Ok, to be strictly accurate, it was not a party, it was a gathering. We met
in Scottsdale and rose from the ashes of our weekday lives to eat, shoot the
bull, shoot some clays, eat some more, shop, drop, rise, shop some more, and
visit museums.
That's pretty much what we did. The photos will tell the story.
The
Cast of Characters
No weekend would be complete without a cast of characters and this is no
exception. Ours is Daryl, Vivi, Herm, Goldie, Diana, Nowell and Sandra. |
Still crazy about you after all these years. |
Our celebratory dinner photo. We were treated with a total eclipse of
the moon as a pre-dinner treat.
(Herm looks happy, doesn't he? One of the problems
with this group is that it takes seven shots to get seven smiling faces.
Viva la Photoshop!) |
Plotting and Planning at the Hampton Inn. |
Vivi just doesn't believe that self timers work on modern
cameras.
I'm not sure why. Perhaps she is just an old fashioned
girl.
Time and technology march on, regardless. |
Sandra and Vivi check out the accommodations at the Hempton Inn.
(We stayed at the Hampton Inn so this is a pathetic play
on words.) |
Our outdoor group shot at the Phoenix Botanical Garden.
The Gourd Festival was in bloom and we had the best of
all worlds. We got to sightsee, wander, visit, and, of course, shop!
|
For a guy who doesn't smile on cue, Herm can be coaxed from time to
time.
|
I've been on a quest to take the perfect portrait of my friends since
I got the one of Daryl and Vivi at the top of the page.
It is my duty and I take my duty seriously.
We're almost there with Herm and Goldie. A few more
tries and... |
Guys
with Guns
No weekend would be complete without guns. This weekend, Daryl arranged a
Trap Shoot so we could get some registered targets. Herm attended and took
most of these pictures. He acquitted himself well with the camera. This is
proof that my intensive training pays off. |
The boys.
All three of us salute you. |
Daryl gives Herm the runaround... I mean rundown of what happens at a
shooting center. |
Further discussion determines that Herm does not own a shooting center
t-shirt.
This will be rectified soon.
Herm doesn't, however, have the guts to wear purple.
That honor falls to me. |
Herm watches the kids shoot on Field 1. |
Daryl mentally prepares for the event. I think that this is his
secret.
I don't prepare. I shoot pictures.
(I shoot better pictures than I shoot trap.) |
Herm does a very good job on these shots. You can see the target in
the upper right corner. |
Daryl shows the form necessary to shoot more than 80. He won a trophy
here last year. This year, he's protecting his Class D standing. |
Herm even gets the pieces of the target. This is a very unusual shot
and difficult one to capture.
Not because it is so technical, but because I hit so few
targets. |
Phoenix
Botanical Garden
A very, very cool place. Hot, too. If you like cactus, and even if you
don't, this is such a visually interesting attraction that you will be
delighted to be here. |
Something big is going on here but I was a
telephoto's distance away and couldn't hear. |
 |
The animals start to wake up late in the day.
This stand of big cactus drew a flock of birds. I watched them for about
seventy-five shots and these three are my favorites. |
My
artistic treatments of cactus. Viva la Digital GEM.
|
Heard
Museum
http://www.heard.org
When we got there, Sandra could not find the museum from the parking lot.
I told her that this is a museum that can be heard, but not seen.
I should wax poetic about this place but it's just another depressing
museum. It deals with American Indian culture and the more you learn about
Indians, the more you hate Europeans. It has some very interesting things
but it also has some very disturbing exhibits. Go there and be sad.
I did get some of my favorite images there. |
Vivi in repose at the Heard Museum.
She had been there the previous night and had seen it
and done it and took this time to wait in the garden and sip coffee, or
something. |
I just like cactus. Always have.
Vivi and Daryl gave us lots of great cactus when they
moved. They gave Marilyn the famous penis cactus.
|
This is in the Sculpture courtyard. |
No comment. Just enjoy the work. |
Shopping
We chose this weekend to go to Scottsdale because there was a street fair
and we could spend money. Have no fear, the economy in Scottsdale is doing
just fine thanks to us.
Of all the things we bought, (flutes, plates, menorahs,
shirts, hats, books, earrings, bracelets, etc... nothing was more
beautiful than the ensemble that Goldie traded a couple of mortgage
payments for. |
Opal, gold and silver. She looks magnificent in it.
(Herm, it's worth the part time job you're taking at a liquor store to
pay for it!) |
