New Year's Eve - and what better way to ring in the new year with a photograph of a sunrise in a distant (to me) land. I took this from the shore of Lake Wakatipu from Queenstown, New Zealand.

Handheld, 1/20 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 200, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

Blogged via phone (photos added later)
Dec. 30 - Lunch
Smitty's Market
208 S Commerce St, Lockhart, Texas
512-398-9344

Highly Recommended: Pork Ribs
Avoid: None
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Smitty's Market (Lockhart, Texas)

This was a new sign for me when I saw it strolling around town in Seward, Alaska. Good thing Seward is backed by Mount Marathon - a 3022 foot (921 meter) uprising that locals (and people from all over the world) come to race up and down its face every July 4th. Running a little ways up that should get you out of harms way.

Handheld, 1/250 sec at f/5.6 on ISO 200, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens

Blogged via phone (photos added later)
Dec. 29 - Lunch
Longhorn Cafe
23775 W I-10, San Antonio, TX‎
210-698-7766

Recommended: Bacon Cheeseburger, Tater Tots, Onion Rings
Avoid: None
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Longhorn Cafe (San Antonio, TX)

Here is a somewhat zen image of flowering tea. Tea leaves are tied together in such a way that when they are steeped they expand to form a large flower. It's sort of pretty and also sort of ugly. (Sometimes, I think the tea leaves open up and it looks like a weird sea monster or something. Other times, I think it's incredibly beautiful how the leaves unfurl and expand in the hot water.)

Handheld, 1/30 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 100, 17-35mm f/2.8 lens

I have a soft spot for sea otters. I think they are one of the cutest animals to watch play (and pretty much just go about their lives). Here's a cropped shot I managed to take of a sea otter and her pup (resting on her belly). I think I took it on a boat in the Prince William Sound (Alaska).

Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/9.5 on ISO 400, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with 2x teleconverter

Blogged via phone (photos added later)
Dec. 27 - Dinner
Azul Tequila
4211 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX
512-416-9667

Highly Recommended Dishes: Chile Relleno en Crema
Avoid Like the Plague: None
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Azul Tequila (Austin, Texas)

I set out today planning on visiting a few food places: Pao's Mandarin House, Wheatsville Food Cooperative, and Nubian Queen Lola's. I was disappointed on all three counts.

Pao's is supposed to be one of the best Chinese restaurants in the Austin area - Fearless Critic ranked it the third best Chinese food in this year's new edition of their restaurant guide.  After dining there for lunch we found it left a lot to be desired. We had issues with each of the dishes we ordered. Maybe our standards are too high - but Fearless Critic shouldn't have given it a 9.0 - it's not that good.

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Minor setbacks in food quests

Blogged via phone (photos added later)
Dec. 27, 2008 - Lunch
Pao's Mandarin House
2300 Lohman's Spur, Lakeway, TX
512-263-8869

Highly Recommended Dishes: None
Avoid Like the Plague: None
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Pao's Mandarin House (Lakeway, Texas)

More green… why? Because it was there.

Handheld, 1/1000 sec at f/2.8 on ISO 800, 70-200mm f/2.8 lens