I woke up on early Tuesday morning greeted by a cool breeze and a dark horizon, it was time to take a shower and head to the Bangor International Airport. When I passed through TIA’s security checks I boarded the near-full aircraft to my surprise; most of the commuters were from Maine. Earlier during the week I had read an article on how to take photographs through an airplane’s window as it’s something that I’ve wanted to attempt the next chance I had; unfortunately my window was scratched to the point where they would show. The sun started to rise as the jet engines were warming, by the time we were in the air the sun was just above the horizon illuminating the dark blue sky that display a beautiful gradient. As we climbed higher Maine’s many bodies of water were covered with a light fog- a common sight in the mornings of Maine.

I arrived to the Cincinnati, OH airport a mid-sized airport and from there we were up and down in about 45 minutes. I arrived to Roanoke Airport in Jeans and polo with an under T as it was cool in Maine but in Roanoke it was roughly 90. We had dinner at The Cracker Barrel, I had the same meal as last time- Hardy Breakfast.

Thursday was a little cooler, in the high eighties with very high humidity. Mom and I hiked Otter Creek Trail which was roughly four miles long consisting of river bed trails, tree root stairs, crossing the stream, walking under bridges and the woods up and down mountain stream crevasses. At the end of the trail a log cabin restaurant awaited us at which Jack treated us for dinner.

On Friday we headed out to Jamestown, VA to visit the original and permanent English settlement that began the US’ history. Friday was probably the hottest day that I experienced for a very long time, the temperature was at 100 with very high humidity. When we first arrived to Jamestowne we drove the park loop that had informational signs depicting what the inhabitants did to survive. At the beginning of the trail a male Eastern Box Turtle was crossing the road; Jack stopped so I could take a look at it as I’ve never seen a Box Turtle before. Near the end of the loop there’s a path that leads to a beach on the James River, since it was hot, mom and I went in knee deep- the water was bathtub hot something a Mainer is not accustomed to.

Once we finished the loop we headed to the original settlement where excavation was still in the works, we visited the first Christian Church, a remake of how houses were built, remake of the three ships that landed and a museum that hosted many artifacts that were dug from the site. Tools have always interested me, especially early tools man has used to ease his work; the museum had a lot of old tools ranging from eye glasses, ear picks, make-shift knives, hoes, metal shards meant to stop intruders, etc.

Afterwards, we headed towards Virginia Beach only to find out that traffic was very very heavy- what would normally take 45 minutes took us roughly two hours. Once we arrived we walked on the beach and I went knee high since I did not not bring my swimming shorts.

Sunday was my first visit to Thomas Road Baptist Church since Jerry Falwell passed away a few months ago; his son, Jonathan Falwell is now the primary pastor for TRBC. I am always amazed at how God has blessed Jerry’s work and the people he’s help bring to Christ and one of the many things that show this is TRBC and its members. During the service I started to regret turning down a job interview for Liberty University last year because there are so many groups and outreaches that I would like to be apart of. TRBC posts the majority of their sermons on their website, even if you’re not a Believer, I suggest that you at least check one out, especially “Preparing To Build, Part 8″.

Monday’s weather was a cool (for Virginia) 82 with partially clear skies, Sharp Top Mountain’s visage was semi-clear. On our way to Sharp Top Mountain we stopped in an Angus field to snap a few photos. We purchased bus tickets to the top of the mountain as didn’t want to spend the majority of the day hiking; while waiting for the bus one of the Game Wardens allowed me to take their pet Box Turtle out so I could properly photograph it. Once we reached the top, the skies were regrettably hazy but we still enjoyed the limited view. On our decent a Doe walked passed us, ate a few leafs of a lower hanging branch, walked passed us again, stopped and stared at us. Mom was just inches from feed her a handful of leaves; the Doe was very calm and curious, she followed us down the majority of the trail, eating and watching as we walked. As funny as this may sound, I think she was a gift from God as I was complaining that I didn’t have an opportunity to take a decent shot of much today.

Later in the evening I photographed the Moon hours before the full lunar eclipse that I woke up for very early in the morning.

