On our day trip to Fir Island, one of the first birds we came across was a heron that was standing in the water near the parking lot catching lunch. I am guessing that the fish in these waters were pretty small because he seemed to catch a lot but always was after another. Must have been bite sized portions! With the water so calm, his reflection was very clear giving a nice emphasis to the shape of the body.
The Boeing T-38 chase jets are something I have not had much success in hunting down. I have got some shots but they were not in great conditions. I did have another chance recently when at Boeing Field but, guess what, the clouds rolled in at just the wrong time. The T-38 flew nicely down the approach and provided a great opportunity but the light was not really playing ball. Still, at least I got some shots, even if the colors are hardly popping.
There is a direct ferry from Port Angeles to downtown Victoria operated by Black Ball Line. Their boat is an old ship called the Coho. We have taken this route on a previous visit but didn’t use it this time. However, the regular arrival and departure of the Coho meant we saw it frequently during our stay. The ship has loading apertures on each side of the hull through which the cars can be loaded. Otherwise it looks like a pretty normal ship.
It wasn’t hard to know when they were leaving as there would be a blast on the ship’s horn. This was followed by swinging the boat around in the main harbor in order to be able to head out through the narrow passage to the open sea. The Coho first entered service in 1959 so is clearly not a new vessel. I have no idea whether there is any plan to replace her or whether, with regular refits, she will continue in service for years to come.
The current generation of wide body jets are being built at rates that would have been hard to imagine a few years ago. Fourteen jets a month is so much more than would have been contemplated before. That is the sort of build rate that the 787 and the A350 are achieving. The result is a lot of jets being in service not that long after the fleet first appeared. Boeing recently built the 787th 787. It was a jet for China Southern and I got a shot of it returning to Everett. I’m glad it was an Everett jet rather than a Charleston one. I wonder who got to make that decision!
To get to Victoria for our visit, we took the BC Ferries route from Tsawwassen. This route crosses some open water but then it weaves its way through the Gulf Islands. This makes for a really picturesque journey. On the day we crossed, it was a cloudy day but the beauty of the islands and the waterways between them was more than enough to compensate for the gloomy skies. Some of the passages are really narrow so you find yourself very close to the shore and looking at the houses and woodland areas along the water’s edge.
If you don’t mind being blown about a bit, standing out on the deck rewards you with great views. The only problem is you can only see to one side at a time. You need to nip through the boat to the other side periodically to see what is passing on that side. Not such a relaxing way to sightsee!
My first encounter with this Cirrus SF50 Vision was in this post. It was scheduled for departure while I was on some calls and I hoped it would time its departure conveniently for me. I was lucky and it headed out just after I finished a call and before I headed back to the eastside. The skies were not friendly for getting a shot but it was still nice to see it in action and the flat light avoided any harsh shadows and deep contrast.
I used to make regular trips to Oklahoma City for a streetcar project I was working on. I ended up having to pick up another project which meant I dropped the streetcar project when the vehicle contract had been approved and signed and my colleague took on the delivery phase. However, I promised I would be back for the grand opening. Mid December was the time when the system was opened up.
Fortunately, I was already within three hours of OKC for another project so I drove up for the celebrations. The project team had a dinner the night before which was a great chance to get back together with some old faces. The opening was on the following morning. We had an early photo session with project team members at 7:30 on a chilly Friday. The main opening ceremony started at 10:00. It was still pretty cold but plenty of people had shown up for the evening. Speeches from those involved and then it was time for the first rides.
I skipped the initial runs and instead went to have a look at the maintenance facility that had been constructed as part of the project. It was a nice job that had been put together by all involved. After checking it all out, I parted ways with my old colleagues. Before heading home, it was time to ride the full route. That will be another post.
Ethiopian Airlines has been taking delivery of some Boeing 777F freighters for their cargo operations. One of the new jets was being readied for delivery while I was at Paine Field. Operations were in a northerly direction so, from the terrace on top of the Future of Flight, we were going to get a good view. I was hoping that a direct flight to Bole in Ethiopia would be sufficiently long to mean that the jet would be very heavy with fuel and would run long on take off giving us a good view of rotation. However, while there was a lot of fuel on board, the lack of any other payload meant it still got off the ground pretty swiftly. Still, it was a good view of the initial climb out.
While walking along the harbor in Victoria, I happened to be looking over the edge when three otters came out from under where we were and dropped into the water. I was quite surprised by this and we watched them swim out a way into the water before the dived. It wasn’t long before they popped back up with their catches in their mouths. They then climbed up onto the jetty for one of the ferries to enjoy their crab lunch and to play around as otters are prone to do!
Another stint in the lots by Boeing Field to deal with some phone calls prior to heading back out of Seattle after some meetings and some more interesting movements. A G650 landed while I was there. I was on a call so I didn’t have an opportunity to get a shot of it as it landed and rolled out which was a shame. It parked up across from me and an SUV took the occupants away. Then it was pushed into a hangar. A quick search on the registration gives a company name and Googling that shows it is associated with Bill Gates. Looks like he has a nice jet although I think he needs a new Global 7500 if he wants to stay on top of things.