HOME

It's been years since Dorothee and I last visited Washington D.C.  When she suggested late last year that this would make a good week's vacation trip, I was all for it.  Thanks to our good friends Tim and Desiree Chagin we were able to get great rates at the Omni SouthPark (Tim's a VP with Omni Hotels here in Austin).  The hotel is right near a little section of D.C. that is abloom with sidewalk cafes, and right on the fringe of beautiful parks and estate-sized homes. By cashing in on our stash of mileage miles we were able to ...
Read More

Springtime in Texas can be ephemeral at best.  It seems like one week it's winter, and a few weeks later summer has arrived. It was with this environment in mind that I started planning my first long distance (for me) motorcycle trip in early 2013, setting a date that would hopefully coincide with our short-lived spring. I'm not one to go in for endurance events of any kind.  Sure, there are achievement awards for endurance biking; for example the Iron Butt Associations certifies riders who complete a full 1,000 mile ride within 24 hours.  Then there is the 100k club ...
Read More

 I've had a lifelong fascination with cameras and photography.  About 3 years ago my good friend, Tom Ryals, a professional photographer and videographer GAVE me a wonderful Nikon D200 camera.  It was way more camera than I would have ever ventured into on my own, but possession of this beauty has prompted me to spend more time developing my photography skills.  This has come in particularly handy with my classic limousine business, which caters almost exclusively to weddings. Virtually every week I have the opportunity to hone my skills by capturing the bride and groom in settings that the "regular" ...
Read More

Well, they really did pull it off!   On November 18 the inaugural race at the brand new Circuit of the Americas (COTA) track in Austin was held, in the form of the United States Grand Prix (Formula One).  No gear head worth the name would consider missing the first Grand Prix race to be held in the US in some 5 or so years.  Hundreds of thousands of Formula 1 race fans follow the annual race schedule held at exotic and/or historic tracks all over the world, including Spa (Belgium), Monza (Italy), Monte Carlo, Singapore, and now... humble Austin, ...
Read More

This year marked the 6th straight year we have held our annual "Jazz in the Canyon" celebration at our home in Sunset Canyon.  It is always great to see old friends, many times not since the previous year.  We were thrilled to have visitors from as far as California (Dorothee's sister Mary and hubby Tim) and Virginia (my long-time friend Tom Ryals), and both of my siblings from N. Texas.  The band, EVOLUTION, well, has strayed from its jazz beginnings and has taken on a whole range of genres, R&B, Soul, Rock, as well as Jazz.  Our vocalist, Meriah, has ...
Read More