Jack and mom drove up for the week of the Fourth and just in time for the “Cornerstone Baptist Fly-in”. Stan, the pastor, hosted a fly-in and Russell O’Quinn was the guest. Russell is an active experimental test pilot for the US Military and is 78 years old, yes, he still is testing top-secret experimental air-craft for the Military. Mr. O’Quinn started his speech off from the beginning of his life-life aviation adventure which promptly started at the age of five when his father needed to watch him and shingle the roof of their house, so his father nailed him by the seat of his pants to the roof. While nailed to the roof, Russell would watch the air-plains fly over head and from there on he secretly learned how to fly since his parent’s were afraid of aviation. His family was not Christian, but one of his aunts was and she paid for his college education (Christian college) where not only did he get an education but also purchased an old military fighter plane and learned how to continue his love of aviation. I won’t go into anymore details other then with the help of aunt and a caring professor he was led to Christ and was enabled to fulfill his dream and whiteness to others at the same time.

After the speech, the entire church and guests (~500) ate at the BBQ which hosted an “All-you-can-eat” buffet.

After work on Monday I ate dinner with Jack, mom and two members of Jack’s family at Angeler’s in Newport. I took I-95 from Bangor to Newport and the view was beautiful, the sky was filled full of large Cumulonimbus clouds as they are associated with thunder storms. When I had reached the restaurant it started to rain heavily and as we were leaving the rain had ceased in the distance stood a rainbow, unfortunately power lines and buildings were in the way so I did not take a photograph. We headed to the camp Jack & mom stayed at and when I say camp, I use the term loosely as it was built in the 1930’s and had very little up-keeping, very rustic. After the tour of the cabin we sat around the fire and watched a beautiful sunset over Sebasticook lake.

Tuesday evening right after work I headed to Dexter to watch their fireworks show at the local high school. As I was driving through Corinth a light shower let up and two rainbows appeared over a potatoe field and another just down the road. The latter photo was so close to me I could have walked through its amazing light spectrum of vibrant colors illuminating the surrounding trees.

I arrived shortly after the rain shower and was able to photograph another image that I find to be interesting due to the row of corn and different cloud formations. The fireworks were about the same as they always are, sporadic and quick to end but enjoyable none-the-less. The evening sky was fairly clear but not clear enough to see the Milky Way; I wanted to take advantage of the un-polluted skies of Dexter to attempt my first astrophotograph.

Mom stopped by in the evening of the Fourth; we decided to watch Bangor’s fireworks show which is usually a decent showing. We drove to a local store, parked and walked about a mile to reach the waterfront. We found a nice hill with a flat surface that overlooked the Penobscot River and was above most other people. I set up my tripod and had everything positioned and configured just right to photograph the fireworks but as I was shooting, the camera battery ran out which was a little upsetting. The next day I purchased a second battery.

Mom flew in to Bangor International at 11PM on the 9th, shortly after my cell phone alarm woke me up. We both were tired so we slept in the next morning before heading off to my grandparents in Dexter. Thursday was the warmest day of the week and of the year thus far, the temperature rose to roughly 87 F. Grandpa is starting to feel better although he is experiencing side effects from some medicine that should wear off in a few days.

Friday was a bit cooler which eliminated the option of visiting Acadia Park, instead we test drove a Nissan Sentra and two Honda Accords-a 4 and 6 cylinder engine. I was very impressed with the Accord, the overall build quality inside and out was top notch. I have been experiencing issues with my current vehicle, 02 Malibu, the brakes and rotors have been replaced again, this would make for the 4th time in 5 years. The mechanic also stated that a few gaskets need to be replaced but I am unsure the validity of that claim and will worry about that when the time comes as I only have one payment left and am deciding on what to do with the car.

Mom went to Dexter to help clean her parent’s house and yard on Saturday with her sisters and I stayed home for the afternoon. My Aloe Vera Plant pot was overcrowded so we took out one plant and separated a baby plant from the mother’s main root vein and replanted it, it looks like it’s in bad shape right now but it will recover.

