New Camera

    As the departure date draws closer for my trip through North, Central and South Americas, I decided that I needed a good digital land camera. I wanted the best camera, I could afford to lose. You know things happen to stuff as we all travel.

   I went online and checked out several different major brands Nikon, Canon, Kodak and others. It was hard to choose. I found several options from each that I wanted. The more I combined options the higher the price went. I decided to go to a real camera store and touch and tryout different ones. Ken’s Camera “The Camera Experts” at 8907 Evergreen Way, Everett (425.353.5533) has always been a good source for me in the past. After explaining my trip plans and what I wanted in the camera, Barb showed me the FUJIFILM Finepix HS20EXR. I found it to be very light weight, uses regular AA batteries, has its own built in telephoto lens to 720, does micro close-ups, has an in camera motion panorama to 360 degree, the continuous shooting can be set to 4 or 8 shots at a time. Eric had used the camera before and gave me some situational information and answered some more questions. The price was $399 with a $50 rebate. I thought this is perfect.

   I recommend this camera and the Ken’s Camera Store for your camera needs. They are also in Seattle at 3^rd and Pike (206.223.5553) and Mount Vernon, 322-D, College Way (360.428.0480).

Happy Shooting and Happy Holidays

Vistaprint.com

I found a great new printer for my business cards. Check out Vistaprint.com. I found their website user friendly. The customer service was fast and to the point.

Whale Watching, Anacortes, Washington

This was my first whale watching trip and with Island Adventures (www.OrcaWhales.com 800-465-4604), I took my two grandchildren ages eight and six and one of my sons with me to Anacortes. The boat trip was about 5 hours long and they guaranteed that we would see whales. On this trip we hit the mother load. Orca whales where everywhere, with breaching, spy hopping, and cartwheeling, the Orcas were all over the San Juan Island area. The weather was perfect too; the sun was shining and the sea calm. Captain Mike, naturalists Brook and first mate Garrett did a fantastic job keeping us all informed about the whale and other wildlife common to the area. Even the Harbor Porpoise paid us a visit. The otters, oystercatchers, and bald eagles are also common to our journey. I do highly recommend this trip to everyone. I wish I had not waited so long to go on this type of trip. I have lived in Western Washington for over 30 years and always planned to go but let life get in the way; that stops here and now, life is too short and tomorrow is uncertain.

Deception Pass and Camping

I have been camping at Deception Pass many times; booth taking my sons when they were young and now my grandchildren. It has always been a great place to enjoy. The park is well laid out; beaches have easy access with the potential for incredible sunsets. This state park is very family friendly and very highly recommended

Lap Top

I found a SAMSUNG QX410 that is designed for the kind of traveling that I will be doing. My top four requirements were to be rugged, rugged, really rugged and the ability to handle a lot of photographs. It is built to withstand being dropped and the wide range of temperature changes I will be experiencing. So far it’s working out great. One more thing I can cross off my list of things I need to do before I can leave.

Vehicle

I found the perfect vehicle for my journey, which will start the summer of 2012. It’s an early 90’s Toyota 4runner with real big dirt tires. It comes with the trailer hitch and sunroof I wanted, the 4WD will come in very handy during the rainy season and for driving on the beach when the opportunity arises. I love it when a plan starts to come together.

Underwater Camera

I just bought my Sealife underwater camera from the Lighthouse Diving Center in Lynnwood WA (425-771-2679). They were very helpful in helping decide on this wonderful compact camera set. I haven’t taken it underwater as yet, that’s scheduled for next month. So far it takes awesome photos and I’m very pleased.