Flying High Over Lands End

Marin County | California

Last week I photographed high school students taking part in the Ropes Course at Lands End in San Francisco. The kids were participating in a six-week summer program, sponsored by the Golden Gate Parks Conservancy, designed to increase their commitment to preserving and enhancing the great treasure that is our Golden Gate National Recreational Area.

Just looking at these students high up on the ropes gave me the willies, but I didn’t see anyone flinch or back down. Any fears I might have expected were well hidden. Mostly I just saw smiles.

Besides being lots of fun, experiences like this build confidence and teach young people that they are capable of accomplishments they might never have allowed themselves to dream.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paris 2014

Marin County | California

It’s been a month since Rica and I returned from Paris, and time to unleash some photos. I’ve been putting it off because I have too many I sort of like, and not that many I love.

Also, I have mixed feelings about my Paris experience this time around. It remains a terrific city to visit, but I found myself more critical this year about traffic congestion and noise, and the much larger number of Parisians who smoke, compared to what I’ve become accustomed to here in California. Having a beautiful Paris moment at an outdoor cafe has now become a gamble if you’re not keen on experiencing clouds of cigarette smoke with your coffee.

As if these gripes weren’t enough to put a crimp on my enjoyment of the trip, without explanation United Air Lines switched our assigned seats at the last minute, separating us. Rica had booked our flight months in advance, and there was no reasonable explanation for assigning new seats rows apart.

It was only through Rica’s persistence as we were about to board the plane that seats allowing us to sit together were found.

Those you who know me might have noticed that I’ve grown crabbier this past year. I’ll be eighty in February, and somehow I think this entitles me to a free grumpy pass.

So here are some of the Paris photos, in no particular order.

 

It seems like we saw a million selfies in the making at Notre Dame.

I can’t complain about the availability of treats.

Clean wasn’t a problem.

But smoking everywhere.

Paris dogs do have fun.

Paris has some incredibly beautiful museums. 

This is a rare photo of a sidewalk cafe. No one appears to be smoking. 

A beautiful evening on the Seine. One of the simple pleasures I enjoyed. 

I wish I could say I had a Kosher Pizza in Paris. The shop was closed for the day.

 

Magical moments across from Notre Dame.

A smile for the camera.

The crowds were at times overwhelming. 

 Here’s Rica on a walk in the rain around the block from our apartment on the Ile Saint-Louis.

 Rica enjoying the gatherings of young and old on the Seine.

 Even live music.

 

Ron must have his low fat milk.

 

 Where every dreamer wants to study.

 He’s not convinced. 

 My kind of concert. 

 Our Swiss friends, Corinne and Laurie, at our Paris apartment.

 Peter Turnley is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist. We met him twice because we knew his haunts.

 

If you’ve gotten this far, thank you.