Mount Hope Bridge with Vibco Vibrators

Mount Hope Bridge - Click image to view interactive panorama

The Mount Hope Bridge connects Bristol Rhode Island with Portsmouth, Rhode Island and was constructed in 1929.  I was down here today delivering some of our Vibco Vibrators to a company that is refacing the piers. We were working on the Portsmouth side. It was a beautiful day and I got to climb all over the construction site with my cameras and of course the vibrators did their job perfectly.

Bucket of concrete - Click image for larger view

The concrete (and me) was transported to the bridge pier by barge in these large buckets and then lifted up to be emptied into the forms.

Vibrator in operation - Click image for larger view

Here is one of our Vibco Vibrators in operation.  This is an SVRFS-4000 aluminum model with our new suction mount we call the 'Stik-It'. The ease of operation was surprising and the movement and consolidation of the concrete was fantastic. 

The Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium

The Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium - Click image to view panorama

I shot this panorama while traveling this summer and just now stitched it together. The 'tourists' in this panorama are Gauthier, Carol, Bea and Bob. 

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is one of four British and Commonwealth memorials to the missing in the battlefield area of the Ypres Salient in Belgian Flanders. The memorial bears the names of 54,389 officers and men from United Kingdom and Commonwealth Forces who fell in the Ypres Salient before 16^th August 1917 and who have no known grave.

Governor Lincoln Chafee

Governor Lincoln Chafee - Click image for larger view

Every once in a while you are in the right place a the right time. Yesterday I attended the Business Expo in Warwick and got this shot of Governor Chafee as he was being interviewed by the local media and under the bright lights of the TV cameras. I was shooting with my Nikon D300s, 50mm f/1.4 lens, 200 ISO  This time the shot turned out as I had envisioned. It is very fulfilling to capture a moment in time and have everything come together as you see it through your own eyes, and have the ability to share with others so easily. Thanks for stopping by. . .

Tom & Debbie

Old Friends, Tom and Debbie

This past weekend our good friends Tom and Debbie came to visit from South Carolina.  We hadn't seen them since the summer of 2001 when we visited them on their farm in Tennessee. So much has happened since then that we really had a great time catching up and reliving good times. We met Tom and Debbie when we were cruising the Great Loop in 1999-2000 and have been friends from that point on. You can read about our adventures on the Great Loop at sevenknots.com.(this is the website we kept while cruising the Great Loop)  This past weekend we cruised the Providence River aboard Tapestry, went to a polo match in Portsmouth (USA 11 - Italy 5) and to Waterfire in Providence. Sunday morning we had breakfast at the Seaplane Diner (a favorite) and toured Newport from Fort Adams and Ocean Drive to Cliff Walk and finished up with supper at Flo's Clam Shack. A great weekend but it is the friends that make it special.

Just Bikes

Cycle tourists in Belgium

I have put together a small gallery of cycling photos here. I was enamored with the cycling when we were traveling through Europe. It seemed as though everyone was on bikes so the link above will take you to a gallery of a variety of bicycle photos. Enjoy

Today is another day

Today is another day - Click for larger image

I am beginning to sort out some images and have taken so many recently that I have been procrastinating which is never a good thing. Since our return from vacation it seems as though every day has been filled with other things. Today is no different, but I thought I would try to post something. It is 9:30 in the evening, just finished writing out some bills and now have a few minutes to mess about.  The photo above is a sunrise over the Kickimuit River while we were riding at anchor over the Labor Day weekend. A good sunrise like this just restores faith in so many aspects of life...always be thankful for what you have. I got up that morning to watch the sun come up while the others slept. I figure I can sleep just about any time and these sunrises only come along every now and again.. might as well get up and take a peek. Glad I did.

A couple of bikes

Finally found a use for that typeface - click image for larger view

I know I must have mentioned it before but I was absolutely amazed at the bicycles that everyone was using. The picture above was taken in Bamberg, Germany and we saw these postal bikes in every town and village and country and of every color and variety. It really does make sense the can carry a lot and are easy to park - check out that 'kickstand'.

Blue Cargo Trike - Click image for larger view

I like this trike pictured above because it is typical of every bicycle even though it is a tricycle. It has fenders (mudguards) and a fully enclosed chain, a dynamo for lights, front and rear (no batteries used here) a ding-dong bell, and this one has drum brakes. Very utilitarian! The owner has taken the saddle and just might be surprised to find that flat rear tire when he/she returns. Even thought this is a step through frame I have discovered that this style of frame is not necessarily gender specific in europe.

This is only the start - I am sitting here updating the blog because I have the time right now waiting for other projects (on other computers) to render and most of my images are on the drive on the other machine. . . so here I am with not nearly enough bike pictures.

Uniworld River Empress

The Wheelhouse of the River Empress - Click Image to view Interactive Panorama

More from the trip to Europe -- I shot this panorama in the wheelhouse of the Uniworld River Empress while at the dock in Wertheim, Germany. I was amazed at the technology and and how compact and tidy the wheelhouse is. This entire house retracts downward for passage under bridges.  The hatch in the ceiling is for the Captain to stick his head our for the final approach, then he ducks down to pass under the bridge to pop his head out once the ship has passed through.

I should note that we are indeed back at home and back to work. I know I have been neglectful to the blog, but since our return I have been tied to a tree and was unable reach the keyboard. . . . (now that's a good excuse)