At Minneapolis Airport

I didn't have much time between my flights but these pictures were along the way.

This was a carving of a wolf family sitting outside a bar there. I really liked this sculpture.

A close up of the howling wolf.

This was sitting outside a store.

This was part of a play area, I think I have a picture of this somewhere else.

This is the Canadair Regional Jet that would take me home to Detroit Metro.

During the Flight Home

These are some of the pictures from my flight home. I had the window seat so I decided to take some pictures although pictures from the air aren't the greatest.

Off in the distance is the Catalina Islands. The take off from John Wayne Airport is pretty bizarre, the plane powers up and goes up in a high bank ascent and then it cuts the engine for a bit. The planes pass over some pretty high priced real estate.

To the right of the wing is Huntington Beach. I think you can even see the pier there.

Not sure what mountains these are but I like the shot.

Again, not sure what mountain this is but I like the shot.

I think this might be somewhere around the Grand Canyon. It's definately a desert mesa type thing.

I liked the way the clouds hovered over the mountains.

Another shot of a mountain.

The only reason this shot is in here is because of the plane just off the wing. I thought this was unusual as the other plane seemed pretty close. A little bit later I saw a Fed Ex plane pass right under our plane (probably about 1000 feet difference in altitude or more though).

This is a shot of the sunset off the wings. I like the pink on them. I tried to get a shot of the impending dusk to the front of the plane but it didn't turn out too well.

A shot of the sunset as we were approaching Minneapolis. Unfortunately I didn't have enough shutter speed so it's a bit blurred.

Pulling into the gate Minneapolis-St. Paul. I had to bump up the film speed to get this shot.

Waiting at John Wayne Airport

So I got to the airport a little early (although I would have liked to get there a little earlier) and decided to take a few pictures.

I'm not sure what kind of plane this is but I like the looks of it.

This is the cockpit of a 737 for Alaska Air.

This is the Airbus that would take me to Minneapolis for the connecting flight home.

This is another Airbus getting ready to take off.

This is my plane coming to the gate.

This shot is through the exhaust of a jet so it's not out of focus. I believe this is a King Air.

A long shot of my plane.

A business jet coming in for a landing.

As we were getting ready to pull out of the gate.

Going past the control tower at take off.

Some Planes

If you're going to take one thing from this blog, you'll learn that I love planes. These are some planes that were flying over the beach while I was there.

This is a Gulfstream I believe.

I'm not sure what kind of plane this is.

I think this one is an Alaskan Air 737.

This is a Southwest 737.

I think this is an Airbus 319 or 320.

Some Random People

With the sun set, I decided to head to dinner. These people saw my camera and wanted me to take their picture....It's not the greatest picture though.

Sunset over the Pacific Ocean

Sadly it wasn't cloudy, so the sunset isn't as spectacular but it's over the Pacific Ocean, so I think that makes up for it.

The sun low over the horizon. This shot probably wasn't a good idea though.

The sun as it is just about slipping beneath the waves.

The sun behind the horizon.

Some Surfers....

The main reason that I like going down to Huntington Beach is because of the surfers. I don't get to get pictures of them back in Michigan. I took pictures of them before but I have a longer lens now.

This guy was pretty good. Surfing seems to be a sport of patience. Waiting around for the right wave.

I like this shot. His head forward and arm back makes it looks pretty dynamic.

I really like this shot.



The sun setting.

Some Ocean Birds

Between taking pictures of surfers, I saw alot of birds flying around. These are some pictures of those.

I believe this is a seagull.

This is a pelican. They are actually pretty neat birds to watch. Sadly, I wasn't close enough to a group of them that were fishing because it would have been cool to get a picture of them diving in the water.

I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, it looks like an immature seagull.

I really liked this picture, the rippling of the water, the shadowing of the bird.

Same with this one.

Huntington Beach, California

One of my favorite places to visit while I'm in California is Huntington Beach. The area near the beach is pretty touristy but I can get some pictures of surfing which is pretty cool. This is made easier by my 500mm lens. Anyways, here are some shots of the pier and the beach.

This is Ruby's Restaurant at the end of the pier. I haven't eaten here yet so I don't know how it is but the building is pretty cool.

This is the pier from the other side.

This is one of the lifeguard shacks.

The California flag flapping in the breeze. It was getting late so you can see a little motion blur.

Looking down Main Street.

This is Duke Kahanamoku, he was one of the main people to bring surfing to the United States. He also won the gold medal in the 1912 Olympics for the 100 meter freestyle.

Looking up at a palm tree.