Usually, when we visit the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, my camera is pointed in the opposite direction from the Center. I thought that I would take a panorama of this nice facility and put it up as a supplement to the shots we take in the opposite directions. Click the image below to see the panorama in the image viewer.
Another extraordinary day at the seashore. We were out running the usual Saturday errands when we diverted to Point Vicente for a few shots of the ocean and the lighthouse. While we were there, this California Brown Pelican came soaring by. Click for larger image.
Halloween is two weeks from today. We’re going to be ready for all the little goblins, faeries, witches and what-have-you. What we’re not quite ready for, however, is little trick or treaters like Pug Vader here (ain’t he cute?). I suppose that I could run back to Bear’s doggie treat stockpile if Doggie Darth shows up. Maybe I’ll stock up on dog treats when I go shopping tomorrow.
I looked into some places that you can get one of these cute little costumes for that special pet in your life:
Last spring, we visited the Western Museum of Flight. Today, I was going through some of the photos from our visit and found this one of “Sierra Sue,” a 1953 demonstration aircraft.
Image: Sierra Sue (Click to enlarge)
Here’s what the Western Museum of Flight webpage says about this aircraft:
Built in 1953, the Sierra Sue was Northrop Company’s flying demonstrator for the Air Force’s AX close-support aircraft design competition in 1972. The AX Competition led to the manufacture of two prototypes, Northrop’s A-9A and Fairchild-Hiller’s A-10A. After an extensive flight test program, the Fairchild-Hiller design won the competition.
Designed and flown by Ron Beattie and Walt Fellers, the aircraft was manufactured by Acme’s (Sierradyne Inc.) Crawford and Keeney. It was used by Sierradyne in the ’60s to test and promote Northrop’s and Dr Werner Pfenninger’s boundary layer control concepts. The plane was never officially considered a Northrop aircraft.
Manufacturer Acme Aircraft Co ( Sierradyne Inc) Number Built 1 Wing Span 20 feet 2 inches Overall Length 18 feet Empty Weight 590 pounds Number of Seats 2 Power plant 85 hp Continental C-85 pusher
I want to point out that this is not a telephoto image. These pelicans were no more than 10 to 12 feet (approximately 3 – 3.5 meters) from my lens when I took this photo from the overlook of the Palos Verdes L.A. County fishing access near Point Vicente. Just look at the fine way these magnificent aquatic birds manage to finesse the air currents with their wingtip feathers as they leisurely soar along the Palos Verdes Cliffs.
Click to enlarge (look at their wingtip feathers).
It’s coming sooner than you think! I’m getting some of the Halloween gear out of the closet and deciding what I am going to set out as decorations. One of the things I brought out was this jack-o-lantern. I took this shot of it half in sunlight and half in shadow.
