think I'd be here. I'm on overtime and it feels good. Read my post, Something to look forward to..., on facing death with humour and strong wine. The winery in Australia that I featured liked the piece enough to place it on their Facebook page.

Or do a search for Fizzies, or spurtle (there's a search field at the top left of the blog) or check out the cute baby and listen to the taste-corrupting music to which I have been subjecting this child.

If you are still with me, I'm not with you. I'm sorry but it's late and I do have a life --- honest. If you like, you can check out my YouTube video, Giggle Me Baby (Very poor quality but a lovely moment. Listen for the little girl's squeal of delight as the video fades out.)

Or check out some of the food stuff that I've begun uploading to Group Recipes.

Or check out my post on Paris Hilton, or don't, but do watch the YouTube video. Just love the arrangement of Big Spender that they use. (This video is becoming difficult to find. Many copies have been taken down from the Net.)



Cheers!
Ken Wightman
(Rockin' On)