Chicago Pix

Had an idea earlier this month for a good Christmas present for Stacy. Took some shots in Matthew's neighborhood in Chicago while we were there for Thanksgiving. Then I merged them with pix of us. Kind of a visual metaphor for our lives being weaved with Chicago since Matthew and Alyx call it home. May try more variations on this idea in the future.

Wizard World Dallas

Before the west TX trip, I took Andrew to Wizard World, a comic convention in Dallas. While not as big as ComiCon in San Diego, Wizard World is still on of the main comic conventions in the country. Lots of comic artists, collectors and whatnot. Not to mention the fans, many of whom dress up as their favorite characters.




Right outside of the Arlington Convention Center was the new Dallas Cowboys stadium, which will replace Texas Stadium. It's still under construction, and looks very impressive up close.




Andrew checking out some of the merchandise.




Lou Ferrigno signing autographs.




Cast of characters waiting for the costume contest to begin.




Even Batman's a fan.




Master Chief.




Superman with highly questionable hair.




Hellboy.




The Hulk, looking a bit depressed.

West Texas

So it's been way too long since I added any posts here, so here we go.
In November, we went to west Texas to check out the McDonald Observatory. Very sweet. The area boasts the darkest night skies in the continental U.S. Perfect for stargazing. The shot above is a panorama of a valley next to the observatory in Ft. Davis, TX.


Me, Stacy and the boys on the road to Ft. Davis, where the scenery gets really beautiful.




The boys being their normal unassuming selves.




A self portrait.




The local wildlife.




The visitor's center at the observatory.




The dome of the 2nd largest telescope.




The telescope inside the dome. It was about 35 degrees in there. They keep the temperature close to what the night time temp. will be that night, so the mirror won't fog up when they open the dome.




Me and the boys in front of the biggest telescope on the grounds.



The boys checking out the view.




Some of the local color.