Mom was glad to attend Cornerstone Baptist on Mother’s Day as she misses Stan’s preaching. After Church we headed to Grammies for dinner. Grandpa was not feeling well at all and headed to the ER. We stopped and looked at a Condo in Hermon that I really like, a house that could fit a family of three. I called the Realtor to find out that Condos come with an association fee and that the fee for this condo was $150 a month which as you can imagine changed my mind about Condos.

I tried a new recipe this weekend as well, it’s grilled pizza - something you normally would not expect to see on a grill. The results of the Pizza came out tasting very nice and I did not have a difficult time cooking the pizza either, I expected the dough to stick to the grates but it didn’t.

This year for Christmas I flew to Virginia to stay with Jack and my mother for the week to celebrate Christmas and to spend some time with them during the week. I usually pick different flight routes every time to experience new terminals; this time around I flew into Logan Airport in Boston, MA. The one thing that I enjoyed most about the airport is that there was always a constant breath of fresh Atlantic Ocean water.

I waited roughly an hour in the Logan terminal I was on my way to Raleigh, NC which was another new airport to me. I’m always surprised at how nice everything looks in North Carolina; buildings, roads, landscape, etc. Jack and mom greeted me in airport and we started off towards Bedford, on the way we stopped at Hardees, my first time as Maine does not have a Hardees. I ordered a Jalapeño Angus burger which was very good, much different than the other fast-food chains.

Sunday, Christmas Eve mom and I went to Thomas Road Baptist Church where Dr. Jerry Falwell preaches. The church was newly built last July and holds 5,000 people along with many other rooms, stores, etc; the quire is 3x larger than my church I attend! When we arrived Sunday School had already started which was lead by Elmer Towns, you can listen to his class online as well if you’d like at ElmerTowns.com. Near to end of class the stadium began to fill towards 4,000 people which I’m told is lower than any other week. I really enjoyed the service; including listening to what Jerry had to talk about. After Church we made plans to see “The Nativity Story“, and then head to TRBC for the evening service.

On Monday, Christmas day we exchanged gifts with each other. As always, mom always exceeds any expectations one would have- she always gives gifts that are needed. After the gifts had been opened we took plenty of time playing with our new toys, taking down the tree and fellowshipping. Later mom treated Jack and I to dinner at Peaks of Otter restaurant that sits near the base of the mountain. Afterwards we took different route home, one that brought us winding up and down a mountain littered with mansions.

On Tuesday we braved the Roanoke Valley View mall where thousands of people were exchanging gifts or spending their Christmas money. Despite the advertisement claims on TV there were very few sales and even less that actually interested me. Mom and I cleaned up the yard, took down the Christmas decorations and put up a new bird feeder, I was able to capture this curious Tufted Titmouse.

Mill Mountain Zoo which is located on Mill Mountain in Roanoke was open for the afternoon so we set sail and browsed throughout the zoo looking and taking photos of the animals. They had two rare Snow Leopards which was a treat as I am interested in large predator cats. I met a very friendly Llama that enjoyed having her photo taken with passing visitors. Afterwards we ate at the local Red Robin Gourmet burg pub; the selection of burgers was very impressive.

A local cinema in Lynchburg was playing “Open Season”, so mom and I attended on Thursday. The movie was alright, I didn’t like the fact that they were portraying hunters as people who are hicks, bad and have no heart. On the way home to Bedford, a beautiful sunset was on display. The entire sky was painted with glowing orange-red gradient and the gray clouds looked as if they were on fire.

Thanksgiving has come and gone for the year 2006, I always enjoy this holiday not only how it was derived but actually being able to sit down and have a meal with the whole family. I have a fairly large family thanks to my mother’s parents who had six children, some of children and grandchildren.

After saying that they were staying home for Thanksgiving this year, Jack and mom decided to drive up and stay 3 days at my apartment- they slept on a blowup bed in my second bedroom.

Thanksgiving dinner was good; we had around 25 or so people there that day. I always enjoy listening to the family talk about what has been going on in their lives this past year. One of our traditions is to look through my grandparent’s myriad of photo albums ranging from the 1940s to present day. I would love to be able to scan all of the photos and create a digital album.