Part Time Vagabond

Friday Snapshot: Farmington, Maine

// July 2nd, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SNAPSHOT

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This past weekend, my girlfriend and I took a day trip to western Maine, to the town of Farmington, where she attended college. On our way out of town to scope out some waterfalls (which must be amazing during spring meltoff), we came across this fantastic vista. To the right, you can see Mount Blue in the far distance. When you see a lookout as stunning as this, even on a cloudy day, you have to stop, snap a picture, and then…just look.

Friday Snapshot: White Manna, Hackensack, New Jersey

// June 18th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // GRUB, SNAPSHOT

One of the best parts of a road trip is food. And the eating of that food. And food related facilities. White Manna Hamburgers on River Road in Hackensack, New Jersey has all three. And they are so worth it. Hop inside this tiny building and sidle up to the counter to order the best sliders you will ever wrap your mouth parts around. Order up 4 or 5, with cheese and onions, and watch as the cook behind the counter skillfully grills your order to perfection along with the 6 people ahead of you and 7 behind you. Fresh ground beef, paper thin onions, local cheese, and locally baked potato bread rolls come together into a greasy but oh-so-satisfying sandwich of the gods. Eat them there or get them to go and watch the staff wrap these little slices of Heaven in wax paper and drop them lovingly into a brown paper bag that you’ll be able to see through in less than 2 minutes. Whatever you do, get there early because there will be a line, and be ready with your order. There’s no hemming and hawing at this burger joint. Forget Five Guys or In-N-Out. This is more than eating; this is a true American experience.

Friday Snapshot: Ocean City, New Jersey

// May 28th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SNAPSHOT

I have another guest post today, this time from my friend PurpleCar (a.k.a., Christine). Christine lives in Philadelphia, PA. I asked her to send me a photo of some of her travels, and she sent me about 15! This one stood out though. Read on.

Ocean City, NJ Summer 2008

I should live at the beach. Fewer allergies, more sunshine, peaceful sounds of waves crashing. Alas, we live and work in Philadelphia, so our shore exposure is limited. We take the standard week-long beach vacation everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) from Philly takes, and we have the occasional hey-why-don’t-we-drive-down-the-shore-today insane jaunts that the kids love (before kids it was the crazy hey-why-don’t-we-drive-down-to-Atlantic-City-tonight jaunts… *sigh*). But in the summer, who can get enough of big ol’ beach chairs, fresh ocean breezes and feeling the soft sand between your toes? Certainly not me.

Friday Snapshot: Grand Teton National Park

// May 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

This week, my neighbor & fellow beer lover Matt, a.k.a. Hokie, submitted a great snapshot from his trip back to Maine from Colorado.

While moving back to Maine from Steamboat Springs, Colorado, we decided to take a detour. My mother and I chose to head north and go through both Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park. The picture above was taken at one of the many stops in GTNP. While on a quick hike around Jenny Lake, the trees parted enough for me to take this snapshot. I’d highly recommend a visit to the Tetons to anyone, both in the summer and the winter.

Friday Snapshot: Sedona, Arizona

// May 7th, 2010 // 2 Comments » // SNAPSHOT

I know, I know, I keep posting Arizona pictures. But seeing as I just returned from the area, I thought it’d be nice have a new image to show you. This was taken on a hike a few miles outside downtown Sedona (the trailhead was right behind my hotel, in fact).

Friday Snapshot: Bristol, Maine

// April 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

Sometimes, you have to take a macro shot, close up, to see the big picture. I don’t imagine there’s a big story here: a crab walking at low tide, a gull snatches it up, drops it on the rocks below, and has a nice lunch. But how did this claw get here, at least thirty yards from the water? Where is the rest of him? Why here? You could ask yourself all these questions, or you could just snap a picture and move on.

Friday Snapshot: Flagstaff, Arizona

// April 2nd, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

When you visit Flagstaff, Arizona, you find yourself in a place you’d never consider a desert. Tall pines, green grass, soaring mountain peaks…it looks more like an Alpine village than the middle of a barren wasteland. Flagstaff lies in what is considered a semi-desert and has the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in North America. But one of Flagstaff’s most amazing features is also Arizona’s highest point, the 12,633 foot Humphreys Peak. You can see miles upon miles of gorgeous Arizona landscape from the top, which you can reach by hiking or by taking a ride up the Arizona Snow Bowl Ski Area’s ski lifts. Even in 70 degree June heat, snow covers some of the trails at the top, so deep in places that caretakers have to cut chunks out of the snowpack to reveal the trail.

Friday Snapshot – San Francisco, California

// March 26th, 2010 // No Comments » // SNAPSHOT

As a television cameraman, every so often, I get to go to some cool places and do some cool things. On this particular trip to San Francisco and Silicon Valley for the Hugh Thompson Show, we made trips to Google, Yahoo, and Sun Microsystems. But as any good traveler knows, it’s the unplanned events and places that make for the best memories. Like this one. I was shooting b-roll at the Golden Gate bridge, and we hit the spot right at Golden Hour. I snapped this shot on my phone. To this day, it remains the wallpaper on the very same phone. Nothing like a little good luck to make a trip worth it.

Friday Snapshot: Las Vegas, Nevada

// March 19th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SNAPSHOT

When you pull back from the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas, and drive past the towering skyscrapers and flashing lights, you find yourself at the foot of the Spring Mountains in the basin of the Mojave Desert. When you’re on the 23rd floor of the Luxor Hotel and are awake at 6AM because of a 3 hour time difference, you get to see a magnificent sunrise. Try it sometime, whether you’re awake from the time difference, or because you were up all night having a blast.

Friday Snapshot: Collinsville, Connecticut

// March 12th, 2010 // 1 Comment » // SNAPSHOT

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Collinsville is a sleepy little town in western Connecticut, a former mill-town that now plays host to tourists and leaf-peepers. And of course, photographers. (more…)